Post by k8ie on Apr 8, 2008 8:06:55 GMT -5
Terminator revisited
By : FARIDUL ANWAR FARINORDIN
2008/04/07
FARIDUL ANWAR FARINORDIN gets a closer glimpse of the action in the Terminator TV series by speaking to the lead actor.
TONIGHT, a new sci-fi TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, premieres over AXN (Astro channel 701) at 10pm.
The spin-off of the popular Terminator movie franchise follows Sarah Connor in her mission to protect her son John and prepare him to become a world leader in an apocalyptic future where machines rule.
It picks up where the box-office movie Terminator 2: Judgement Day (or T2) left off, in which John (played by Thomas Dekker, who was last seen in Heroes) is a 15-year-old rebel who discovers his role in saving the future of mankind, guided by his mother Sarah (Leena Headey).
Life & Times spoke recently to Dekker in Sydney, Australia about the cult-favourite character. Also present was Summer Glau as Cameron Phillips, a more advanced Terminator model brought from the future.
Q: How has the adventure been so far?
A: Wild. It’s been more successful than we had hoped. I had fun making it. It was exhausting though — starting work at 4am and finishing at 2am the next day. I am so in love with Lena (Headey) and Summer (Glau) and we love working together. It can’t get better than that.
Q: When the writers’ strike happened, how many episodes had you filmed?
A: We were supposed do 12 and then the strike hit and we couldn’t do our last three. So I don’t know if they are going to put them at the beginning of the next season or finish out this season. I have heard rumours that we are coming back at least for another season.
Q: Were you a fan of the movies before you came on the show?
A: Yes. I got the videos when I was 11. John Connor was kind of an idol. He was lion-hearted. I watched the films way too many times to count. When I heard they were doing this TV show, I thought, “Oh, my God, they’re going to do a terrible television, watered down, cheap, bad version of it, repetitive and stupid and cashing in on the money.” That is probably what the rest of the world thought too. But when I sat down with the writers and the producers and the creative team, I was so fascinated by their approach to the story.
Q: What is the show about? Is it like T1000 coming in on every episode?
A: No, no. I think that would get pretty boring. The films were about protecting John, about being on the defensive of these terminators. The TV show is about trying to stop this future apocalypse from happening at all. So there are terminators, there is action, there are fight scenes, there are cars blown up, there’s all that stuff. It is a very action-heavy show, but what I enjoy most is the plot, figuring out who is who, and who has to do with what, that kind of thing.
Q: Did you follow Edward Furlong’s (who played John Connor in T2) interpretation of the character? Do you have to follow his mannerisms and things like that?
A: Yes, I definitely studied his performance. I didn’t study Nick Stahl (who played John in the film Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines) because our show is before the timeline of the third film. It’s a very dark life that he lives in and he’s more conscious of everything going on around him. He got his head down this time, but he still has the same energy.
Q: So he’s toned down?
A: I think that is the heart of John Connor and it is probably why he ends up being the saviour that he is. He has a passion for life, but he has to keep it secret. He can’t be on his motorbike with his metal rock music playing. He has to be a little more conscious of who is looking at him and why.
Q: Why do you think the story continues to fascinate people?
A: The idea of the story is relevant to the life we live in today. We are run by technology, and that is a little frightening. It is a story that deals with a fight for humanity in the midst of the gripping action scenes. Although I was never an action fan when I was growing up, I loved the films.
Q: How is the dynamics on the set?
A: Although it’s such a deathly serious show, it’s actually a non-stop laugh factory! I think in a way it is the fact that the show is so serious — with a lot of work and long hours — that we feel it’s important to know how to have fun. Lena is English and so are my mum’s side of the family. I spent most of my childhood in Britain and we share a very similar sense of humour.
Q: And you are also involved in music right?
A: Yes. My father is an opera singer as well as a painter, and my mum is a concert pianist and actress, so as a child I thought I would be an orchestra conductor. I was raised on classical music and I always sang.
I decided to make music when I was 13. Now, I have a home studio where I write, produce, programme and do everything myself. The music is kind of electronic meets orchestral. I’ve done two albums. I’ve been told that my music sounds like Bjork and Nine Inch Nails.
Q: You seem to have two different career paths. Which one do you want to pursue?
A: I really want to be a film-maker. I plan to quit acting and just probably get into more classical music, and being a director. Acting will probably never go away because I love it. I have done it my whole life, and I don’t remember living without being an actor. However, when I was six I knew that I wanted to be a film-maker, right after working with John Carpenter.
Q: Which movie was it?
A: Village of the Damned — the kid with the white hair. He is the only one that lived. John (Carpenter) treated me as an adult and he kind of became my mentor in everything, and I’m still friends with him. After working with him I was like, “That is what I have to do.” I have directed three films — two feature films and a short one. Now I have this feature film project with Lena, Megan Fox, Rumer Willis and Ron Jeremy — brilliant cast. It’s a drama.
