Linda Hamilton Is Unhappy With The Opening Scene In Terminator: Dark Fate

In Terminator: Dark Fate, Sarah Connor from circa 1991 appears in the opening sequence. How does Hamilton, 63, feel looking at her de-aged, 28 years-younger self on-screen? “I haven’t seen the movie yet, so I can’t tell you,” said Hamilton. And even if she did see it, she’ll probably hate it. “Because [they used] a body double and put a CGI face on her body. And I had nothing to do with the scene. I’m not going to like it.”

“I really don’t feel my age,” Arnie said earlier at a press conference. “It’s because I train all the time.” How much has his portrayal of the T-800 changed over the years? When it comes to action, his approach remains the same.

“You still have to come very prepared, you still have to work with the weapons, you still have to do your military training," he says. "From the Terminator’s point of view, you still have to act like a machine, whether it’s 1984 or today. What has changed is that you can actually entertain people today better because you can [enhance the stunts and physical action] with visual effects. For instance, [without special effects] we would not have been able to do the [free-falling plane sequence].”

After five tours as the T-800, is Arnie ready to retire from the franchise, just as his BFF Sylvester Stallone recently did with Rambo: Last Blood? “In every one of the movies, the terminator is finished,” said the ex-Governator.

“It’s only because the way the stories are written that he comes back [each time] as a different terminator. Only the fans can decide if there is another one. If the fans like this movie and if it’s successful, then I’m sure Jim Cameron is going to think about it again and say, ‘Let’s create another.’”

When Hamilton received the call from Cameron about the new Terminator movie, she was reluctant to sign on as Sarah Connor again. “I had some concerns and I really took quite a bit of time to decide to come back because I always wanted to retire a champion. I thought, whatever we had in those first two films is untouchable, how dare we try this at our age.”

After one month, she agreed to do it. She pitched a few ideas to Cameron, from having Sarah Connor as a dead drunk to her being overweight [so that she wouldn’t have to work so hard], something that “shock the fans”. “What if she’s given up and is just fat,” she said, with a laugh. “And [Cameron] was like, ‘No.’”

To play Connor again, Hamilton spent a year whipping herself into cyborg-fighting shape, including thrice-daily workouts and military training camp.

Even though Cameron got the band together, he only handled writing and producing duties — thanks to his involvement with the Avatar sequels, currently filming in New Zealand — leaving Tim Miller at the helm. If Cameron weren’t so knee-deep in Pandora politics, would he have directed Terminator: Dark Fate? I asked.

“And [the movie would] be better or what?” Hamilton asked.

That’s not what I meant. If Cameron were the director, wouldn’t that make the reunion more complete?

“Perhaps,” Hamilton said. “Tim Miller brings his own fresh energy and I think that is worth acknowledging. He’s a filmmaker in his own right. As easy as it is to go back to lean on the same construct, it’s also nice to have somebody new come in and possibly bring with him a whole new audience.”

While Arnie didn’t respond to my question, he did say in a Total Film interview: “The upside of having [Cameron] there is that he’s very smart and he totally knows science fiction and action and storytelling. The bad side is that he’s too much of a control freak, y’know? He just sees it all as his way or nothing. But then, he’s not just anybody, he’s the top director in the world, so I don’t mind listening to him. Tim is… not as intense.”

No wefies, the handlers repeatedly told the journos. Those were the rules: Finish the interview and vacate the room ASAP. But something unexpected happened. When our 15 minutes were up, just before we were led out of the room, Hamilton offered, “Why don’t we take a group photo?” She also asked Arnie, who was about to walk away, to stay as well. How cool was that? And how could we say no to Sarah Connor? So does this photo count in my KPI?

Terminator: Dark Fate (NC16) is now in cinemas. Watch more interviews on meWATCH and Mediacorp YouTube Channel.

Photos/Videos: 20th Century Fox; TPG News/Click Photos