No Fate Productions

A fan group producing Terminator: The Connor Chronicles, a free web series continuation of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Non profit organization.

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News Update!

News Update has now been published!  Read about it here!

Sorry for the delay in getting this up but I've been moving to a new apartment this past week.  Monthly news posts are now resuming!

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The end of 2013 gift video says it's private? :(

ACK!  That's a mistake on our part, it's now been fixed.  You should be able to watch it now!

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New video as an end of 2013 gift!  We'll have more coming immediately after New Year's, specifically January 5th/6th in a full News Post.   Just thought we'd give you all a taste beforehand...

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Why Halycon Likely Killed Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Part IV

3) Halcyon announced it's bankruptcy almost immediately after announcing a lawsuit against Pacificor, because Pacificor had placed a lien against the holding company Halcyon was using to direct payments from the movie's grosses into the owner's pockets.  This holding company wasn't being used to pay the company's debt, it was a transfer company that allowed Kubicek and Anderson to get the millions in producing fees from T4 even though their production company was going under financially.  Read this article .  Key paragraph: "This month, Pacificor filed a lien against a separate company owned by Anderson and Kubicek called Dominion Group, through which they were to be paid for their producing duties on "Salvation."  This is a classic Venture Capitalist move by the two owners: transfer as much money as you can into another company so you don't pay the parent company's debts.  Is it legal?  Yes.  But it's also very unethical, and I've rarely seen it done in Hollywood.

The Two Owners of Halcyon

4) Finally, producing TSCC would have forced the owners to pay money to make the show, when they became intent on banking every dime they could from the franchise.  Every dime spent on TSCC was one they couldn't put in their own pockets.  Also, keeping TSCC around for a 3rd season and potentially a 4th (since these days, studios bend over backwards to get a show to 88 episodes if they can), would have precluded Halcyon declaring bankruptcy and putting the rights up for sale.  Why?  Because they would have been financially obligated to continue putting up money to get the show produced, and the show would have to be sold alongside the rights.  The latter meant any new partner would have to deal with WB, whether they wanted to or not.  A complication neither Anderson or Kubicek would want if their plan was to unload the franchise as quickly as possible.  Remember, the show was never their baby, they had to buy it along with the rights when purchased.  So why would they care about it, really?

If you add all this up, you see that unless Halcyon significantly reduced the budget for a sequel, to perhaps $100-120 million, there was almost no way they could have made T5 profitable for themselves.  And, because marketing firms do a lot of audience research, they had a good idea of where T4's grosses were going to be, somewhere between $350 and $450 million after release.  But that wasn't enough for them, because they stood to maybe break even only with T5 and lose money with T6.  So Anderson and Kubicek stopped making payments to any creditors and in the mean time raked in all the producing fees from T4 they could.  Pacificor figured out what they were doing and stopped the owners from collecting, at which point the company declared bankruptcy, allowing the owners to walk away without paying a dime.

And in case you think this is all nonsense, ask yourself, where is Halcyon these days?  Are they still in Hollywood?  Nope.  They've been practically run out of town.  No one in Los Angeles will do business with them because of how they handled the Terminator franchise.  Now they're producing films in Europe, effectively exiled. 

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Why Halcyon May Have Killed TSCC Part III

Now, my theory is based on 4 pieces of evidence.  This is not a legal "case," and I am missing a smoking gun that proves my point.

  Derek Anderson, the other owner of Halcyon.

  1) Halcyon actually stopped making any payments to creditors around early May 2009.  The evidence for this is two fold: bankruptcy documents, which reveal that in addition to the $29 million owed Pacificor, several million dollars were owed to the law firm which handled the C2 sale, property managers for the office space they rented, heck James Middleton was even owed $15,000 in salary when they declared bankruptcy on August 20th, 2009.  You don't build up millions in debt to a lot of creditors unless you stop making payments.  Second, a couple of news articles were published after the bankrupcty, revealing that Halcyon had also lost the rights to the Philip K. Dick estate when they stopped making payments to the estate's company in May 2009.  So this is before T4 even comes out.

2) The amount of money T4 grossed for Halcyon was likely just under $90-100 million.  WB and Sony paid Halcyon a combined $160 million for the marketing and distribution rights, and the company had to raise an additional $40 million to produce the film.  So while WB gets a cut of the DVD sales and US box office, and Sony gets the international Box office, half of the grosses from the film went right into Halcyon's pocket as the right's owners.  According to the LA Times, Halcyon didn't just receive half the film grosses, it also got half the DVD profits too.  Which means Halcyon still made money on T4 even though it wasn't a hit, and it wasn't the $140-150 million they wanted when they bought the franchise.  But $90 million was ample money to cover their Pacificor debts and the money they invested in T4.

