Filmonic » Terminator

Terminator rights go to auction

Liam — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:47:00 +0000

Back in September we heard that Halcyon were interested in selling the rights to the Terminator franchise as they were trying to work their way out of bankruptcy. Now according to the Financial Times an auction for the rights will take place later this month.

Several financial buyers have expressed interest, including Platinum Equity, the Beverly Hills firm that owns Delphi, the auto parts maker .
All the big film studios have also registered interest in the rights, with Sony Pictures a leading contender, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Summit Entertainment, the company behind the Twilight series, is tracking the sale, as is Media Rights Capital, which produced Sacha Baron Cohen’s Bruno.

It will be interesting to see who wins the rights, and then to see what they do with them. Will they move forward with a sequel to Terminator Salvation, or will they wait a few years and make their own reboot?

Batman vs The Terminator

Liam — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:21:51 +0000

Some fanmade videos are crap, where as others are amazing. All I will say is watch this in HD!

Made by silverlightsaber

Since Christian Bale is starring as John Connor in May, I figured I’d make an interesting cross-over between the Terminator franchise and Bale’s other blockbuster franchise, Batman. The Terminator vs Batman, who wins? This was a very difficult crossover to make so I hope you enjoy it.

James Cameron on Terminator’s Origins and Terminator Salvation

Liam — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:11:29 +0000

In a rare move director James Cameron has written an article for Wired.com. In the piece he give us insite on how he first came about writing his Terminator outline in 1982, and his feelings on the current status of the Terminator franchise, with Terminator Salvation being released in May.

I’ve been fascinated ever since by our human propensity for dancing on the edge of the apocalypse. So when I wrote the first Terminator outline around 1982, I was just working out my childhood stuff. It was also born out of the science fiction movies and literature I grew up with. For the most part, they were warnings—about technology, about science, about the military and the government. You couldn’t escape those themes or the fear of nuclear holocaust.
I kind of turned my back on the Terminator world when there was early talk about a third film. I’d evolved beyond it. I don’t regret that, but I have to live with the consequence, which is that I keep seeing it resurrected. I’m not involved in Terminator Salvation. I’ve never read the script. I’m sure I’ll be paying 10 bucks to see it like everybody else.
Meanwhile, the original film was recently selected for preservation by the National Film Registry. So there’s a good possibility that when the machines actually do take over someday, The Terminator will still be in existence. And the machines can have a good electronic laugh about that.

You can read the whole thing by clicking here! (Highly recommended)

Terminator: The Return of the Terminator?

Liam — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:30:29 +0000

…that is the new title of the next Terminator movie, according to Chud.

I’m not saying I have sources on WB’s Burbank lot, but I do hear things. And while there’s a lot of intentional disinformation leaking out of this production (sorry, but no Terminator Babies), I am 100% certain that the title is the approved-by-McG replacement.

Warner Brothers decided not to go with Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, which was a good idea. But I don’t see how this title is an improvement.

Batman: The Return of the Batman
X-Men: The Return of the X-Men
Charlies Angels: Return of the Charlies Angels

…it just doesn’t sound right. A title should never repeat the same word twice, apart from ‘the’, ‘and’ or ‘of’.

I think they should either cut it down to simply Return of the Terminator, or come up with something different. But then again this is not confirmed yet so we could still end up with a decent title.

Young Kyle Reese Being Cast?

Liam — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:25:19 +0000

Anyone recognize this strapping young lad? His name is Anton Yelchin, and he is in negotiations to play a young Kyle Reese in the new Terminator movie. Anton has been in a number of films, most recently Charlie Bartlett and Alpha Dog (with Justin Timberlake), the Showtime series “Huff”, and has a cool starring role in the upcoming feature by director/producer J.J. Abrams, a little flick called Star Trek.

Apparently, the Reese in this movie is going to befriend a character named Marcus (played by Sam Worthington), who is an early version of the Terminator played by Arnold in the first three films.

