GamePro's Terminator Salvation cover story revealed

The March 2009 issue of GamePro is a world exclusive first look at Terminator Salvation the game. Feast your eyes on the cover below and get a look at Terminator 4's new evil-looking T-600 model!

The March issue of GamePro magazine is about to blow your face off like the enormous Earth-incinerating blast depicted in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The multi-page Terminator Salvation cover story is bursting with exclusive information about the ambitious Terminator Salvation video game, which is a prequel to the upcoming fourth Terminator movie staring Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, Batman Begins). The game is coming to Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and PC.

In GamePro's Terminator Salvation story you'll get an inside look at both the upcoming video game and the new Terminator film, including:

Terminator Salvation's numerous menacing Terminator machines, including one that makes Arnie's model look friendly
First details on Terminator Salvation's epic story
The weapons used in Salvation's battle against the machines
A guide to all the versions of the humanoid Terminator models, everything from Schwarzenegger's T-800 up till now.
Images from both the movie and the game
A look back at previous Terminator video games
And more!

Christian Went Bale-istic on T4 Set



Christian Bale was one giant raw nerve days before he allegedly pushed his mother.

TMZ spies tell us Bale was on the set last Friday shooting "Terminator 4" at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico.

During a scene, Shane Hurlbut (seriously), director of cinematography, screwed up a shot -- at least in Christian's mind. We're told Bale went wild, screaming "I will kick your ass" along with some other choice remarks. Several hundred people -- including Military Police -- heard the outburst, which was described as "intense."

We're told Bale was "extremely tired and having a bad day."

Bale Went Ballistic



You may remember that Christian Bale went nuts on the set of "Terminator Salvation" a few months back, threatening to stop production and beat some serious ass.

The incident was audiotaped, and it's amazing. It happened on the set after a director of photography accidentally ruined a scene by walking onto the set. Bale lost it, screaming, yelling and threatening to quit if the bosses didn't fire the dude.

Film execs sent the tape to the insurance company that insured the film in case Bale bailed.

WARNING: THIS AUDIO CONTAINS GRAPHIC LANGUAGE

What the hell? It was like 100+ of the F word came out of his mouth. Is that really him? For a farkin donut? Who is the one who is not professional, him or the donut guy? But that was hilarious man, haha

Christian Bale F-Bombs Terminator Set; "It Was Just a Moment," Asst. Director Says



Sounds like John Connor's biggest weapon is his mouth.

Christian Bale, ticked off at Terminator: Salvation's director of photography for interrupting what we're told was a very intense scene, ripped into the guy for about three and a half minutes, at one point telling him he was going to "kick his f---ing a--" and threatening to quit the set unless the man was fired.

"I want you off the set! You prick!" the 35-year-old actor yelled at D.P. Shane Hurlbut. "No, don't just be sorry! Think for one f---ing second! What the f--k are you doing? Are you professional or not?"

The rant, captured on tape a few months ago, continued in that vein for several minutes, with the F-word taking center stage.

But although Bale's behavior makes us think twice about taking tea with the Brit, let along working with him, Bruce Franklin, an assistant director and associate producer on the fourth Terminator film, tells E! News that Bale, a "consummate professional," just had a bad day.

"If you are working in a very intense scene and someone takes you out of your groove...but was the most emotional scene in the movie," said Franklin. "And for him to get stopped in the middle of it. He is very intensely involved in his character. He didn't walk around like that all day long. It was just a moment and it passed."

"This was my second movie with Christian and it has always been a good experience with him," added Franklin, who also worked with the actor on 2000's Shaft. "He is so dedicated to the craft. I think someone is begging to make some noise about this but I don't think it's fair. The art of acting is not paint by numbers, it's an art form. "

Reps for Bale and Hurlbut did not immediately return calls for comment.

Rumors of Bale's Terminator temper tantrum made the rounds last July when he was questioned by British authorities in connection with a public spat he had with his mom and sister. The Dark Knight star was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing.