The studios, however, lost multi million dollar amounts on the release.  And, because it wasn't well received, it means that T5 would have grossed appreciably less money.  So the studios would not have put up nearly the same amount of money for T5, Halcyon would have considered themselves luck to get 80-100 million for rights, with the prospect of diminishing returns for a T5 sequel (whose costs would have only risen because of contracts with the signed cast and McG). 

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Why Halcyon May Have Gutted TSCC Part II

Now, the show was definitely struggling on Broadcast TV, and should have been placed on the CW or a Cable Net.  It had no business being on FOX.  It's a dark, serialized drama, and Broadcast nets haven't made that kind of show work in the past decade.  But regardless of how it could have done on Cable, it still would have been axed in Spring 2009.  Again, this is speculation, but I think Halcyon dropped the hammer on the show, not FOX or WB.  WB has shown with Fringe, Chuck, and other shows that it is willing to bite the bullet and give discounts to keep a show with a fervent fanbase on air to get to a good syndication deal, and FOX has shown it's willing to keep a series around as spackle in that case (Fringe again, Raising Hope, Til Death).  The only thing stopping them would be Halcyon, and all Halcyon had to do was say they weren't paying, demanding an exorbitant licensing fee, etc.

The timing for this is also important.  In late April/early May, Halcyon would have received marketing reports from firms showing them the expected grosses from T4, that it would fall between $350-$500 million, say.  It's how studios know they're going to have a bomb or be okay: they gauge audience interest well in advance of a premiere, so they have an idea how a movie is going to do before one person pays for a single ticket.

  Victor Kubicek, part owner of Halcyon

The knowledge that TSCC actually wasn't Halcyon's baby, it was something they inherited, only further supports my theory (which fits the facts), that Halcyon deliberately cut the legs out from TSCC in Spring 2009 and prevented the show from getting renewed.  This is why Friedman was saying unless FOX picked it up, the show was going nowhere: it's not that WB didn't shop the show around, it's that Halcyon told them specifically not to (supposition on this, I have no proof). 

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Why Halcyon May Be Partly Responsible for TSCC Getting the Axe

The following is supposition.  It is a theory, which I don't have definitive proof of a case.  And what happened isn't illegal.  Unethical?  Maybe, if proven right.  But to be clear, it's a theory.

I think Halcyon is primarily to blame for TSCC not getting renewed for Season 3.  Not FOX.  Here's why.

First, you have to understand that TSCC wasn't actually Halcyon's baby.  They inherited the show when they bought the Terminator rights from C2 pictures, and the show was already on the verge of being greenlit by FOX with Warner Brothers producing.  TSCC was envisioned by C2 as a the bridge to a new trilogy, according to this article by Variety. 

In fact, you could argue one reason FOX never ordered a full Season 1 was because of the issues Halcyon and Warner Brothers would have had with TSCC.   This is in addition to the Season 1 ratings which, given that the show was broadcast against reruns and a game show in Spring 2008, are actually quite weak.  We don't know where TSCC would fit in to Terminator, whether it's a prequel or sequel to T4, say, because Josh Friedman never got a chance to end his series the way he wanted to.  You can't tie in a TV series to a set up movie events effectively, to put it somewhere in the chronology, if you've only got 31 episodes.  And that's saying nothing about the rewrites Halcyon did after buying the franchise, which may have effectively junked any tie-ins JF had already planned.

Personally (and this is speculation), I think JF's keeping his mouth shut about where it would have gone, not just because he wants the fans to use their imagination, but also because he doesn't want Annapurna "stealing" anything he puts out publicly.

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On Bypassing Annapurna for a TSCC Continuation Part III

The odds of something happening in the next year are beyond remote. Annapurna will do anything it can to block WB from making a comic, whether it's legal or not, and WB will absolutely have to consider if the court costs are really worth making this think.  But the only way this is really worthwhile for them is if, through the lawsuit, Annapurna's ability to control the Terminator franchise is weakened.  That would allow WB to make it's own Terminator media, which they may believe is justified.  TSCC thus becomes the battering ram opening this doorway for them.  But, 2015-2016 is another matter. If T5 is successful, WB may look to cash in on the renewed popularity by publishing a TSCC comic with Annapurna's approval. T5 would already be a hit and T6 would be in the pipeline, so Annapurna would know they stand to make more money. Or, T5 is a bomb, and Annapurna wants to unload the property. WB tries the buy it for cheap.  Or another studio/group buys it and has no problem with TSCC being continued in any form, so long as they get a cut of the profits. The only way WB will have any incentive to do either is if they know there is a sizable fanbase out there that would make publishing novels or a comic book series profitable. THAT'S why this campaign to push WB needs to be undertaken, even knowing a comic will likely not be brought about in 2014. The fact that Friedman had to respond so quickly to the Veronica Mars news strongly suggests that there's still a lot of fan demand out there. This needs to be continuously demonstrated, because studios have short memories. If you don't send anything to WB at all, they're gonna think no one really cares if TSCC comes back in any form. They already have the marketing and publishing arm to do this well, as they own DC comics. You are, in effect, playing a long game. And that requires patience and perseverance.