There seems to be an underlying tone in the film and TV versions of the whole Terminator series, that machines can learn to love. We see this with The Terminator and John Connor in T2 and T3, and I think it’s being hinted at in “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”. Maybe we’ll see a side of the Terminators that think for themselves, out of love and a conscience, rather than them just being on a mission.

I have come to love the new Terminator TV series, and I think they should totally bring Summer Glau into the film versions as well. She may be small, but she’s mighty!

On a side note: it is also being said that Paul Haggis, Academy Award-winning scribe of Crash, Million Dollar Baby, and Casino Royale (as well as the upcoming Quantum of Solace) is in talks to script the sequel to Terminator Salvation. I LOVE Paul Haggis, and I can’t think of anyone better to take on the project. His versatility in writing (as shown with the movies listed above) ensure an action packed flick with lots of depth. Hope this happens!

Sam Worthington Joins Terminator!

Liam — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:48:55 +0000

Joining Christian Bale in Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, is Australian actor Sam Worthington. according to Variety. Sam nearly got the lead in GI Joe but had to pull out due to filming commitments for James Cameron’s Avatar. He seems to be an actor to watch out for over the upcoming years so make a mental note of his name and face.

The fact the Australian actor just played the lead in the James Cameron-directed “Avatar” is no coincidence. Cameron recommended Worthington to “Terminator Salvation” director McG, indicating that the director of the first two “Terminator” installments might be warming to the new pic.
While the “Terminator Salvation” plot has twists and turns that are being kept under tight wraps, Worthington will play the role of Marcus, a central figure in a three-picture arc that begins after Skynet has destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust. A group of survivors led by John Connor (Christian Bale) struggles to keep the machines from finishing the job.
Sources said McG spoke on the phone recently with Cameron, who is in New Zealand working on “Avatar.” It was during that chat that he recommended Worthington, who in “Avatar” plays a paraplegic war veteran from Earth who’s brought to another planet inhabited by a race of humanoids at odds with Earth’s inhabitants.

Its rather cool that Cameron himself recommended Worthington but it’s was a shame that they took Cameron’s films and after a huge battle over the rights, and made T3. Cameron wanted the films to end after Terminator 2: Judgement Day. But now we are getting a whole new trilogy we might as well look forward to it. The director may not be who I’d chose to make a futuristic robot battle movie but I suppose it could be worse. The film has Christian Bale, who wouldn’t have gone with the role of John Conner if the script wasn’t up to par.

Now that the writers strike is officially over, the script will go through a re-write and filming should begin soon after.

Movies We Can Now Look Forward To As The Writers Strike Draws To A Close!

Liam — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 19:23:05 +0000

Since the 5th November 2007 members of the Writers Guild of America have not written, typed, engraved or sprayed any words down on whatever they would normally write, type, engrave or spray on. People have lost jobs, sleep and most likely, weight, due to all the protesting instead of sat on their backends writing. But most importantly, production on some of the most anticipated movies ever have been halted.

In most cases the studios have done what they can under the circumstances, such as storyboarding, thinking and possibly scribbling down those thoughts down. But no script means no filming. So now that the writers could be back at work within days, what movies can we now look forward to?

In no particular order…

The Hobbit

Just over a month after the writers began their strike it was announced that Peter Jackson and New Line has sorted out their problems and Peter would indeed be involved with The Hobbit. As Jackson was busy with The Lovely Bones and Tintin, he would not be directing, but would be an executive producer and will have creative control, along with writing the script with Fran Walsh. It is thought that if Peter has finished with Tintin, he could then direct the second Hobbit film.

Recently Guillermo del Toro has been linked to the directors chair, with some saying he is a 100% lock, however Toro has said that even though he would love to direct, it is not certain yet. TheOneRing.net think that all will be well once the writers strike ends, and Guillermo del Toro will sit comfortably in the directors chair.

Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Andy Serkis, Viggo Mortensen, Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood and Christopher Lee have all said they would reprise their roles should they be needed. Now that writing is no longer considered morally wrong, we will be going back to Middle Earth in 2010!

