It’s a good thing that Fox prematurely released the news that Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles

would be heading back into production for 13 episodes to begin airing in the Fall, otherwise we’d all be on pins and needles considering that the Fox upfronts are the LAST scheduled events of the TV upfront season.

The event will take place in NY on Thursday May 15th in the afternoon. Hopefully we’ll get lots of awesome TSCC cast photos to share with you all afterwards, along w/ news from Josh Friedman on what to expect for Season 2!  Until next Thursday, you can peruse our gallery and check out the photos from last year’s Upfronts where the entire TSCC cast were in attendance. You can view the photos HERE!

RISKY BUSINESS

A source familiar with the latest sequel said filmmakers have no intention of wrapping production by June 30 and have taken legal precautions in case of a work stoppage. A second person close to the film’s production will go on hiatus if there is a strike, but others said that is a risky endeavor.

“I think many productions are planning on wrapping up by the strike deadline. It is often very difficult to stop production midway. Putting a production on hold is a pretty gigantic responsibility,” said one executive from a talent agency who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Due to its late production start, “Terminator 4″ was ineligible for special “strike expense” insurance coverage recently offered by Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co.

Wendy Diaz, underwriting director at Fireman’s, said many studios rushed ahead with production to get the coverage, which was contingent on shooting being scheduled to end by June 15. The policies reimburse producers for strike losses if filming is delayed past June 30 by unforeseen circumstance, such as an actor’s illness or equipment damage.

Few, if any, studio movies were put into production after late March or early April, because a typical 60-day movie shooting cycle would cut it too close to the presumed strike deadline.

Steven Spielberg called off an April start to a film about the trial of the 1968 anti-war activists, and Michael Bay is keeping his fingers crossed for an early June start for a sequel to his “Transformers.”

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Cynthia Osterman)

Source - Reuters

Cinematical posted this interesting Blog entry today asking about the sanity of starting production of TERMINATOR SALVATION: THE FUTURE BEGINS when there is a possible actor’s strike looming in the future.

I think it’s kind of funny that in Eugene’s post about T4’s start date, he says: “barring some Terry Gilliam-scale disaster.” I wonder if the disaster could be a long and arduous SAG strike? The New Zealand Herald (Reuters) pointed out today that the production is moving on despite the distinct possibility that the movie industry could get hit with another strike very soon.

Right now, the SAG contract expires on June 30, which could very easily become the start of another strike. (Union leaders say they hope to reach an agreement, and of course they do — but that doesn’t mean they’ll get one.) Nevertheless, Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins has started filming in New Mexico this week, throwing caution to the wind.

But this doesn’t mean they’ll speed through it. A source told Reuters there is no intention to finish production by June 30, and that legal precautions have been taken in case the strike happens. But still — stopping for an undisclosed period of time right in the middle of production is very far from ideal.

It seems a bit cocky to me, to go forward now rather than waiting, but what do you think?

Should T4 be moving full steam ahead regardless of the strike? Or, is this just a careless or cocky move?

You can post your thoughts HERE!

Here’s some more casting details for 2 new characters that they’re looking to add to the TSCC cast this next season…. If you don’t want to be spoiled…move along…move along….

CAST, Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, Richard T. Jones, Brian Austin Green;
EXEC PROD, Josh Friedman, John Wirth;
CO-EXEC PROD, Toni Graphia;
PROD, Jill Danton, John Enbom.
Contract: Union.sptv050769
Shoot Dates: June 2, 2008 (in Los Angeles, CA).

Becky
18+ to play younger, any ethnicity. High school-aged teenage girl, beautiful with an edge but not mean. Series Regular;

Catherine
Mid 30s-Early 40s, Caucasian, the anti-Sarah Connor. CEO of a major corporation (but not Devil Wears Prada). Warm, earthy, and smart, the sort of woman that wears all white and walks around without shoes. Series Regular.

Source- SpoilerTV

Common thread in ‘Terminator’ film

Rapper to co-star in Warner Bros.’ sequel

Rapper Common has signed on to co-star in “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins” for Halcyon Pictures.

