May 19, 2011
Five Favorite Films with Stuntman Vic Armstrong
His name may not be instantly familiar, but his work most certainly is: over a prolific career, Vic Armstrong has been a stunt man, stunt coordinator and second unit director on some of the biggest and best-loved action movies of the past four decades. He's stunt-doubled for successive James Bonds from Sean Connery to Pierce Brosnan, worn the cape and tights on Richard Donner's Superman, and famously done stunt work for Harrison Ford on, among many of the actor's other roles, the original three Indiana Jones films. Then there's his work with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Cruise, Sylvester Stallone and Angelina Jolie, to name a handful. With the release of his book, The True Adventures of the World's Greatest Stuntman, we spoke to Armstrong about his career, filming action on Marvel's Thor and the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man, and his Five Favorite Films.
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April 29, 2011
Weekly Ketchup: Arnold Will Be Back as the Terminator
This Week's Ketchup either represents one of the worst seven days in recent movie news memory, or columnist Greg Dean Schmitz was just grumpy that he didn't get invited to the Royal Wedding (he loves wacky hats!). Aging action stars trying to revive their golden oldies (Terminator 5), a Justin Bieber basketball movie and an movie that reimagines Zorro as a sort of Mad Max figure are just three of the seven Rotten Ideas. On the brighter side are stories about The Lone Ranger, The Hunger Games (fingers still crossed on that one, at least) and a cool sounding new role for Jeff Bridges.
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January 14, 2011
Five Favorite Films with Zoe Saldana
Right now, Zoe Saldana is at the center of what will likely become the two biggest contemporary science fiction series on the planet. Next year she'll reprise her role as Uhura in the sequel to J.J. Abrams' 2009 hit Star Trek, which, if successful, will continue the invigoration of the venerable franchise. And then there are the forthcoming sequels to James Cameron's all-time box-office king Avatar, in which Saldana proved the emotional and spiritual fulcrum as Pandora's fearless warrior, Neytiri. Read on for her Five Favorite Films and a chat about her latest role, in this week's release Burning Palms.
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August 13, 2010
Weekly Ketchup: Terminator 3000 and Expendables 2
This week's Ketchup is chockful of movies featuring CGI animation takes on classic characters, as the list includes new projects based on Bugs Bunny, Tarzan and The Terminator. This was also a big week for Hollywood biopics, as both John Belushi and singer/actress Peggy Lee made the news again posthumously. The directors of two of this weeks' new movies (The Expendables and Eat Pray Love) are also represented, as are new roles for Jack Black, Idris Elba, Shirley MacLaine, Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo and Reese Witherspoon.
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May 21, 2009
Jen Gets Terminated, Day 4: Terminator Salvation
It's been a roller coaster ride revisiting the science fiction films Terminator (1984), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), and I thank everyone who followed along with me this week. As we found out, the franchise that James Cameron began 25 years ago weathered a lot of changes through the years (from $6.5 million thriller to $200 million action pic, from Arnold Schwarzenegger's first "I'll be back" to "Talk to the hand") but what kept fans hooked from picture to picture were the core themes of the Terminator universe: humanity attempting to save itself, the strength of familial bonds, and the idea that we're all in control of our own fates -- even if the future seems rather bleak.
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May 19, 2009
Jen Gets Terminated, Day 2: Terminator 2: Judgment Day
When James Cameron debuted his first real feature film in 1984 -- directing Piranha II: The Spawning for hire didn't really count -- he turned out a $6.5 million science fiction horror flick called The Terminator that became a commercial and critical hit. (It remains at 100 percent on the Tomatometer to this day.) Ten years later, Cameron returned to the Terminator saga with Terminator 2: Judgment Day, a $100 million spectacle that made landmark advances in special effects technology and earned the title of most expensive movie ever made, a gamble that paid off in spades. But is Terminator 2: Judgment Day also the best movie sequel of all time?
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May 18, 2009
Jen Gets Terminated, Day One: The Terminator
Ryan followed Bond. Alex did Jason. Tim got Kirk, Spock, and Bones. This week, I've been assigned to follow...The Terminator! In the latest Rotten Tomatoes watching series, yours truly will take on the famous futuristic cyborg in all four of its cinematic incarnations, from James Cameron's titular 1984 sci-fi horror classic to this Thursday's fourquel, in which director McG will show us his version of the future according to SkyNet. Watch and read along with me as I revisit the Terminator franchise, watching one movie a day, leading up to RT's Judgment Day -- May 21, when Terminator: Salvation lands in theaters.
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May 15, 2009
Exclusive: The Look of Terminator Salvation with Martin Laing
Production Designer Martin Laing has worked with James Cameron on True Lies, Titanic and Ghosts of the Abyss and has served on films like The Haunting, City of Ember and the upcoming Clash of the Titans. Terminator Salvation, with its bleak view of the future, is easily his most ambitious project to date. On the eve of the film's worldwide rollout, he sits down exclusively with RT to take us through concept art for the film and explain his approach... "Our Terminator world is quite different from the films you've seen before. In the same way that Warner Bros. took the Batman movies and turned them on their head, in design terms as well as the story, and turned that world into something very dark and really really cool, we're going to be doing the same thing with Terminator."
