Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
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| Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines | |
|---|---|
| Image:Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines movie.jpg Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines movie poster | |
| Directed by | Jonathan Mostow |
| Produced by | Mario F. Kassar Hal Lieberman Joel B. Michaels Andrew G. Vajna Colin Wilson |
| Written by | Screenplay: John D. Brancato Michael Ferris Story: John D. Brancato Michael Ferris Tedi Sarafian Based on Characters Created by: James Cameron Gale Anne Hurd |
| Starring | Arnold Schwarzenegger Nick Stahl Claire Danes Kristanna Loken |
| Music by | Marco Beltrami |
| Cinematography | Don Burgess |
| Editing by | Nicolas de Toth Neil Travis |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros.(USA) Columbia Pictures (international) |
| Release date(s) | July 2, 2003 |
| Running time | 109 min. |
| Country | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $187,300,000 |
| Gross revenue | $433,371,112 (worldwide) |
| Preceded by | Terminator 2: Judgment Day |
| Followed by | Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (commonly abbreviated as T3) is a 2003 science fiction film directed by Jonathan Mostow, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes and Kristanna Loken. It is the sequel to The Terminator, released in 1984, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, released in 1991. It was released in the United States on July 2, 2003.
This film was Arnold Schwarzenegger's final starring role before becoming Governor of California. Warner Home Video released the film on HD DVD on May 9 2006 in North America.[1]
After the failure of Skynet to kill Sarah Connor before her son is born, and to kill John himself as a child, it sends back another Terminator in a last attempt before Judgment Day to wipe out as many resistance officers as possible, including John and his future wife.
A fourth film in the saga has been announced, and is slated to be released in 2008 or 2009, written by T3 writers John Brancato and Michael Ferris. To date, a cast list has not been released, but Arnold Schwarzenegger is not expected to reprise his starring role due to his governmental duties in California.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Due to the events shown in Terminator 2, Judgment Day did not occur as originally predicted. Still not believing that it was completely prevented, John Connor (Nick Stahl) is living "off-the-grid," in Los Angeles, California with no permanent residence, credit cards, or mobile phone and is working freelance so he can't be tracked. Skynet sends another Terminator, the T-X (Kristanna Loken), back to July 24 2004, Judgment Day, to kill the human resistance's future lieutenants, because Connor could not be located through any information databases. The T-X, later dubbed the "Terminatrix", is armed with a full arsenal of advanced weapons from the future, avoiding the restriction of non-living tissue by carrying them internally, including the ability to remotely control most machines.
As before, a reprogrammed Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), identical to the Terminators from the previous films, has been sent back in time to protect Connor and his future wife, Katherine Brewster (Claire Danes). In a plot twist, this particular Terminator killed John Connor in 2032, before being reprogrammed and sent back in time by Connor's wife. After rescuing them from an initial attack, the Terminator leads them to Sarah Connor's coffin, which her friends filled with weapons in the event that Judgment Day was not prevented. The T-X and the police arrive, and the three narrowly escape in a hearse.
After the destruction of Cyberdyne Systems in T2, the Air Force has taken over the Skynet project as part of its Cyber Research Systems division, headed by General Robert Brewster, Kate's father. In an attempt to stop the spread of a computer supervirus, they activate Skynet, allowing it to invade all of their systems. John, Kate, and the Terminator arrive just a few minutes too late to stop them. The T-1 terminators become self aware and start killing office personnel. Just before General Brewster dies, he tells them that the Skynet system core is in Crystal Peak, a base built into a mountain.
As they board a plane to leave, they are attacked by the Terminator, taken over by the T-X. To avoid killing Connor, he shuts himself down. When they reach Crystal Peak, they are attacked once again by the T-X. Suddenly, a helicopter comes crashing through the front wall and into the T-X. The Terminator has managed to reboot himself and regain control. The T-X detaches its legs as they are stuck underneath the helicopter, quickly crawling after John and Kate. The Terminator manages to catch hold of it and save John and Kate by detonating its last remaining hydrogen fuel cell in the T-X's mouth.
John and Kate discover that the base does not house the Skynet core. It is a fallout shelter for VIPs. General Brewster sent them there to protect them. There is no Skynet core; Skynet is software running on thousands of computers throughout the world making Judgment Day unavoidable. Skynet launches nuclear missiles, starting the war of man versus machine. Foreshadowing Connor's future leadership role, when the confused military forces and ham radio operators ask for orders, he picks up the radio and takes command.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Arnold Schwarzenegger | The Terminator |
| Nick Stahl | John Connor |
| Claire Danes | Kate Brewster |
| Kristanna Loken | T-X |
| David Andrews | Lieutenant General Robert Brewster, USAF |
| Mark Famiglietti | Scott Mason (originally "Scott Petersen") |
| Earl Boen | Dr. Peter Silberman |
| Moira Harris | Betsy |
| Chopper Bernet | Chief Engineer |
| Christopher Lawford | Brewster's Aide |
| Carolyn Hennesy | Rich Woman |
Besides Arnold Schwarzenegger, Earl Boen (Dr. Silberman) is the only actor to appear in all three Terminator films. Linda Hamilton was initially approached to reprise her role as Sarah Connor, but turned it down. John explains in T3 that Sarah died of leukemia in the year 1997.
In a 2005 interview on NPR's Fresh Air, Claire Danes revealed that she was cast for the role of Kate Brewster as a last-minute replacement, after actress Sophia Bush was thought too young to portray Kate Brewster. Danes started filming immediately, and basically learned about her character on the job. Danes later said this may have helped her performance, as Kate Brewster's character was similarly thrust into a strange new reality with no warning.