Transformers 2

With Transformers being a hit for Paramount last year, it didn’t take a robot that can change into a stereo to realise what is going to happen next. A release date of June 26th 2009 was set two months before the strike and writers of the first film , Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, were brought on-board. Then the strike happened and things were put on hold. Director Micheal Bay did what he could to try and move the production forward, even saying he was writing some of the script himself.

“We knew from early on that the writers strike could get ugly, and this has got to bring a little sanity to the situation,” Bay said. “I can’t do the movie without my writers, but I have been prepping. I’m not in the guild, but I’ve been writing every day. This strike (is) insane, and a director’s responsibility is to the 50 crew members who depend on you for their livelihoods. We’ve got battle plans ready for the possibility of an actors strike. Somehow, you’ve got to keep the ball rolling.”

Now things can start rolling forward, with Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Peter Cullen and everyone else expected to return. Its is unknown whether the June 2009 date will stick, but they can damn well aim for it!

Thor

Marvel brought Matthew Vaughn on board to direct the thunder God after he expressed interest during his X-Men 3 days. I Am Legend screenwriter Mark Protosevich was also hired and the duo embarked on a weekend writing the script and eventually handed it in to Marvel. The good news was that they loved it, the bad news was that it would cost up to $300 million to make, so Vaughn and Protosevich would have to make some changes to get it down to $150 million. A month later the strike occurred so everything was put on hold. In December Mark Protosevich spoke about the films status:

“That project is as much a passion project for me as ‘I Am Legend,’” he said. “I was a comic book kid. Thor was my absolute favorite.”
Once the writers’ strike is over, production can start and Protosevich says audiences will be “pleasantly surprised” by this interpretation of the character. It’s much more rooted in the Norse roots of the character, he says.
“There used to be a segment in the Thor comics called ‘Tales of Asgard’ — and it’s much more akin to that,” he said. “It really is set in that world. It does deal with Earth. The primary focus we’re taking on it is really all about the Norse myths.”

Marvel signed a deal with the WGA a couple of weeks back, so things may very well be happening now. Matthew Vaughn has expressed interesting in filming at the end of 2008 in the UK, and says he has someone in mind to play Thor, but wouldn’t indicate whom…

Tintin

The reason Peter Jackson wont be directing The Hobbit is due to this adventurous fellow. Jackson and Steven Spielberg have decided to make a Tintin trilogy, Jackson will direct the first movie, and Speilberg the second. But not only that it will be in 3D and they will be using similar motion capture technology to that of James Cameron’s Avatar. There is no word on who will direct the third, but that is years away so they have time to get someone. The only problem is that you have two amazing directors doing the first movies, so someone of equal greatness will have to take on the job and finish the trilogy, which will no doubt be a hard task.

In September 2007, Dr. Who writer Steven Moffat was hired to write the screenplay for the three films. Whether his Britishness helped the production as he could continue writing is unknown, but writing a trilogy would usually take someone a long time. Andy Serkis is the only cast member announced, and many suspect he will be playing Captain Haddock. Serkis has said that he has already done some work for Tintin in New Zealand, and filming is expected to begin in September.

Magneto

The X-Men Trilogy rounded up back in 2006, so FOX decided to continue the X-Men world with spin-off’s. We have X-Men Origins: Wolverine currently filming now, but what happened to Magneto?

Back in 2004 Sheldon Turner was hired to write an X-Men spin-off, which ended up being Magneto. Turner’s intent for the film was to examine Magneto’s “psychological roots”. The plot would also deal with the character’s friendship with Charles Xavier which eventually turned sour. FOX waited to get X-Men 3 out of the way and in April 2007 they announced that Blade Trinity director David S. Goyer would be directing, with a 2009 release planned.

In August, Goyer said that they were busy scouting for filming locations, possibly in Europe and Argentina, and sorting out the budget. Then in September 2007 a list of ‘priority movies’ was released, with studios wanting to fast-track some movies due to the impending strike. Magneto was listed with a January start date. However, that date came and went and Goyer is currently focused on an ‘untitled supernatural thriller’. No doubt the strike meant that he could not de re-writes and FOX decided to put the film on hold. Now the strike is over they can either wait for Goyer to finish off his other projects, or get another director on board.

