TEASER IS OUT!

Exclusive Images From Terminator: Salvation Set

Unsatisfied by the brief, really vague images you saw in the first trailer for Terminator: Salvation? Then check out these exclusive images from the set, passed along to us by a tipster.

No glimpses of Christian Bale or any of the other main stars, but you do get a really good look at what appears to be a guard uniform-- maybe a fellow resistance fighter? There's also a car that appears to be completely covered in dust, as well as-- oh yeah-- a helicopter completely burst into flames. It's a small glimpse, to be sure, but you're lying if you say you're not intrigued. I mean, who bothers to burn helicopters anymore when you can just CGI them? McG, you've earned two extra points in my book.

McG Blogs More Terminator Salvation



McG has posted a new Terminator Salvation update on the movie’s official blog. It’s hard to know whether or not to listen when he talks anymore though. At Comic Con he strode on stage and blew everyone away with grandiose promises and plans. Months later, at least half the stuff he said turned out to be nothing but BS, and in some cases outright fabrication. So it’s probably worth noting that you should take anything McG has to say about his project with at least a little grain of salt.

What he does have to say though, sounds good. McG says they’ve wrapped principal photography and he’s started showing people early cuts. In particular, he’s shown some off to his stars Christian Bale and Sam Worthington. McG says:“They seem pleased with where the film is headed.”

He also talks a great deal about the importance of effects on the film. After all, the first two movies were special effects landmarks. Talking about what his VFX supervisor is trying to achieve, he says, “Charlie wants his mind blown. There's one sequence in particular where we're trying to achieve something that's never been done before. I don't want to talk about it because we haven't been successful yet...” Wait, you’ve already talked about it! Hey don’t leave us hanging man!

Much of his blog posting is filled with references back to the first two movies and name dropping people from those films who are now involved in his current film. He did the same thing in his big speech at Comic Con. It’s obvious that McG is keenly aware of how skeptical Terminator fans are of what he’s doing, and his strategy for bringing them around seems to be in convincing them that he’s James Cameron 2.0. Maybe it will work.

Read the rest of McG’s latest Terminator Salvation by clicking over to his blog right here.

James Cameron Knows As Much About Terminator 4 As You Do



At first we thought James Cameron was 100% on board with Terminator: Salvation, even though he had pretty much nothing to do with it. Then internet rumors led us to believe that Cameron wasn't OK with the movie after all. Now James Cameron is talking to AICN to set the record straight: He knows pretty much as much about the movie as you do, plus a little word-of-mouth from star Sam Worthington.

Even though McG offered to send Cameron a script, which is how he gave "his blessing" to begin with, Cameron hasn't read the script or seen the film at all. "I haven't seen a foot of film other than what everybody's seen in the trailer, which is not enough to form an opinion. So I have zero basis for supporting or dissing the film. As I said in an interview, for all I know it could be a masterpiece or it could be a big steaming pile."

Well, he knows a little more than he's letting on. "In fact, it might be very good, an opinion based solely on what Sam Worthington has shared with me. He's nobody's fool when it comes to material, and has absolutely the lowest bullshit quotient of anyone I know, and he has repeatedly told me that he reckons the film is going to be good."

So there you have it-- some dude is telling James Cameron the movie is probably good, a dude who has a huge stake in people coming out to see the movie. In fact, Cameron has a stake in it too-- Worthington will be seen in Salvation before his next role in Cameron's Avatar, which means Cameron benefits if Worthington becomes a huge star when Salvation is a hit. So yeah: No objective opinions here. Just a lot of people trying to make you see this movie, even if it is, as Cameron puts it, a stinking pile.

New Terminator bots

The sci-fi focused site io9 got a look at some seemingly legit concept art for various models of machinery we'll see being dismantled by John Connor and company in McG's scorched future TERMINATOR SALVATION.

The designs seem to jibe with that leaked video of artist Martin Laing animatedly discussing his work on the project. Click those beast-bots below to see the range of McTerminators.





Extra Tidbit: SkyNet seems to have a thing for rotary cannons, eh?

4 Terminator Salvation Rumours Cleared Up
McG confesses all to totalfilm.com



Arnie will appear… probably

When shots of Arnie hanging out on the Salvation set were shoved into all of our computers, the internet exploded with rumour. Was Schwarzenegger there to film a cameo? Give his blessing? Try and get a cut of the profits?

