McG Talks Terminator, Spoils the Fun of Spreading Rumors

Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on June 4, 2008

Director Joseph McGinty Nichol, McG for short, the man entrusted with the future of the beloved Terminator franchise, has taken to blogging as a way to keep readers informed on the production of the fourth installment, Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. Like other directors before him, including Zack Snyder and Frank Miller, he is revealing small tidbits about the film via his own blog in an attempt to keep fans in the loop. But while he is being informative and helping to build positive buzz for his project, he is also using it to set the record straight on various rumors — a strategy that is proving detrimental to the normal rumorous workings of the interwebs.

You see, unlike Michael Bay and his Transformers 2 mis-information campaign, McG is speaking out against rumors, and it is beginning to get annoying. In a most recent blog, he set the record straight on some hot topics:

1. His name is not ridiculous, it is a family name — Apparently the name “McG” comes from his middle name. And since everyone in his family is named Joe, he used McG to set himself apart. It is sort of like Sting, if his real name was Gordon Stinger Sumner. Which would be awesome, if it were true.

2. The movie isn’t definitely going to be PG-13, but that is what they are shooting for — but as the director says, the movie comes first. He is going for a Batman Begins-esque (which seems to be becoming a regular phrase for franchise reboots) sort of deal where he can make a dark film and get a PG-13 without sacrificing quality.

3. Only three people know the real ending of the movie — this is his way of saying that all the rumors that are floating around on the web are false. Translation: all the rumors floating around on the web are too close to ignore, therefore he will be re-writing the ending. It now includes Dakota Fanning, Seth Rogen, huge bag of weed and half the cast being stuffed into a fridge right before a nuclear blast. (Spoiler: Everyone survives).

With all of these revelations by the new Terminator director, I am left with nothing more than feelings of anger, resentment and betrayal. By being so honest and forthright in his blogging, McG is taking away the very foundation upon which the internet was built — no, not porn and debt consolidation — rumor and speculation. If we can’t start wild rumors about Christian Bale turning into a cyborg and have people believe them up until the moment when they actually see the movie, how can Hollywood ever expect to execute a “gotcha” moment? What are you going to do, McG, use originality and talent to surprise us? I don’t think so. That is, unless your use of originality and talent is the surprise — then we are talking.

Sound Off: How does McG’s openness make you feel? Do you feel part of the relationship? Are you ready to take things to the next level?

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