"Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series" Explodes Online as the First Long Form Dramatic Machinima Production

* Reuters is not responsible for the content in this press release.

Tue May 19, 2009 12:00am EDT

* Created by The Halcyon Company and Warner Premiere
* The First Long Form Dramatic Machinima Series Produced by a Major Studio
* Creators Use "Terminator Salvation" Videogame to Create Filmed Entertainment
* An Original Series Starring Moon Bloodgood as "Blair Williams"
* Produced and Overall Creative Direction Provided by The Halcyon Company and
the Film`s Director McG
* First Episode Now Available on iTunes and Other Digital Distributors

BURBANK, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
Halcyon Games, a division of The Halcyon Company along with Warner Premiere and
Warner Bros. Digital Distribution today announced the first full length
Machinima series titled "Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series." Produced
in association with McG, director of "Terminator Salvation," and Machinima Inc.,
this six part series utilizes real time computer animation generated from the
"Terminator Salvation" video game and is set against an original story written
by Andy Shapiro and directed by Tor Helmstein. Fans follow "Blair Williams"
(voiced by Moon Bloodgood) on an action-packed journey that reveals the genesis
of Blair William's involvement with John Connor's resistance unit two and a half
years before the movie begins. 

"Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series" is now available on iTunes
(http://tinyurl.com/TerminatorMachinimaOniTunes), Amazon Video on Demand
(http://tinyurl.com/TerminatorMachinimaOnAmazonVOD), Xbox Live and the Sony
PlayStation Network. The cost per episode is $2.99 for HD and $1.99 for SD
(where available). Fans can also sign up for a season pass and automatically
receive future episodes every week for $14.99 in HD or $9.99 in SD (where
available). 

"From a film maker's point of view, Machinima provides an incredibly dynamic way
to explore live worlds and tell compelling new stories," said McG. "The process
allows the writer and director to think cinematically, while at the same time
executing certain things that would otherwise be cost-prohibitive or even
impossible on a set." 

Machinima, a word derived from the combination of machine and cinema, describes
computer-generated animation created in real-time by leveraging video game
engines and environments. Revolutionizing the digital content creation process,
Machinima.com is pioneering a cost effective way to produce high quality video
content for multi-platform distribution. "Terminator Salvation: The Machinima
Series" was entirely produced by leveraging Machinima techniques utilizing
assets from "Terminator Salvation: the Videogame." 

"Working with The Halcyon Company`s motion picture development team and having
produced a high-octane, story driven action shooter videogame using Grin AB`s
cutting edge `Diesel` engine, we had an incredible basis to further explore
stories set in the Terminator universe," said Cos Lazouras, president of Halcyon
Games, creator of the "Terminator Salvation" videogame. "Re-purposing our game
to produce the very first dramatic series in this medium is a fantastic
innovation and will become the norm for game makers in the future." 

"Machinima is the next generation of storytelling," said Diane Nelson, president
of Warner Premiere. "After meeting with McG and Halcyon`s creative teams we
could easily see the power and potential of this type of content. The
combination of McG and the Game maker`s creative talent and the inherent essence
of the man vs. machine concept made for a natural feature-length story." 

About "Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series"

The year is 2016. It has been thirteen years since Judgment Day, when the
machines rose under the order of a self-aware artificial intelligence called
Skynet. The human race is on the brink as Terminators hunt and destroy all
remaining life. 

The Resistance is the last hope for survival. Commanded by the remnants of a
decimated military system, resistance fighters battle the machines of Skynet day
and night without quitting. Blair Williams is one of these fighters. Blair is in
her early 30's and is old enough to remember a normal life but vital enough to
learn how to fight. She is highly skilled and superbly courageous - traits that
often get her some of the hardest missions. 

We meet Blair at the beginning of one of these missions. She has been sent into
the heart of downtown Los Angeles, a known hot zone, to seek out and destroy
something called "The Ghost" - a code name designated to a machine designed to
interfere with Command's communications. The resistance knows that Skynet is
ever evolving and this must be just another tactic to bring down the leadership.
Without the ability to talk to each other, the Resistance would simply fracture
and collapse. It was already starting to happen. 

