McG may be Terminator 4’s salvation

McG knows a little something about pressure. The producer-writer-director (né Joseph McGinty Nichol) descended on Toronto Tuesday as part of a mini-roadshow for Terminator: Salvation, the next installment in the highly-regarded blockbuster franchise created by James Cameron.

And he has his work cut out for him.

McG is in the unfavourable position of following-up the critical disappointment that was T3. And with previous credits like directing Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and producing not one but two of The Pussycat Dolls' reality shows, his isn’t necessarily the first name that comes to mind when one thinks franchise rejuvenation.

But addressing a room of media folks, McG had energy, swagger and enthusiasm to spare – part erudite salesman, part giddy fan-boy – and successfully allayed most people's fears with brief, thrilling film clips and plenty of talking.

Recalling his original assertion that a fourth Terminator was “a terrible idea,” McG explained that he only came on board when there was talk of it being “a post-apocalyptic story, after the bombs went off.” Finding the post-Judgment Day storyline worthwhile, he then sought the perfect John Connor – Christian Bale – whom he calls “the most credible and talented actor of his generation.”

“But he hated the script originally,” revealed McG.

Talk of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” and Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" as jumping-off points piqued Bale’s interest and after what McG referred to as a “cold reading,” Bale signed on to play Connor, the leader of the resistance movement against Skynet in 2018.

Star power like Bale’s may be matched by a much-rumoured cameo from none other than the Terminator himself, but McG remained coy, though visibly optimistic, about the prospect of an appearance by Arnold Schwarzenegger, adding that, at this point, it’s “fingers crossed.”

“I’ve contacted him to talk about it but he’s got to make sure it makes sense for him to do it,” he said.

McG also spoke frankly about the hefty responsibility he felt – approaching Cameron, a hero of his, early-on with his vision for the film.

“I went to kiss the ring. And Jim said, ‘I wish you well but I reserve the right to hate it.' I wanted to honour the mythology while continuing the story [and] make a tactile, gritty movie – I wanted to build everything,” said the director.

Along with new, evolved machines like the Hydrobots – menacing, mechanical eel-type water-dwelling robots – McG also created his own film stock by letting it sit out in the sun, and he used three times as much silver to achieve the film’s stark aesthetic. He was clear about what he hopes to achieve with Terminator: Salvation, and judging from the never-before-seen clips, audiences seem to be in for an exhilarating, sombre action film – with ambition.

“The first story was about saving Sarah Connor. The second film was about saving John Connor. This film is about saving Kyle Reese," he said, referring to John Connor's father and fellow soldier, played by Anton Yelchin.

“The film ultimately asks what is it that makes us human?”

Terminator: Salvation opens in Cineplex Theatres May 2009.