Chapter 70 - Challenges Posed by a New Role

Lin Mingyang admitted that he was fascinated by Kate Beckinsale's elegant temperament, but his joy didn't last too long before being replaced by depression after reading the script. In the script, although John Connor has grown up, he is still a "protected" child, with Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-850 robot as his bodyguard, and emotionally, he has to take his mother's place for his girlfriend's sake. He is emotionally supported by his girlfriend, who takes the place of his mother.

In several youth campus movies, Lin Mingyang has always been a sunny and handsome image, whether it is in the "Sister Agents" to play secret agents play cool, or in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" to show off, these are basically very strong aura, the image of a very positive role, but in the "Terminator 3", he has to play a lack of courage in the face of predestination, a bit of decadence, escapism, the image of the character.

All of this alone is nothing, the point is that the image of John Connor in the first two installments of this film is already deeply rooted. Born in the 1990s, this Terminator series, in terms of the conditions at the time, whether in terms of film art, worldview or CG technology, has brought far more classic significance to the development of cinema than the later Matrix series. Now, after a 12-year wait, the most classic Terminator series in the history of sci-fi cinema is back with a third installment, which has naturally become the focus of attention.

For Lin Ming Yang, not only does he have to challenge himself by playing a type of character he has never attempted before, but he is also tasked with breaking the shackles of the classics and reinventing the image of the character of John Connor, which alone puts him under immense pressure.

Just as Lin Ming Yang was hesitating, an unexpected visitor knocked on the door of his house. Looking at Jonathan Mostow in the living room who was praising the unique flavor of the coffee made by his mother Catherine, the shock in Lin Ming Yang's heart was written directly on his face.

"Felix, this gentleman wants to talk to you." Catherine carried a tray as she passed by Lin Ming Yang, then said in a fictionalized manner, "It's Ecks who asked him to come."

Turning his back on the visitor, Lin Ming Yang made a face at his mother, signaling that she could handle it on her own, before Catherine was relieved to leave the living room to him.

"Mr. Jonathan Mostow?" Although he knew the other party's identity as soon as they met, the two of them hadn't had any previous contact after all, so in order not to draw suspicion, Lin Mingyang still asked.

"Nice to meet you, Felix!"Jonathan Mostow put down his coffee and stood up enthusiastically, and the two shook hands.

"I've seen your film U-571" Lin Ming Yang mentioned Jonathan Mostow's masterpiece as a CG school movie director.

"Can I hear your review?" Jonathan Mostow didn't put on any airs.

Lin Mingyang wasn't polite either, although his evaluation still carried a bit of a compliment: "The movie's action sequences were very well shot, the sound effects and stunts were top-notch, but unfortunately the characterization was too flat, and although it's a wonderful film, the impression left on the viewer is very shallow."

Jonathan Mostow smiled, he knew that it was already very good that Lin Ming Yang could give such an evaluation, he didn't ignore the fact that sitting in front of him was a talented teenage screenwriter just because the other party was only 17 years old.

"We might have to work together for a while next, do you have confidence in me?" Jonathan Mostow asked very directly.

"No!" Lin Mingyang hesitated for a moment and finally decided to be honest.

"That's the most honest answer I've ever heard!" Jonathan Mostow didn't get the slightest bit angry, instead he laughed heartily, "But this also reinforces my idea that you would be the most suitable leading man for this movie!"

Lin Ming Yang smiled noncommittally, "I'm actually more interested in knowing, do you have confidence in yourself?"

"Obviously, being able to become the director of The Terminator does make one a little timid, and even a little masochistic. But I know all about no pain, no gain. I'm not just making a movie that everyone wants to make, but it's important to realize that James Cameron is a household name, and there will be heavy pressure from all sides to direct this film."

"I said to myself, 'Look, if I were to direct this movie, it would be a compelling film.' As far as other trivialities are concerned I never bothered. The day I officially signed on, I didn't care what people thought of me, from then on I decided I was going to concentrate on this film and I vowed to make a great movie - perhaps out of a self-protective rebelliousness!" As James Cameron's successor, all those films Jonathan Mostow had made before seemed a bit pedestrian.

