Terminator Salvation

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Information about Terminator Salvation

Terminator Salvation is a 2009 (3 years ago) American science fiction film, the fourth installment in the Terminator series, directed by McG, and starring Christian Bale as future Resistance leader John Connor and Sam Worthington as cyborg Marcus Wright. The movie also introduces a young Kyle Reese from the original 1984 (28 years ago) film, played by Anton Yelchin, as well as depicting the origin of the T-800 Model 101 Terminator. Terminator Salvation, set in 2018, focuses on the war between humanity and Skynet - a departure from the previous installments, which were set on the present day and featured time travel.

After a troubled pre-production, with The Halcyon Company acquiring the rights for the franchise from Andrew G. Vajna and Mario Kassar and several writers working on the screenplay, filming began in May 2008 (4 years ago) in New Mexico and ran for 77 days. The movie is currently the most expensive independent production in history. Terminator Salvation was released on May 21, 2009 (3 years ago) in the United States and Canada, followed by early Jun. releases in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The movie was met with mixed to negative critical reviews and failed to meet box office expectations with $371 million worldwide.

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Plot

In 2003 (9 years ago), Dr. Serena Kogan (Helena Bonham Carter) of Cyberdyne Systems convinces death row inmate Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) to sign his body over for medical research following his execution by lethal injection. One year later, the Skynet system is activated, perceives humans as a threat to its own existence, and eradicates much of humanity in the event known as Judgment Day (see Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines). In 2018, John Connor (Christian Bale) leads an attack by the Resistance on a Skynet base. John discovers human prisoners and plans for the development of a new type of Terminator incorporating living tissue, but is the only apparent survivor of the attack after the base is destroyed in a nuclear explosion. However, Marcus emerges from the wreckage of the base and proceeds on foot to Los Angeles.

John returns to Resistance headquarters located aboard a nuclear submarine and tells General Ashdown (Michael Ironside), the current leader, of his discovery. Meanwhile, the Resistance has discovered a radio frequency believed to be capable of shutting down Skynet machines. They plan to launch an offensive against the Skynet base in San Francisco in four days, in response to an intercepted "kill list" indicating that Skynet plans to kill the Resistance's command staff in four days' time. John learns that his own name is second on the list, following Kyle Reese. The Resistance leaders are unaware of Kyle's importance to Skynet, but John knows that it is because Kyle will later become his father (see The Terminator). John meets with his officer Barnes (Common) and wife Kate (Bryce Dallas Howard) and sends radio broadcasts to Resistance members and surviving civilians around the world.

Arriving in the ruins of Los Angeles, Marcus is saved from a T-600 Terminator by Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) and his mute companion Star (Jadagrace Berry). Kyle relates to Marcus the events of Judgment Day and the ensuing war between humans and machines. Hearing John's radio broadcast, the three leave Los Angeles in search of the Resistance. They survive an attack by machines, but Kyle, Star, and several other humans are taken prisoner, while a pair of Resistance A-10s are shot down. Marcus locates downed pilot Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood) and they make their way to John's base, but Marcus is wounded by a magnetic land mine. Attempting to save his life, the Resistance fighters discover that he is in fact a cyborg with human organs, a mechanical endoskeleton, circuitry, and a partially artificial cerebral cortex. Marcus believes himself to be human, demanding to be released so that he can save Kyle from Skynet, but John believes that Marcus has come to kill him and orders his destruction. However, Blair releases him and helps him to escape from the base. During the resulting pursuit Marcus saves John's life from Skynet hydrobots, and the two form an alliance�Marcus will enter Skynet's headquarters and attempt to disable its defenses so that John can rescue Kyle.

John demands that Ashdown delay the attack so that he can rescue Kyle and the other prisoners, but Ashdown refuses and relieves John of his command. However, John's soldiers remain loyal to him and obey his command not to attack the Skynet base. Meanwhile, Marcus enters the base and interfaces with the computer, disabling the perimeter defenses and allowing John to infiltrate the cell block and release the human prisoners. The Resistance's disabling signal is revealed to be a ruse, and the command submarine with the Resistance leaders aboard is destroyed by a Hunter-Killer.

