Wait. This Benbot came from the future? What do you suppose his warning was all about? I guess we’ll never know… Or will we? Come back Friday to find out!
In the meantime, you only have this incentive sketch of another T-800 skull to tide you over. To see it, vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics.
For those of you who find it out of character for Tom to point a shotgun point-blank to the face of a Benbot when it’s usually Jared who does the dismantling, remember that Tom’s paranoia against and hair-trigger for robotic interlopers was established long ago. I also think it’s funny that Tom has defenses established for the zombie apocalypse and felt forced to improvise with a cyborg in his home.
When did this comic become so weird?
I tried something different with the coloring in the second panel. I guess I was a little worried about the violence being too graphic, so I tried to stylize it a little bit. I think it turned out okay.
I guess I don’t have very much left to say for today, so I’ll point you to this article about Terminator Salvation from Entertainment Weekly. I was particularly taken by this part about Christian Bale receiving the pitch for the movie from the much-loathed director, McG:
Bale recalls, ”I had this guy sitting there saying, ‘Christian, didn’t somebody ever take a leap of faith on you to do something radically different than you’ve ever done before? Give me that opportunity.’ So I’m thinking, ‘Oh, f—!”’ Bale’s advisers were against it too. Not just because Terminator Salvation was a sequel to a sequel to a sequel, but also because of McG himself, a man with little more to his credit than The O.C., a couple of Charlie’s Angels movies, and a ridiculous name. ”I had people telling me, ‘Don’t do it, Christian. Don’t go with that guy.’ In a strange way, I like the fact that he keeps that name because it does him no friggin’ favors,” says Bale. ”But people hear it and they go, ‘F— him!’ People were telling me, ‘Christian, you’re too good for Terminator.’ And I’m thinking, I’m too good? I’m not a snob. I really f—ing enjoy watching a good action movie. Who do you think I am?!”
I think Bale is a pretty smart guy who knows that he has to mix it up a little bit and take a paycheck role like John Conner so he can attract the attention of more out-there material like The Machinist or The Prestige. But I think between the Batman and Terminator franchises, he’s getting dangerously close to painting himself into a corner.
I also found it interesting that he has this rebelliousness in him that tells him to work with a ridiculous director because everyone else thinks the guy is a joke. Just like there is some truth in stereotypes, there is plenty of evidence to support the idea that McG doesn’t have the emotional maturity to direct more than music videos.
Later in the article, McG talks about his credibility problem and how others perceive him…
The artist formerly, and formally, known as Joseph McGinty Nichol knows what you think of him. He’s spent the past decade battling the perception that just because of his name, he’s some shallow jackass. Or, as he puts it, ”a lightweight with some hip-hop nickname and a gold chain around my neck, who drives a Lamborghini.” It drives McG nuts that with nearly $570 million under his belt at the global box office, he still has to explain himself. ”If you can’t get past my name after 12 years in this industry, you’re not invited,” he says in his L.A. production office two weeks before the film’s release. ”If you don’t have the hustle to figure out that McG’s short for ‘McGinty,’ which is my mother’s maiden name, and that she’s the least funky person ever, I’m kind of done. My name won’t define my movies. My movies will define my name.” He pauses to let this sink in. ”Look, I know I have a body of work that would not suggest that I am a credible storyteller. I need to prove myself on this film. Before you can be Johnny Depp, you have to do your time on 21 Jump Street.”
First of all, anyone who uses the word “hustle” in that context, I can’t take seriously.
Secondly, “$570 million under his belt at the global box office” and “12 years in the industry” don’t make you legitimate. Box office is rarely an indicator of quality. It is an indication of effective marketing and some gullibility on behalf of the movie-going audience. So don’t point to a stack of money and say “See! I’m talented!” If you want to talk talent, look at James Cameron who brought the concept of The Terminator to life, created something original and groundbreaking. McG is only playing with someone else’s toys.
I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because I’m a fan of the franchise. But if the movie turns out to be good, it’s not because McG is at the helm. The Terminator concept is too strong, too powerful in our collective imagination. It sustains itself. The only way for McG to go is down and he’ll do that if he screws with the formula too much and audiences don’t accept it.
There looks to be some interesting tweaks to the Terminator mythology in this film. If people really end up liking the motorcycle Terminators, then I guess I’ll have to eat crow. But until McG comes up with a concept as strong as the Terminator on his own, he’s still a scrub.
What are your thoughts about Bale, and McG? Do you think Bale is taking a risk with this film. What about Bale’s on-set explicative-filled rant from earlier in the year? Do you think it will affect Terminator Salvation’s box office take or has it been long enough that people have forgotten? Does McG deserve respect? Do you think he should take the credit if Terminator Salvation’s is a hit? Leave your comments below!
CHA-BERT!
This bad boy was meant for the zombie apocalypse. But for a cyborg, I suppose it'll do in a pinch!
