Sarah Connor Chronicles Gets the Green Light is the first thing I read today on my daily round of movie/TV news.
Taken from Comingsoon.net ...
"Warner Bros. TV has set David Nutter to direct the pilot for "The Sarah Connor Chronicles," prompting Fox Broadcasting to officially greenlight production on the "Terminator"-themed project.
Nutter, whose last 12 pilots have all been picked up to series, also will serve as executive producer. Andy Vajna and Mario Kassar's C2 Pictures, which produced the most recent "Terminator" feature, is producing with Warner Bros. TV.
Fox made a put pilot commitment to "Connor" last fall, picking up the script from executive producer Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds). Kassar and Vajna will also executive produce.
Casting on "Connor" will begin immediately, with filming expected to commence early next year in New Mexico.
Nutter -- who directed the pilots of successes such as "Smallville," "Without a Trace" and "Supernatural" -- has a connection with original "Terminator" helmer James Cameron, having directed the pilot for Cameron's Fox series "Dark Angel."
The new installment in the "Terminator" franchise revolves around Connor and her savior son, John Connor. The series will explore what happened to Sarah Connor after the end of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, when the character went on the run."
""It's important for me to live up, as best I can, to the bar that Jim Cameron set," Nutter, who actually directed the pilot for Cameron’s series “Dark Angel”, told Variety. [It] has to carry as much of a punch" as possible, even on a TV budget.
Josh Friedman’s script revolves around robo-warrior Connor and her savior son, John Connor. C2 senior veepee of development James Middleton, who's a producer on the project, said last fall that "Connor" will explore what happened to Sarah Connor after the end of "T2," when the character went on the run.
"She has the weight of the world on her shoulders, and she also has to raise a 14-year-old son who may be the salvation of the world," he said.
Nutter said his involvement with "Connor" began after he bumped into Friedman at a screening, and Friedman told him about the project. Not long after, Nutter spent four days at Comic-Con, and that prompted him to request a copy of Friedman's script.
"It really expanded the characters and did what any good movie-to-TV script should do, which is send them in directions you wouldn't expect," Nutter said.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Edward Furlong won’t be involved in the project – but we’re guessing one of them, at least, wishes they were.
Reports say the new TV series will link in with a new "Terminator" film series. The impending "Terminator 4" - which according to the grapevine, might not feature Arnold Schwarzenegger - will pick-up and reference subjects that arise on the TV show."
Nutter is a very experienced TV veteran, with directing credits going back to shows like 21 Jump Street. He served as a producer and frequent director on The X-Files, and directed the feature film Disturbing Behavior.
Nutter told Variety he won't be working on any other pilots this year, describing Sarah Connor as, "A huge project that's going to take an extensive amount of preparation and pre-production."
...adding that he wants to make sure to protect, "the integrity of what Cameron created."
The Sarah Connor Chronicles takes place between Terminator 2 and Terminator 3, which has left fans wondering what the heck is this show going to be about anyway? Is it just going to be Sarah and John Connor as mom and son, sort of an Alice with rocket launchers instead of Mel’s Diner? Will there be any Terminators in the show? Friedman was as cryptic as possible, but did let loose some tantalizing hints.
“I would like to be able to explore as many different avenues of Terminator mythology as possible,” he told me. “I think to do a show that is a completely Terminator-less environment would probably not be, in the long run, a wise move or the most interesting thing.”
Ever since the success of 24 and Lost serialized dramas have been the networks’ latest fascination. Friedman says that while he likes long story arcs, he’s not bringing the show in that direction. “I always go back to The X-Files, which I think did a good job of balancing close-ended stories with mythology stories,” Friedman said. “The show will certainly not be a close-ended, procedural adventure of the week show. I would say it’s going to be a hybrid. It’ll be somewhere in between – it’s not going to be a Terminator of the week show, but it’s also not going to be soap opera.”
And Friedman knows you're paying attention to this show, and he has only one thing to ask of you. "I read the talk backs, and people are pissed. They don’t want you to mess with it. The internet has a love/hate thing with the properties they love – they want more and they want it done well, but they hate it if Cameron’s not involved. All I ask is that people withhold judgment until they see it. I think it’s pretty f*cking cool."
The more I read about this and the more I hear what Friedman has in mind, the more I'm looking forward to this. I actually think it will be good. Well I hope so. Friedman seems to know what the fans want and what and what not to do. A little more about the storyline would be good. I guess we'll just have to sit back and wait and see.
Small snippet from the wonderful Aint-It-cool-News.com, involving a Q&A with screen writer John Friedman (who is scripting the Sarah Connor Chronicles).
[Interviewer ELSTON GUNN] "What can you tell us about THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES?"
[John Friedman] "SARAH CONNOR is moving forward as we speak. David Nutter's directing the pilot and right now we're planning on shooting in January. He's twelve for twelve getting pilots picked up to series. I'm oh for six, so something's gonna give. I know the TalkBacks have been pretty harsh
regarding the idea of a TERMINATOR TV show. I probably would be, too, if I didn't know how f*cking cool it's gonna be."