"Have you tried to communicate with Mr. Cameron?" Lin Mingyang asked.

Jonathan Mostow shook his head, "From a business point of view, he didn't intervene in this movie, but after all, he was the one who created the 'baby' that is The Terminator. I am a 'Terminator' fan, and it just so happens that I have now become the director of the third installment of the series."

"I had thought that maybe I should say hello to Cameron, but a mutual friend between us told me that when Cameron took on Alien 2, he didn't communicate with Ridley Scott. And Cameron also told me through my friend that he understood what I was doing and that he thought I should carry on on my own and make the movie my own."

"And that's your reasoning for being the director of this movie?" Lin Ming Yang wouldn't make any comments until all the questions in his mind were cleared up.

"Frankly speaking, my initial reaction was also skeptical. I was like, why is Warner making Terminator 3? Wasn't the last movie great? Making this movie is like taking advantage of the good reputation given to it by the fans to rake in the big bucks as many people are saying at the moment."

"But when I read the script, I realized that it's really a story that's well worth making. The characters in the first film have gone to separate places in their lives. The last time we saw John Connor in the film he was a teenager, and now he's a young man in his early 20's.What would John Connor have been like in his 20's, especially as someone who was isolated from the world, and how would you have been if you had learned in your 20's or so that your future was going to be one of a life of flight? face?"

"That's exactly what I'm struggling with right now, because I'm not 20 yet, so it's hard to grasp the character of John Connor." Lin Mingyang said bluntly.

"Is it because you really don't have the grasp to play this role well, or do you feel that you don't have the ability to break through the John Connor portrayed by Edward Furlong that has already been recognized by the audience?" Jonathan Mostow hit the nail on the head as to where Lin Ming Yang's real concerns lay.

"I'm curious to know, if you were to star in this movie, would you go and interact with Edward Furlong?" Lin Ming Yang's question from earlier was returned to him after Jonathan Mostow changed his words.

"I shouldn't have much in common with him." Lin Ming Yang shook his head with certainty.

"This is a challenge for both you and I. Classics are called classics because they are hard to surpass. I can't do it with my personal strength alone, so I need your help." Jonathan Mostow sent an invitation to Lin Ming Yang very sincerely.

"You think you can surpass James Cameron?"

"Doing it will most likely fail, but not doing it will never succeed."

"What kind of help can I give you?" Lin Mingyang was ultimately impressed by this courageous belief of Jonathan Mostow.

"Give me your trust, I'll take care of the rest!"

----

To be honest Lin Ming Yang wasn't very optimistic about the script provided by Warner, but Jonathan Mostow's confidence didn't only stem from his own strong beliefs, the joining of Oscar-winning visual effects legend Stan Yunston had also become his leverage to win. Not to mention the fact that he has nearly twice the amount of money spent on Terminator 2, as well as a new century of CG special effects technology that will turn everything into a miracle, all of which is enough to make you believe that Terminator 3 will definitely surprise all moviegoers.

Since it's all about completely subverting the classic left behind by James Cameron, in addition to having Lin Ming Yang replace the original John Connor's character, Jonathan Mostow also made an even crazier decision in Terminator 3 by having a woman play the villainous robot this time around.

In fact, the T-X robot, which had initially been named T-1G in the script, was not designed with women in mind. The original T-X was supposed to be a male on that super-heavyweight list of T-X character alternatives prepared internally by Warner.

At first appearing on that list was extreme sports star Van Diesel, but he himself was busy filming Extreme Agent and lacked sufficient interest in the script to call it quits.

The next candidate on Warner's shortlist was basketball superstar "Shark" O'Neal, who had to admire the imagination of the company's director, who used the NBA star to play the villainous robot in the movie, a perfect combination of the two areas of mutual speculation. In the end, this plan had to be abandoned because O'Neal was unable to take time off to participate in a long shoot, and the decision finally came back to Jonathan Mostow's hands.