Well, we’d bet our Terminator 2 action figure collection that we know the real reason. He was there to get motion captured for his all CGI debut as the T800.

“We’re trying to synthesise a human character with a CGI character and that may or may not have something to do with the T800,” McG told us with a smile.

The process isn’t without its problems, though. McG isn’t happy with ILM’s work so far... “At the moment it’s not good enough,” he said. “And we’re running out of time.”

Sam Worthington Sticks Up For His Terminator



Sam Worthington has a whooooole lot riding on Terminator: Salvation. It'll be the first major movie role for the Australian actor, who will also show up in James Cameron's Avatar, and may make that movie a lot more money if he's already become a star. So you can't blame him for taking to the web to defend his next movie, which has been hampered by bad buzz even though no one really know anything about it.

He talked to Moviehole's Clint, who went on a long rant defending the movie before getting to what Worthington had to say. First, he wanted to clear up that Christian Bale calling the movie "alright" didn't mean the movie was going to be terrible. "Knowing Christian - I'm sure he would reserve his true judgement till the movie is complete. So I believe this comment shouldn't be given much weight."

Of course, Worthington hasn't seen the movie either, so he's going on the preview footage we've all seen and a faith in his director, McG. "From my own eyes and early screening of Terminator: Salvation, I can say that what I have seen and what McG is putting together is exciting and a thrilling ride." He's also prepared to be wrong, though. "If we f***ed up , we f***ed up, and we will find out May 22nd."

You've got to feel bad for the guy, forced to defend a movie he hasn't seen but clearly believes in. It's just their fault that there's not much else to look forward to at the moment, and without anything to get excited about yet, people feel free to go negative. We can probably expect some sort of new trailer sometime soon, so maybe that'll get the haters to take a rest, and give poor Sam Worthington a break.

Sneak Peek at the New Terminator Salvation Trailer!

The new trailer for Terminator Salvation will premiere on Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday and hit theaters with The Day the Earth Stood Still, but the show aired a sneak peek at the trailer which you can watch below!

Japan Teases New Trailer For 'Terminator Salvation'

While everyone sits in anticipation for E.T. Tonight's debut of the new trailer for McG's Terminator Salvation, someone over at YouTube uploaded the (supposed) exact same trailer from Japan. You can check out all of the new footage from the film inside and watch this spot for an update with the US trailer later tonight. The film is about John Connor, now in his 30s and soon to be wife Kate Brewster realize they must create a resistance organization with Earth's remaining survivors against the army of robots slowly being built up by Skynet. As they are building this resistance, one survivor happens to be a traitor in disguise, and has a secret that nobody would ever come to suspect. Warner Bros. will be releasing the film in theaters May 22.

Second Official Trailer: Terminator: Salvation



Turns out the Terminator: Salvation trailer we posted the other day, with Japanese subtitles, wasn't a preview of the one we were about to see stateside. We now have the official second trailer for the movie, courtesy of Warner Bros., and while it shares a lot in common with that earlier trailer, there are some new scenes to check out as well. And it's in glorious high-res, which is more than enough reason to check it out in the embed below.

At the beginning of this one we see Sam Worthington's mystery character arrive in the dystopic 2018 that's apparently not the future John Connor's mother promised him. Where he's coming from, I haven't a clue, and I don't think anyone else does either. But I definitely am clearer on a lot of the action, which was just plain fuzzy in the YouTube embed we posted. Check the thing out below, and feel your suspicions fall away. This new movie may still not make much sense, but damn if it doesn't look great.

First Look: 'Terminator Salvation'



Here's a first-look image from one of the most promising films of 2009, "Terminator Salvation."

Yes, that's right, I absolutely think the film has the chance to be great, an opinion formed when I visited the set, watched quite a bit of footage and spent time talking to the cast and director McG about the premise and tone of the film. To be candid, I had gone to the New Mexico set with a considerable amount of skepticism but after learning about the grim tale of the film, I'm a true believer ... or, at the very least, a true optimist.

This scene shows Christian Bale as the adult John Connor of 2018 where he and humanity are locked in an ugly (and losing) battle with the murderous machines of Skynet. The film opens May 22 and I will be writing a lot more about it between now and then.

New Terminator Salvation Poster?

There’s a new poster to go with the new Terminator Salvation trailer we brought you earlier today. Or it seems to be a Terminator Salvation poster, we’re not entirely sure at this point whether it’s the real deal or a fake. It is however, rather pretty.