Marcus discovers that he was created by Skynet and has unwittingly fulfilled his programmed mission to lure John into the base to be killed. He tears out the hardware linking him to Skynet and leaves to assist John in battling a T-800 model 101 Terminator. John is mortally wounded during the fight, but succeeds in destroying the Skynet base by rigging several Terminator hydrogen fuel cells to an explosive, detonating them as he, Marcus, Kyle, and Star are airlifted out. Kate attempts to save John's life, but his heart is too damaged. Marcus offers his own heart for transplant, sacrificing himself to save John. Recovering, John radios to the other Resistance fighters that though this battle has been won, the war is far from over.

Cast

Christian Bale as John Connor: A soldier in the Resistance waging war against Skynet after it destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust, who is destined to become humanity's leader. Director McG deemed Bale "the most credible action star in the world" during development. McG wanted Bale for Marcus, but the actor � even though he "can't really remember why" � wanted to play John, and that led to the character's role getting expanded in rewrites of the script. Bale was the first person to be cast and signed on for the role in Nov. 2007 (5 years ago). McG talked extensively with Bale in the UK about the role while the latter was filming The Dark Knight (13 walls), and they both agreed to proceed. Although a fan of the Terminator series, he was at first uninterested, until McG convinced him the story would be character-based and not rely on special effects. They kept working on the story every day, along with Worthington. McG said Bale broke his hand punching a Terminator prop during filming. Bale also spent six to eight hours each day with McG in the editing room to advise the finished product.
Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright: A mysterious man on death row for murder who donated his body to Cyberdyne Systems for experimentation. His last memory is of being on death row, and John is at first unsure of whether Wright is trustworthy. Terminator creator James Cameron personally recommended Worthington (whom he directed in Avatar) to McG. Russell Crowe also recommended him to McG. The director decided Worthington looked tougher than the "great many of today's [waify] young male actors". Worthington recalled Cameron told him "the Terminator to make is the one with the war". Worthington tore his intercostal muscles during the first weeks of filming, but he nevertheless insisted on performing his own stunts. McG had originally asked Christian Bale to play the role, but the latter insisted on portraying John instead, and to expand the character's role. The former once expressed interest in casting Daniel Day-Lewis or Josh Brolin in the part as well. Brolin did talk to Bale and read a draft of the screenplay, which he found "interesting and dark, [but] ultimately, though, I didn't think it felt right".
Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese: A teenage refugee and admirer of John Connor and the Resistance. As portrayed by Michael Biehn in The Terminator, he was sent back in time to 1984 (28 years ago) to protect Sarah Connor (8 walls) to ensure the survival of the human race, and fathered John with her. Yelchin said he wanted to portray Reese as Biehn did and not make him appear weaker because it was a younger version of the character. The difference in his portrayal lies in showing Reese as intense, but not concentrated until he joins the resistance proper. Yelchin tried to convey Reese's intensity by focusing on how fast Biehn appeared when running in the original film.
Bryce Dallas Howard as Kate Connor: John's wife, who is seven months pregnant. Charlotte Gainsbourg was originally set to play the part, but left due to scheduling conflicts with another film. As portrayed by Claire Danes in the third film, Kate was a veterinarian; but in this film, she is now a physician. Howard suggested, as part of the character's backstory, that Kate studied medical books and interviewed many surviving doctors after the events of Judgment Day. The film's subject matter reminded her of developing countries, devastated by war and lack basic supplies such as clean water, which "reflects things that are going on currently in this privileged world that we are living in where there hasn't been an apocalypse and robots haven't taken over the world. I think that's something definitely for us to reinvestigate and that we continue to make choices for our own future to take that into consideration". Howard also focused on Kate "being accustomed to fear and loss" because the character was a military brat.
Moon Bloodgood as Blair Williams: Suffering from survivor's guilt, Blair is a "no-nonsense and battle-hardened" pilot of the Resistance and the romantic interest for Marcus as well. McG characterizes her as continuing the feminine strength that has been prominent throughout the franchise.
Common as Barnes: A resistance soldier and John's right-hand man.
Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Serena Kogan: Before Judgment Day, Serena was an ex-Cyberdyne scientist with terminal cancer working on advanced technology, convincing Marcus to donate his body to Project Angel for her "research", which will fall into the hands of Skynet. Her face was later used by the Skynet computer in order to communicate with Marcus. Tilda Swinton was originally considered for the part, but Bonham Carter replaced her before filming. She accepted the part because her partner, Tim Burton, is a Terminator fan. Her role was a "small but pivotal" one and would only require ten days of shooting. On Jul. 20, 2008 (4 years ago), Bonham Carter delayed filming by a day, and was given an indefinite leave due to the death of four of her family members in a minibus accident in South Africa.
Roland Kickinger as the T-800 Model 101: The first Terminator covered in living human tissue built as Skynet's newest weapon for the extermination of humankind. Arnold Schwarzenegger's facial likeness was utilized via CGI, with a mold of his face made in 1984 (28 years ago) scanned to create the digital makeup. Fellow Austrian bodybuilder and actor Kickinger, who previously portrayed Schwarzenegger in the 2005 (7 years ago) biographical movie See Arnold Run, was his physical double on set. When asked about his role, Kickinger said it's "Arnold's character in the first Terminator. That's basically my role, but 20 years before, so it establishes how the Terminator came about." Polish strongman athlete Mariusz Pudzianowski was also considered for doubling Schwarzenegger. If Schwarzenegger had decided not to lend his appearance to the film, then John would have shot the T-800's face off before the audience got a good look at him.
Jadagrace Berry as Star: A nine-year-old girl in Reese's care. Born after Judgment Day, Star is mute due to the trauma of the post-apocalyptic world. However, this has given her the unnatural ability to sense when a Skynet machine is approaching.
Michael Ironside as General Ashdown: As a former commander from the United States Armed Forces, Ashdown serves as the leader of the Resistance, who views John Connor as nuisance yet also sees him as an asset because of his extensive knowledge of the Skynet machines.
Linda Hamilton as the uncredited voice of Sarah Connor (8 walls): Hamilton is heard from tapes Sarah recorded before her death prior to the film's events to warn John of the future war.