New Terminator Salvation Photo Shows John Connor on the Hunt



I’m not exactly sure where this came from (likely a magazine scan?), but /Film reader Christopher M got his hands on another new photo of Christian Bale as John Connor in Terminator Salvation. It looks like Connor and a crew of survivors are traveling through an underwater bunker half-filled with water. I’m pretty sure this if from the same scene that is shown in the first teaser trailer with the cool shot of the T-100 series terminator rising out of the water in the background. Just a guess.

Christian Bale Apologizes For Tirade



Christian Bale appeared on a radio show this morning and apologized for his outburst on the Terminator Salvation set. You can listen to the entire audioclip on TMZ, or read some of the highlights below:

“The thing I really want to stress is that I have NO confusion what-so-ever. I was out of order beyond belief. I acted like a punk. I regret that and there is nobody that has heard that tape that is hit harder by it than me. I make no excuses for it, it is inexcusable.”

“In [T2] you will meet Sarah Connor. And she is in an insane asylum—why is she there? Because she is crazy. Now I play John Connor her son, and on the day that all of this happened, the scene that we were doing, I was trying to show a little of that in-the-blood craziness, and it went a little wrong… I took it way too far, and I completely mixed up fact and fiction. I’m half John Connor, I’m half Christian there.”

“I’ve not only talked with [DP Shane Hurlbut], we’ve resolved this completely. That very day we kept working for a number of hours. Listen when I’m saying I’m not coming back on that set if he’s still hired, it’s hot air. I don’t believe that. I have no intention of getting anybody fired.”

“And another thing: a lot of people that I was a bully to this guy. That’s an insult to Shane. He is a big guy. I couldn’t have bullied that guy if I tried. He’s much bigger than me—he’s an ex-friggin football player.”

We hope that this will be our last post about this incident. Bale’s apology certainly puts a book end on the whole mess.

McG Basically Reveals: "Today's Arnold Schwarzenegger" Won't Appear In 'Terminator Salvation'



"Terminator Salvation" director/ thrill junkie enthusiast McG has been hinting for months that original "Terminator" star Arnold Schwarzenneger would appear in the fourth installment of the sci-fi action franchise. But at this weekend's New York Comic Con on Saturday the filmmaker basically let the cat out of the bag and revealed, that today's Ahnuld, the Govenor of California, won't appear in the film. Asked point blank, would Schwarzenneger appear? He responded via a longwinded technical response.

"The T800s as we know them look like Arnold [Schwarzenneger]. The T800 plays a big role in this movie.. I can't quite tell you how we express that, but I will tell you the following: I think when you make a Terminator movie the responsibility of our team...is to push special effects forward. So what we're trying to do is create visual effects and write code that's never been written before to address this very question. It is not clear if we will be successful or not, so we're working very diligently on going up to ILM in Sn Francisco because soon to address this very nature because... let me just hint at this: I don't want today's Arnold Schawzenneger. Cheers [to him], but I just want idealized Griffith park, Bill Paxton, tire-track on a face on-the-face archetype, and we'll see what we can do about that."

In other words, you'll probably see his old school face digitally repurposed, but don't expect the 61-year-old politician to appear as we know him today. Purists will probably be offended, but do you really want, neo-con Arnold in this thing? We would hope not.

EXCLUSIVE: Linda Hamilton In Negotiations For ‘Terminator Salvation’



There’s a reason MTV News just named Sarah Connor our #8 Movie Badass of All Time. 24 years after she battled Arnold’s T-800 cyborg and 17 years after she donned a revealing tank top to do sweaty pull-ups in a mental institution, we just can’t quit Connor. Neither, it seems, can her alter-ego Linda Hamilton. In an exclusive interview with MTV, the actress revealed for the first time that she’s in active negotiations to reprise her iconic role in this May’s “Terminator Salvation.”