Jurassic Park IV

It all started back in 2002 when screenwriter William Monahan was hired to write the first draft, with an aim of 2005 for the film’s released. Then a re-write took place in 2004 by John Sayles, which focused on a new character called Nick Harris who is hired to train five genetically modified Deinonychus as mercenaries. By April 2005 the film was still not ready, with Steven Spielberg not happy with the script, saying “He felt neither of [the drafts] balanced the science and adventure elements effectively. It’s a tough compromise to reach, as too much science will make the movie too talky, but too much adventure will make it seem hollow.”

By 2007 Sam Neil said he had not been contacted to reprise his role as Dr. Alan Grant, however Laura Dern had been contacted regarding the film, as had Richard Attenborough. Now that the strike is over they can focus on finally getting the script ready and hiring a director with Universal still aiming for a 2009 release date.

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

Prince of Persia is being produced by super-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who also is responsible for Pirates Of The Caribbean and is based on the video game, which follows an adventurous prince who teams up with a rival princess to stop an angry ruler from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy the world. There were rumours floating around that Michael Bay was up for directing, however Mike Newell was eventually hired as director. Writer Jordan Mechner discussed the status of the film in January:

I wrote the first draft and several revisions over a period of about a year and a half. Two more years of development followed, in which additional revisions were done by (in this order): Jeff Nachmanoff, Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro and Carlo Bernard. That sounds like a crazy number of writers, but the original screenplay structure, plot and characters have survived the whole process pretty much intact. It’s still very much the same movie John August and I pitched to Disney and Bruckheimer back in 2004 — it’s been streamlined in certain ways, souped up in others. It’s a good, solid story and I think it’ll be very satisfying on screen.
The movie is in pre-production. At this moment there’s no way to know how long the writers’ strike will last, or if the directors’ and actors’ guilds will strike as well. It’s a very insecure time for the whole industry. A lot of big movies that were set to go, now aren’t. I was really hoping that Mike Newell would be the one to direct this movie and I was ecstatic when he agreed, but it was bittersweet because I only had about 24 hours to rejoice before the writers’ strike began.
I support my guild and the writers’ cause, so until the strike is resolved I can’t meet with Newell and the Bruckheimer execs or contribute further to the development of the movie. It’s frustrating because I’ve been dreaming of a Prince of Persia movie, basically, for 20 years, and now at this key moment when the project has finally found the right director and he’s brimming with enthusiasm and excitement, I can’t even meet with him.

The film is aiming to start filming in June for a 2009 release date. It would be mighty useful to complete the script and hire some actors before then.

Venom/Spiderman 4

The greedy bastards at Sony have apparently got three more Spiderman films lined up for us, after the Trilogy took in nearly $2.5 billion worldwide. Director Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst have said that they would return if each other did, but it is for Sony and Marvel to decide whether they go in a complete new direction, or whether they carry on from Spiderman 3. Sony hired Spiderman writer David Koepp to write a script in January 2007. In October 2007, Raimi said that he and the studio were looking for a new writer that would have a brand new take on the Spider-Man series. Raimi would relinquish creative control of the sequel’s story and focus on either directing or producing the script. Zodiac screenwriter James Vanderbilt was eventually hired and spoke about writing and the strike.

“It’s sort of an odd process because you’re sitting down with the people who made the first three and going, ‘Well let me tell you what to do.’
“But I was lucky enough that they were interested in me and I’m a huge fan of those movies, so we closed that up right before the strike. Once the strike’s over I get to go to work,” he added.

There are also reports that producer Avi Arad spoke about making a movie based on the Spiderman 3 villain Venom. Apparently a number of ‘A-List’ writers have met with the studio to discuss the project, and will probably get down to work once the strike comes to an end.