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Skydance Prods. and Annapurna Pictures, the companies behind the upcoming Terminator film trilogy, are expanding the franchise to television with a TV series...

So, Terminator will be back on TV.  And it's the bridge between Terminator (1984) and T5's New Trilogy.  And two of the big writers on TSCC are writing the pilot script.

Guys, if you don't end up finishing the TSCC story in some way, I am going to kill both of you...

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On Bypassing Annapurna for a TSCC Continuation Part II

Now, could WB say yes in the future? Sure, especially if T5 is a bomb and they buy the franchise, or T5 is a big hit and they want to collaborate with Annapurna on cashing in. But there's no way Annapurna is going to let any other major Hollywood company produce Terminator media right now, not when they are in the middle of preproduction for T5. Even if James Cameron himself started working on a Terminator property with WB, Annapurna would do everything they could to stop him. They want the media focusing on T5, not what's come before. Because they want to put butts in the seats for a premiere. Anything else is absolutely secondary: the forthcoming movie is all they care about. See, Annapurna is behaving this way because they realize that TSCC was actually very, very well done and is very well thought of. You don't get a job writing a sequel for Avatar if your TV series and pilots aren't very well spoken of (JF is getting the Avatar job, for example, because people around Hollywood think very highly of his writing talent, first exposed in TSCC). If TSCC was thought of as schlock with no real market value, they'd let WB or anyone else do whatever they want with it. Why? Because in that case it's a limited fanbase who just wants a little more of the same, and there's little danger of adding new converts with more material. TSCC? Nope. Because the series was so good, more material will likely make more fans of the show instead of fans of the movies, and fans of the show would be buying stuff WB makes, not Paramount. They don't want a Star Trek on their hands here: Star Trek was somewhat popular with Sci-Fi fans when broadcast, but the explosion of the fanbase in size and fervor occurred when the show was first broadcast in reruns in the early 70's. Wouldn't have happened unless it was actually very, very good. If Trek was crap, no one would have watched the reruns.

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You want the key difference between Skynet and Terminators?  Here it is.  Skynet has no connection to the world.  It can't feel it.  In a way, just like for Cortana, everything is an abstract.  And I wonder if Skynet would be envious, in some small way, of its own creations as a result.  Certainly it's something I would have liked to seen more of in the Terminator universe.

But I doubt Annapurna and Paramount have the smarts to do anything like this with the movies. 

TSCC? Absolutely.

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On Bypassing Annapurna for a TSCC Continuation Part I

I've written this in support of the SavetheSCC campaign, namely as an end run around Annapurna, which seems to want to keep a lid on anything TSCC related.  The idea, as proposed by the SavetheSCC crew, is to petition WB to make a printed continuation, such as a comic book or a novel series.  My opinion?

Yes, appeal directly to WB. Are the chances good? No. Do it anyway. For 3 reasons. 1) To keep fan interest and interest in the property alive; 2) To let WB know that fans still want something and this is a cheap way for them to make money; 3) Because if this legal loophole is actually viable it's likely the only way we'll get anything so long as Annapurna decides to keep TSCC shut down. Can WB do this? Maybe.

But, be aware, it's highly likely WB would say no right now. Why? Because the comic book publisher and video game manufacturer are both small potatoes, and neither are direct competitors to Paramount Pictures, which will be distributing T5. Even if WB's action in making a TSCC comic is legal, Annapurna/Paramount will sue, for no other reason than to prevent a competitor from releasing Terminator media at the same time they are ramping up marketing for T5.  The lawsuit itself will take long enough in court that nothing would come out until T5 is released.  It's about putting every dollar of the franchise in their own pocket. WB knows that if they even hint about doing anything with TSCC, other than syndication deals they are already entitled to, Annapurna will strongly consider a lawsuit at the drop of a hat.

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PTSD Part 2

George Carlin once made a comment that one of the things we do to cloak the true horror of a topic, or camouflage something negative, is we lengthen the term we use to describe it.  PTSD in soldiers used to be called Battle Fatigue or Combat Stress Reaction in World War II, before that it was called Shell Shock.  This last term itself gives you an idea of the hell someone has been through.  But Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?  Clinical, like a lab technician reading a print out. 

You see the thousand yard stare in this picture?  It's because Marine has seen things so terrifying and horrific that it's numbed him.  He's overloaded, he's experienced too much, and his mind is shutting down his emotions, and the ability to feel them.  It's a defense mechanism, because this guy can't possibly cope or do his job in the field.  Or, it's either shut down or go crazy. 

Now, are we going to turn John Connor into a basket case?  No, of course not.  You can't be the savior of humanity if you've lost your mind.  But we are going to go down this road at the end of our story, because at that point John will have seen the worst of the Future War.  And he may never be okay again.