“We are talking,” Hamilton told us during a wide-ranging conversation for her Movie Badass selection. “I haven’t read it yet. I don’t know what direction they will go in.”

While she awaits the specifics in a script, Hamilton already knows what her role generally would be. “My contribution would be voiceover,” she said. “I would probably be very happy to loan my voice depending on what the material is. Wait and see. They’re already writing it. We’ve been negotiating it.”

News of Hamilton’s likely involvement jibes with word coming out of last weekend’s New York Comic-Con, where “Salvation” director McG intimated that her participation in the reboot is essential. “She’s the greatest,” he said of Sarah Connor, adding that as an integral figure in franchise mythology, “one can imagine she plays an important role.”

Since he first began discussing the project and showing early footage, McG has been winning fans among the “Terminator” faithful for his commitment to honor the original films—a stance that Hamilton didn’t feel the makers of “T3” took. “They offered me a part,” she said. “I read it and I knew my character arc was so complete in the first two, and in the third one it was a negligible character. She died halfway through and there was no time to mourn her. It was kind of disposable, so I said no thank you.”

“I think [director] Jim [Cameron] was pretty clearly not going to be involved with the third one,” she continued. “His partner had sold the rights to the third one. Then they came back to Jim, but it was so far along after the fact that he’d moved on. And I wouldn’t be involved with it if it weren’t Jim Cameron. The third one was all right but it just didn’t have the heat and excitement that Jim can bring.”

Of course, Cameron isn’t involved in the fourth “Terminator” either. Like many fans, however, Hamilton seems to be giving McG’s new version the benefit of the doubt. “It would be great fun,” she said.

Happy with a Hamilton voiceover or would you like to see her in the flesh—perhaps in a flashback or time travel sequence? Without James Cameron’s involvement, do you think “Salvation” can capture the insane awesomeness of the first two pictures, or will it be another “T3”-style disappointment?

New Terminator Salvation Pics
April Empire stars Bale & Co.

It's that time again: the new Empire is out this Thursday and we have a heck of an issue for you. Led by Terminator Salvation and Christian Bale, in his first post-outbreak interview, it's an issue jam-packed with exclusive interviews, news and reviews.

We've got a huge feature on the entire Terminator series to this point, looking at the films, the TV show and with all-new interviews from many of the people who made it. We've also got a big interview with Russell Crowe for his ace new film State of Play, we were on the set of The Damned United with Michael Sheen and on The Boat That Rocked with Richard Curtis. We even found time to jet to Sweden to talk to the director of new vampire chiller Let The Right One In.

Terminator Salvation: Warner Bros Wants PG-13 Edits, McG is Fighting For His R-Rated Vision



When production first began on Terminator Salvation, rumors began to circulate that Warner Bros wanted the film to be PG-13. At Comic-Con last year, McG assured fans in attendance that he is under no pressure to deliver a PG-13 rating. 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. When I was on the set of the film, McG showed us a reel of early footage from the film, and one clip included Moon Bloodgood topless in the rain, which to me confirmed that McG wasn’t lying.

Today at WonderCon, McG made a point to mention that Warner Bros wants him to cut out the topless footage from the film. He insisted that he thinks that it should remain in the released feature film, citing that Bloodgood’s character is partly a homage to James Cameron’s Sarah Connor — a strong yet beautiful woman. McG polled the audience, asking if they wanted to see the scene in the final film, which got the response that you might expect from an overwhelmingly male comic convention crowd. Having seen the footage myself, not in the context of the film or even scene, I will say this - it was beautifully and tastefully shot. I’m not sure if it furthers the story along (as I said, I did not see the shot in the context of the full scene), but it didn’t seem gratuitous at all.

