‘Terminator 3’ Director Says T2 Was ‘Groundbreaking’
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines director Jonathan Mostow clearly respects Terminator 2: Judgement Day director James Cameron. In a new interview, Mostow reflected on the massive impact of the Terminator series of films and what different directors brought to it.
James Mostow explained why there were long stretches between the Terminator series movies
In a compelling interview with Comicbookmovie.com, the director recalled how he felt about T2. He explained why there were long periods between the Terminator series installments. A dozen years passed between the two movies. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (July 3, 1991) preceded Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (July 2, 2003) by 12 years. And they were long years for fans.
“I very much enjoyed making Terminator 3,” he Mostow told the site. “What’s so interesting about that franchise is that it has historically always been made by independent film companies and distributed by studios. Many of the companies that have made Terminator films subsequently, not because of Terminator as all those films were generally successful, went bankrupt. The rights would end up in bankruptcy court and be sold to someone else, so the challenge creatively – it’s understandable why it’s taken so long between each of the films and why sometimes the property has fallen into limbo due to business and legal reasons – is that Terminator 2 was such a groundbreaking, seminal film.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s legendary lead role maximized visibility for the franchise. And the movie’s groundbreaking approach to action helped the Terminator series retained its popularity and watch-ability. Consequently, they became action classics.
The director said the ‘Terminator’ series introduced digital effects in a whole new way
Mostow also noted how much impact the movie’s digital effects had on moviegoers. As a result, it changed the way fans of the Terminator series viewed the films and how they moved forward. In other words, he said, their jaws hit the floor.
“It was the first time audiences had truly seen digital effects and rendered in a way that left their jaws on the floor,” he explained in the interview.
Mostow admitted that he’s a fan of the Terminator series. That consequently affected how he directed Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
“They couldn’t believe what they were seeing. You can only really dazzle people like that once. It was very hard, whether it be Terminator or any other film for that matter, to come up with the visual effects that could equal the dazzling spectacle of Terminator 2. When I made mine, I made it as a fan of the first two films trying to make the film I would have wanted to see.”
James Mostow said it’s been ‘interesting’ to see the evolution of the Terminator series
Mostow had a heavy hand in how the iconic action franchise developed. And he says it’s been interesting to see how different producers, filmmakers, and cast members “reincarnate” the Terminator series films.
“It’s been interesting to see subsequently different filmmakers, different producers, and even different casts coming along and reincarnating the film and extending the franchise,” Mostow explained to the site. “I haven’t really been involved with the subsequent films. I was involved in developing the screenplay for Terminator 4 [Salvation] but elected to do something else and directed a different film instead. I have sat back like the rest of the world and just watched the franchise continue.”
He’s right — the rest of the world apparently did witness the franchise unfold. As a result, the Terminator series has raked in billions, according to Wikipedia. In that case, “groundbreaking” doesn’t sound like an exaggeration.
