Screw this; I'm going home. On the first day of production, the people footing the bill for Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins have announced that the future is actually ending prematurely, as the violent, perennially R-rated franchise is going PG-13 for its fourth installment. The reason? I'll bet you can guess. In addition to "broadening the audience base," the producers are hoping for (or have already signed; it's not really clear) a merchandising deal with Playmates Toys. Dear God. Clearly, they're trying to bring about a fanboy mass suicide.

Maybe it's not yet time to panic. After all, I still managed to have a blast with last year's PG-13 Live Free or Die Hard, and that franchise, what with John McClane's penchant for the f-bomb, was arguably even more dependent on the freedom of the R than Terminator. And with a few exceptions (that unforgettable shot of the T-1000 disguised as John Connor's mom impaling Xander Berkeley on its pointy metal arm comes to mind), the reasons the Terminator films -- Judgment Day in particular -- are so disturbing have little to do with heavy violence; Robert Patrick rising out of the linoleum floor is scarier than any amount of gore could be. The MPAA is surely tone-deaf enough to censor the blood but let the really scary stuff through. And anyway, as the producers point out in the article, the PG-13 ain't what it used to be.

After a lot of hemming and hawing, some hopeful casting news, and outrage over McG being attached to direct, it looks like Terminator 4 is good to go.

There are a few things to glean from this Hollywood Reporter story. First, obviously, is what's in the headline: Moon Bloodgood, who played Generic Love Interest in Pathfinder and starred in the canceled television series Journeyman, has been cast as the female lead, a survivor of the nuclear holocaust we witnessed at the end of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. She joins Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, and Anton Yelchin. Second, notwithstanding earlier reports to the contrary, the third sequel is apparently still called Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. Finally, the movie is scheduled to begin principal photography on May 5th, which means that barring some Terry Gilliam-scale disaster, this long-speculated-about project is actually happening.

Count me among the McG skeptics. Previous installments of this franchise have been helmed by world-class action movie craftsmen (disclaimer: I am a fan of Jonathan Mostow), and I'm not convinced that McG has either the chops or the instincts to fill their shoes. The mincemeat he made of a terrific story in We Are Marshall doesn't inspire confidence, and the pyrotechnics of the Charlie's Angels films don't tell me much. That said, I'm excited for the Terminator saga to continue, since there's a lot more of this story to tell (and since Google is currently building SkyNet). Has anyone been watching the Fox TV show?

A rose by any other name, the sages tell us, would smell as sweet. In that spirit, Coming Soon has a story noting that the McG-helmed, Christian Bale-led fourth film in the Terminator franchise, previously known as Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, will now have a wholly different title. It will, of course, still be a wholly unnecessary extension tacked on to the first two films; it will still be directed by McG; it will still have almost nothing to do with James Cameron's original vision for the films; it will lack Arnold Schwarzenegger; however, it will not be called Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. No replacement title has yet been announced.

Currently slated for release May 2009, Terminator IV will ostensibly kick off a three-film series detailing the man-machine war that's the backbone of the Terminator films; Christian Bale (Rescue Dawn, Batman Begins) will star as the adult John Connor alongside newcomer Sam Worthington (Who, amusingly enough, is also scheduled to appear in ... James Cameron's Avatar). And yet, new name or not, I have almost no enthusiasm for this project.

Will you check Terminator IV out when it lands in May 2009, or does the cash-hungry smell of desperation and futility that lingers about this whole idea put you off?

I just can't decide.

On one hand, it seems to make perfect sense that Christian Bale is playing John Connor. Who else can save mankind? He's Batman, for crying out loud.

And yet ... it is the fourth Terminator movie. Directed by McG, who's saving grace seems to be that he's not Brett Ratner. While it fits with Bale, Ruler of Fanboys, it doesn't fit with Bale, Ruler of Critics. Bale doesn't really do sequels, let alone fourquels, especially of a character he didn't originate.

It is either going to be brilliant fun, or something that leaves us wondering what kind of dirt McG blackmailed him with. Either way, we'll find out on May 22nd, 2009. Warner Bros has announced it as the release date for Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. Fans of the franchise have been waiting forever to see Connor fight the war against the machines, and now they can start crossing off the days on the calender.

We know Christian Bale will be playing an older John Connor, and there's rumors that Josh Brolin might be in line to play the new (and improved?) Terminator, but now Variety tells us that Sam Worthington has been cast as the other lead; some dude named Marcus. This move is rather interesting, because it means James Cameron (director of Terminator and Terminator 2) has taken a liking to Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins director McG, as Cameron was the one who recommended Worthington for the new job (the actor is also starring in Cameron's Avatar). We're not sure how much influence Cameron is having on the production, but if he's managed to get Worthington into the lead role, I imagine he's offered a bunch of additional advice as well. And that can't be a bad thing.