Production

Development

In 1999 (13 years ago), two years after C2 pictures (wallpaper) purchased the rights to the franchise, two Terminator films' premises were mapped out and were supposed to be developed simultaneously. Tedi Sarafian was hired to write Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, which he eventually received shared story credit for, while David C. Wilson was to write Terminator 4. Before any revisions were done, T3 initially took place in 2001 (11 years ago) and revolved around the first attacks between Skynet and humans. T4 would follow immediately afterwards and centered primarily on the war seen in the first two movies. Warner Bros. gave the movie the codename "Project Angel".

Following the release of Terminator 3 in 2003 (9 years ago), producers Andrew G. Vajna and Mario Kassar contracted Nick Stahl and Claire Danes to return as John Connor and Kate Brewster in another film. Director Jonathan Mostow helped develop the script, written by John Brancato and Michael Ferris, and was set to begin production in 2005 (7 years ago) after completing another film. It was known by then Arnold Schwarzenegger's role would be limited, as he had assumed office as Governor of California. The producers sought to have Warner Bros. finance the picture (wallpaper) as they did for Terminator 3. In 2005 (7 years ago), Stahl said John and Kate would be recast as the story jumped forward in time. By 2006 (6 years ago), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, distributor of the original movie The Terminator, was set to distribute the fourth movie as part of the new CEO Harry Sloan's scheme to make the studio a viable Hollywood player.