Q: What kind of films do you enjoy?
A: I love (Austrian film-maker) Michael Haneke — his movie Cachet was really amazing. Also Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, Fellini and Gus van Sant — all these guys saw the future. When their films first came out they were really demonised but 15 years later they’re regarded classics. That’s really the mark of an artist ahead of his time.
Q: It seems that you’re not interested in commercial success.
A: Absolutely. I rather do something I believe in that doesn’t go anywhere than do something that I am embarrassed of. I could have gotten my big break with High School Musical.
Q: Are you planning to direct any of the episodes in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles one day?
A: That is my plan. I have made a deal that if we go to a third season I am doing an episode. There is such a definite visual style in the show — lots of coverage, camera angles, and fast edits. In my films I usually like to do one-shot scenes. So I think it will be a new a challenge to get my head around this.
Q: Do you know if Arnold Schwarzenegger has seen any of the episodes?
A: I hope he has and likes it. The only thing we know is that Linda Hamilton (who played Sarah Connor in the first two films) really likes Lena’s acting. She thinks Lena is a great actress, and she apparently is happy that she’s doing the role. I heard from a friend that Edward Furlong thinks it’s great that we’re doing the show.
Q: What is the best moment in the series, for you, so far?
A: I love all the stuff I have with Lena. With all the action sequences, I really enjoy the moments where I got to really act. In episode six there is a great scene where he discovers something that happens in the mental institution (where Sarah was institutionalised), and it really is bothering him and there is a great scene between us. I’m not really a soppy guy, but it was really moving.
Q: What have people said to you about the show?
A: At the Comicon (the annual Comic Book Convention) where we showed the series to fans, the response was crazy. After the screening, fans were like, “This is better than T3. This is what we wanted. This is the best.” So it’s been really nice.
Q: Are you tech-savvy, like John Connor?
A: Yes and no. I don’t know anything about computer viruses and hard drives, and all that stuff that John knows about, but I do know a lot about the programs that I make my music and my films in. In my film, I do everything myself. My music, like I said, I do everything myself too. My apartment is kind of funny. You walk in and it’s just like a cubicle of stuff, and keyboards and sequencers, and all this kind of stuff. Come to think of it, it’s pretty scary when you have been doing Terminator all day and then you go home to a house full of machines.
* Summer Glau’s interview will be featured next week
* The writer’s trip was made possible by AXN.
Source
By : FARIDUL ANWAR FARINORDIN
2008/04/07
FARIDUL ANWAR FARINORDIN gets a closer glimpse of the action in the Terminator TV series by speaking to the lead actor.
TONIGHT, a new sci-fi TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, premieres over AXN (Astro channel 701) at 10pm.
The spin-off of the popular Terminator movie franchise follows Sarah Connor in her mission to protect her son John and prepare him to become a world leader in an apocalyptic future where machines rule.
It picks up where the box-office movie Terminator 2: Judgement Day (or T2) left off, in which John (played by Thomas Dekker, who was last seen in Heroes) is a 15-year-old rebel who discovers his role in saving the future of mankind, guided by his mother Sarah (Leena Headey).
Life & Times spoke recently to Dekker in Sydney, Australia about the cult-favourite character. Also present was Summer Glau as Cameron Phillips, a more advanced Terminator model brought from the future.
Q: How has the adventure been so far?
A: Wild. It’s been more successful than we had hoped. I had fun making it. It was exhausting though — starting work at 4am and finishing at 2am the next day. I am so in love with Lena (Headey) and Summer (Glau) and we love working together. It can’t get better than that.
Q: When the writers’ strike happened, how many episodes had you filmed?
A: We were supposed do 12 and then the strike hit and we couldn’t do our last three. So I don’t know if they are going to put them at the beginning of the next season or finish out this season. I have heard rumours that we are coming back at least for another season.
Q: Were you a fan of the movies before you came on the show?
A: Yes. I got the videos when I was 11. John Connor was kind of an idol. He was lion-hearted. I watched the films way too many times to count. When I heard they were doing this TV show, I thought, “Oh, my God, they’re going to do a terrible television, watered down, cheap, bad version of it, repetitive and stupid and cashing in on the money.” That is probably what the rest of the world thought too. But when I sat down with the writers and the producers and the creative team, I was so fascinated by their approach to the story.
Q: What is the show about? Is it like T1000 coming in on every episode?
A: No, no. I think that would get pretty boring. The films were about protecting John, about being on the defensive of these terminators. The TV show is about trying to stop this future apocalypse from happening at all. So there are terminators, there is action, there are fight scenes, there are cars blown up, there’s all that stuff. It is a very action-heavy show, but what I enjoy most is the plot, figuring out who is who, and who has to do with what, that kind of thing.
