We have seen this coming. The talks about the merger of the two Hollywood studios have been in the circle for quite sometimes now but it has now materialize. Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment have merged with the former acquires the latter. That means franchises like 'Twilight' and 'The Hunger Games' will be sitting under the same roof now. But what do the future holds as we know Twilight saga will end and The Hunger Games trilogy will begin?
Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment on last Friday have released press statement concerning the merger. In the press release which you can read at Slash Film, it was announced that Lionsgate would took over the Summit Entertainment for a total value of US$ 412.5 million worth of cash and stock. With the take-over, it seems certain that Lionsgate will cement its status as the world's most successful and diversified independent entertainment company. However, it remains far to sure how this merger will catapult them into the Big Six competition.
From the perspective of entertainment products, while the Twilight Saga may find itself ending the series this November with the release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, there are already some voices post-merger who would be interested to continue the saga beyond this one. Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said he hopes to continue Twilight in some form, either in film or television, following an interview with the LA Times. Oh boy, not again!
In the interview, Feltheimer said:
It’s hard for me to imagine a movie that does $700 million-plus doesn’t have ongoing value. It’s an amazing franchise that they have done a great job of maintaining with absolutely no deterioration. So the simple answer is ‘Boy I hope so.'Then, he also answered curious question if Twilight may also be adapted into a TV series:
I would certainly hope so.My comment will be only as simple as this - why do you need to suck more cow-cash from this dismaying franchise that does not have any quality at all? The movie franchise works because of the support of the fans but there are clear indications that most of the fans will not be interested in another one unless the merger will helped to increase the production quality. A new film seems opportunistic. A reboot strategy like what Sony Pictures did with their Spider-Man franchise, may risk killing the franchise all at once if it fails to recognize the mistakes.
Simply to say, it is good to appreciate the market value Twilight may still have. A long-term shot will be a reboot but only if it is made into a better movie than it was, it should be a go ahead. Until then, not even a further TV series of continuing movies can saved my aching embarrassment to this.
SOURCE: LA Times, Slash Film, Screen Rant