On May 9, 2007 (5 years ago), it was announced that production rights to the Terminator series had passed from the feuding Vajna and Kassar to the Halcyon Company. The producers hoped to start a new trilogy based on the franchise. By Jul. 19, the project was in legal limbo due to a lawsuit between MGM and Halcyon subsidiary T Asset. MGM had an exclusive window of 30 days to negotiate for distribution of the Terminator films. When negotiating for Terminator 4, Halcyon rejected their initial proposal, and MGM suspended negotiations. After the 30 days were over, MGM claimed that the period during which negotiations were suspended did not count and their exclusive period was still open. Halcyon asked a court for an injunction allowing them to approach other distributors. Later, the lawsuit was settled and MGM got a 30-day right of first refusal to finance and distribute the fifth Terminator film.

Finally, Warner Bros paid $60 million to acquire the United States distribution rights of Terminator Salvation; Sony pictures (wallpaper) also paid just over $100 million to acquire this film's distribution rights in most international territories.

Writing

McG signed on to direct as the first two movies were among his favorites, and he had even cast Robert Patrick (who played the T-1000) in his films. Though he was initially unsure about "flogging a dead horse," he felt the post-apocalyptic setting allowed the movie to be different enough so as not to be just an inferior sequel. The idea that events in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines altered the future also allowed them to be flexible with their presentation of the futuristic world. McG met with the series' co-creator James Cameron, and, although he neither blessed nor cursed the project, Cameron told the new director he had faced a similar challenge when following Ridley Scott's Alien with Aliens. He maintained two elements of the previous films; that John is an outsider to the authorities, and someone of future importance is being protected, and in this movie it is Kyle Reese.

The first full screenplay for the movie was written by Terminator 3 writers John Brancato and Michael Ferris, who received full screenplay credit. Paul Haggis rewrote Brancato and Ferris's script, and Shawn Ryan made another revision three weeks before filming. Jonathan Nolan also wrote on set, which led to McG characterizing his work on the script as the most important; he chose to contribute to the movie after Bale signed on and created Connor's arc of becoming a leader. Anthony E. Zuiker contributed to the script as well. So extensive were the rewrites that Alan Dean Foster decided to rewrite the entire novelization after submitting it to his publisher, because the compiled shooting script was very different from the one he was given beforehand.

McG described the film's theme as "where you draw the line between machines and humans". The friendship between Marcus � who was executed (for murder) when humanity still ruled the world � and Kyle Reese illustrates how war and suffering can bring out the best in people, such as when they worked together to survive during the Blitz. The title was derived from this second chance given to humanity and to Marcus, in addition to John's efforts to save humanity from the machines. The film's original title was Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, but this was dropped during filming.

Throughout writing, the cast and crew would watch scenes from the three movies to pick moments to reference or tribute, including "I'll be back", which is uttered by John in this film. McG found himself having to decide which ideas for references would be included and which would not. An opening scene has John fighting a Terminator on a crashed helicopter, which was storyboarded as a homage to the climax of the original film, where his mother Sarah, having broken her leg, is chased by a crippled Terminator. McG did this to reflect the skills John learned from her.

Filming and design

Shooting of the movie started on May 5, 2008 (4 years ago) in New Mexico. Filming also took place at Kirtland Air Force Base in the state. The filmmakers had originally intended to begin filming on Apr. 15 in Budapest, but a twenty-five percent tax rebate and absence of an interest rate cap and floor made the filmmakers seek the cheaper New Mexico, because of their $200 million budget. To avoid delays caused by a possible 2008 (4 years ago) Screen Actors Guild strike in July, all exterior scenes were completed by then, so production could restart easily. The shoot ended on Jul. 20, 2008 (4 years ago), though some pick-ups took place in Jan. 2009 (3 years ago).

In addition to Bale breaking his hand and Worthington hurting his back, special effects technician Mike Menardis almost lost his leg filming an explosion. The sequence required a manhole cover being blown into the air, which hit Menardis and partially severed his leg. McG noted it was testament to the gritty style of the film. "I say with respect, I didn't want that Star Wars experience of everything's a blue screen, tennis balls, and go for it. I had Stan Winston build all the machines. We built all the sets, the explosive power, the explosive power so you feel that wind and that percussion and that heat blowing your eyebrows off. And with that you get a couple bumps and bruises on the way, but you get it in an integrity and a realism that hopefully echoes Apocalypse Now. You couldn't say, 'Let's just shoot Apocalypse Now in Burbank, I think it's going to feel just as good.'"