World of WarCraft

WarCraft began is 1994 and has since become a gaming phenomenon with over 9 million people playing worldwide and over 15 million minutes of the game being played every day. However, the gamers shouldn’t expect storylines from the game being translated to the big screen as Blizzard feel it be too similar to Lord of The Rings. Instead, the storyline will follow events before the first World of WarCraft game as tensions between all of the different races of the universe grow, which will result in battles similar to those seen in 300, Braveheart and Alexander.

Legendary Pictures are aiming for an epic action movie that will be around 2 hours 30 minutes but as of now no director has been announced and the strike prevented the script from being developed. Designers of the game were collaborating with Legendary Pictures on the story and script and want someone of Zack Snyder calibre directing, which will hopefully please the gaming community.

Honourable mentions go to Justice League, Fantastic Four 3, Conan The Barbarian, Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, Angels & Demons and all of the other movies that can now develop thanks to a deal being struck!

Terminator Salvation Details

Liam — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 19:07:51 +0000

New details about the upcoming Terminator trilogy have popped up online thanks to SCI FI Wire. They got a chance to talk with James Middleton, an associate producer on the films. He spoke about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s involvement. The original Terminator will have no part in the fourth or any of the other films, as long as he is still the Governor of California. That sucks in a way, but he does have an important job to do. There is also the fact that the films are set before Arnie’s character is sent back in time, to what we saw in the previous films. Middleton also tells us more:

“It’s set after the events of ‘Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,’ where we see the nuclear exchange at the end of the movie, and we show what the world is like after this event, and we show how people try to deal in a post-apocalyptic world,” Middleton said. “And we introduce a new character, who becomes very important to the resistance and to John Connor, a new hero. It’s really about the birth of a new hero.”
He added that John Connor will certainly be a central character in the film as well. “I would look at him as a character that is introduced and that will grow in the second and third movies of the trilogy,” he said about the character, to be played by Christian Bale.
T3 writers Michael Ferris and John D. Brancato penned the script for Terminator Salvation, which will be helmed by McG. “We’re in active preproduction,” Middleton said. “We hope that the [writers'] strike ends soon so we can do a rewrite, but we’re planning on going into production in April.”

Everything sounds good. It seems we may get the war we have all been waiting for. The fact that Christian Bale is on board gives the project much more weight, and gives me more faith. Roll on 2009!

Bale as John Connor?

Liam — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 17:01:04 +0000

It’s been making the rounds for the past few days, but just how true is it?

Last week, Ain’t It Cool News reported that none other than Christian Bale has been cast in the role of John Connor in the upcoming Terminator: Salvation movie.

Then, just a few hours later, the boys over at Chud reported that they had received a similar scoop, but one difference. Bale wouldn’t be playing Connor, but instead, the new Terminator himself. So just what the heck is going on here?

Truthfully, who cares? Bale has grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years as one of the best actors of our generation. We know that he takes his roles VERY seriously (take The Machinist for example), and regardless of what he is going to play in the new Terminator film, he’s going to kick ass. Now, it just all depends on the script. I’m sure McG won’t want to disappoint the fans of the series, and he struck gold by casting Bale in a role. Now he just has to not fuck it up.

So, there you have it. Bale is in Terminator 4, we just don’t know as what yet. More as it develops.

- Jeff Heimbuch

Terminator To Return…Again

Liam — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:16:33 +0000

While the last entry of the Terminator trilogy is still fresh on our minds, and a new TV series is just around the bend, that doesn’t mean that Hollywood is quite finished with the killer machines on the big screen just yet.

It’s been rumored for awhile, but now it is official. McG will be directing the first of a purposed new trilogy of the Terminator franchise. This new film, currently titled Terminator Salvation, takes place in the future, where the full-scale war between Skynet and humankind is already underway.

McG’s latest movie was We Are Marshall, which I heard good things about. He also directed the Charlie’s Angels movies (which still dominates many adolescent boy’s dreams).

I disliked Rise of the Machines more than most people, but I am interested in seeing how this new trilogy expands the mythology of the original films (and fits into the new television series).

- Jeff Heimbuch