Bale as John Connor?

[Kid_Eternity]

T3's not trying to say anything about time travel or the human condition, it's just there to make money.

And the first two films were arthouse movies made for the pure love of the form?

 

[kyser_soze]

Kicks off in February, according to their PR. Apparently, there may be a romance between John Connor and the girl Terminator played by Summer Glau. Which, while it's a logical extrapolation of the "humanised" Terminator storyline in T2 ("I know naow why yoo cray..."), is a bit... sick. I mean, John's basically going to be forming an emotional attachment to one of those RealDoll things...

SG

They couldn't get Lokken?

Meh.

Altho I guess thingy and thingy from T1 would be getting on a bit now *feels bad at forgetting the names of 2 Cameron regulars*

 

[elevendayempire]

From Firefly? I didnt know that, Fantastic!

Yeah:

http://www.joblo.com/terminator-posters

If I'm being honest, she was the only thing I didn't like in the pilot ep. There are these scenes where she's pretending to be a fellow student in John's classroom, and she's too convincing as a human girl. There needed to be some bit in there where she's talking flirty banter with him and as soon as he looks away, she just switches off.

Oh, and she does her Serenity martial-arts routine at one point, which is just wrong. Terminators just walk up to you and smack you one, they don't do balletic high kicks...

SG

 

[elevendayempire]

They couldn't get Lokken?

She did BloodRayne with Uwe Boll, she's not exactly in demand at the moment. I'm sure if they wanted her, they could've got her. Anyway, Glau's playing an old T-800 model, like Arnie.

SG

 

[kyser_soze]

Ah yeah, the appalling sort-of-follow-up to Equilibrium...is it as bad as everyone said it is?

 

[elevendayempire]

And the first two films were arthouse movies made for the pure love of the form?

(Sigh). God forbid that something should try and do both. Or are you one of those only-arthouse-films-with-an-audience-of-three-people-have-any-artistic-merit types? One of those ones who ignores commercial realities and totally disregards the fact that artists have always worked for money?

The first two Terminator films are schlock action films, yes. But they at least have some interesting themes woven throughout them, which is why they've lasted rather better than, say, Commando.

SG

 

[Kid_Eternity]

(Sigh). God forbid that something should try and do both. Or are you one of those only-arthouse-films-with-an-audience-of-three-people-have-any-artistic-merit types? One of those ones who ignores commercial realities and totally disregards the fact that artists have always worked for money?

The first two Terminator films are schlock action films, yes. But they at least have some interesting themes woven throughout them, which is why they've lasted rather better than, say, Commando.

SG

My point is both the first films were just hollywood films, not great creative works (in fact the first was ripped off from Harlen Ellison if you know your Terminator history), it was obvious from the start they'd turn into a crappy franchise if they did well...you take James Cameron FAR too seriously!

 

[stdPikachu]

But doesn't this change the central message to one that given certain actions, given certain situations, we can only delay, not stop the future?

I think you're missing the key point of T3 - the only thing certain about space/time is that greedy Hollywood fuckwits will slap a sacred label on anything if they think it'll fill their pockets with benjamins. The story was a complete non-sequitur compared to the first two, and the unrelentingly depressing vibe was clearly there as a subliminal "but we humans are sure as hell gonna kick ass when we fight the machines in the next sequel, just you wait!" message for those of us who really, really wanted there to be a fitting conclusion to the affair (not that the first two films left a whole lot to wrap up).

Edit: damnit, elevendayempire got there first. Must stop hitting "reply" and then actually writing it half an hour later.

Altho I guess thingy and thingy from T1 would be getting on a bit now *feels bad at forgetting the names of 2 Cameron regulars*

Not sure which thingies you're on about, but Biehn is one of those actors who's only any good with a director like Cameron, and Linda Hamilton was approached for a role in T3 but turned it down when she saw the script.

 

[elevendayempire]

My point is both the first films were just hollywood films, not great creative works (in fact the first was ripped off from Harlen Ellison if you know your Terminator history)

No it wasn't. Harlan Ellison's just a lawsuit-happy old git. I note that he's currently engaged in sending threatening letters to Paramount over the plot of the new Star Trek film, claiming that he's entitled to something because it uses a plot element from his old episode City on the Edge of Forever. An episode which he wrote under contract to Paramount, and which they own all the rights to.

Just so happens he got lucky with The Terminator; it's not as if the story he claims it ripped off was particularly original, after all...

And yeah, I love The Terminator and will defend it to the hilt. It's the film that made me want to be a director. Which, by the way, I shall be doing in a few short weeks - got my first short film funded!

SG

 

[Augie March]

Summer Glau as a Teriminator?? That maybe the coolest thing I've ever heard!