That wasn't very nice.
Hey Tom,
I’m personally looking forward to Terminator Salvation, despite that a guy calling himself “McG” is a very douchebag move (even if it is a shortened down version of your family name). While he may not be reinventing the wheel so to speak with this movie he might just make it his own.
Personally Bale’s rant on set is going to have the same effect that having the Wolverine movie leaked did, it’s built up the press surrounding the movie. Personally I think Bale is perfect for the role of John Connor, he’s a pretty intense actor to begin with and I don’t know about you but if I was in the middle of a robot apocalypse I would be pretty intense as well.
On a side note I read a review of the new Tarantino flick “Inglorious Basterds” and the general consensus was it’s ok but not your standard Tarantino fare. That’s another one I’m looking forward to.
Anyways back on topic, I love a good action movie and as long as this has some semblance of a plot line and lots of robots and exlposions it will do good by me.
I have no hopes for this movie to begin with since the third Terminator was stupid and this one doesn’t even have Arnold. Then after reading the review in the local paper which said it was an “epic failure” and gave it one star then reading this article, I know its going to blow.
Is the name meant to be ironic? If so it is pretty good but he really needs to stop talking like a douche bag to be considered as anything other than “that-retard-director-with-the-douchey-name”.
On the related topic of Christian Bale I am a big fan, the movie credits are pretty much all awesome and really well played parts. Equilibrium and the Machinist, Batman and the Prestige all great stuff. I think people would really have to stretch to name one bad thing (exlcuding stupid batman voices) that can be attributed to him.
I really don’t think the rant is going to be remembered. Even if it is, I took a listen today and don’t think there would have been any fuss if Christian Bale wasn’t famous. I’ve gotten worse abuse at several of my previous jobs. Tempers flare then you get on with making things work.
What most amazes me about this is they got Christian Bale to play John Connor. I can’t wait to see this movie.
My hubby is taking the stance: “No Arnold, No Terminator.”
I, personally, am not sure how I feel about the movie. I want to see it on the big screen because it is a action film with lots of explosions, but I’m beginning to think the whole Terminator concept has played itself out. Part of the Terminator draw was that we never got to actually see the future (much), and were able to use our imaginations a bit. I think this explaining/showing everything to death is a serious problem in Hollywood and we keep asking for it and eating it up in mega-million dollar doses. Just because we want the glowy thing in the Pulp Fiction box revealed, we were all a little better for having to speculate and discuss what it might be.
Sorry, I got a little rant distracted there. Ahem, I will probably take my dose next week.
”I had people telling me, ‘Don’t do it, Christian. Don’t go with that guy.’ In a strange way, I like the fact that he keeps that name because it does him no friggin’ favors,” says Bale. ”But people hear it and they go, ‘F— him!’ People were telling me, ‘Christian, you’re too good for Terminator.’ And I’m thinking, I’m too good? I’m not a snob. I really f—ing enjoy watching a good action movie. Who do you think I am?!”
I can’t wait for Christian to work with Uwe Boll on Zero Wing. Imagine hearing “All your base are belong to us!” in that asthmatic, scowling Batman voice.
wren1313: You have a good point. That’s one thing I like about the way JJ Abrams thinks… he’s all about the mystery. His trailers are never revealing, they actually leave you wanting to know more, which makes you interested in seeing the movie. I watched a video of a presentation he did at TED that was awesome. I loved it, and there was also a great article he wrote in wired magazine in an issue he edited.
You mentioned the example of the Pulp Fiction case… remember Ronin? What’s in the case!?! You never know… made the movie all the more intense, and the ending all the better.
Mystery is a great thing that many movies lack these days. Perhaps people are eating up the “explain/show to death” because they’re all just getting really stinking lazy! Well, count me out.
One more thought, still along those lines of the concept of the original movies never showing much of the future. It kept it mysterious and scary, but also you know the main challenge was John Connor not being prevented from growing up to lead the revolution. In the first movie, Kyle Reese tells us that the human resistance has pretty much already defeated the machines, that’s why the machines were trying to stop John Connor at birth… they already lost. So with this new Terminator movie… we know they win, is there really anything more than ‘filler’ between the points that the original movies already established? I kinda doubt it… but I guess we’ll see. As long as McG-tard doesn’t pull something like Star Trek did and try to use some time travel loop-hole to give him free reign to mess with the original story. Don’t get me wrong, that was GREAT in Star Trek… but I don’t trust McG could pull it off, or that it would work well in the Terminator story. After saying all that, I’m sure my wife and I will be in those theater seats sometime soon after opening weekend. Oh, I’ve thought of another example. In the first Matrix movie (I pretend the last 2 don’t exist) we never saw much of the machines or the network that ran the matrix and ruled the real world. That was great….. ok, I’m done.
hmm, maybe I need that dose you were talking about wren… actually, make it a double! 😉
Yeah, but James Cameron did not really “created something original and groundbreaking”.