Christian Bale and Sam Worthington have already boarded the project, which will be distributed by Warner Bros. domestically. Sony will release the film in most foreign territories.

Story centers on John Connor (Bale), now in his 30s, who leads what is left of the human race in a battle against the machines. Common will play a freedom fighter and member of Connor’s inner circle.

McG will direct from a script by John D. Brancato & Michael Ferris and Paul Haggis.

Dan Lin, Mortiz Borman, Victor Kubicek, Jeff Silver, Derek Anderson and Jeanne Allgood are producing the film, which will bow May 22, 2009.

Common can next be seen onscreen in “Wanted,” starring Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and James McAvoy. Later this summer, he is set to release his eighth album, “Invincible Summer.”

Source- Variety

EXCL: Rob Hall Talks Second Feature Laid to Rest

Robert Hall, of Almost Human FX, makes a living getting blood on his hands. When he stepped away from the latex fumes, out of the shop and into the director’s chair for Lightning Bug, starring Bret Harrison and That ’70s Show’s Laura Prepon, what poured out of him was more “drama” than “horror.” That all changes in Laid to Rest, Hall’s sophomore directorial effort.

“If I was to be taken seriously [as a director], I just didn’t want to come from the FX world and do a monster movie first,” Hall says during a phone chat with ShockTillYouDrop.com. “Lightning Bug was a story that meant a lot to me and was something I had to get out, getting something under my belt that I was proud of - that showed I could work with actors and something that was cohesive.”

Rest is Hall’s balls-to-the-wall foray into horror starring Bobbi Sue Luther (Killer Pad), Nick Principe, horror vet Richard Lynch, Kevin Gage (Heat), Sean Whalen (The People Under the Stairs) and The Sarah Connor Chronicles‘ Lena Headey and Thomas Dekker. “The movie takes place in one night and the story begins with a girl [Luther] trapped in a coffin in a funeral home, she’s confused, can’t remember anything and once she gets out it becomes this very simple story about a guy in a mask [Principe] chasing this girl,” Hall explains from his shop, fresh yet weary from Rest’s 24-day nocturnal principal photography schedule in Maryland.

Read more »

‘Terminator’ guns for kid-friendly rating
Halcyon aims to deliver PG-13 movie

Source- Variety

The “Terminator” will indeed be back — but this time with a more kid-friendly rating.

As production starts today on “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins,” the next installment in the action franchise, producers at the Halcyon Co. say they aim to deliver a PG-13 movie to Warner Bros. for release on May 22, 2009.

The “Terminator” series is one of the highest-grossing R-rated franchises of all time, with the first three films having grossed more than $1.03 billion worldwide. But Halcyon producers thought it was time to broaden the upcoming fourth film’s audience base, and they believe the PG-13 won’t compromise the series’ gritty vision.

“The ratings have changed,” said Halcyon co-founder and co-CEO Victor Kubicek, a broker-turned-writer-producer. “The PG-13 has increased in intensity.”

Move follows last year’s “Die Hard” film, “Live Free or Die Hard,” which went out with a PG-13 after three prior R-rated installments. That pic went on to gross $382.1 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing in the series.

Read more »

Josh Friedman Interview: The Creator of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles
We talk to the writer/producer about the shortened season one, the new season, and a giant cockroach that tries to kill him.

source

May 2, 2008 - Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles turned out to be one of the saving graces during the writers’ strike. It was one of the only new shows on the air. It was originally supposed to be paired with 24, but the strike pushed that show into next year. So Sarah Connor had Monday night all to itself.

Based on one of the biggest action movie franchises of all time, the series had some rather enormous shoes to fill. There’s also the fact that this would be the first Terminator story told without the participation of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who got a bit busy being Governor of California. In Arnold’s place came Summer Glau, who is pretty much the physical opposite in every regard. Taking over for Linda Hamilton is Lena Headey, best known for her role as Queen Gorgo in 300. Stepping in to play John Connor, and the third actor to do so (fourth if you count Michael Edwards, fifth if you count Dalton Abbott) is Thomas Dekker – previously seen on NBC’s breakout hit Heroes.