The use of women as action movie protagonists actually appeared in Hollywood in the 1990s, and naturally, the mother of John Connor's protagonist in Terminator 2, Sara, needs no further mention, as does Ellen, the sole survivor of the Nostromo spaceship in the Alien series, also directed by James Cameron, and this one bites the dust! The actress, who has appeared in four Alien films, jokes with people that she's "spent her whole life with Alien."

While there were women who did the same difficult maneuvers as their male counterparts on the big screen, the majority of women in action films of the era continued to play the role of vase or, as in Linda Hamilton's earlier role in the Man with the Guts TV series, as the hero's soul mate and motivator.

But in the new millennium, Hollywood has been breaking with its traditions to create a wide variety of female action heroines with distinctive female characteristics. Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider, Storm in X-Men, and Trinity in The Matrix are just a few of the amazing actresses who kicked off the era of feminist action movies.

Jonathan Mostow looked back to realize how appealing the idea of female robots was, and soon the world's women's heavyweight boxing champion, Joanna Loren, showed up for an audition for Terminator 3, and even won over star Schwarzenegger with her strong physique, confirming the female T-X 's character prototype. But neither director Jonathan Mostow nor producer Warner felt they needed a female version of Schwarzenegger, and the rugged image of a female boxing champion, while pleasing to Arnold, would not win the box office guaranteed. Instead, it was the svelte, gorgeous Christina Logan who was the final choice for T-X.

Lin Ming Yang heard the whole process of the birth of this beautiful terminator from Ecks' mouth, and the final conclusion his agent gave was that Kristina Logan's inclusion in the movie made the box office allure and the vulgar fun index of the movie soar at the same time.

"Jonathan Mostow chose Kristina Logan because she was willing to accept the large-scale shooting in this movie, and I heard that in this movie, he was going to shoot multiple full nude scenes for this beautiful robot, and no big-name actresses in Hollywood, I guess, have the guts to try."

Lin Ming Yang was curious to know if he would be involved in the filming of these sets of scenes, but after thinking about it, it seemed to have nothing to do with himself, and seeing Kate Beckinsale sitting beside him frowning gently, he didn't have the heart to say this somewhat vulgar question out loud.

Kate Beckinsale did sympathize with Christina Logan, in order to become famous, newcomers could only get a chance to make a name for themselves by playing roles that big name stars would not want to play. In contrast, I am very lucky to have met Lin Mingyang, a guy who wanted to be a director on a whim, and then accompanied him in a confused manner to "fool around" once, but I did not expect to be successful.

"When I saw the script, I knew it would be a controversial film, I think Mr. Jonathan just wanted to add some eye-catching attractions to the film, but he did get a little 'carried away'." After listening to Ecks' opinion, Lin Mingyang spoke up.

"Then you still agreed to star in it?" Kate Beckinsale asked with a frown.

"This is also a challenge for me, even though I'm not too optimistic about the future fate of the film, I still hope to complete a self-breakthrough through this movie, perhaps people will have a low opinion of this movie, but I hope that my performance will be recognized, and I can even become the more perfect part of this not-so-perfect movie. "

"Is this going to be a little too risky?" Kate Beckinsale, who was cold in nature, was actually suffering for Lin Ming Yang, which made Ecks, who was on the sidelines, stare in disbelief.

After seeing the quirky "I'm young and I'm afraid of no one" expression on Lin Ming Yang's face, Kate Beckinsale couldn't help but smile as well.

Ecks, who had been left out to dry, had to cough, which drew the attention of the two back to himself, and he hadn't finished his words, "Actually, I'm more worried about Kate now, all you're able to act in now are vase-type roles, and the lack of opportunities for breakthroughs like Felix's isn't a good thing for your long term development. "

"So what should I do?" Kate Beckinsale also looked a little anxious after hearing that.

"Don't worry!" Lin Ming Yang suddenly giggled at the ceiling, "I'll definitely speed up my own pace of becoming a director, and at that time, Kate, whatever kind of role you want to play, it's all wrapped up in me!"

Although she laughed at Lin Ming Yang's sudden "crazy talk" as much as Eckles did, Kate Beckinsale's heart was overwhelmed with warmth and emotion. An unknown sentiment quietly penetrated her heart, and then in the most secret depths, it left a knot that no one could unravel.