It’s been floating around various blogs for the past couple of hours, but since so few blogs bother to credit their sources I have no idea where any of them actually got it. A couple places have been crediting the LA Times where they also have an excellent new image form the film. However their version of the poster is much smaller and of lower resolution than the versions found elsewhere suggesting that the LA Times is no better than an image stealing blog and the poster did not in fact originate with them.

What I’m getting at is that I have no idea where this came from or even if it’s an official poster and not just some excellent fan art. I’ll let you know when I know, till then check out this great new poster for Terminator Salvation:

Set Visit: T4 Preview!



It seems odd to think back to my time this past July in Albuquerque, New Mexico, because my house is now surrounded by snow and ice. But, in the blistering desert, Warner Bros. invited a few of us online journalists, to check out some scenes being filmed for TERMINATOR: SALVATION. This trip also included a tour of the Albuquerque Studios complex which housed some of the more established interior sets for the flick. The new installment started filming in April 2008 and by the time we were on set, they were close to half-way done shooting. The movie currently has a May 22, 2009 release date.
I’ve got to say from the outset, I wasn’t crazy about the idea of a fourth Terminator movie. Not from the perspective of a “fanboy” (a term I absolutely loathe), the TERMINATOR movies just weren’t something I possessively held close to my heart, like THE GODFATHER, DIE HARD, or TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES. At the time of the set visit, I hadn’t seen TERMINATOR: RISE OF THE MACHINES but obviously loving the first two movies, I felt like I was missing something from the franchise. Well, having finally seen Rise of the Machines, I can say that there was something missing about third flick, much like the third GODFATHER movie where you’re just left thinking, “Huh? Really?”



Nowadays, when you attach Christian Bale’s name to a project, interest automatically goes up ten fold. Whether he’s attached to play John Connor in the new Terminator flick or starring as himself in a documentary about learning how to get through a rough par 3 on the golf course, the man unwittingly attracts interest from all over the world. And when Christian Bale is interested in continuing the story of a legendary but fractured franchise, you can bet your ass there’s a damn good reason behind it. And that reason isn’t dollar signs, but a word that invokes a blood curdling rage in fanboys: McG. Just remember I said that.



Why? Because meeting the man on set, giving us his pitch on why he decided to continue this particular story, and how he plans to get his vision across was enough to convince me of his genuine passion in not only picking up the TERMINATOR franchise, but filmmaking in general. As you’ll read in my official set visit report a little later, after graciously showing us 8 minutes of “selects” from the film (this is before any teaser/trailer), he laced into the internet movie community with a good 5 minute rant on how much he gets shit on for his choice in directing projects and most of all, his name. The man certainly earned my respect after the tirade (which you’ll also read coming soon).

With a project like TERMINATOR: SALVATION, a story that’s part of an epic franchise, details on the set are very “hush hush” which is why I’m talking in broad strokes in this preview piece. Even when news broke, that day on set, that Helena Bonham Carter was indeed cast as a character called “Serena”, confirmation for the news wasn’t easily given. In any case, I’ll give you some handy bullet points of things I’ll be covering in depth in my full report that will be filed some time next year.

* We explore the Albuquerque Studios complex where key scenes are filmed such as the big interrogation scene between John Connor and Marcus Wright.
* Visiting Skynet.
* Details on the production area where production designer Martin Laing’s full color, painted storyboards are exhibited to show the entire movie.
* More details on production art showcasing various Terminators such as T600, T700 and T800 models and also various Drones, Hydrobots and Harvesters.



* Interviews with McG, Sam Worthington, Moon Bloodgood and Anton Yelchin (Kyle Reese), not to mention our run in with Helena Bonham Carter on her first day on set!
* Details on the 8 minutes of footage that McG personally showed us in his very cool (literally) mini trailer.
* Our visit to the animatronics trailer where I shit my pants when a T800 looks right at me and flares its red eyes.



* Details on a KEY scene where John Connor gets into a bit of a scrap with a Terminator.

I still have to say that despite my skepticism that SALVATION would be any less lame than RISE OF THE MACHINES, what I saw in the 8 minutes in McG’s trailer…the conversations with the cast and crew…the general vibe and excitement on set from everyone involved, has leaned me to the side of “I can’t f*cking wait”.

Fifth 'Terminator' film in the works
McG working with Halcyon on project

The Terminator will be back.

Halcyon Co. toppers Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek are developing a fifth instalment of the man-vs.-machine franchise.

