Tackling existing film franchises is a tricky prospect for any actor, and Bale's now taken on starring roles in two iconic franchises. Playing Batman in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight proved to be exactly the right choice for the Welsh actor. The jury's still out on whether taking on the role of John Connor, leader of the Resistance, in Terminator Salvation was the right decision as the film hasn't yet hit theaters and Terminator fans haven't had a chance to chime in on Bale's performance. But no matter how he's accepted as John Connor, it's a given he gave it his all. In fact, he was even instrumental in initiating major changes to the script and brought on close friend Jonah Nolan (Christopher Nolan's screenwriter brother) to rework Michael Ferris and John Brancato's screenplay.
Director McG initially Bale to play Marcus Wright, a brand new character who becomes an important player in the Terminator mythology. But Bale wasn't interested in that role and instead wanted to play John Connor - but not as he was written at that time. "I’ve read in a few places that people said that I was unhappy with the original script and I wasn't the only one," said Bale at the LA press day for Warner Bros Pictures' Terminator Salvation. "Everybody was saying that there needed to be changes made to it. Connor was a character who appeared very, very briefly in that original, which I was happy to do, if the story could become something worthy of reviving this mythology. However, we had a few writers because of the whole situation with the writers strike and coming off of that. But we were very lucky for the short time that he was able to work on it that my friend Jonah Nolan came in. And Jonah said to me, 'Christian, do you want me to write this with the same involvement that Connor has in the original one, or do you want me to increase it?' And I said, 'I don't mind what you do — just whatever the best story is. And I don't want to work for one week'- which was originally all I was meant to do - 'on a movie that has no chance.' So I said, 'You just do whatever you need to do, what makes the best story, bring it to me after, and we'll work it out.'"
Bale added, "And I think it was true. He couldn't find a way that made sense and that also gave a connection to the previous movies without having Connor involved more than was in that original."
Bale was familiar with the Terminator franchise - you'd almost have to lived under a rock for the last 25 years not to be - and shared his memories of past Terminator films. "The first time I saw the first movie, which would have been a number of years after it got released, it was fun. Not something that had a strong impact, but when I was 17 and I just came out to the States, I went to see T2 and that was very memorable," recalled Bale. "It was opening weekend. I couldn't hear a damn thing that was said on the movie because everybody was screaming so much throughout it. So it was an introduction to American audiences but also to a movie that just seemed to make everybody crazy in that way, and I really enjoyed that."
Although the star from the past Terminator films, Arnold Schwarzenegger, does play a crucial part in Terminator Salvation, the Governator didn't need to take any time out of his busy schedule as California's Governor in order to be in Terminator Salvation. Bale 'shares' a scene with Schwarzenegger, yet he never met him on the set. "He didn't have to expend one second of time. Strangely I've just bumped into him a few times, and I've worked with some of his family members in the past, so there's a kind of a recognition."
Asked if he's an Arnold fan, Bale replied, "I think that it's always admirable when you're the originator. Of course, he's had many imitators. We've sort of moved on now from the 80s and the big, beefy guys, but he was the first, so hats off to him. And you look at what the guy's achieved. It's phenomenal. So yeah, absolutely, I get a thrill out of seeing the scene where Connor faces off against the original T-800."
Terminator Salvation is set in 2018, after the apocalypse, and Skynet is hunting down the last human survivors to use as guinea pigs. Our technology isn't at the point where we think robots will take over the world and replace humans, however Bale thinks there are a few technological advancements he'd be fine doing without. Yes, even the man who plays John Connor and the Caped Crusader admits some things scare him. "Those things like the photo downloads where you can now, it will tell you exactly where you took every single picture — you know, down every damn street. It feels very Big Brother. It's fascinating, but it's very Big Brother as well," said Bale. "The whole security systems where people have all the cameras set up in their homes, and I'm convinced that there's somebody watching and listening the entire time. Things like that — what's it called? GM or somebody has that? On Line or On Star or something like that it’s called in your cars? On Star? You can press a button and speak with somebody and they can hear you? Oh yeah, like they're not listening in an awful lot just to get that!"
Page 2: Christian Bale on Tackling Two Franchises
