ROTTEN TOMATOES: Exclusive: McG Talks Terminator Salvation Comments

Exclusive: McG Talks Terminator Salvation

by Jacob Flynn | March 26, 2009

Summary

The news that one of the greatest sci-fi franchises of all time was to get a full-fat reboot predictably sent cyborg fanboys into paroxysms of joy. For about 10 minutes. That Arnie, otherwise engaged running the world's fourth largest economy, wouldn't be back was partly compensated for by the casting of Christian Bale. But the revelation that McG was to be at the helm of Terminator Salvation put an abrupt stop to the celebrations. Recently, though, the tide's been turning with trailers and longer assemblages revealing a gritty war movie with more in common with Mad Max and Children of Men than Charlie's Angels. RT talked exclusively to the much-maligned McG about the rise of his machines... Back to Article

(1-24 of 24 posts) | Reply

thereign writes:
on Mar 26 2009 06:34 AM

Pretty decent interview. I don't think the questions asked were the greatest, but McG gave more than he got, in terms of responding thoughtfully to them. I have my fingers crossed that he comes out with a solid movie not just for us, the fans--but which leads as a more serious connecting thread from Cameron's films than T3 did.

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arendr writes:
on Mar 26 2009 10:41 AM

Hmm...didn't know Jonah Nolan was involved. That's cool.

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matt d. writes:
on Mar 26 2009 11:03 AM

did he say christian bale helped on the script?

and only 800 cgi shots that seems pretty darn low for f/x blockbusters nowadays...

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opTIMus Nerd writes:
on Mar 26 2009 12:18 PM

This kind of talk and dedication and involvement of of the "cerebral types" does give me a lot more hope for this pic then I had last year. That said, you watch the special features on AVP Requiem and they sound quite the same...

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TombstoneLawDog writes:
on Mar 26 2009 12:39 PM

In reply to this comment (#2397003)
gotta agree with 'Nerd; most of these guys come off as competent, even likable in these interviews. They talk a good game. And I have to say, I (like many others) am starting to believe in this project. But the only thing that matters is the product, not the sales pitch.

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TombstoneLawDog writes:
on Mar 26 2009 12:41 PM

Have to add that I FREAKIN LOVED This exchange:

Do you deliberately do as much physically as you can? George Lucas would shoot the whole thing on a green screen, with guys wearing ping-pong balls...

McG: I say with respect to George Lucas, who I adore, I don't like that at all. This is why Stan Winston's team is here. We do as much practically and in camera as possible. I want the machines to be real and we built all the machines. We built all the prosthetics. And then they're accentuated and added to, certainly.

Dissing on Lucas and loving on Winston does INDEED amp up my respect for this project....

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Dave R. writes:
on Mar 26 2009 01:40 PM

My hopes are up, based on what McG said about trying to match the film style of Children of Men along with capturing the atmospheric feeling that Cormac McCarthy's The Road.

The filming on Children of Men is amazing, if you disagree then just watch the 5 minute long action sequences with only 1 cut. And if you haven't read The Road, then you should.

We'll see.

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ledawg1138 writes:
on Mar 26 2009 03:11 PM

Linda Hamilton pwns all!

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Glenn W. writes:
on Mar 26 2009 05:20 PM

with Bale as Connor, Linda Hamilton reprising her role as Sarah (even if just as a voiceover) and Haggis and Jonah Nolan writing, it does sound like one ambitious picture and McG is trying his damnest to show fanboys that he isn't f-ing around and that this won't be Charlie's Angels 3: Rise of the Dancing Kung Fu Machines, but i'm still a little skeptical. it's still the movie i'm looking forward to the most out of this summer's "meh" film line-up.

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MountRussmore writes:
on Mar 26 2009 06:04 PM

I've never seen one of this McG guy's movies, but his talk sure gets my vote. He's taking the picture in exactly the direction I would want- no b*llsh*t, no artificial humor injected. I like my apocalyptic action films played straight.

I'll be the first to guess the Tomatometer: 73%. I think there will be a good handful of critics who don't like the film simply because it will take itself too seriously- which I love. I think it will be a huge success for the true fans...

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collex writes:
on Mar 26 2009 06:19 PM

Let's face it: everybody is sceptical because of the director, and McG knows it. He knows he only have one chance to prove himself. He knows that if he pull a Batman & Robin on us, his carreer is finished before it even really started. Having said that, with all I've seen up to now, he seems to have delivered something solid.

I'm all behind you McG. Don't disappoint me, or you'll regret it.

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brandon s. writes:
on Mar 26 2009 08:26 PM

Christian Bale can take ANY movie and make it worthy.....remember 'Reign of Fire'? I enjoyed that movie thanks to Mr. Bale's intense performance. His commitment to the material (no matter what is is) shines through in all of his performances. The most recent preview for this movie makes the film look amazing....possibly ranking up there with the first Terminator (the best, if you ask me.) The second Terminator was a blast, but a bit too cutesy and comedic for my tastes, this film (judging from the previews) looks darker in tone ala the original. That being said, my ONLY concern is the dialogue and character development....there has been no evidence to the contrary thus far...but I don't know if someone like McG can pull that off. Hopefully Bale will prove again that he is an artist, true to his form.