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PTSD Part 1

I know Dr. Sherman mentioned that John was exhibiting signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in The Tower Is Tall But The Fall Is Short.  I also think some fans believe they covered this issue with John, and going over it again would be a rehash.  And I know that some didn't like this plot thread in the second season (though I personally thought it was well done for Broadcast TV).

Thing is, John's not exhibiting PTSD symptoms.  Yeah, did a little research on it.  He's experiencing depression, among other things, but PTSD?  Nope.  Just to give you a rundown of the common symptoms:

1) Recurring nightmares

2) Memory loss of the traumatic event(s),

3) Intense and hostile reactions to any reminder of the event (basically, an uncontrolled outburst)

4) Avoidance of reminders of the trauma, and emotional numbing (decreased ability to feel emotion)

5) Sudden and persistent flashbacks to the traumatic event(s) from any reminder of the event.

Sounds terrible, right?  It is.  PTSD is a condition which many people never are cured of.  They just learn how to manage it as they get older.  I have a family member who still has regular nightmares from his service in Vietnam.  Just reading about it doesn't do it justice.

But John Connor never exhibited any of these signs.  And rule number 1 of TV or Movie watching: if you don't see it, it ain't happening (unless it gets told to a character on screen, which is boooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggg).  He was dealing with an adjustment disorder (which is, simply, an inability to deal with a stressor or stressors).

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You Can't Go Home Again Part IV

Now, the beginning of the second season covered John dealing with the trauma of strangling Sarkissian with his bare hands.  And he doesn't deal with it...well.  In fact we have a whole episode mostly devoted to his inability to process what he's done and the stress resulting from it, as it opens with him nearly shooting himself.

Thing is, it's one event, and John actually "gets over it" way too fast if he's experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is what the Dr. Sherman believes he's observing in John.  I've said it before, and I'll repeat myself: John will be permanently scarred from his ordeal in the Future War, far more so than what we saw in the second season.  It's war,  this is what it does to you.  I have an in law who has weekly nightmares about his experiences in Vietnam.  Eugene Sledge and Audie Murphy both had nightmares for the rest of their lives, and the nightmares weren't actually about combat per se.  They were about the deaths of friends or having to go back on the line. The thought of heading back was that horrific.

John's going to be absolutely determined to prevent Judgment from ever occurring.  No matter what the cost, no matter the price that must be paid, he's has to find a way to stop it.  Even if it means returning to the Present himself to do so.  He's got to.  Because going through this war is his worst nightmare.

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You Can't Go Home Again Part III

As bad as I've had it, I'm going to learn from the experience and move on.  I'm already over it, to a large extent.  Because in the grand scheme of things it's not that big a deal.  A bad boss and a bad job is something everyone has to deal with.

But you don't get over combat. 

You ask any war veteran who's been in the thick of it, and it's the worst experience of their lives.  It's not just the actual shooting, if anything it can be a little cathartic to be able to fire your weapon at the enemy, because you're striking back, you're destroying your tormentors.  That's one of the themes of Jarhead, actually.  What struck me most, in reading a lot of World War 2 and Vietnam memoirs, was that the worst memories of combat for a lot of veterans is their friends being wounded severely.  Watch Lt. Buck Compton tearing up when he finds his two best friends, Sgts. Bill Guarnere and Joe Toye, wounded in Band of Brothers (warning, graphic content, most of it is an awful artillery barrage).

So, like any soldier, John is going to make good friends in his unit.  And he's going to watch a lot of his friends die in agony.  As bad as he thinks his life has been in the Present, on the run, it's nothing compared to what he's about to go through.

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You Can't Go Home Again Part II

Because it's so great being back, the past year is already fading into a bad memory.  Someone like John?  Not gonna have that luxury.  Even if my new job doesn't turn out all the great, I'm back in a place I love surrounded by family as a support.  John doesn't have blood family outside of his mother in the Present.  And no, I don't count Derek, because the Derek in our story doesn't know a John Connor.

Being back home is a dream come true for me.  I've been trying to get back here for 8 years, and I thought, at best, that I wouldn't get back until 5-6 years from now.  So, a great weight is off my shoulders.  John, if/when he returns to the Present (his home, where his mother is), still has to either prevent Judgment Day or fight the Future War all over again. 

But where I can relate is the permanent change in my attitude, how I look at things.  I've been scarred by this. This past year hasn't felt like one year of time, it's felt like 5 or 6.  Because the days were that painful, the experiences that traumatic. 

See, that's how you really tell if you've changed a lot.  Not how much you've grown in size, or skills you've acquired.  Mark the passage of days.  Then ask yourself how much time you've felt pass.  By the time I was at this terrible job for 4 months, I felt I had gone through a couple years of life.