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Episode 4 takes us back to before the Terminators. Director McG brings his machines to London for a World premiere preview. Real.com’s Lisa Keddie reports:
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It wasn’t the life-sized T600 Terminator glaring out at us on the evening of the UK Terminator Salvation roadshow that got our full attention, but the rather likeable, visionary director McG (yes, that’s his real name, short for McGinty, and not some reject hip-hop star) commanding the floor like some over-energised motivational coach, ready to convince all that you, too, can believe in Terminator 4.
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The plot: Set in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor is the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. But, what the future Connor was raised to believe in, is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright, a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet’s operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind…
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Charlie’s Angels and former pop-video director McG admits that he was less than convinced by the notion of a fourth Terminator film, as he didn’t think it had potential for growth. That was until he hooked up with Jona(than) Nolan, brother of Chris Nolan, and screenwriter of the latest Batman film, The Dark Knight, to discuss story ideas for the latest chapter. They toyed with the idea of the ‘becoming’ story of John Connor - where did it all begin? The emphasis was then on a character story of how Connor became the leader of the Resistance. As far as McG was concerned, there was only one star credible enough to play Connor, and that was Batman himself, Christian Bale. Bale was only interested if it was a character story that was good enough to be re-enacted cold on stage, without any special effects.
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With the star onboard, the legendary, late Stan Winston, visual effects supervisor on the first three Terminator films, continued his role on Terminator Salvation until his death in June 2008. His former pupil and colleague of 25 years since the first Terminator movie, John Rosengrant, took up the supervisor reigns, admitting that it was an exciting opportunity to recreate the dark world that was hinted at in the previous episodes and results of the future wars. He also got to develop the characters of those films, in line with Winston’s wishes that not only did the art look good, but it performed well and became characters in its own right, not just effects.
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In this film, Rosengrant and team get to show the background of the machines and their evolution, mirroring the special effects’ evolution in reality. The team has moved on from a clay press-out (clay body) and carved endoskeleton of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the first film, to sculpting the ten new types of Terminators (found in the water, sky and roads) in the computer. The menacing Terminator on night was mainly made out of plastic and rubber, with some metal parts. Rosengrant claims that having the animatronics model in front of an actor actually gives them something to focus on and visualise. “There is a gritty, nasty, Soviet tank look to this movie”, says Rosengrant, who reveals that they used some new technologies invented for Iron Man on T4, such as new metallic paint jobs. They also expanded on the ground-breaking effects of T2, blending live action and computer effects by using prosthetic make-ups on some characters’ faces (sadly, not revealed).
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As well as Connor’s rise, the story is also about the character Marcus Wright, played by Sam Worthington, who is a prime example of Skynet getting up to its nastiness, and illustrates where humanity ends and machinery begins. McG likens this possible future advancement of technology to getting a new joint replacement today…
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So, what’s the new film like? Well, as awesome as the taster was, we were really only treated to a 7-minute montage of scenes and trailer footage, complete with green screens and wires still attached to actors, that did, indeed, depict the grittier, darker, more depressing tone of the Resistance’s beginnings and the making of Connor. In some war-movie-style scenes, ‘the Harvester’, much like the Martian machines in War of the Words, collects human prisoners for R&D to remove human tissue for the T600s. There are also elements of Aliens to this instalment with vertebrae/shell-covered Terminators-cum-motorbikes that build on the mystery of what is man and what is machine? T4 targets not only the die-hard Terminator enthusiasts, but sci-fi, action and war-film junkies, oh, and Christian Bale fans.
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If the film-makers’ aim is to honour the source material and take it to its highest level, then only time will tell, even if an eager McG is still in the midst of cutting the final print, and was curious to get our feedback. One thing the director was quick to clear up is the rumours surrounding the leaked ‘ending’ on the internet: Connor is NOT a machine, as has been suggested. There was also another burning question: What of the alleged appearance of Californian Governor Schwarzenegger’s face in the film, projected onto the face of a new T800 Terminator? McG reveals that there is a component to the film where Connor is made aware that the T800s are coming online, 10 years ahead of schedule. Indeed, the coming of the T800 is a big part of the movie, but McG played his cards close to his chest, blaming the Rosengrant effects gang for keeping exactly how, or if this will happen… One thing is for sure, says McG, “We better kick the sh*t out of Star Trek“!
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Terminator Salvation explodes onto UK screens on 5th June 2009.
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Watch the trailer:
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