The movie used Technicolor's Oz process during post-production. This is a partial silver retention on the interpositive, similar to bleach bypass, which will be used to lend to the sense of detachment from the modern world McG was looking for. Industrial Light & Magic developed shader programs to make the desaturated lighting of the CGI realistic and well-integrated to the on-set footage. The filmmakers consulted with many scientists about the effects of an abandoned world and nuclear winter. McG cited Mad Max 2, the original Star Wars trilogy and Children of Men, as well as the novel The Road, as his visual influences. He instructed his cast to read the latter as well as Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Like Children of Men, McG would storyboard scenes so that it would be edited together to resemble a seamless, continuous shot. It took two weeks to movie a two-minute shot of Connor getting caught up in a bombing on the Skynet base where he discovers plans for the T-800.

The majority of the machines were designed by Martin Laing, a crew member on Cameron's Titanic and Ghosts of the Abyss. McG described many of the machines as having an H. R. Giger influence. McG's intent was to create a gritty, tactile 2018 on screen, and Laing concurred the robots would have to be black and degraded as none of them are new. Laing devised Aerostats, which are smaller versions of the Aerial Hunter Killers from the previous films. The Aerostats send a signal to the 60-foot-tall humanoid Harvesters. They are very big and slow, so they use Mototerminators to capture humans, and the Harvesters place them in Transporters. Laing was unsure of how to design the Transporters until he saw a cattle transport while driving through Albuquerque. Completing Skynet's domination of air, land and sea is the Hydrobot, which Laing modeled on eels. The movie features the rubber-skinned T-600s and T-700s. McG interpreted Kyle Reese's description in the original movie of the T-600 as being easy to spot by making them tall and bulky. The Mototerminators' design were inspired on the Ducati motorcycles.

Salvation was one of the last movies that Stan Winston, the visual effects supervisor on the first three films, worked on. He died on Jun. 15, 2008 (4 years ago) from multiple myeloma, and McG dedicated the movie to him, in the end credits. John Rosengrant and Charlie Gibson replaced Winston, and McG commented that they are "trying to achieve something that's never been done before" and will "push the envelope". Motion capture was used to show damage to the Terminator Marcus' face, while a 20 foot-tall model built and detonated by Kerner Optical was used for the explosion of Skynet's 30-story San Francisco-based lab.

During filming, Bale became angry at director of photography Shane Hurlbut, swearing at him and threatening to leave the film. Bale apologized publicly and said he resolved his differences with Hurlbut, and that when the incident took place they continued to movie for a few hours.

Music

Danny Elfman began composing the score in Jan. 2009 (3 years ago). Beforehand, McG had the idea to hire Gustavo Santaolalla, who he got to speak with, to work on the human themes, while having either Thom Yorke or Jonny Greenwood for Skynet's themes. He also wanted to discuss scoring the movie with Hans Zimmer, but he was unable to arrange a meeting. However, he managed to meet with The Terminator and Terminator 2 composer Brad Fiedel. McG was not interested in repeating the sounds Fiedel achieved in his movies but still wanted Elfman to use those themes and ambient sounds, and give them a "Wagnerian quality".

Reprise Records released the soundtrack on May 19, 2009 (3 years ago), which includes fifteen tracks. While Common had expressed interest in writing a song for the soundtrack, Alice in Chains' "Rooster" is the only featured song. Although not included in the soundtrack, "You Could Be Mine" by Guns N' Roses, which was featured in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, can be heard briefly in a scene of the movie as well. Nine Inch Nails' "The Day The World Went Away" is played on the film's theatrical trailer, but is not included in the movie or soundtrack.

Release

The movie was released in the U.S. on May 21, 2009 (3 years ago) with Warner Bros. setting the American premiere on May 14, 2009 (3 years ago) at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Elsewhere, Sony pictures (wallpaper) Entertainment released the movie in most overseas territories on different dates in June. One exception is Mexico, however, because of the swine flu outbreak in the country, which forced Sony to push the release date to Jul. 31, 2009 (3 years ago).