According to Variety's description, Marcus is "a central figure in a three-picture arc that begins after Skynet has destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust. A group of survivors led by John Connor (Bale) struggles to keep the machines from finishing the job." Even though McG is at the helm -- and not Cameron -- I'm still looking forward to this one a great deal. Sort of how we were always looking forward to a Star Wars film set during the Clone Wars; well, same goes for a Terminator film set in the future. I'm already imagining some kickass battle sequences involving a small group of humans and a slew of Terminator robots. Could be very very cool. The first of the three films, Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, is due out in the summer of 2009.

In a new interview over at 213.net, director McG spoke about his plans to bring the Terminator back to the big screen in Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. We already know that Christian Bale has been cast as an older John Connor -- the John Connor from the future who helps lead the resistance against the robots. McG spoke about his vision for Terminator Salvation, where this film fits into the confusing timeline (thanks Sarah Connor Chronicles for jamming us all up!), and -- most importantly -- who he wants to take over for Arnold Schwarzenegger as the new (and improved) Terminator.

When pressed to answer who they're looking at to play the new Terminator, McG noted, " ... it's very difficult to say because it's a decidedly masculine role and I think we're living in a time where a lot of actors are very effeminate and they're sort of skinny, heroine chic and there's really a masculine component to the role. And there's guys out there like Russell Crowe and Eric Bana, bring a good physicality, they do what they do, but I don't know if they're exactly right at the end of the day. (Smiles) Josh Brolin is a very exciting actor - we'll see." Hmm, does that mean Brolin is one the guys up for the role? Certainly seems like McG is championing him -- whaddya think?

McG also spoke about long conversations he had with James Cameron, and how Cameron reassured him that he felt the same sort of nervous when he had to take over for Ridley Scott on the second Alien picture. When asked whether this film would take place after Terminator 2 or Terminator 3, McG replied, "This is the space between; this is post Judgment day. So there really is no continuation, you know what I mean? Its sort of a different animal, whereas the first two pictures on this thing are Terminators from the future, this picture takes place in 2019." He later added, "We speak to the idea of one version of a future, which is clearly articulated by Michael Biehn in the first picture." Check out the full interview over here; Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins is due out in June of 2009.

[via IGN]

Devin from CHUD has been doing some digging, and he claims to have come up with a bunch of different plot points, character descriptions -- what have you -- with regards to the highly-anticipated McG flick, Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins (aka Terminator 4). Some of his notes, however, don't exactly match up with what the film's producers told Entertainment Weekly recently. According to CHUD, they say John Connor (played by Christian Bale) is "barely in the movie." Whereas the producers told EW that Connor "is an ongoing, very central character throughout the next trilogy. He's leading the fight for salvation of humanity against the machines. So he's very important." CHUD says Connor's role is "apparently bigger in the sequel," but that the real central character is a dude named Marcus.

Here's how CHUD describes the involvement of both Marcus and Connor: "Marcus was put 'out of commission' before the nuclear holocaust on Judgment Day and he wakes up about 15 years before the future we see in the original Terminator films, which puts the movie at about 2015 or so. Marcus is a bad ass - think along the lines of Riddick - and what he finds is a blasted world filled with horror. Radiation poisoning, starvation, rampant jaywalking - all the things you expect post-apocalypse. There's also John Connor, who is trying to build a utopian society while running the human resistance." The site goes on to describe the action sequences as "HUGE" and claims there are some battles with the T-600s. You can read more about the flick -- including some spoilers -- over at CHUD, and lets hope Devin is right when he says this film "could be epic." I'm not so sure the name McG and the word 'epic' belong in the same sentence, but you never know ...

Okay, it's only in rumor form right now, but AICN is reporting that Christian Bale has signed on to play an adult John Connor in Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins (aka Terminator 4), which will most likely be directed by McG. Harry himself shelled out the news, which he claims comes from an "extremely trusted source who has never been wrong before." Bale signing on to play Connor means the character will indeed be significantly older in the next film; unlike the teenage version who showed up in the form of Edward Furlong (Terminator 2) and Nick Stahl (Terminator 3) in previous films. It also means Bale will jump from one high-profile franchise (Christopher Nolan's Batman flicks) to another that, according to reports, will contain at least three films. Will Bale star in all three?

Here's the film's plot synopsis from IMDb (though we're not sure if it's entirely correct): "After the drastic effects of Terminator 3, the story continues as John Connor 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." Though I'm not crazy about McG taking over the franchise, I absolutely love Christian Bale ... especially in this role as a rogue warrior up against an army of machines. Who will take over for Claire Danes and play Connor's wife (if this synopsis is correct)? Any suggestions? We'll let you know more as soon as information is available.