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brandon s. writes:
on Mar 26 2009 08:29 PM

Also...I wish they would have just pretended T3 never existed....that movie was an awful money grab and shouldn't even be considered part of the story.

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jokerboy1991 writes:
on Mar 26 2009 08:56 PM

In reply to this comment (#2397508)
LOL I enjoy Reign of Fire because how cheesy it is, was Bale really intense in that? But yeah that is kind of a fun guilty pleasure movie I think. I'm looking way more forward to Public Enemies then this though. I still really wish though that the trailers didn't give away that Marcus was a machine story away, that could have been a great WTF moment in the theater I bet.

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JUDGE DREDD writes:
on Mar 27 2009 02:52 AM

I too liked Reign of fire, they spent what little budget they had on a very great, no, the best Dragon put on film to date.

I dont judge Mcg badly based on 2 popcorn flicks for chicks that he made years ago. The test of a mans metal is when he tries to do something that he wants, rather than what studios want him to make. As an artist myself, i get payed to make things that i have absolutely ZERO interest in, but it pays the bills. But if my skills were judged based on one single piece of work like that, I have many skills to my bow, and visions. Any director should be judged the same. The guy may be a genius for all you know, but just because he only has Charlies Angels to show us, doesnt mean thats all he is capable of.
I do worry that T4 could be just a lot of hot trailers though, I remember this kind of talk prior to AVP-R, All the signs of respect and how they were going to better the first one. Well, wow, how that turned out for us huh. I thought i was watching another scream film.

Anyway, i hope this film turns out ultra-cool.

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emily l. writes:
on Mar 27 2009 04:10 AM

It is intersting...PS: Looking for a hot&beautiful girl or a handsome millionaire? Well, r i c h p a s s i o n . c o m will give a surprise! Don`t miss it!

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Matanuki writes:
on Mar 27 2009 05:29 AM

And suddenly I respect the guy a great deal more. Like Tombstone said, big props for dissing Lucas and praising Winston in the same breath. And I really like his approach to the mythology, hiring cerebral writers to work on the script. See that is what I've been talking about?!

Give sci-fi the sci-fi treatment and you can mine gold. Don't treat it as just another pop-corn movie, journey for where the story can transcend mediocrity. This is the kind of approach I was hoping from the get-go that they'd assign to the development of Transformers; the sci fi treatment. Instead, they seldom thought outside the distinction of 'toy movie'.

So yeah, McG, with your silly name, you've got my attention. I can say without prejudice, I hope it all works out.

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wevc writes:
on Mar 27 2009 08:11 AM

I hope this movie rocks, but McG talks too much for my taste at times, as if he's trying to convince me he's good enough to make this movie.

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willywonkanobi writes:
on Mar 27 2009 01:46 PM

In reply to this comment (#2398067)
McG doesn't exactly have the best track record. I think it is good that he is trying to convince us. It shows that he cares about the material.

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the_don_of_yreka writes:
on Mar 27 2009 06:53 PM

I am also gonna agree with Tombstone, the only thing that matters is the product, not the sales pitch. I am liking trailers and the way McG is trying to gain respect with the fans who like the Terminator saga. I giving McG a shot. If this film sucks badly, all I ask in return is that leave Terminator saga alone. I'll be happy if they keep the story going in books form if the film doesnt do to well.

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danielle j. writes:
on Mar 29 2009 01:31 AM

In reply to this comment (#2396827)
I think Christian was the one that "forced" McG to change up the script, like adding more depth to the characters and whatnot, or he wouldn't do the film.

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BalthazarBenoit writes:
on May 02 2009 07:55 AM

Hopefully the presence of a good writer, like Nolan, will counteract the presence of a terrible writer, like Haggis. In any case, a movie about murderous robots that stars Christian Bale and apparently has tons of long takes can't possibly suck, right?

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deadlysquirrel writes:
on Jun 10 2009 03:17 AM

Hats off to MCG...Excellent and Amazing Film...9.5/10...Onward to 5 and 6 please...DVD directors cut release date please!!! Keep up the good work...

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Joggles writes:
on Jun 26 2009 02:34 AM

This interview is hilarious to watch after the fact. That movie was such a poorly written, acted, edited, and directed pile of utter ****. Interviews like this are such a joke, because I find it hard to believe someone that has risen to that stance in Hollywood could possibly be so ****ing stupid.

Never mind. Michael Bay is still alive and well. What the **** am I talking about. Maybe if everyone stopped going to these ****-fests, they'd stop being made. Everyone catches on real quick with a man like Uwe Boll, but when the CG gets cranked up and the explosions ARE SUPER HARSH BRAH everyone flocks to the cinema. Oy.

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