MOVIE NEWS – Sixteen years ago, Christian Bale said no to a Terminator role not once but three times, then finally signed on and later came to regret that choice. While his run as Batman in The Dark Knight era was firing on all cylinders, his experience with James Cameron’s sci-fi saga was far more troubled.

I still remember walking into a screening of Terminator Salvation feeling skeptical, because a new entry in the Terminator franchise without Arnold Schwarzenegger just did not sound right on paper. In the end, though, I liked it, since it approached the series from a very different angle than the previous films. Only later did it become clear how bumpy the shoot had been, something that almost certainly kept the movie from reaching its full potential. Among the many issues was a leading man who, deep down, had never been fully sold on the project in the first place: Christian Bale.

By that point, Bale had already collaborated twice with Christopher Nolan, on Batman Begins (2005) and The Prestige (2006), so the contrast with Joseph McGinty Nichol, better known as McG, could not have been sharper. Nothing in the American director-producer’s filmography convinced him that the Terminator franchise would be in good hands. On top of that, he was skeptical about the series itself, feeling that the story had more or less run its course after Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003). Even so, he eventually relented and agreed to play John Connor.

In a 2015 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Bale recalled how McG tried to win him over: “He said to me, ‘Give me a chance. Everyone needs to evolve; I need to move on to a new stage. I am sure you have been in that same situation when somebody trusted you blindly’ – which is true – ‘do that for me now, I promise I am ready for this.’” Bale ultimately accepted, but later came to see it as a mistake, to the point that he has no intention of teaming up again with the man behind Charlie’s Angels (2000) and TV’s Ugly Betty. “There is a lot of room for different approaches and many kinds of characters within the film industry. I will not work with him again, but I wish him the best of luck.”

Bale Lost His Temper With A Crew Member On Set

It is worth noting that the most infamous incident on set did not involve a direct clash between Bale and McG, but rather between Bale and cinematographer Shane Hurlbut. Around that time, an audio recording leaked in which the star of The Dark Knight could be heard shouting and swearing furiously at the crew member, a moment that perfectly captured how tense the atmosphere had become. Bale later issued a public apology and admitted that, as The Guardian quoted him, “it was unacceptable, completely and utterly. I have no excuse for it.”

Terminator Salvation long carried the reputation of being one of the weakest entries in James Cameron’s long-running sci-fi saga, drawing lukewarm reviews and grossing around 371 million dollars worldwide. Over time, however, audiences have come to view it in a more forgiving light, and its reputation today is far better than it was at release. Many viewers – including the article’s author – still consider it stronger than the third film, even though that one at least featured a familiar, classic version of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Source: 3djuegos