''Plot: When an ex-superhero is murdered, a vigilante named Rorshach begins an investigation into the murder, which begins to lead to a much more terrifying conclusion.
Starring: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Bryce Dallas Howard, Moon Bloodgood, Common, Jadagrace, Helena Bonham Carter, Roland Kickinger
Director: McG (We Are Marshall, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle & Charlie's Angels)
Writer: John D. Brancato & Michael Ferris
Release: May 22nd, 2009
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Rumored)
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YRw3AkbtJhQ&eurl=

Quote:Christian Bale took to the defensive, insisting that he accepted the role as John Connor in Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins because it reinvents the series.

“What I saw with Terminator was what I saw with Batman Begins,” Bale told /Film at The Dark Knight junket.

But accepting another franchise role was not an easy decision in the least.

“That was actually something that I questioned greatly… ‘Do I want to do that again?’” Bale continued. “While Batman Begins was clearly an origin story and we were in many ways ignoring any of the other films that had come before it, this won’t be the case with Terminator, as we’re staying true to the mythology, certainly to one and two more than three, but it gave us the opportunity and the chance to reinvent and revitalize that. There is no point in making it otherwise. So that is my aim, and that is why I finally decided yes, I want to try this. Because that is the responsibility we have as filmmakers, and that is what I’m aiming to achieve.”

Meanwhile, the trades are reporting that Helena Bonham Carter is in talks to join the film in a “small but pivotal” role.

In the highly anticipated new installment of The Terminator film franchise, set in post-apocalyptic 2018, Christian Bale stars as John Connor, the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. But the future Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), 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. The film also stars Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese, Bryce Dallas Howard as Kate Connor, Moon Bloodgood as Blair Williams, Common as Barnes, and Jadagrace as Star. Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins hits theaters on May 22nd 2009.

Quote:Roland Kickinger revealed to ClintonNewsRecord that he will take over the part in "Terminator Salvation" that Arnold Schwarzenegger played in the previous three films.

"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," said Kickinger, further explaining: "There's a very strong scene in the film where John Connor for the first time meets the Terminator, and he doesn't know if he's a good guy or a bad guy."

Kickinger was born in 1968 in Austria and is a former bodybuilder, even winning the Mr. Universe competition. At one point, he and Schwarzenegger even trained together. After a number of non-recurring TV parts, Kickinger landed a role on "Son of the Beach," a "Baywatch" parody that aired on the cable channel FX. He also played Schwarzenegger in the 2005 biopic "See Arnold Run," which aired on the A&E Network.

This month, however, Kickinger begins filming what is likely the role of his life to date, as his portion of "Terminator Salvation" begins to take shape.

Quote:From One Franchise To Another: Johnathan Nolan Confirmed as Lead Writer
For those of you who loved The Dark Knight but are deeply concerned about the quality of McG’s upcoming Terminator Salvation, take heart: At today’s Comic Con press conference for Salvation, McG was asked about the involvement of Dark Knight scribe, Jonah/Jonathan Nolan, someone who McG previously mentioned had worked on the script.

According to McG, Nolan was “the lead writer of the film,” and “I don’t know how the WGA rules work but honest to goodness, we did the heaviest lifting with Jonah.” Currently, Nolan is uncredited on the film’s IMDB page.

Quote:At the Terminator Salvation Comic Con panel, McG effused about many of the film’s details. Here are some of the more interesting tidbits:

1. PG-13 Rating Rumors Debunked - At both the panel and the press conference, McG removed any doubts that he was under pressure to deliver a PG-13 rating for the film. Referring to the studio executives for this film, McG explained “I’ve been given their blessing to make the picture…and if it’s a rated R picture, then that’s that.” He elaborated that he’s not against the idea of a PG-13 rating, but that the ultimate rating will depend completely upon what the final vision for the film is.

2. 2018, and the Kyle Reese Backstory Explained - The film will take place in 2018, the first Terminator movie set exclusively post-Judgment Day. It will have aspects of war films, as the humans unite to battle Skynet (which will also be featured). A lot of attention will be given to the T-600s, less advanced versions of the T-800 (the terminator model that Arnold played in the first three films). Given the complex, interweaving, and conflicting timelines in the collective Terminator films and The Sarah Connor Chronicles, McG has opted not to adhere too strictly to the mythology established in these works, but has worked on maintaining the vision of the first films, Cameron’s in particular.

Furthermore, we’ll see how Kyle Reese developed as a young man. We will find out the genesis of some of Reese’s best lines, and also find out that “some of the best moves that Kyle Reese has learned, he’s learned from machines.”

3. Harvesters, Aerostats, and Hydrobots, Oh My! - According to McG, the film will feature the machines that were visible in quick, passing shots in previous Terminator films. In particular, McG suggested that the Harvesters will apparently play a prominent, Matrix-like role, gigantic machines that are “stomping through the future, harvesting people.”

4. Film Treatment Will Be Silver to the Extreme - The movie was filmed with color stock but will be treated with as much silver as a typical black and white film, about 3x as much as normal. This gives the film an ethereal quality that suggests something is visually “off.” McG explained that he took some inspiration for the film from Children of Men, and based on what I’ve seen so far (which is extremely limited), this sounds quite plausible.

