Born Joseph McGinty Nichol, the director who would become known as "
McG" has come a long way from shooting still photos of local bands in Newport Beach, California. After a successful career making music videos, McG was offered the chance to direct a big-screen production in the form of Drew Barrymore's adaptation of the classic TV series
Charlie's Angels.
However, even though the films
Charlie's Angels and
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle were both financial successes, McG immediately tried to distance himself from those films in favor of "more substantial material." Now, with
Terminator Salvation, he may just get the chance to wipe
Angels from everyone's minds.
A collaborative medium, there are many elements that go into making a film both a critical and a financial success. One of the most important factors is hiring the right actors to bring the story to life. In
a recent interview, McG was asked about some of his
Terminator Salvation casting decisions. About Christian Bale, McG said:
"I went over to England and I saw him. I wanted him to play Marcus, but he was more interested in playing Connor, and we went about the business of working on the script. Christian Bale is so passionate about acting and about his craft. He has no entourage. He’s got no assistant. He is about the work. That’s who he is. And, to work with an actor who’s that focused and that intense, is to all of our benefit."
McG goes on to discuss casting
Bryce Dallas Howard and
Moon Bloodgood:
"I took one look at Bryce, and I know a thing or two about her upbringing and who she is as a young lady, and I thought that she was effectively a wonderful First Lady choice for this world. Then, you take a look at Moon, and Moon, to me, is the third leg of that triangle of Ripley and Sarah Connor. Moon can damn well do one-handed pull-ups on a psychiatric bed, turned upside down, and that’s following in the footsteps of Sarah Connor. She is a survivor and she doesn’t have a rich uncle in Hollywood. She’s got to pick herself up by her own boot straps and make it happen, and I responded to that. I said, 'I believe you would be the last woman standing, so come be a part of this.'"
Terminator Salvation stars Christian Bale as John Connor, the man destined to lead the human resistance against Skynet's army of Terminators, Anton Yelchin as a young Kyle Reece and Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright, a human-Terminator hybrid. It has also been rumored that Arnold Schwarzenegger will make a brief appearance in the film, thanks to CGI technology and stock footage from Terminator (1984).
Terminator Salvation explodes into theaters May 21, 2009!
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