Feature: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

The Irresistible Rise of
Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnie is back for a third outing as the cinema’s most famous cyborg.
We meet the big man himsel, launching our extensive coverage of the movie in this Special.

It’s been almost 20 years since the Sci-Fi classic The Terminator was released. Perhaps his most identifiable character, Arnold Schwarzenegger portrayed a lethal cyborg, sent by a computer called Skynet into the past to rewrite History and kill one Sarah Connor, ensuring that her unborn son, John Connor, would not survive to lead the renaissance movement against the machines. In the sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 10 year-old John Conner is targeted again for annihilation by Skynet, sending their most sophisticated cyborg, the T-100, a plot that’s foiled by a reprogrammed Terminator sent by the resistance. Now, in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Connor (Nick Stahl) is 22, has no home, no credit cards, no job, no record of his existence – no way he can be traced by Skynet. But out of the future steps the TX (Kristanna Loken), Skynet’s most lethal cyborg to date. With only three hours between Connor and the end of the world, his only hope for survival is a replica of the Terminator; Connor’s former would-be assassin.

Schwarzenegger eagerly says that The Terminator made him a star, and that Terminator 2 made him a superstar. The franchise has accumulated $550 million at the box office, and the actor is thrilled to return to the role that sent his career into the stratosphere.

So what’s new with the character for you this time around?
I think that what we tried to do in this one was to make the movie an ongoing story about the machines versus the Human race, and the dangers that you can face when you create something for a good purpose and, all of a sudden, it goes out of control and it becomes this big monster. The machines have become self-aware, and they're fighting and killing their creators. The character of the Terminator in the first film was a villain. He was basically the Goliath, and in the third one he has become David, where you say, 'Oh my God, with this sophisticated machine [the TX] there's no way that he can win'.

Why didn’t James Cameron direct this sequel?
I brought the script to him myself, and he just couldn’t figure it out time-wise, and he didn’t want to do the movie under those constraints.

Since Cameron wasn’t available, what were you looking for in a director?
The thing that we looked for was someone that was very hungry. Hungry for making that big step forward into the big leagues. And after searching, it became clear that Jonathan Mostow was the guy. He felt very comfortable with the visual FX, he felt very comfortable with the stunts, and he was very good with directing actors. At the same time, he happened to be a fan of the Terminator movies and knew everything about them. So, yes, that really helped.

by Judy Sloane

Get the full feature when you buy
Starburst Special #58

Photo © Warner Bros
Feature © Visual Imagination 2003. Not for reproduction

Taken from

Starburst Special #58
Star Trek & T3 2003
ships from Jul 3 2003
News-stand Price
UK £4.99 / US $9.99

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