Helmer McG, who directed the upcoming fourth pic, "Terminator Salvation," is working with the Halcyon duo on the latest project.

Announcement was among the news that came out of the Dubai Intl. Film Festival, which bowed Dec. 11 and runs through Thursday.

No decision has been made as to where to film the next "Terminator," although the Middle East was mentioned as a locale.

When Anderson and Kubicek acquired the rights the lucrative "Terminator" franchise last year from previous owners C2, the former ad exec and banker envisaged the re-booted series as a trilogy. Christian Bale has signed on in the role of John Connor for all three roles. Newest pic is tentatively skedded for a 2011 release.

The duo had originally planned to wait until the release of "Terminator Salvation" next summer before deciding on whether to proceed with the next chapter, but the positive studio, fan and media reaction to footage from the current pic has encouraged them to move forward ahead of schedule.

"We feel the time is now to start shaping the next part of this," Kubicek said.

Warner Bros. is handling the domestic release of "Terminator Salvation" with Sony handling the majority of the rest of the world, with the exception of the Middle East where the film is being handled by Dubai-based Gulf Film.

No decision has been made yet on whether the fifth "Terminator" will be once again split by Warner Bros. and Sony.

"Terminator" vidgame, which has been developed inhouse through the Halcyon Games division, will be released day-and-date with the live action pic.

The Halcyon duo is also prepping an English-language remake of Danish helmer Susanne Bier's Oscar-nominated "After the Wedding." Brit helmer Michael Caton-Jones will start lensing in early 2009. Pic, about a Western social worker in a Mumbai slum who receives a mysterious multi-million-dollar donation from a Western businessman, has yet to be cast.

"It's on the opposite side of the spectrum from 'Terminator" in that it's a much smaller drama," Anderson said. "It's a total departure for us. There's not that many screens for foreign-language films so we thought this was an opportunity for more people to see the film."

Keen to assuage question marks over its commitment to the local film industry, the Dubai government announced at the fest that it would invest in its first-ever feature project. Government investment arm the Dubai Intl. Financial Center is coughing up the majority of coin for Emirati helmer Ali Mustafa's debut feature "City of Life," which refers to the English translation of Dubai's oldest nickname.

Project, which has a budget in the mid-seven-figure range, is a multilingual, character-driven drama based in the bustling emirate. Filmworks CEO Tim Smythe is producing the project, which will begin lensing on location in Dubai next February.

Alexandra Maria Lara ("Control"), Arab-American standup Ahmed Ahmed and rising Bollywood star Sonu Sood ("Singh Is Kinng") have boarded the cosmopolitan project.

"We need to be aware that as a first film this is going to serve as a benchmark for," Smythe said. "It's an important project for Dubai and developing an industry here. We're going to be 85% local crew, which is an amazing thing to do. This is a huge step up for us."

Project is the most ambitious Emirati film to be fully funded with local coin. Mustafa, who won the Emirati Filmmaker prize at the Dubai fest last year, has long been seen as the Emirati helmer most likely to break out internationally.

Mustafa and Smythe are hoping to world preem the pic at next year's Dubai fest.

Elsewhere, fest's inaugural film market -- an innovative fully digital film library utilizing Hewlett-Packard technology -- has proved easy-to-use and popular with both buyers and sellers. Mart runs concurrently with the fest.

Co-production market the Dubai Film Connection launched Saturday, with 18 projects vying for three prizes of $25,000 in development coin each. It ends Wednesday.

Terminator characters

I was skeptical about the casting of Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese in McG's TERMINATOR SALVATION. The kid's a good actor, but physically seemed kind of wispy for the tenacious futuristic soldier and unwitting father to mankind's savior.

These new merchandising pics of character busts help change that impression -- he actually looks fairly badass in this outfit, and hopefully that also translates on screen (and with legs).

Also on display in truncated statuette form is a bulky T600 cyborg, Sam Worthington in a Neo coat, and woman warrior Moon Bloodgood.









Extra Tidbit: Yelchin has played younger versions of Michael Biehn, Walter Koenig (STAR TREK) and David Duchovny (HOUSE OF D).

New Terminator Salvation Photos: John Connor Comes Face To Face With a HydroBot



Two new photos from Terminator Salvation have been released online. The first one is our first real look at one of the new Terminators in the film - the Hydrobot (pictured below in concept art which hit the web last month). John Connor (Christian Bale) appears to be inspecting the head of an incapacitated version of the Terminator model. The second photo shows someone, possibly Connor or Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) walking through the baron landscape of a post Judgement Day desert earth. Thansk to /Film reader Christopher M for sending these new photos along.

