FIRST LOOK

NY Times' First Set Photo From Terminator Salvation

by Alex Billington
July 4, 2008
Source: NY Times

This isn't much, but considering it's the 4th of July and there isn't much news, it's at least something to check out today. The NY Times was one of a few outlets who recently traveled down to Albuquerque, New Mexico to check out the set of Warner Brothers' Terminator Salvation. Unfortunately I was one of the few not invited for some odd reason, so expect copious coverage from everyone out there except us. Instead, we've got to sit here and shill out these boring photos from the set and hope you start to get excited based on these alone. Anyway, I'm still going to hold out hope and cross my fingers and pray that Terminator Salvation eventually turns out good. Before you head out to a BBQ and fireworks tonight, make sure you take a look at this bland photo and let us know your thoughts on the film so far.

So first things first, apparently the official name is now just Terminator Salvation. It went from Terminator 4 to Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins now to the shorter Terminator Salvation. I expect that's where they'll leave it, because it's a lot easier to remember and doesn't have a number - since I'm sure Warner Brothers wants everyone to think of this as a fresh new series only slightly related to the first three. As for the NY Times article, unfortunately they focus on the actors strike (and how it's not affecting the production of this film) and hardly even mention anything about the actual film or its story or actors. I'm guessing that's because WB is trying to keep very quiet on this until we see the teaser trailer on The Dark Knight and they dump more on us at Comic-Con. Then the hype will all begin.

They did however mention a few goodies for those scrounging for every last detail surrounding Terminator Salvation. First up, they mention that the various sets include "weird military hardware, a blast site marked by the shards of a 7-Eleven sign, and a lot full of battered helicopters." By now we all know that this is a post-apocalyptic film focusing on the beginning of the actual war between the robots and humans that was eluded to in every one of the original movies. Additionally, they mention this little fun bit about the military. "This show utilizes the military constantly," said Jason Hariton, Albuquerque Studios' vice president for operations. "I think those guys love the pyrotechnics." That doesn't mean much, but it should tell you to expect a lot of badass large-scale fight scenes.

I'm very curious about what the general consensus on this film is right now: good or bad? Unlike Paramount's G.I. Joe, I feel like most people are positively intrigued but also cautiously optimistic, waiting for a trailer and some footage before making any real judgment calls. As a reminder, Christian Bale is playing John Connor, Anton Yelchin is playing Kyle Reese, Bryce Dallas Howard is playing Kate Connor, and Sam Worthington, Moon Bloodgood, and Common are also a part of the cast. Does everyone have a generally positive opinion so far? Is there anyone who is genuinely very excited for Terminator Salvation already?

Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, directed by McG of Charlie's Angels and We Are Marshall, will arrive in theaters next summer on May 22nd, 2009. Stay tuned for more!

Filed under First Look, Hype

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