Terminator Salvation Director, McG talks about his upcoming movie

The Terminator Salvation fimmakers have been quite forthcoming on their current project; here is just a sampling of the latest observations they have made about their project from their Warner Bros. website:

Prometheus

We are half way through filming. Our teaser is in theaters and playing
before The Dark Knight.

You will see that this is a movie inspired by the first films, but is a true new beginning in that it takes place in the future.

All three Terminator films took place present day, with Terminators
traveling back in time to attack. This picture takes place after Judgment
Day. It happened. Everything is gone. The story of the movie is the "brink
moment" Reese always talked about.

From a technical perspective, we have set out to achieve a completely new
visual style that hasn't been seen before. We're shooting the film on color
stock but are using a method inspired by the Oz process which was developed
at Technicolor by Mike Zacharia and Bob Olson. Basically we are adding three
times as much silver. It creates a surreal texture that is in keeping with
the notion of the entire picture - feeling detached from the world we know
today.

Every morning and every night Christian and I work on the story. Sam's
contribution has been excellent. We are committed to putting the story and
character first and then supplementing that with action and visual effects.
It is our intention to make a film on a large scale with the nuance and
subtext of a high quality independent picture.

The richness of the story is really coming out now. It's a Prometheus tale
really, how creating life creates real responsibility - and if left
unchecked, can be our undoing.

The entire crew takes the making of this film very seriously. I made a point
of hiring key personnel that are passionate about getting this right.
Everyone is well versed in the mythology.

Comicon is this weekend. I look forward to sharing the film with the
passionate.



McG

(courtesy of rss.warnerbros.com)

Visual Effects Supervisor Charles Gibson talks Terminator Salvation

The Visual Effects Supervisor for Terminator Salvation, Charles Gibson, recently discussed his role in the making of the upcoming feature:


"Prior to Terminator Salvation, I worked on all three Pirates movies. Those worlds and characters were from a different time and place and had to be completely fabricated. This film plays in an altered but plausible version of our world. We're primarily concerned with bringing the Terminator elements home, to make you believe this reality could be just around the corner. It's a very different sort of challenge.

McG's take is to weave science fiction and horror elements into a state-of-the-art action film: The camera always moves, the imagery is raw and kinetic, the pace is insane. The creative challenge for me will be to bury the effects into the photography but to still protect our big visual moments.

Before Terminator 2: Judgment Day, visual effects films were frequently driven by technology -- you worked with what you had. With The Abyss and especially with Terminator 2: Judgment Day, James Cameron showed us that concept rules: When the director has a compelling new vision, the technology will follow. Cameron opened that gate for other filmmakers who in turn have pushed the visual effects industry in new directions.

We've been waiting to see this world for years -- it's only been glimpsed and hinted at in the previous Terminator movies. We're able to revisit the elements that have been established, but we're going to be adding a whole lot more."

(courtesy of rss.warnerbros.com)

New Terminator Salvation Teaser Poster and Teaser Trailer

Here they are; Warner Bros. recently released a new teaser poster as well as a new teaser trailer for the 2009 release. It's no surprise that the studio is anticipating a giant 'pop' of positive reactions for the trailer by having it out in time for screening before the new Batman: The Dark Knight movie:





... and the trailer:

Director McG revaels more about the Man versus Machine future of Terminator Salvation

Director McG offered up this insight into the grim and grimy future world setting of his upcoming Terminator Salvation:

One Possible Future

We're in the middle of week five. The New Mexico wind is kicking the shit out of the crew but providing a perfect backdrop for our post-apocalyptic world.

Sam tore a muscle on the left side of his ribs in a fight sequence. Neither of us wants to use a stunt double.

This movie takes place several years after Judgment Day, but prior to 2029. Just like it took a long time to get an HD plasma screen in our world, it took Skynet a lot of research and development to get to the T-800, and this movie explores that "space between." We have all been fascinated with the world after Judgment Day. Here it is.

In this film, there are Hydrobots that patrol the water, Transports that move human prisoners around, Harvesters that collect human beings as lab rats for Skynet and Aerostats that survey all that is going on with the resistance the world over.

We've started shooting the T-600 - the bigger, grimier, nastier version that preceded the T-800.

Like Reese says, they're easier to spot but they pack a mini gun and carry kick ass fire power. They're eight-foot tall killers that prowl the badlands looking for anything with a heartbeat to terminate.

Stan Winston, Production Designer Martin Laing and ILM came up with the designs and that thing is on Kyle Reese's ass throughout the entire picture. Wanted to achieve that bummer, rubbery skin, prosthetic look that cloaks an unrelenting machine with a singular focus of killing.

More to come...

Also, I realize my name is ridiculous. I was born Joseph McGinty Nichol. McG is short for McGinty. I have been called this since the day I was born to create separation from my Uncle Joe and Grandpa Joe. I realize it sounds like some Hollywood nickname, hip-hop choice. But the truth is, this is simply my name - for every day of elementary school, every zit-filled day of high school. I have been taking shit for it ever since. I get it, I would think it's lame too. But it's just a name, and to change it now would seem fraudulent.

Oh yeah, don't get too uptight about the prospect of the film being PG-13. We have entertained the idea of a PG-13 rating largely because Batman Begins, in my opinion, was made compromise-free. So we'll see. The movie comes first and it will be protected at all times…

By the way, there are only three people who know the ending.

The unknown future rolls toward us.

McG

(courtesy rss.warnerbros.com)