It is rated PG-13 by the Motion picture (wallpaper) Association of America for "intense sequences of sci-fi violence, action, and language," unlike the previous R-rated films. The decision was made to rate the movie PG-13 after agreeing to cut out a shot of Marcus stabbing a thug with a screwdriver, as McG felt disallowing the young audience due to that one shot was unfair. He also deleted a topless scene for Moon Bloodgood because "It was a soft moment between a man and a woman that was designed to echo the Kelly McGillis/Harrison Ford moment in Witness [but] in the end, it felt more like a gratuitous moment of a girl taking her top off in an action picture, and I didn't want that to convolute the story or the characters." The producers had expected the rating because of the modern leniency towards violence in PG-13 films, such as Live Free or Die Hard.

Reception

Based on 240 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, critical reaction for Terminator Salvation tended toward negativity with an overall 33% approval rating. Among Rotten Tomatoes' Top Critics, which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, TV and radio programs, the movie holds a similar overall approval rating of 32%. By comparison, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the movie has received an average score of 51, based on 34 reviews.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the movie a 2 out of 4 stars, saying that "After scrutinizing the film, I offer you my summary of the story: Guy dies, finds himself resurrected, meets others, fights. That lasts for almost two hours." Michael Rechtshaffen of the Hollywood Reporter wrote that the movie isn't the same without Arnold Schwarzenegger and that it misses its dramatic element. Likewise, Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the movie a 2/4 and called it "predictable" with the "dramatic elements flat-lining." She noted that Christian Bale's performance was "one-dimensional," but Sam Worthington's and Anton Yelchin's were better.

Total Film's review gave the movie 4/5 with its verdict: "The Terminator story recharges with a post-apocalyptic jolt of energy. Frantic and full of welcome ties to the past, it also ploughs new ground with purpose. Fingers crossed McG will follow Cameron�s lead and serve up a worthy sequel..." Devin Faraci of Empire magazine, too, gave a positive rating of four out of five stars, saying: "McG has sparked a moribund franchise back to life, giving fans the post-apocalyptic action they�ve been craving since they first saw a metal foot crush a human skull two decades ago." However, on CHUD, the latter said "Bale's desire to star as John Connor was probably the most fatal blow to the film; it completely distorted the shape of the story as it existed." Furthermore, he expresses that the third act was when the movie began falling apart, saying how "McG and Nolan muddied the end of the picture, delivering action generics (yet another Terminator fight in a factory) while never finding their own hook that would give this movie more of an impact than you would get from an expanded universe novel."

Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times stated that "[Bale's] strengths do not serve him, or the movie, as well here" and that "when the story starts to crumble around Bale, Worthington is there to pick up the pieces." A.O. Scott of the New York Times said the movie has "a brute integrity lacking in some of the other seasonal franchise movies" and "efficient, reasonably swift storytelling." Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz gave the movie a "See It" and "Skip It," respectively, on their show At the Movies with the latter mentioning that it "is the worst big budget summer release I�ve seen in some time."

Arnold Schwarzenegger, star of the preceding three movies in the series, remarked that Terminator Salvation was "a great film, I was very excited." Linda Hamilton, who portrayed Sarah Connor (8 walls) in The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day and lent her voice to Terminator Salvation, wished the movie "all the best" but expressed her opinion that the series "was perfect with two films. It was a complete circle, and it was enough in itself. But there will always be those who will try [to] milk the cow."

Soundtrack

"Opening" � 6:01
"All Is Lost" � 2:45
"Broadcast" � 3:19
"The Harvester Returns" � 2:45
"Fireside" � 1:31
"No Plan" � 1:43
"Reveal / The Escape" � 7:44
"Hydrobot Attack" � 1:49
"Farewell" � 1:40
"Marcus Enters Skynet" � 3:23
"A Solution" � 1:44
"Serena" � 2:28
"Final Confrontation" � 4:14
"Salvation" � 3:07
"Rooster" (Alice in Chains) � 6:14

Source: en.wikipedia.org

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