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December 30, 2008
Terminator Joins National Film Registry
"The Asphalt Jungle," "Sergeant York," "In Cold Blood," "Deliverance" and "The Terminator" are among the 25 film titles selected this year by the Library of Congress for inclusion in its National Film Registry.
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June 18, 2008
Total Recall: The Best of Stan Winston
With the passing of Oscar-winning makeup and special effects artist Stan Winston, RT decided to take a closer look at one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential behind-the-scenes figures, a man whose work changed the way that the movie industry brought special effects magic to the screen.
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March 24, 2008
Kim Newman on... The Invisible Boy
RT Obscura, the exclusive column by renowned critic Kim Newman, sees the writer plumbing the depths of the RT archive in search of some forgotten gems. In his 14th column, Kim rediscovers the oft-forgotten sequel to Forbidden Planet.
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December 20, 2007
Terminator 4 Plot Details Leaked!
After the comparatively lackluster T3: Rise of the Machines, more than a few people left the Terminator series for dead -- but as it turns out, the franchise may just be catching its second wind.
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April 8, 2007
Michael Biehn Hopin', Wishin' and Waitin' for "Avatar"
James Cameron staple actor Michael Biehn ("Terminator," "Aliens," "The Abyss") must be happy that the director is coming back to narrative filmmaking with "Avatar." It's likely to be a reunion between the actor and Oscar winner.
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March 27, 2007
Biehn and Cameron Back Together on "Avatar"?
They worked pretty darn well together on "The Terminator," "Aliens," and "The Abyss" -- so maybe filmmaker James Cameron and actor Michael Biehn are about to get the old magic brewing on "Avatar." (Or maybe not.)
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January 17, 2007
An Old Friend Checks Out James Cameron's New "Avatar"
Well here's some James Cameron news that's interesting if not all that surprising: In addition to the already-cast Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana, the "Avatar" director looks to be interested in hiring an old friend for his new movie. (I'm pretty sure he's been in all Cameron's movies except for "Titanic." Can you name him?)
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November 8, 2006
We Have a New Sarah Connor!
Remember when we told you that some folks were turning the "Terminator" series into a weekly TV show? Well, they still are -- and they hired a really attractive actress to play Sarah Connor.
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October 26, 2006
MGM Chief Chats About "Terminator 4" and "The Hobbit"
MGM head honcho Rick Sands was recently cornered at a ShowEast event, and he used the opportunity to drop a few nuggets of information on a pair of MGM's Wish List projects: Looks like he's trying to get "Terminator 4" off the ground (sans Ahnold)... oh, and a pair of movies based on something called "The Hobbit."
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October 20, 2006
"Terminator 4" Will Be Ahnold-Free
Screenwriter Michael Ferris isn't about to dole out too many spoilers regarding his "Terminator 4" script, but he recently made one thing perfectly clear: Arnold Schwarzenegger is most definitely not part of the equation.
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August 29, 2006
Get Ready for "The Sarah Connor Chronicles"
Yep, apparently that's what they'll be calling the all-new "Terminator" TV series -- and I'd probably be a whole lot more skeptical about this project were it not for the involvement of director David Nutter and screenwriter Josh Friedman.
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April 25, 2006
Cameron Claims Digital 3-D Will Save Cinema!
Superstar moviemaker James Cameron ("Titanic," "Aliens," "The Terminator") believes that the way to combat slumping box office returns is to give the moviegoers something they simply can't pirate and watch on their computer: The answer is digital 3-D wizardy.
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March 27, 2006
Arnold Back in Terminator 4?
Going by reports from Moviehole and Skewed and Reviewed, Arnold Schwarzenegger may indeed be back. According to producer Mario Kassar the script for the 4th "Terminator" film has been completed and they are waiting for Arnold to become available in order to put the film into production.
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January 18, 2006
Is Westworld Remake Finally Coming?
Director Tarsem Singh, best known for doing R.E.M videos such as "Losing My Religion," has been tapped (according to IMDb) to to helm the update of the 1973 classic "Westworld."
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November 10, 2005
Next on Fox: Terminator: The Series!
Variety reports that not only will a fourth "Terminator" movie become a reality some time relatively soon, but also that the Fox network is where you'll eventually be able to find "The Sarah Connor Chronicles."
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June 10, 2005
Killer Dogs and Cats and Bunnies? Oh yeah...
Variety brings news of a comics-to-film adaptation that's just a little bit ... different. Grant Morrison & DC Comics' "We3" deals with "three household pets stolen by the government and turned into armor-suited killers by a clandestine military program. The lethal trio of furries escape just prior to being "decommissioned" and decide to find their way home with the government in hot pursuit."
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January 21, 2005
Arnold Schwarzenegger Says Hasta La Vista to "Terminator 4"
The chances of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger coming back for "Terminator 4" may be slim to none. Speaking on the subject in a San Francisco Chronicle article, Schwarzenegger has told producers that unless the movie is made in California, "they will never see me for one second in the movie."
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