About "Terminator Salvation"

The Halcyon Company presents a Moritz Borman Production, in association with
Wonderland Sound and Vision, a McG Film, "Terminator Salvation." McG ("Charlie`s
Angels," "We Are Marshall") directed the film from a screenplay by John Brancato
& Michael Ferris ("Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines"). "Terminator Salvation"
was produced by Moritz Borman, Jeffrey Silver, Victor Kubicek and Derek
Anderson. Peter D. Graves, Dan Lin, Jeanne Allgood, Joel B. Michaels, Mario F.
Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna served as executive producers. Chantal Feghali
co-produced the film and James Middleton was associate producer. The film stars
Christian Bale ("The Dark Knight"), Sam Worthington ("Avatar"), Anton Yelchin
("Star Trek"), Moon Bloodgood ("What Just Happened"), Bryce Dallas Howard
("Spider-Man 3"), Common ("Wanted"), Jane Alexander ("The Unborn") and Helena
Bonham Carter ("Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"). The behind-the-scenes
creative team includes cinematographer Shane Hurlbut ("We Are Marshall"),
production designer Martin Laing ("Pearl Harbor"), Oscar-winning editor Conrad
Buff ("Titanic"), costume designer Michael Wilkinson ("Watchmen"), Oscar-winning
visual effects supervisor Charles Gibson ("Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man`s
Chest"), and animatronics supervisor John Rosengrant of Stan Winston Studio. The
music is by four-time Oscar-nominated composer Danny Elfman ("Milk," "Big Fish,"
"Good Will Hunting," "Men in Black"). "Terminator Salvation" is being
distributed domestically by Warner Bros. Pictures. 

Columbia Pictures is distributing the film in most international territories
(excluding South Korea and select Middle East territories). 

The film has been rated PG-13 by the MPAA for intense sequences of sci-fi
violence and action, and language. 

About The Halycon Company

The Halcyon Company is a privately financed, media development, production and
financing company, headed by co-CEOs Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek. The
company is designed to create, acquire, manage, publish and maintain the
creative integrity of each and every project delivered by The Halcyon Company
across traditional and non-traditional channels of distribution. In May 2007,
Halcyon acquired all of the rights in relationship to the Terminator franchise.
These rights include the right to produce any future Terminator films, as well
as all future merchandising and licensing rights, certain future revenues
derived from Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, as well as certain rights in
the television project The Sarah Connor Chronicles and the sole right to produce
all future Terminator projects in any new or existing media. In 2009, Warner
Bros. and Sony will distribute the highly anticipated re-launch of the
franchise, Terminator Salvation. Halcyon recently secured the highly-coveted
first-look rights to the works of science fiction and cyber-punk writer Philip
K. Dick. Through this unprecedented agreement, Halcyon will have the first
option to develop in conjunction with Electric Shepherd for film adaptations, as
well as television and other media projects, based on Dick`s vast body of works.


About Warner Premiere

Warner Premiere is a Warner Bros. Entertainment production company focused on
the development, production and marketing of feature-length-DVD and short-form
digital content for this growing space. Warner Premiere is committed to being at
the creative forefront in the evolution of quality product in the
direct-to-consumer business, creating material that exemplifies the commitment
to story, production and brand equity for which Warner Bros. is known. 

About Warner Bros. Digital Distribution

Warner Bros. Digital Distribution (WBDD) was founded in October 2005 to manage
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group`s electronic distribution streams over
existing, new and emerging digital platforms, including pay-per-view, electronic
sell-through, video-on-demand, wireless and more. WBDD also oversees the WBHEG`s
worldwide digital strategy, partnerships in digital services and emerging new
clients and business activities in the digital space. 

About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group brings together Warner Bros.
Entertainment's home video, digital distribution, interactive
entertainment/videogames, direct-to-DVD production, technical operations and
anti-piracy businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation
distribution scenarios. WBHEG is responsible for the global distribution of
content through DVD, electronic sell-through and VOD, and delivery of theatrical
content to wireless and online channels, and is also a significant worldwide
publisher for both internal and third party videogame titles. 

About MACHINIMA.COM

Machinima.com is the premier entertainment network dedicated to the gaming
generation with the best and most extensive original machinima content.
Machinima-a word derived from the combination of machine and cinema-is the term
used to describe the creation of computer-generated video created in real time
by leveraging video game engines and environments. Machinima.com is comprised of
highly-engaged gamers and content creators and is the seventh most subscribed
YouTube channel and serves more than 46 million videos views per month.
Companies from the film, gaming and consumer industries are using Machinima.com
as an advertising platform to launch new video games and movies and to reach
gaming and film enthusiasts around the world. Current Machinima.com advertisers
include: Microsoft, EA, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, NVIDIA, Paramount Pictures,
Sega, Universal Studios; Warner Bros. and others. To learn more, visit:
www.machinima.com or its YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/machinima. 



Warner Bros. Digital Distribution
Peter Binazeski, 818-977-5701
peter.binazeski@warnerbros.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009

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