The series quickly established itself as its own entity. It would not be “Terminator chase of the week.” Instead, the series set up a series of events that changed the game, essentially undoing the events of the third movie in the series and we find Sarah and John taking the fight to Skynet, the super computer that brings about Judgment Day. Considering that this is a major franchise for FOX, the choice of Josh Friedman seemed strange at first for one reason: he’d never worked in television before.

Friedman has had a long career as a screenwriter for films such as Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds and Brian DePalma’s Black Dahlia. But, he turned out to be the right guy for the job, as the series got better with each episode. The last episode that aired, which ended up being the show’s writers’ strike-imposed finale, was probably the best of the season. For a while it seemed touch and go whether the show’s increasing number of fans would get their wish for a second season, but FOX recently delivered the good news. We decided to go right to the source and talk to Friedman about the show’s first season and what’s planned for the next.

IGN TV: What’s the first thing you did when you got back?

Josh Friedman: The first thing we did is pull all the writers in and have a big long brainstorming session, analyzing last year and talking about this year. Like you would if you’d won or lost the Super Bowl; take a look at the game film and see where we’re at and try and see what we can do better going forward. We spent a lot of time together during the strike, but we hadn’t spent any time talking about the show, believe it or not.

Read more »

TV Guide’s “Sexiest TV Stars” issue has hit the stands and Summer Glau won as “Sexiest Sidekick!” Click on scan thumb to see it full-sized! Also Sci-Fi Magazine posted a photo of Summer & Kristanna Loken from the Terminator Premiere party and posted it in their sci-fi celebs spotting section. You can view the photo HERE!

And finally - I have two lovely, hard-to-find Season 1 promo photos of Summer Glau as Cameron that I scanned and loaded into our gallery. These scans are exclusive for our site, if you upload them, repost them, or reload/share them anywhere else - please credit us so that I don’t have to start putting large, ugly tags on the actual photos. Click on thumbs to view them!

Ok so I’m going to be busy at work this week, so posts might be a bit sparse, unless something huge breaks out. Anyways - here are some goodies to hold you over!

First up - thanks to Kate for skimming through a magazine that I would’ve never looked at - This month’s Nylon Magazine (on sale now in the ladies fashion mag area in Borders) has a section of Young stars to look out for and Thomas Dekker was interviewed and part of the group! The Film in question that Thomas wrote and directed that is mentioned in the article is called WHORE. You can read a bit more on it HERE on IMBD. Gee I wonder (not!) how he was able to get Megan Fox to star in the film

(Click on thumbs to view full sized scans - if you upload or post them elsewhere, please credit SarahConnorSociety.com, so I don’t have to start tagging my scans.)

Thomas Dekker’s life would probably be much easier if he just relied on his teen-dream looks, but the 20-year old star of Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles says he wants more than a career as an empty-headed cover boy. “there’s the frustration of knoing that the whole world thinks I’m another Zac Efron,” Dekker ays. “I respect actors like that, who can be so perfect, but it’s a full-time job, and I don’t want to pretend I’m some ideal celebrity because that doesn’t exist.”

Dekker, who made his name as Claire Bennet’s boy next door Zach on HEROES, also has the May release of an album, Psyanotic, that he “solely composed, wrote, mixed, and mastered,” to distract him from the perils of Hollywood and is still working on the third, as-yet untitled, film he’s written and directed. He calls it a “gritty look at the underworld of young Hollywood,” and it stars Megan Fox, Rumer, Willis, and Shiloh Fernandez (Willis and Fenandez are also his co-stars in From Within, which will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.) As if all this weren’t enough, Dekker is also currently filming My Sister’s Keeper, which is based on teh bestselling novel of the same name by Jodi Picoult, and is being directed by Nick Cassavetes (and also stars Alec Baldwin and Cameron Diaz.)

Fortunately, Dekker has the benefit of an unconventional upbringing to ground him: “My father would take me up to the top of this mountain at dawn, and there were all these wolf packs. I’d try to match the sound of hte wolves, and now I sing sort of like a banshee, a kind of wild singing,” he says. “The way I grew up helps remind me that this is my job, but my personality doesn’t begin and end with this industry.”