EXCLUSIVE: Danny Elfman To Score ‘Terminator Salvation’



Cast your expectations aside for the score to May’s “Terminator Salvation.” Danny Elfman has confirmed exclusively for MTV News that he will be composing the music for McG’s new post-nuclear-holocaust Terminator installment of the blockbuster franchise.

“I just started yesterday,” Elfman told MTV News from the red carpet of the Critics’ Choice Awards. The Academy Award nominated composer from films like “Good Will Hunting,” “The Corpse Bride” and “Batman” indicated that the original “Terminator” theme by composer Brad Fiedel was not in use yet; nor is there mandate to incorporate the classic symphonic hook. He did, however, leave the door open for its appearance.

“I think if it comes up and it seems appropriate, we will [use it],” Elman said. “And if it doesn’t, we [won't]. I never really know what to expect when I begin other than just kind of get into it and have fun. Especially a movie like “T4” – just have fun. So that’s what I intend to do.”

Last month we brought you exclusive word that the “Salvation” soundtrack will also include a track by the film’s star, hip-hop artist Common. The rapper plays the role of Barnes, a freedom fighter who battles Skynet alongside John Connors.

Elfman has the magic touch when it comes showcasing the monumentally bizarre and violently solemn moments on screen in his music. Right now, it’s obvious “Terminator: Salvation” will be breaking out the big sound guns for its score. And the sentiment was definitely echoed in Elfman’s response to the screening he recently saw.

The composer for all three “Spider-Man” films had one word for it: “Exciting.”

So do you think Elfman is a good pick for one of 2009’s most ambitious sci-fi/action sequels? Do you want to hear the original “Terminator” theme used in his score? Let us know below in the comment section!

'Terminator' Franchise Has Planned Conclusion, Sarah Connor Returns?!

This afternoon we were among the first press ever to witness footage from McG's Terminator Salvation, which arrives in theaters May 22. While a full report is forthcoming, we did get our hands on some important information about the film, including the direction of the franchise and whether or not we might see the return of Linda Hamilton to the fight. You can read all about it beyond the break.



After an impressive taste of what's to come in the fourth TERMINATOR film, McG took to the audience for questions.

One reporter drilled the director about the rumor that Linda Hamilton was approached to return as Sarah Connor (the mother of John Connor, the future leader of the human survivors) in SALVATION.

After chuckling to himself a bit, he asked the audience to show hands if they'd like to hear old tape recordings of Sarah Connor in the opening and ending of the film, keeping to the tradition of the TERMINATOR spirit. When the majority raised their hands, he literally flicked off the producer (in a joking manner). He did tease that it could be something we see in the final cut of the film...

On the exclusive news front, our questions wasn't answered so we hit up McG in the lobby of the DGA, where the event took place.

Something that has been bugging this journalist for years is that the TERMINATOR franchise appears to have no end. Like many time travel films before it, the situation appears to loop over and over again. The Terminators will keep sending back more robots to kill John or Sarah, while in the future they'll keep fighting to stop it.

When originally announced, it was said that SALVATION would kick off a brand new trilogy, meaning that there are three films planned. We asked McG that while working out the timeline and story for SALVATION if they also figured out how to tie it all together and end the franchise... for good.

His response, "Yes, we have. The films will all button up at the end of three."

He also explained that obviously he can't guarantee all three films will ever get made, or that he'll return, but that in the end it'll all come together and end the franchise once and for all.

I told him if it never gets made, we'll have to hunt him down to find out the finale. Can you imagine if "Lost" got canceled? Yikes...

Arriving in theaters May 22, SALVATION is about John Connor (Christian Bale), now in his 30s and soon to be wife Kate Brewster realize they must create a resistance organization with Earth's remaining survivors against the army of robots slowly being built up by Skynet. As they are building this resistance, one survivor happens to be a traitor in disguise, and has a secret that nobody would ever come to suspect.

cool new concept art, especially with the design of marcus terminator
but very2 spoilery

McG reveals more about Terminator Salvation—and jabs Michael Bay



During a screening in Hollywood of footage from Terminator: Salvation on Wednesday, director McG revealed a wealth of new details about his upcoming film, including its potential rating, running time, whether Arnold Schwarzenegger will be involved and what he really thinks of Michael Bay.