It seems to me that the only reason that Warner Bros would want the scene cut from the film is if they want a PG-13 cut of the film. There is no other possible reason. McG publicly called out the name of the Warner Bros executive that is pushing for the removal of the shot in question, and made it clear that he would like to keep the shot in. And while McG didn’t flat out say that he wants to fight for a R-Rating, that’s how it came across to me and most everyone in the convention hall. And making a public statement is a strong message to the movie studio producing the film. McG’s vision is evidently R-Rated after all, but will the film be edited down for a more marketable (potentially more profitable) PG-13 rating?

Sneak Peek: New Terminator Salvation Trailer



Later today, Entertainment Tonight will be premiering a sneak peek at the new Terminator Salvation movie trailer which is attached to Watchmen. But while you’re waiting, ET has aired a sneak preview of that sneak preview which features a bunch of new footage including the Moto-Terminators in action, John Connor battling it out with an T-800 endoskeleton terminator, Connor kissing his wife and fellow resistance leader Kate (Bryce Dallas Howard) and a brief PG-rated glimpse at the now infamous Moon Bloodgood “topless in the rain” scene. Watch the clip after the jump or wait until later tonight to see more.

damn, i've been waiting for the new trailer FOREVER!

McG Wants Robert Patrick in Next 'Terminator' Film



We already brought you a brief recap of the Terminator Salvation panel at this year's Wondercon, but director McG stuck around to talk shop with a few outlets, including Fearnet, who chatted up the possibility of Robert Patrick (aka the T1000 in Terminator 2) returning for the next Terminator film. Well, not only has McG spoken to the actor about making an appearance, but he appears to already have ideas on how to fit a much-older Patrick into the series.

He says, "I talk to Robert Patrick with great regularity. It's interesting – I was [thinking of] a through line. I'll bounce it off of you guys: I like the idea in a prospective next picture that you meet Robert Patrick the way he looks today, and he's a scientist that's working on improving cell replication so we can stay healthier and we can cure juvenile diabetes and all these things that once again sound like good ideas -- and once again live as an idealized expression of ourselves. So imagine seeing a sixty-year-old Robert Patrick and knowing, 'Holy shit! That's gonna be the T-1000 – who comes back perfect, lean and the whole thing.' I haven't concluded that, but Robert and I had dinner the other night and talked about it. I made two movies with Robert Patrick, so I like him very much. And now he's very heavily into motorcycle riding. He's a really serious guy."

But will they all make a sequel? McG notes, "Let Memorial Day come. If we all get together and sit at a table like this and you guys give me a kick in the ass and say, 'Go make another one,' I'll deliver Bale and we'll get it done."

I'm not sure I'm entirely sold on that idea, but it would be interesting to meet the person the T1000 was based on as a human in the future. What do you think?

No Bale in T4 game



Those of you who pick up the video game based on TERMINATOR SALVATION later this year will recognize the voice and likenesses of stars Common, Moon Bloodgood and oddly Rose McGowan who isn't even in the film. But one person you won't recognize is John Connor. That's because Christian Bale has refused to participate in the game and will not be lending his likeness or voice to the John Connor character. We're not exactly sure why Bale won't be participating (he can't completely hate video games because he lent his voice to the BATMAN BEGINS game) but it's sure to disappoint his many fans. While they weren't keen to get into the Bale situation, one of the game's developers spoke to GamePro about why McGowan has joined the storyline:

"Another character that really becomes a key player in the story, but does not appear in the movie is Angie Salter, an ex-high school teacher (voiced by the bloody fantastic Rose McGowan). Angie is on the verge of completely giving up any hope for humanity's survival and is gratingly cynical throughout the game. Her character arc has a profound effect on Connor.

And don't expect to see any Kyle Reese in the game but that has nothing to do with Anton Yelchin pulling a Bale. They explain that, "as the game is set two years before the movie, it did not make logical sense to have characters such as Kyle Reese appear in the game." You can read more about the TERMINATOR SALVATION game here at GamePro (thanks to Kotaku for the heads up).

Extra Tidbit: I wouldn't mind playing the game as one of the evil Terminator robots.