I'm a pretty big fan of McG's (first) Charlie's Angels film, so I'm glad to hear that the guy (born Joseph McGinty Nichol) will be stepping back into the action genre (especially after the soppily maudlin We Are Marshall) -- but based only on the three features he's done so far, does ANYONE see him as a Terminator director? James Cameron, obviously. Jonathan Mostow, makes sense. McG? Really? Well, apparently someone thinks it's a fine idea, because according to Moviehole.net, it's a done deal:

The presently-titled Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins WILL be "a McG film."

The T4 screenplay comes from John Brancato and Michael Ferris, the team that gave us Terminator 3, so that's some good news, I suppose. (On the other hand, they also wrote The Net, Primeval and Catwoman.) Plot details are a bit sketchy at this point, but I'm sure the franchise managers have a plan took keep Terminator 4 and The Sarah Connor Chronicles as completely separate mythologies. (Or do they?)

Sir Erik Davis told us a while back that the new Terminator flicks may feature some digitally-created Schwarzeneggers, so who really knows what the future holds for this series? More details on the Terminators sequel(s) and spinoff(s) once they hit the street. But this does raise an interesting question: Does what you know of the Terminator series "mesh" with what you know of the artistry of McG? Yeah, I'm still scratching my head over this one ... but of course I'm also a bit more curious about the flick at this point.

Well it's not like there have been a shortage of rumors surrounding the return of everyone's favorite cyborg. But it's a nice change to finally get some concrete information. Variety reports that Warner Bros. have purchased the distribution rights to the latest installment in the Terminator franchise. Now for the big news: we've finally gotten a title -- drum roll please -- Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. Not bad, and it definitely gives me the impression that WB is in this for the long haul. According to Variety, WB are planning to, "reinvent the cyborg saga with a storyline to be told over a three-pic span". Executive producer Moritz Bowman told The Guardian UK, "The third film was really the conclusion of what happened in the 'now.' You will find the most-loved characters, but the intention here is to present a fresh new world and have this be the first of a trilogy". The project has been struggling through legal battles with MGM over distribution rights. But all of that is behind them, and WB is anxious to get the project moving.

More importantly, this means that the film has been kicked into high-gear and now has a start date set for 2008. John Brancato and Michael Ferris (the writers behind Terminator 3) have already handed in a completed script, but there has still been no official announcement regarding a director (the bad news is that McG seems to be the front runner for the job). Already WB is promising one heck of a spectacle for the film, with what was described as "an event-size" budget. Hopefully, they will be able to keep it under T3's $200 million price tag. Now if they can only figure out who will be playing The Terminator, we might have something. Sure, there was that wacky story about Vin Diesel taking over but nothing has been made official. Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins is scheduled for release in the summer of 2009.

I know I'm not completely in the minority with this, but I have to admit first off that I loved Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. I really thought Jonathan Mostow did a great job delivering the action -- obviously not close to as good as James Cameron would have done, but better than many others could have. When it was revealed that a fourth Terminator was in the works, I hoped Mostow would be rehired for the gig. But I guess he's either doing something else (Swiss Family Robinson perhaps?) or for some reason he's not welcome back. According to CHUD.com, his replacement on the franchise may be McG, who I find to be one of the most annoying guys working in Hollywood these days. Really, though, I just hate on the guy because of his stupid name. I guiltily kinda enjoyed his two Charlie's Angels movies. Apparently, McG is currently in talks to take the helm of the sequel, for a pre-strike production start, but it isn't for certain that he'll get the job.

I'm sure many of you will probably be upset if McG officially signs on, even if you too just criticize him for his name. It could be the nail on the coffin for a lot of fans already nervous about the continuation of the storyline without any definite sign of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Robert Patrick, Edward Furlong, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes or anyone else who has previously starred in the series. From what we've so far heard, it seems part 4 will focus on the post-apocalyptic period involving the war between the machines and John Connor's army. Everything else, regarding an Arnie cameo, or whatever, I'm still considering to be hearsay. Anyway, all I care about now is that at least Terminator 4 has been scripted by T3's Michael Ferris and John D. Brancato, a duo I'm sure are well-enough-versed in the Terminator universe to make this next installment interesting and worth seeing.

It's only been a week since we heard McG got a new production deal with Warner Bros., but the fast-food-sounding-filmmaker is already stacking up a nice slate of projects. The plan, though, is for McG's Wonderland Sound and Vision to make three films a year for WB. First was Nightcrawlers, second was Yucatan and now third is Maintenance, an adaptation of the Oni Press comic book created by Jim Massey. The series follows two janitors who work for a weapons manufacturer called TerroMax, which supplies to the world's most evil super villains. And sometimes the duo actually have to step in and save the world. Though the look of the characters reminds me of Super Mario Bros., the setup makes me think of the contractors working on the Death Star -- I'm sure you've heard the monologue from Clerks -- and how these janitors are like the poor guys working for Darth Vader -- which means they should similarly know better than to become employed by the bad guys.