The following is an edited version of the session from the event.

Will we get to see the film in IMAX?

McG: I wanted to shoot the film with this dead stock [old film that has been distressed to give the movie a desaturated look]. Therefore it wasn't conducive to shooting it in IMAX format. But we're going to bump it up to IMAX. We are going to bump it up, and it holds up very nicely, and it looks and sounds that much more impactful. But one price we had to pay for making those choices was that we didn't shoot in IMAX.



What do you have in mind for the rating of the film?

McG: We got together early on, I got together with Christian [Bale, who plays John Connor], and we want to make the best film possible. We don't care about the rating. We can't aim for the rating. There's one guy in the world who would be sharp with me about the rating, and he's sitting in here right now. He's [Warner Brothers executive] Jeff Rabinov, and we talked about this at Comic-Con. No joke. Jeff, rightfully so, because he's a tough businessman and people can run numbers at you, "It's this, it's that, you'll lose money." And Rabinov was the one who was cool enough to say, "Just shoot the movie. I'm not worried about it." All three of those [previous Terminator] films are R, so you've got a fearless Warner Brothers, which was excellent for us because it freed us up to just shoot the movie. Now, having said that, I'm not hung up about a PG-13. I look at The Dark Knight, and I think that picture was made compromise-free. I think it's an excellent artistic achievement, and I don't come out of there going, "Oh, if it would have been a little gorier, I would have liked it more." To the contrary. We don't aim for a rating, and we've been given freedom by the head of the studio to just make the best picture possible.

What's the running time looking at right now?

McG: Again, we're not particularly concerned about it. I mean, it's probably going to be right around two hours, maybe a little more than two hours, but we're not trying to target. And that's another thing: There's a guy who runs Warner, and he'll talk very intelligently about a certain cutoff of screenings where if you do it this way, you get x amount of screens a day, and if you do it that way, you lose that many showings a day. But we've been given the freedom just to make the best movie possible. Now I happen to think a lot of filmmakers are overindulgent in how their films run too long, but I don't like a movie that's 90 minutes in-out. I want a movie to have a correct length to have the maximum impact and give you something to think about as you exit the theater. I also think the audience is so intelligent that you can tell, oftentimes as a function of runtime, the amount of confidence in the quality of the film.

Have you spoken to Schwarzenegger at all about the movie?

McG: I have indeed. I spoke to Schwarzenegger, and I will be showing him the film shortly. I've got a lot to talk to him about in regard to the role he plays in this. It's something we've talked about a lot. It's a double-edged sword, because we've begun again; this is a new idea, and this is a new idea with Terminators, a new language. But he's such a part of it, the degree to which he'll be part of our film, you've got to be respectful of the seat he's in right now. We have to be sensitive, be intelligent, and he's our partner. He gets it, he does indeed wish us well, and I look forward to showing him the movie. I didn't want to do the movie if Schwarzenegger was like, "F--k you guys!" I want Schwarzenegger to at least feel respected.

Are you concerned about being up against another movie with giant robots this summer [Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, whose director, Michael Bay, has accused McG of mimicking his giant robots]?

McG: Well, I refer to the work of Michael Bay to eliminate what not to do. That's a joke. I talked to him an hour ago. Truthfully, the Harvester is a little reminiscent of a Transformer, and I don't want that. It's an ancillary character in our film, and our film is so different. It's something that Michael and I have talked about; Michael and I cut our teeth in a similar way, shooting a lot of film and coming up in the commercial [and] music-video industry. So I want to make sure there's no way we're going to have anything reminiscent of that. That also has decidedly manga characteristics; it's colorful and has machines hitting hip-hop poses. I like those movies, but we're not making that movie, and I say that in fun because I truly talked to Michael Bay two hours ago, because he took a jab at us. He emailed me today, and we talked, and it's a healthy competition. So we'll see who the last man standing is.

When you were in story meetings, were you planning one movie or several?

McG: We have already broken stories for the second and third movies. We don't explore time travel in this movie, and it's a huge part of the mythology. Having said that, we would never be so bold as to presume there will be another movie. A lot of people get in trouble thinking they have the best thing since sliced bread, the audience goes like this [thumbs down], and there isn't a second movie. I would never presume a second movie, even though Christian and I have talked about it. We talked about all of that, and we're ready to go if audiences say, "We want it." And we prefer to leave that to the audience.