Jonathan Mostow Admits Conscious Decision to use Comedy in Terminator 3

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines Director Jonathan Mostow is back with his latest movie “The Hunter’s Prayer”- which is a Leon style action flick starring Terminator Salvation’s Sam Worthington and written by T3 and Salvation scribes; John Brancato and Michael Ferris. The film had a fairly subdued release June 9 this year (you might have blinked and missed it); to promote it the director gave an interview to TheHollywoodNews.com about his career, projects and success…

Here’s some germane excerpts:

THN: The Terminator franchise has received a lot of attention lately after the 3D re-release of Judgement Day. What are your thoughts on the series as a whole? And how do you feel looking back on Rise of the Machines?

Well, the first two Terminator films were revolutionary. So, stepping into the third one after James Cameron was a big step up for me. Up until that point I had made a few films that received different levels of critical acclaim, but I had never done a big hit. When they first approached me about the film, the series was beginning to turn into a big franchise in the industry. At that point you could already see the writing on the wall, that Hollywood was about to become dominated by huge tent pole franchises. I was very interested in what that experience would be like.

I was initially pretty skeptical about why we actually needed a Terminator 3, because Terminator 2 was so good! From a business sense, the audience was obviously there. But, as a film maker I became more interested in telling a story that I knew the whole world would see. On my previous films I was always wondering ‘is anybody actually gonna see this?’, but I knew that Terminator 3 would be a giant, worldwide release. So overall, it was a very pleasurable experience. Arnold is an absolutely fabulous guy to work with, and it was an honor. I can’t say that today, that sort of film wouldn’t interest me again if I was approached.

THN: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is well known for its deleted ‘Sergeant Candy’ scene, featuring an explanation for why the T-800 models are all based on Arnold Schwarzenegger. Can you explain why this sequence was removed from the final cut of the film?

With that film we already knew we were facing a tremendous audience. My biggest concern was that we would let them down, after trying to fill the big shoes of James Cameron. I wanted the audience to accept us, and not think of us as a shameless effort to try and take their money. So, I made a conscious decision to use comedy as a method of disarming the audience. I thought that if I could make them laugh, they would unfold their arms a little bit.

But, with the Sergeant Candy scene we thought that was a bit of a step too far. There was too much comedy in that scene, and it was funny, but ultimately too much. That’s why I decided to take the sequence out. In retrospect, the humorous side of the film was one of the biggest criticism’s from the core fanbase. I think they would have preferred a more serious film.

As for “The Hunter’s Prayer”…

THN: How much input did you have on the script for The Hunters Prayer?

Well, there was already a script in place. Somebody had been trying to put it together for a while. Believe it or not, the original script was actually a lot darker than the one we ended up with! I read it and I thought ‘this is too dark’, which lead me to make a few changes.

Fourteen years… Fourteen years to get the clarity of mind, the epiphany if you will, to realize that the fans don’t want a comedic Terminator movie? It staggers me at times that Hollywood lacks the twenty twenty vision necessary to make some of the most fundamental movie-making decisions- decisions which, to Joe Public, are obvious from the get-go.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; if this franchise gives you the giggles, if it causes a mirth bubble to erupt at the corner of your mouth,- if it elicits laughter… then it is being misused and misrepresented by the people at the helm.
This franchise isn’t about trips to the zoo with hilarious results; this franchise began with all the bloody gusto of a horror-chase movie, it started on the bare bones of dark and gritty carnage whilst managing to somehow delicately gather together the threads of a bittersweet love story without being too schmaltzy or chocolate-boxy. Humor was two world weary, battle-hardened cops talking about perps, cigarettes and coffee. Terminator is not a comedy. Not something to titter at.
The darker aspects of T3 were what shone; the ending especially, it added a deeper and more rounded weight to a film which was rather colorful and sadly, seemed to lack impact.

It shouldn’t take fourteen years…

Many will probably argue that T2 had many comedic moments- I cringe at T2’s Arnie-smile-deleted scene and some of the forced kid-parent-robot jokes which were left in situ in the theatrical cut; don’t get me wrong, there are a million reasons to love T2 but I find the comical turn of Arnold Schwarzenegger as the talking Labrador grates on me as an adult.

Humor isn’t the only tool to balance out violence; consequences not only balance out violence- they give it morals and realism. consequences give violence an honesty that humor can only touch the edges of.

You have an opinion? Comment below…