Terminator Salvation Director Tired of Name Controversy

Terminator Salvation Director Tired of Name Controversy

McG tells Entertainment Weekly: "My movies will define my name."

By bsprecher - May 18, 2009 11:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Terminator

Director J.J. Abrams reinvented Star Trek to fan and critic approval alike, but can a director who calls himself "McG" do the same for the Terminator franchise?

Terminator Salvation opens this week, and McG is still finding that he has to defend his moniker as much as his movie. He told Entertainment Weekly:

"If you can't get past my name after 12 years in this industry, you're not invited.

If you don't have the hustle to figure out that McG's short for 'McGinty,' which is my mother's maiden name, and that she's the least funky person ever, I'm kind of done. My name won't define my movies. My movies will define my name.
"

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 21st!


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SdProphet
SdProphet - 5/18/2009, 12:03 PM
Hey good article I just posted a review on my fansite of the movie.


So check it out I'm on my iPhone so I can't post a link so just go through my fansite
felix
felix - 5/18/2009, 12:19 PM
" My name won't define my movies. My movies will define my name." what you mean like charlies angels: full throttle???...this guy is no james cameron! but i dont think this can be as crap as terminator 3....although....
slimybug
slimybug - 5/18/2009, 1:24 PM
Is this guy serious?

"If you can't get past my name after 12 years in this industry..."

Oh yeah, because you've done SO much for the industry with Charlie's Angels and such!

"If you don't have the hustle to figure out that McG's short for 'McGinty,' ..."

What, so now we're supposed to do the research so you can feel competent.

Sorry, dude, I don't care if you make Gone With the Friggin Wind. No one's gonna take you serious with a name like that. Either get a new one or put up with the criticism.

And BTW, Terminator Salvation is an abomination to everything that is decent about cinema. I don't care how awesome the kids think it looks. Terminator ended with Arnold's sacrifice at the end of T2. Period. Anyone who tries to continue it past that is either seriously misguided as far as storytelling goes, or just looking for money.
With a name like McG, which one do you think you connote?
MetalHead
MetalHead - 5/18/2009, 2:27 PM
Slimybug,
While "T3" was absolutely horrible (and I'm sure that I can actually prove it to you with many reasons that you probably don't even realize) you couldn't be further from the truth. I'm willing to bet that you know very little about the Terminator series other than watching the movies a few times if you honestly think that. As someone who is religious about the franchise AND who doesn't blindly follow if what they put out is trash ("T3"), I can honestly say that so far, of everything I've seen and read about this movie it looks to be both excellent and as true to the first 2 films as "T3" would allow (since it has to work with the disasters that "T3" created).

And on a side note, if you don't think that a movie is or can be good because of the nickname of the director then obviously you aren't thinking clearly to begin with.

PS - What is the point of this article? This isn't news.
ironknight27
ironknight27 - 5/18/2009, 2:58 PM
I have to admit when I heard McG was directing I thought the movie was going to be crap (it still could since it has not come out yet) but from the trailers it looks like it is going to be way better than T3.
MetalHead
MetalHead - 5/18/2009, 3:07 PM
Ironknight,
The two of us are usually on the same page about stuff. I'll say this: to say that "it looks like it is going to be way better than 'T3'" is like saying that Carmen Elektra is hotter than Rosie O'Donnell. I don't even consider that piece of trash a part of the series and if not for the fact that it F'ed up the timeline and therefore they have to acknowledge it, I wouldn't acknowledge it, either. I wish I could send a Terminator back in time to stop "T3" from being created...
ironknight27
ironknight27 - 5/18/2009, 3:27 PM
MetalHead- I will say this though I kind of liked the ending. Other than that I could have done without seeing it. And as a whole they really did not need to make T3 they could have just waited to do Terminator Salvation and kind of explained what occured between T2 and TS.
vonstallin
vonstallin - 5/18/2009, 3:29 PM
McG is ok....I mean every body cant be a movie making God..but his vision is ok...I mean you can take Charleys angels and make it like a 007 with chicks movie...and it would feel unrealistic...or make it the way he did...unrealistic lol....

I hope this movie redefines him...he is a OK director and the movies he made were ok...