Kate Brewster's slain boyfriend, Scott Mason, was originally named Scott Petersen, but was changed in order to avoid giving the false impression that this was a type of "reverse parody" of the Scott Peterson case surrounding the murder of Laci Peterson and her unborn son Connor. The fact that there would have also been occurrences of "Connor" on both sides would have reminded viewers too much more about the Laci Peterson murders, and give them the misconception that the movie makers deliberately made a parody / reversal of the roles involved in the Laci Peterson murders. However, in the ending credits his name is still listed as "Scott Petersen."
[edit] Production
James Cameron announced T3 many times during the 1990s, but without coming out with any finished script. During his divorce with Linda Hamilton, she asked for the Terminator franchise rights which she promptly sold to Carolco Pictures owners Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna. Tedi Serafian wrote a script, but as it would cost over $300 million, it was rejected. Serafian earned a "story" credit after screenwriters John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris used some of his ideas like Sarah Connor being dead and the rival Terminator being female.
The studios had long wanted to make a sequel to the Terminator films. However, they weren't sure that Arnold Schwarzenegger would appear in it. Schwarzenegger initially refused to star in Terminator 3 because James Cameron, who created the character and directed the first two films, would not be directing the third installment. Schwarzenegger tried to persuade Cameron to produce the third film. Cameron declined, however, and feeling that the Terminator character was as much Schwarzenegger's as it was his own, he advised Schwarzenegger to just do the third film, and ask for "nothing less than $30 million."[citation needed]
The movie's final production budget was $187.3 million, making it the most expensive independently-produced movie in history. Schwarzenegger had to spend $6 million of his own money to help fund the production of the movie. It was a scene that he himself wanted to put in the movie as he explains in the audio commentary. Schwarzenegger agreed to defer part of his salary in order to prevent the relocation of the set to Vancouver, British Columbia from Los Angeles. Many pundits saw this as preparation to his campaign for California governor, in which he emphasized giving incentives to have movie productions stay in California, rather than film in less-expensive places elsewhere. In that vein, the film was markedly "cleaner" than previous Terminator films, featuring significantly less violence and swearing.
The film takes several ideas from the novel T2: Infiltrator by S. M. Stirling.[citation needed] The novel, published in 2001, features a female terminator, the I-950, a plot point later reused in Terminator Rewired. The idea of Judgment Day being postponed was also used in the book. It also inspires the Sgt. Candy scene with its own explanation of the Terminator's physical appearance, in the form of Austrian counter-terrorist Dieter von Rossbach.
After T3 was released Cameron would go on record as saying he "Never planned on doing a 3rd film, because the story was finished with T2."[citation needed] This conflicts with comments he made during the making of the Universal Studios ride Terminator 2: 3D, in which he stated that it was a "stepping stone to a third theatrical production." This comment can be seen on "The Making of T2 3D" as an extra on the T2 Ultimate Edition DVD.
Filming began on April 12, 2002.
[edit] Deleted scene
There was a scene filmed during production that explains why all Terminators looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger. A character named Chief Master Sergeant William Candy (played by Schwarzenegger) explains in an Air Force promotion video he was chosen to be the model of the Terminator project. Schwarzenegger's character has a Southern accent. When General Brewster questions it, another scientist replies (in a Schwarzenegger voice over), "We can fix it." The actor portraying this scientist is Jack Noseworthy. It was included in early prints of the film, but was later deleted. This scene is available as a special feature on the DVD version.
[edit] Games
Several computer and video games were based on the film. An action game called Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was released by Atari for Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance. The game was poorly reviewed, with a 39% average on Game Rankings for the PlayStation 2 version.[3] A first person shooter titled Terminator 3: War of the Machines was released for PCs as well.[4] A third game titled Terminator 3: The Redemption was released for Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube.[5]
[edit] Reception
Terminator 3 was generally well-received by critics, and was a box office hit, earning a worldwide take of $433 million.[1] It earned 71% on rottentomatoes.com.[6] James Cameron, who created the Terminator franchise but otherwise played no role in T3, told the BBC he thought the film was "in one word: great."[7]
[edit] References
- ^ Warner Home Video Announces Titles and Release Dates for HD DVD. Yahoo!. Retrieved on 2007-06-06.
- ^ More "Terminator" on the way. Variety. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
- ^ Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Game Rankings. Retrieved on July 24, 2006.
- ^ Terminator 3: War of the Machines. Game Rankings. Retrieved on July 24, 2006.
- ^ Terminator 3: Redemption. Game Rankings. Retrieved on July 24, 2006.
- ^ Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2007-07-24.
- ^ James Cameron's Opinion Of T3: Great. CountingDown.com. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" | List of Box Office #1 Movies July 6 2003 | Succeeded by "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" |
de:Terminator 3 – Rebellion der Maschinen es:Terminator 3: La rebelión de las máquinas fr:Terminator 3 : le soulèvement des machines hr:Terminator 3: Pobuna strojeva it:Terminator 3: Le macchine ribelli he:שליחות קטלנית 3: עלייתן של המכונות hu:Terminátor 3: A gépek lázadása nl:Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines ja:ターミネーター3 pl:Terminator 3: Bunt maszyn pt:Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines ru:Терминатор 3: Восстание машин sk:Terminátor 3: Vzbura strojov fi:Terminator 3 – koneiden kapina sv:Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines ta:டெர்மினேட்டர் 3: ரைஸ் ஆப் த மெஷின்ஸ்
Categories: English-language films | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since November 2007 | 2003 films | Columbia Pictures films | Films shot in Super 35 | Road movies | Sequel films | Terminator films | Warner Bros. films