5. The film will end on a cliffhanger - McG confirmed that the film will end on a cliffhanger at the Salvation press conference.

Quote:The Los Angeles Times caught up with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who admitted that he is puzzled and still not yet sold on Terminator Salvation after he was given a private screening of the comic con sizzle reel by the producers:

“I’ve seen very little footage so I don’t really have a feel for it. I hope they do well, and I hope it is a huge hit. I do hope it creates a spectacle on the screen. That is what James Cameron created,” Arnold said. “I still don’t know how it will play out with this one. They showed me some footage, but I don’t have a feel for the movie. I didn’t see enough. I wasn’t sure who the Terminator was. I don’t know if there is one or if he’s the star or the hero. These are the things that determine the success and how the strong the movie will be.”

I can understand Arnold’s hesitation, as the battle-lines have not yet really been drawn in the early completed footage from the film. I am surprised that he didn’t come out of the screening with a good impression. I mean, at face value, it looks much better than Terminator 3, but, oh wait… Arnold was involved in that one. But for me, the bigger question is… why did producers travel to Sacramento to screen early footage to the Govenator? Are they still trying to convince Arnold to film a cameo? Or were they hoping to get Arnold to film an endorsement for Comic Con? I seriously doubt they went to have for his opinion… they were definitely looking for some kind of public endorsement.

Quote:Just Jared confirms that Arnold visited the Terminator: Salvation set. As expected, today brings further speculation about Arnold’s contribution, however small, to McG’s Terminator reboot. An un-vetted tipster at Latino Review had this to say…

“…I have varous contacts in WB and from what i’ve been told the fans are in for a treat. The premise of Arnie’s involvement is to have a fully rendered digital face of Arnie replacing the recently cast Roland Kickinger (The Younger version of Arnie). It seems the Director McG will in no doubt try all he can to ensure the Governator has some sort of involvement and as a result Arnold was on set providing key ADR (Voice over) for the visual effects guys…”

The tipster goes on to compare the digital face-transplant technique to James Cameron’s Avatar, so, um, we shall see. I can’t imagine how Roland Kickinger—playing the T-800—would feel about this decision, but stranger things have happened. Last month, T4 producer Moritz Borman had this to say to Wired per Arnold’s involvement: “Schwarzenegger is governing California. He will not be, as a person, in the film.” The consensus seems to be that Arnold will do a voice-over in the film, but nothing is confirmed. We’ll update with any developments.

you sure you got that plot right in your first post?

regarding the movie, eh. the last one sucked dick and i'm not too hyped for the director of charlies angels to take over.

but maybe i'll be pleasantly surprised. who knows. i am going to go in assuming it will be shitty.

Yep, that seems to be the correct plot that has been revealed.

Director of Charlies Angels and a possible PG-13, shit they might as well get the Spice Girls to do the music score.
But Bale as John Connor and Johnathan Nolan as the lead writer all may not be doomed.

For those watching Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles :

Quote:Last season's finale wasn't meant to be the finale -- but was instead forced to be one due to the writers' strike. Season two promises to pick up right where the finale left off, with terminator Cameron (Summer Glau) a bit glitchy due to the car explosion. One new character is joining the cast -- an enigmatic business executive named Catherine Weaver, played by Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson -- while two previously recurring characters are joining the cast as full season regulars: Cromartie (Garret Dillahunt) and Derek Reese (Brian Austin Green). At the Sarah Connor Chronicles panel at Comic-Con, executive producer John Wirth revealed that one of the regular cast members would die by the end of the season.

Dude that plot from the first post sounds like Watchmen, which deals with a character named Rorschach investigating the murder of an ex-superhero lol.

Rotten Tomatoes:

Quote:Reviews Counted: 75

Fresh: 28

Rotten:47

Average Rating: 5.4/10

FUCKING McG.

Its just wrong for a Terminator flick to be rated PG-13... I'll still go see this though.

eh its decent at best. some good action sequences but man bale and MCG do not deliver.

Almost went to see this yesterday, saw Angels & Demons instead. It's like I kinda want to see it, but it's fucking pg-13 which is just wrong. As soon as I heard it was pg-13 I just said, "you know it's gonna suck"

Get rid of "The Future Begins" from the topic title. They removed that during production.

I thought this was fun in parts and had some great chase/action scenes, but it lacked all the heart and soul of the previous movies. Yeah, even Terminator 3 (which incidentally, I think has the best/bravest ending out of them all). It felt like one long crazy music video and took itself far too seriously. I didn't want the silly jokes of previous films, like the thumbs up when sinking into molten metal, or the "talk to the hand" in part 3, I just wanted something a little less serious. Bale didn't help here, I just don't think this role suited him at all.

Too many "what the fuck" moments too. Like "how did he get there?" "what happened then?" "why did that happen?". I can't give any specifics, but that's how I felt in places.

Not terrible, but I wanted so much more. When I heard who was directing I should've known how it would turn out.