THis one will have to be better than ok so I see he is taking it more seriously..
Betty
Betty - 5/18/2009, 3:35 PM
Lookout! He's about to poke that girls eyes out! Mo style.
MetalHead
MetalHead - 5/18/2009, 3:45 PM
Yeah, Ironknight, the ending **concept** was ok. Let me say this: it wasn't so much that the ideas were horrible as that it was rushed, not well-thought and contradicts the previous 2 films and actually makes them impossible to happen, believe it or not.

I will say that it did have a couple decent ideas. I liked the idea of a Terminator (NOT a new, stupid TX-- why not just send THAT model back to 1984 or 1996 if Skynet wanted to be successful in those 2 times?!?) back to oversee Skynet's takeover. I also liked the idea of getting John (don't care one way or the other about Kate or her character) to the shelter. And the way that Skynet took over was also interesting.

However, I HATED the T-X, I hated the fact that they changed the date of Judgment Day (MAJOR flaw), I hated the whole "John & Kate were meant to meet each other" BS, I hated Nick Stahl as John, I hated the cheesy concept of Sarah's coffin, I hated "talk to the hand," I hated... well, pretty much everything else. And there was one line that single-handedly made the existence of the whole entire series no-longer possible. (I've broke it down on here a million times but if you're curious to read it I can post a link to my breakdown of it.)

Anyway, "T3" = trash. But this movie does look like it will live up to its hype, although the fact that it is going on the (impossible-to-happen) timeline that "T3" created I will unfortunately find a ton of flaws with it because of timeline F-ups.
GUNSMITH
GUNSMITH - 5/18/2009, 3:55 PM
EHHH LETS GIVE HIM A SHOT TO IMPRESS US. I COULD CARE LESS ABOUT A NAME.
DarkAvengers
DarkAvengers - 5/18/2009, 7:09 PM
How the [frick] is Kyle Reese alive and why is he a little f' ing kid????????????????????? What did I miss? I've seen all 3 Terminator movies like a million times. No, really. I'm asking what have I missed. There is always someone on here who knows everything.
MetalHead
MetalHead - 5/18/2009, 7:22 PM
Ah, cause it's in the year 2018...
Betty
Betty - 5/18/2009, 8:02 PM
MetalHead--He must not be getting much from all those viewings. Yep, he missed everything apparently.
MetalHead
MetalHead - 5/18/2009, 8:05 PM
If his plan was to hurt my head then it was executed flawlessly.
bsprecher
bsprecher - 5/19/2009, 12:35 AM
@DarkAvengers:

Aw, my friend. You've stumbled into one of the fabled sci-fi conundrums...the time paradox!

Remember Doc Brown telling McFly that he better not run into his future self or the universe would explode? No, before your time? Well...

Remember last week, when Star Trek opened, and Old Spock told Young Kirk that he better not tell Young Spock that Old Spock told him what to do or the universe would explode? Well...

The young Kyle Reece in Terminator Salvation hasn't grown old enough to be sent back in time by adult John Connor (his son) to protect Sarah Connor (and birth him). That's why he's not dead.
CrimsonPhantom
CrimsonPhantom - 5/19/2009, 7:51 AM
Everyone should just leave McG alone. Don't put him down until you see Terminator Salvation.

@slimybug Even though T3 sucked, you can't say that Terminator was done after Arnold sacrificed himself in T2. The comics have done a decent job to continue the story.
MetalHead
MetalHead - 5/19/2009, 10:44 AM
I just have a sneaking suspicion that Dark Avengers was messing with us.
MetalHead
MetalHead - 5/19/2009, 11:30 AM
Brent,
How did you italicize that in your post?
Betty
Betty - 5/19/2009, 6:59 PM
Yes how do you italicize? I want to have more emphasis.
THEHAWK
THEHAWK - 5/20/2009, 8:01 AM
I love the Terminator series,but T3 was horrible, it was like the distant cousin to the rest of the series. It didn't have the dark tone that the first two had, it was too light. I couldn't take it seriously, I mean Arnold with the flamer glasses, I had a gay friend who thought that was gay. It lacked the realistic tone of the other two movies.

I hope this one will be better.

HAWK out
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