Ooh. Friedman seems like he is a fan of the Terminator films and sounds like he is gonna keep very faithful to the all ready laid story lines. From what I can tell Chronicles is going to based from the material set from Cameron than the team on T3. The more I read from this guy talking about SC Chronicles the more I'm getting excited. This is the guy who wrote for Spielberg on last years War of The Worlds and this year for Brian De Palma on Black Dahlia, so all can't be bad.
How about there just be a Terminator 4? I mean, we know what happened to Sarah after T2-she died, just like John said in T3. Do we need to watch our heroine kick the bucket?
__________________ Cruiser Girl-This Weeks Flavours:
Lemon and Pineapple
Support This Film! Go To
www.myspace.com/lovingannabelle
I suspect Terminator fans (guys like us) will tune in initially to watch the show, but for casual viewers not seeing Terminators after a few eps. may be driven away- they may not understand or care why they're not there. On the contrary though, if they can include constant clashes with pursuing authorities (cops, FBI, whatever may be) which seems logical then the action could be injected as necessary bringing in viewers. Sarah & John with a trusted few on the run being pursued this way makes perfect sense. We'll have to see what direction the series takes.
I agree Praylu. Every extra piece of news on the series makes me more excited to watch it. I hope the actors they hire for the roles understand the characters inside out. Replacing actors doesn't really bother me as much as it use to. After all its only a different actor playing the same character. If the character (i.e. Sarah) is written in a realistic way, then I am happily able to accept a new actress playing her. After all it's the character we invest in, not the actor. Julianne Moore portrayed Clarice Starling really well in Hannibal I think, which I also think is the best film out of the Lecter series. I know some people hated Nick Stahl as John, but he is a much better actor that Furlong and did that role in that film, with that script, justice. If T3 was longer(!) then I think we would of saw Connor become more stronger and believable in himself and become the Connor and stronger leader most fans wanted to see.
Couldn't agree more, so long as the casting is passable and the actors are credible enough in their portroyals then we shouldn't have a problem. Since the director of the pilot seems to somewhat a fan it should be exceedingly interesting to say the least. T3 had many missed opportunities which had they been touched on would have elevated the film somehwere close to T2 dare I say.
"Lena Headey (Imagine Me & You) has landed the plum leading role in the Fox pilot "The Sarah Connor Chronicles," reports Variety.
The project, from Warner Bros. TV, continues the "Terminator" movie franchise storyline by focusing on Sarah and her 15-year-old son John, as they fight attackers from the future in present-day Los Angeles.
Headey takes over the role made famous by Linda Hamilton in the first two "Terminator" films. Josh Friedman will write and David Nutter is set to direct the pilot.
Headey's credits include the features The Brothers Grimm, The Cave and Ripley's Game. She next stars in Warner Bros.' 300."
My first impression is that I am happy with the choice of Lena Headey. I think she is a good actress, and has the look of the stronger Sarah in T2.
You beat me to it, lol. She strikes me as an interesting choice, though I suppose we'll have to wait and see what she does with the role. Hopefully the role of John is cast well, as well. Overall good news though.
Haha, sorry Praylu. Yeah I think it is also an interesting choice, and Headey has been in some rather good films. I think she is a good actress. She is very much an upcoming actress, so hopefully this will give her wider recognition, which no doubt it will. I can see the role of Sarah as the real strong mother type, very much like that in T2. I think she has the fan approval, but I'm hoping everyone will comment and agree... or disagree with the choice made. Which leads me to mention, where is everyone lately?
News today that John Connor has been cast in the upcoming Sarah Connor Chronicles . The following is from Moviehole.net.
"Actor Thomas Dekker (sounds like a villain from a Paul Verhoeven movie), currently seen on TVs “Heroes”, has suddenly made an enemy in screw loose Eddie Furlong.
Dekker has snagged the role of rebel tyke John Connor – previously played by Furlong in 1991’s “Terminator 2: Judgement Day”, and more recently by Nick Stahl in “Terminator 3 : Rise of the Machines” – in “The Sarah Connor Chronicles”, the new “Terminator” inspired TV series set to air on FOX next year ."
"Thomas Dekker, who has spent much of his career lending his voice to cartoons, but has more recently cropped up on the US TV hit Heroes, has been picked to play the 15-year-old John Connor in The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
Lena Headey is already aboard to play Sarah, in the series, which follows the event after Terminator 2. It’s already started shooting and should hit TV screens in the States later next year, assuming it survives as a series. Get good ratings if you want to live!"
Unlike with Lena's casting, I'm not very sure I'm keen to having Thomas Dekker play the teenage John Connor. I may be wrong (and I hope I am), but I don't genuinely believe he will do the role the justice it deserves.
KMC Community Forums
Aug 29th, 2006 10:08 AM
WOW 
