Joss Whedon Bids Measly 10K For Sullied ‘Terminator’ Franchise, Unfunny Trailer For ‘How To Train Your Dragon’

— As you may have heard by now Joss Whedon doesn’t necessarily think that much about the “Terminator” franchise, and after what McG did with it in “Terminator Salvation,” you can understand why. Halcyon that bought the rights to the company after “T3,” just went belly up so they had to put up the rights to the franchise up for auction. Halcyon paid a measly $25 million back in the day, but Whedon put in an offer of… $10,000. He offers up various ideas of what he could bring to the franchise, and probably the best idea at this point is his comical idea of making “Terminator” into a musical (even though he disavows it before it begins, but no, really, this is the way to go guys…).

Normally, we’d say this wry little diss is enough to put the final nail in the coffin of this now-embarrassed franchise, but Hollywood knows no shame and there’s simply too much additional money to be made at some point One will assume though they’ll have to completely reboot it again and people like Christian Bale won’t touch it. And one can presume it’ll take a few years of development too.

— As indie studios fall over town, with Miramax seemingly the latest to shutter (or basically), it’s good to see Sony Pictures Classics continuing to snap up good product. Their latest acquisition is “Mother and Child,” Rodrigo Garcia’s drama starring Annette Bening, Naomi Watts and Samuel L Jackson. The film got very strong reviews in Toronto: Jeff Wells in particular raved about it, although it apparently falls apart at the end. It won’t be released until next year, putting it out of contention for this year’s Oscars, but, with the praise being given to Bening’s performance, it may well be held until this time next year.

— Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire is kind of a hot property right now. His Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Rabbit Hole” is hitting screens next year starring Nicole Kidman, he was Tony-nominated for his book and lyrics for “Shrek: The Musical,” and he’s the most recent writer on “Spider-Man 4.” He’s now going to write the script for Dreamworks Animation’s “The Guardians,” based on a series of children’s books by William Joyce, which follow a group, including Santa Claus, Jack Frost, The Easter Bunny and the Man in the Moon, who team up to protect children from the forces of evil. It could be like “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” but if it’s Dreamworks Animation, it’ll probably be closer to “The Santa Clause.”

— Derick Martini, the director of the Alec Baldwin indie drama “Lymelife,” has set up his follow-up at Paramount. “I Am My Family’s Secret” will be written and directed by Martini, produced by Ivan Reitman through his Montecito Picture Company, and tells the story of two contrasting brothers who discover that their parents have been hiding a life-changing secret from them.

— Yahoo has premiered the trailer to next March’s big Dreamworks animation, “How to Train Your Dragon,” which follows a young Viking who secretly adopts a dragon. Despite an Apatow-raised cast including Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill and Kristen Wiig, as well as Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson and America Ferrera, there isn’t a single laugh, or interesting moment, in the trailer. See for yourself below.