Anyway, without over-analyzing the concept, Maintenance does seem like a cute idea, and I'm sure it will make for an entertaining movie, maybe even a franchise. There's a slight chance that McG himself will direct the adaptation, currently being scripted by Joe Ballarini (writer of next year's zombie-prom horror pic Dance of the Dead). Whether or not McG decides to make this his one to direct for this year (instead of Yucatan), he has big shoes he wants the thing to fill. Basically he wants to make Maintenance the next Back to the Future or Raiders of the Lost Ark, a movie "based on action, comedy and ground-breaking special effects." That's a steep goal for the man who gave us the two Charlie's Angels pics, but I'd like to believe it. At least it seems possible for this to be the next Men in Black. I'll let you decide for yourself, though, without even having to visit your local comic vendor. Check out this 32-page preview of the series' first issue and let me know your own thoughts. Personally, I was bored after the first ten panels. But I think I would have been really into it about ten years ago.

Whenever I see "McG," I imagine what it will be like for the guy years from now. Only having to write out 3 letters for your full name is pretty handy, but will he still prefer to be called that years from now? I imagine this old, brittle 90-something man hobbling around the old folks' home and getting incensed when nurses call him Joseph. Channeling Fisher Stevens in Hackers, I see him saying: "My name is The McG." Anyway, that future is long-off, and right now, the man is smoking. He just signed a 3-year, first-look deal for his Wonderland Sound and Vision banner with Warner Brothers.

Hoping to tap into the success his company has found in television, the McG says: "We want to produce three movies a year. I want to direct one of them every year, and we want to go into a run of extreme productivity with Wonderland-branded pictures. We've had success on the TV front, and we want to match that profile in the film space." First up, potentially in November, is a VR-heavy action comedy called Nightcrawlers -- penned by Little Miss Sunshine writer Michael Arndt. The film is about a neurotic dad who must face his childhood tormentor to get over his fear of the dark and the monsters who haunt him. McG describes it as "a buddy comedy where what kids are afraid of turns out to be real, and our guys have to go into these fearscapes and battle all these monsters." Now that is a jump from child models and horny grandpas.

The other film gearing up will be directed by the man himself -- Yucatan. The film is based on a whopping 1,700 or so pages of notes and storyboards made by the late Steve McQueen that were recently found. It's a heist drama set in the Yucatan Peninsula, and WB has picked up Paul Scheuring (Prison Break) to write the script. Why'd he pick this one? As McG* so eloquently says: "Like any suburban pussy, I'm infatuated with Steve McQueen."

*Thanks for spotting that, Stewart! MB

Granted, McG doesn't have the best track record in holding on to projects, so until everyone signs on the dotted line we will have to chalk this up to idle chatter for now. According to Bloody-Disgusting.com McG will be taking over directing duties for the fantasy film Me and My Monster, which is about, "A young boy [who] has a friendship with a bizarre creature that changes the course of his life as he becomes an adult." This instantly brings to my mind the Phoebe Cates film Drop Dead Fred, but I tend of have a film memory that is ruled by tangents. The script for Monster was written by Matthew Huffman and Robot Chicken writer Dan Milano and originally, Jake Gyllenhaal was attached to the project as the lead, but there has been no update on that recently.

The last film we had from McG was the male weepy We Are Marshall and there had been some talk that he had been chosen to replace Peter Berg on the big-screen version of The Losers -- a DC/Vertigo series that was based on obscure DC title. But now, that project has been taken over by Tim Story. There is still the chance that McG will be producing a live-action film about Hot Wheels, but it's almost been a year and there seems to be no movement on that one. The current studio climate seems to favor nostalgia, so it could still happen -- that is if he doesn't drop out or get replaced first.

One movie we can all thank God didn't happen is McG's Superman movie. But he's been given another chance to upset comic book fans, though not on as big a scale. According to IESB.net, McG has replaced Peter Berg as director on The Losers, an adaptation of the DC/Vertigo title that was a remake of an old WWII-based comic. The updated version features a group of anti-hero ex-special forces soldiers who go to war against the CIA after being betrayed and abandoned. Yes, this sounds a bit like The A-Team, and there is even mention of the similarity on the comic's Wikipedia page. Maybe 20th Century Fox can get their A-Team movie going and the two titles can compete against each other.

As if one studio signing McG isn't enough, IESB.net also reports that Fox is looking to hire the Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle director for the remake of The Fantastic Voyage. For those unfamiliar with the original, a sci-fi classic, it follows the story of a submarine crew shrunken small enough to enter the body of a dying diplomat in order to save him. It also won two Oscars, for visual effects and for art direction, which the new version will probably not receive. Currently, McG is also attached to the comedy Me and My Monster, which is sounds a bit like Little Monsters.