Being a second-time feature-film director is one thing; that second film being Terminator Genisys, a film that is not only part of one of sci-fi’s best loved franchises, but also has in Arnold Schwarzenegger one of the biggest action stars of all time, is another entirely. Fortunately, as Alan Taylor tells us, he was a joy to work with.
“The first time I went to meet him, I didn’t know what to expect or what kind of personality I was going to encounter, so I was sort of braced for the worst,” says Taylor, “but from the first conversation we had over breakfast, all the way through prep, into shooting and out the other end, he was a joy to work with.
“He was eager, generous and constantly professional and common sense-ical and playful. He ate lunch with the crew every day, and collaborated effortlessly.”
Thinking back to his first scene with Schwarzenegger, Taylor remembers it well. “I think Arnold’s first scene we shot, he was walking along with a shotgun saying, ‘I’ve been waiting for you!’ and starts to fire the shotgun. It was the first time he was in character, and it clicked for me, the reason why there are only a handful of top icon characters that have lasted as long, and Arnold as the T-800 is one of them.
“He had a complex job; he had to play himself as his current age and as a younger version in a different timeline. Of course, we re-staged the 1984 action so he was also that guy, and at one point he had to fight himself, while playing both roles, so there was a lot for him to do.”
Terminator Genisys will be released in cinemas on 3 July. For all the biggest movie news, pick up the latest issue of SciFiNow.
