'Terminator Salvation' Among 13 Movies Headed to TNT and TBS

In a shocking move that rocked the entertainment industry, TimeWarner television outlets TNT and TBS purchased 13 recent and upcoming movie titles from the library of TimeWarner movie studio Warner Bros. The Hollywood Reporter says that the TV licensing fee for each film is based on box office output, and that the cable channels will pay 10 - 12% of the domestic grosses for the right to air the films. Among the movies on the slate: Terminator Salvation, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, The Informant, Gran Torino, Sherlock Holmes, and three movies that will have to be edited to remove gratuitous shots of penises, The Hangover, Watchmen and Observe and Report. Actually between the junk shots and the controversial date rape scene in Observe and Report, it will be right around an hour-long special once the cable censors put away the scissors. Other movies picked up in the deal include the yet-to-be-released Orphan, The Box, and Whiteout and box office disappointments Inkheart and Pride & Glory. There are some heavy hitters on the first part of that list, and I think that Gran Torino will probably become the Shawshank Redemption of the group, appealing to an older crowd that will never, ever turn the damn thing off. Shawshank is a great movie, but TNT practically ruined it for me. As for when the films will hit the Turner family of networks, it'll be a while. The first priority is DVD then the subscription-based movie channels. The Reporter says most TV debuts will occur about 30 months after the film's theatrical releases.