It also gives me another excuse to post this gem from xkcd:

(For those not in the know, River Tam is the character she played in Firefly )

 

[kyser_soze]

Their prayers could be answered...apparently Frank Miller is eith er in pre-pro of filming his 'cmore corpses per page than any other comic' story, Hard Boiled...

 

[wishface]

Sounds crap. Sin City was dreadful ugly shite.

Is VIn Diesel still the new terminator in this one?

(or one of them).

 

[elevendayempire]

Holy Screaming Jesus. CHUD.com is reporting that Bale's actually up for the role of the Terminator:

http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=news&id=12655

Which makes me very, very excited.

SG

 

[Poi E]

Holy Screaming Jesus. CHUD.com is reporting that Bale's actually up for the role of the Terminator:

http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=news&id=12655

Which makes me very, very excited.

SG

 

[Iguana]

Also, this film is being directed by McG. The bloke who did the Charlie's Angels films, for Christ's sake.

But have you seen Chuck he's executive producer on that and it is very good.

And Christian Bale really doesn't have an eye for a good script. He hasn't displayed the best judgment in the past; after American Psycho he was being lauded as a great actor, but he kept picking bloody awful action-movie scripts (like Equilibrium, Reign of Fire and Shaft).

Got to agree with that and add The Prestige. Even if my husband helped make one of them.

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

Got to agree with that and add The Prestige. Even if my husband helped make one of them.

The Prestige was utterly superb.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

And yeah, I love The Terminator and will defend it to the hilt. It's the film that made me want to be a director. Which, by the way, I shall be doing in a few short weeks - got my first short film funded!

SG

Well I think you're bonkers but congrats on the funding, that's fucking cool. I've a mate who wants to get to that level, he's involved Reel Networks, heard of it?

 

[gnoriac]

So pleeease tell me it's not gonna be Arnie comes back as bog-standard Terminator who's rilly nice despite being inhuman to defeat more highly-specced model. Which is what the last two films have been. [yawns] Or is it same thing replace Arnie with Christian Bale?

And I must say, every time I see the cheap and cheerful 1st Terminator film I love it more and more.

 

[Belushi]

And I must say, every time I see the cheap and cheerful 1st Terminator film I love it more and more.

Its a classic. Haven't watched it for a few years, must see it again.

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

I rewatched it recently, it's still v.good.

 

[SpookyFrank]

So pleeease tell me it's not gonna be Arnie comes back as bog-standard Terminator who's rilly nice despite being inhuman to defeat more highly-specced model. Which is what the last two films have been. [yawns] Or is it same thing replace Arnie with Christian Bale?

And I must say, every time I see the cheap and cheerful 1st Terminator film I love it more and more.

Arnie's busy running California remember.

 

[longdog]

Surely the whole point of sending the Terminators back through time in the first place was that John Connor was the deciding factor in winning the war. So we already know the humans win in the end so what's the point in watching a load of whizz-zap-kapow bollocks?

I can't see them being other than a pile of old pants.

 

[scifisam]

Nah, the first two films function as mirrors to each other. Terminator presents a view of the future as an inexorable, inescapable clockwork; John Connor is destined to be the saviour of the human race, and nothing the Terminator, Reese or Sarah Connor do will prevent that from occuring.

Terminator 2 turns that on its head, by showing that the predestination paradox of the first film (in destroying the Terminator, Sarah causes the creation of Skynet) on its head. The future isn't set; they're not trapped in this cycle of destiny. And in doing so, by exercising free will in the face of the inevitable, John Connor becomes the true saviour of humanity, by preventing the apocalypse from happening at all. James Cameron is rather cleverer than people give him credit for.

And the Terminator story is finished. It should've ended there. But unfortunately, it's become a franchise, and the producers want a third film; the apocalypse has to happen not because of any great message the producers hope to convey, but because they need a future war from which Skynet can sent a Terminator back in time, so they can continue the franchise. T3's not trying to say anything about time travel or the human condition, it's just there to make money. Of course, the "inevitable apocalypse" briefly seems cool and "dark", in that cynical, adolescent way... but it utterly undermines the point of the first two films.

SG

I agree with every word of that.

T1 was astonishing - simple, terrifying, well-acted (even Arnie - because he was BORN to be an emotionless brutal robot on film);

T2 was fun, and had some very interesting elements, great effects, and I liked the way it didn't shy away from the effect the experience of T1 would have had on Sarah Connor;

T3 was painful to watch, and utterly pointless.

If I read OK reviews and have the time spare, I might watch another Terminator movie with Christian Bale in it - he does perfectly fit the image of the watchful, scarred, determined adult John Connor we glimpsed in T1. It might be OK as a movie in itself (or a movie franchse in itself) as long as I can separate it from the films it's supposed to spring from. If that makes any sense

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

Quite good article here