Welcome to the latest episode of The Fourth Wall – an interview podcast where I attempt to break down the fourth wall of the film industry, getting a behind the scenes look through my conversations with filmmakers, actors/actresses, and other industry professionals. 1991’s “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” is finally getting a proper sequel in the highly anticipated “Terminator: Dark Fate,” and my guest for Episode 10 of The Fourth Wall is the film’s director Tim Miller.
Miller has become somewhat of a rising star given the breakout success of 2016’s “Deadpool.” While the filmmaker sadly departed the sequel due to creative differences (see Miller’s original plan for “Deadpool 2“), a new opportunity arose in the form revamping the ‘Terminator’ franchise. A veteran of the visual effects industry, the filmmaker became acquainted with James Cameron while Blur Studio (Miller’s visual effects, animation, and design company) completed work on “Avatar.” From there, and with the help of several abysmal Terminator sequels, the cogs began to turn, and the notion of a proper sequel to “T2” started becoming a reality. It’s easy for many filmmakers early in their career to buy into their own hype (especially coming off of one of the most profitable R rated films of all time), however, with Miller the idea of openness and collaboration is something he very much encourages and stems from the environment he’s fostered at Blur.
“The best part about being a director at my age, or coming to it at my age, is that I’ve had experience working with large groups of artists and not making them hate you,” said Miller. “And so when you come to set I go, ‘Listen, I don’t have any experience doing this. This is only my second movie. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. Please help me not look stupid. If you see me doing something inefficiently or wrong, please tell me.’ And so everybody felt like they could contribute and weren’t going to be penalized. Apparently, some directors don’t like that which seems fucking crazy to me because I get credit for it anyway [laughing]!”
During our conversation, Miller’s desire to genuinely make a good movie that audiences will not only enjoy but that he himself is proud of became apparent, and many of ‘Dark Fate’s’ key contributions came from members of the cast to which Miller praised to no end. We also discussed the film’s prominent Latinx representation, working with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton, how Hamilton wanted to go even darker with Sarah Connor this go around, emerging filmmaking technologies that excite Miller the most, and much more.
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