That’s an interesting video, Wunami. And – while I think James Cameron is a raging ego-maniac – I’m not entirely sold on the idea that what he did was plagarism.
He might have said he got the idea for the Terminator movies from a couple of Ellison episodes of The Outer Limits, but time-displaced warriors or unknown savior characters are not unique storytelling devices.
I think it’s fair to say he was inspired by Ellison, but outright stole? I disagree.
It’s kind of like The Matrix – an amalgamation of dozens of different concepts repackaged and sold as something new.
Incidentally, Ellison seems primarily motivated by money…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj5IV23g-fE
He’s not entirely wrong with his criticism, but he doesn’t exactly come across as being concerned about artist’s rights first.
I almost think people convince themselves not to like McG. It feels a bit bandwagonish to me. I agree with him; if you can’t get past the name, that’s your problem.
To be honest, I’ve read interviews with both McG and Bale, and I like McG more than Bale. McG seems to come off as very down-to-earth, whereas Bale sounds like a jackass. I won’t begrudge him his acting ability, because Lord knows the man’s got chops, but after reading several interviews with him I’m not planning on ever having dinner with the guy.
And as far as Terminator goes, I’ve been looking forward to it ever since I read Halcyon bought the rights to the franchise. I know the first two movies are classics, and I won’t argue with that. But, heck, I love a good (or bad) sci-fi film, and I’ve been itching to see the Terminator movies move into the actual war between man and machine. I’ll be there this weekend with bells on.
Bale has a reputation for being intense and very method. I’m sure if he could do away with doing promotional duties for his movies, he would.
But then, he could always choose not to be in movies that require huge marketing and promotion.
I don’t think people hate McG solely for his name. It’s more of a symbol of everything douche-tastic they’ve come to associate with the guy.
Take for example his challenge to Michael Bay in LITERAL dick-measuring contest over the use of giant robots in their films this summer. Even if he was kidding around, it was totally stupid to even bring it up.
I think that, coupled with his involvement in high-gloss, superficial entertainment like Charlies Angels, Fastlane and his background directing music videos give people enough reason to doubt his artistic integrity.
this one doesn’t even have Arnold?
Do we know for sure that they never got permission to use his likeness for Salvation?
Aye, I’m not necessarily sold that it was directly plagiarism. But I wouldn’t call it groundbreaking since it appears the ground was somewhat broken already if he mined some existing show for ideas.
Fair enough, wunami. Either way, I was unfamiliar with Ellison’s claims so… the more you know!
Also +10 Men In Hats avatar.
McG’s an executive producer on Supernatural, and I really like that show. Though I dunno how much influence he actually has over it.
Producers usually have very little influence. Executive producers, even less.
Basically, they’re the people who put the money up for the show’s development. I suppose they could exert influence by pulling their support. But creatively, they contribute nothing.
I think that Christian Bale has and continues to make good movie choices; he can’t only take Oscar worthy roles and actually make money, and I appreciate his willingess to do a range of different roles and movies. Plus, he’s got the Dillinger movie with Johnny Depp coming out in a couple weeks, so that should put him back in everyone’s good graces if Terminator sucks. I think he needs to be more worried about the choices in his personal life (like the rant you mentioned and the assault charges).
My biggest problem with the idea of this movie is that it is meant to be a trilogy. McG was interviewed for a special that aired up here in Canada about “Salvation”, and he said the trilogy hangs on people accepting his new direction for the films.
This tells me that we will not see the destruction of Skynet in this movie. The resistance will not win. The whole movie revolves around Conner being promoted to leader of the resistance…. I mean we already know he will become leader, so what exactly is the point of this movie?
I’m guessing McG’s point is he can direct action and special effects. That is about all I can expect from this. Big bloody action sequences where we all know there is very little on the line.
On the flip side, the “Terminator: Sarah Conner Chronicles” has established that actions in the past have fundamentally altered the future time-line. Perhaps there will be more at stake than I am guessing. Perhaps Judgment Days delay from August 29 1997 to sometime in 2012 will have allowed the machines to advance technologically far beyond what they were in the original 1984 film. Perhaps they are much more dangerous and deadly.
It all depends on whether McG is the douche we all expect he is, or if he can truly become a visionary storyteller we all hope he could be.
The Terminator franchise has a very special place in my heart, and I will see the film anyway. I just hope it doesn’t suck too hard.
bit harsh critisism just because of a name! if anything causes the film to fail it will most likely be the writing, the timeline being shifted in a tv series a lot of people wont have seen and plotlines that contradict and embarras the originals. On the Matrix’s originality…well it doesnt really have any, its nothing short of a blatent rip off of Grant Morrison’s the Invisibles, though they shouldve stuck to that for the sequals.