On the day that Terminator Salvation finally hits the film-going public smack in the face, Roll Credits speaks to star Christian Bale who plays leader of the resistance John Connor.

"[Terminator Salvation is] not something which you’re sort of gazing into the human soul and speaking to you in that way. It’s a movie that’s meant to be watched with a lot of different people"

It was an interesting choice to go straight into another big-budget franchise after your involvement in Batman. What did you see in this movie that you really wanted to be a part of?

I didn’t go straight into it. I did Public Enemies in between the two. I felt like the franchise was done so when I first got sent it, I didn’t have any interest. Then I sort of got a creepin’ idea that there really was something good that could be told here. If that was going to happen then absolutely, I wanted to be on for it. I like mixing it up. I like doing a Dark Knight, Batman Begins, and doing The Machinist and things and doing Public Enemies and then doing Terminator. I enjoy that mix.

Does the sheer physicality of these roles have an impact on your life?

Not so intense on this one. Not nearly as intense as it was on Batman. It’s probably more intense for Sam [Worthington, who plays Marcus] because he’s somebody who could actually have a fist fight with a Terminator, but as a human being you’re not having any fisty cuff sessions with a Terminator. You get to that point, then you’re probably just dead. So, for me, it was mainly just weapons handling and preparation for that. We had a great advisor who I spent a lot of time with, but the physical challenge was not nearly as tough as I thought it was going to be.

What was your relationship like with director McG?

Initially, the collaboration was just me saying, 'No, I didn’t want to do the movie!' Then it was, 'Why?' When people look at the franchise mythology and think it’s over, you’ve got to come back with something that really knocks people out. I just didn’t feel like it was there, but that was not just me. Everybody felt that. I really couldn’t see that it wouldn’t be able to get there. It just seemed crazy to me that that wouldn’t be possible. So I took a leap of faith because it was the writers strike and everything and they were saying, 'Alright, listen, let’s all just have a few points that we want to get across in another script and have that be written and fine. Let’s go after that.'

Of course a movie is a collaboration, but a director has to have his own point of view. That is a director’s job. He creates the point of view and he must have a strong point of view. He has to. He can’t be wishy washy. He creates a rhythm, you know, of the piece. You can’t have too many chiefs otherwise the whole thing is going to be a balls-up. He’s obviously very open to ideas, but I like it when I’m hearing great ideas and then I’m just adding onto it and making it something extra.

And what did you think of the finished product?

I saw a few different variations and, like any movie, it goes through a lot of different shapes. Ultimately, the last one I saw I really felt satisfied. I felt okay, I think we’ve…the public will decide. This isn’t a movie that you sit down and want to watch as a personal 2 o’clock in the morning viewing. It’s not something which you’re sort of gazing into the human soul and speaking to you in that way. It’s a movie that’s meant to be watched with a lot of different people and to get that common energy. I think movies like this, it’s much like sports. It’s that feeling of a common excitement throughout the theatre and that is what I loved about seeing T2. I felt like I think we might have a chance here. People will decide, but I think we might have a chance of maybe having revived this and being able to move on and see what happens with any future movies if this one does well enough.

You of course get the famous 'I’ll be back' line in this film? Was that in the script and was that fun to do?

That was actually something which a friend of mine who came on as a writer for awhile. I would have liked him to have been around for longer throughout the movie, but it was conversation actually when Jonah Nolan was on it briefly to work. He called me up and said, 'Christian, I’ve got an idea. I just want to run it by you because you might just say ‘No way.’' I thought, 'You know what, let’s try it. We can always cut it out'. My aim was to attempt and you can tell me if you feel I did it successfully or not. My aim was to kind of have it be such a logical answer to what I’m being asked that hopefully people didn’t go in that second, 'What’s he doing an Arnie impression for?' I didn’t ever want it to come across as an impression. Ideally for me, a few seconds later, people who know the other movies go, 'Hey. Wait a second, he just said the same line.' That way I felt comfortable.

Do you know of any scenes that you shot for this film that aren’t in the theatrical cut that you’re looking forward to seeing on the director’s cut or the DVD?

I hate all the extras that you get on DVD’s like the deleted scenes. They’re deleted for a reason. Why show it? There’s that expression you’ve got to kill your babies sometimes. That happens. You do get sometimes some very good scenes, but they just don’t work in the rhythm of the movie. I’m pretty satisfied with whatever you see in this movie.

Interviews by Judy Sloane

READ MORE ON TERMINATOR SALVATION:

Read Interview With Director McG
Read Interview With Star Sam Worthington
Read Interview With Stars Anton Yelchin and Bryce Dallas Howard
Watch Film Clips
Read Full Review
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