Q: Did you follow Edward Furlong’s (who played John Connor in T2) interpretation of the character? Do you have to follow his mannerisms and things like that?
A: Yes, I definitely studied his performance. I didn’t study Nick Stahl (who played John in the film Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines) because our show is before the timeline of the third film. It’s a very dark life that he lives in and he’s more conscious of everything going on around him. He got his head down this time, but he still has the same energy.
Q: So he’s toned down?
A: I think that is the heart of John Connor and it is probably why he ends up being the saviour that he is. He has a passion for life, but he has to keep it secret. He can’t be on his motorbike with his metal rock music playing. He has to be a little more conscious of who is looking at him and why.
Q: Why do you think the story continues to fascinate people?
A: The idea of the story is relevant to the life we live in today. We are run by technology, and that is a little frightening. It is a story that deals with a fight for humanity in the midst of the gripping action scenes. Although I was never an action fan when I was growing up, I loved the films.
Q: How is the dynamics on the set?
A: Although it’s such a deathly serious show, it’s actually a non-stop laugh factory! I think in a way it is the fact that the show is so serious — with a lot of work and long hours — that we feel it’s important to know how to have fun. Lena is English and so are my mum’s side of the family. I spent most of my childhood in Britain and we share a very similar sense of humour.
Q: And you are also involved in music right?
A: Yes. My father is an opera singer as well as a painter, and my mum is a concert pianist and actress, so as a child I thought I would be an orchestra conductor. I was raised on classical music and I always sang.
I decided to make music when I was 13. Now, I have a home studio where I write, produce, programme and do everything myself. The music is kind of electronic meets orchestral. I’ve done two albums. I’ve been told that my music sounds like Bjork and Nine Inch Nails.
Q: You seem to have two different career paths. Which one do you want to pursue?
A: I really want to be a film-maker. I plan to quit acting and just probably get into more classical music, and being a director. Acting will probably never go away because I love it. I have done it my whole life, and I don’t remember living without being an actor. However, when I was six I knew that I wanted to be a film-maker, right after working with John Carpenter.
Q: Which movie was it?
A: Village of the Damned — the kid with the white hair. He is the only one that lived. John (Carpenter) treated me as an adult and he kind of became my mentor in everything, and I’m still friends with him. After working with him I was like, “That is what I have to do.” I have directed three films — two feature films and a short one. Now I have this feature film project with Lena, Megan Fox, Rumer Willis and Ron Jeremy — brilliant cast. It’s a drama.
Q: What kind of films do you enjoy?
A: I love (Austrian film-maker) Michael Haneke — his movie Cachet was really amazing. Also Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, Fellini and Gus van Sant — all these guys saw the future. When their films first came out they were really demonised but 15 years later they’re regarded classics. That’s really the mark of an artist ahead of his time.
Q: It seems that you’re not interested in commercial success.
A: Absolutely. I rather do something I believe in that doesn’t go anywhere than do something that I am embarrassed of. I could have gotten my big break with High School Musical.
Q: Are you planning to direct any of the episodes in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles one day?
A: That is my plan. I have made a deal that if we go to a third season I am doing an episode. There is such a definite visual style in the show — lots of coverage, camera angles, and fast edits. In my films I usually like to do one-shot scenes. So I think it will be a new a challenge to get my head around this.
Q: Do you know if Arnold Schwarzenegger has seen any of the episodes?
A: I hope he has and likes it. The only thing we know is that Linda Hamilton (who played Sarah Connor in the first two films) really likes Lena’s acting. She thinks Lena is a great actress, and she apparently is happy that she’s doing the role. I heard from a friend that Edward Furlong thinks it’s great that we’re doing the show.
Q: What is the best moment in the series, for you, so far?
A: I love all the stuff I have with Lena. With all the action sequences, I really enjoy the moments where I got to really act. In episode six there is a great scene where he discovers something that happens in the mental institution (where Sarah was institutionalised), and it really is bothering him and there is a great scene between us. I’m not really a soppy guy, but it was really moving.
Q: What have people said to you about the show?
A: At the Comicon (the annual Comic Book Convention) where we showed the series to fans, the response was crazy. After the screening, fans were like, “This is better than T3. This is what we wanted. This is the best.” So it’s been really nice.
Q: Are you tech-savvy, like John Connor?
A: Yes and no. I don’t know anything about computer viruses and hard drives, and all that stuff that John knows about, but I do know a lot about the programs that I make my music and my films in. In my film, I do everything myself. My music, like I said, I do everything myself too. My apartment is kind of funny. You walk in and it’s just like a cubicle of stuff, and keyboards and sequencers, and all this kind of stuff. Come to think of it, it’s pretty scary when you have been doing Terminator all day and then you go home to a house full of machines.
* Summer Glau’s interview will be featured next week
* The writer’s trip was made possible by AXN.
Source
