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Digital Schwarzenegger Set For New 'Terminator'
Hugh Pickens writes "The Governator revealed this week that he may appear in the upcoming 'Terminator Salvation,' but when he said he didn't want to act, he left many fans scratching their heads. Turns out Schwarzenegger has been secretly working with helmer McG and the effects team to reprise his signature role ... without lifting a finger. 'I made it very clear that I don't have the time to do the movie,' says Schwarzenegger. 'I said that I would be willing to be in the movie if they get the technology together, and so they are working on that right now.' A body-cast mold of Schwarzenegger, created when he first appeared as the muscle-ripped cyborg, provided the basis for a digital-effects version of his famous character so the figure can appear in 'Terminator Salvation' as a living, breathing actor. Warner first screens the movie in early May, and opens it May 21. 'I think it's cool to continue on with the franchise ... in case I want to jump over again and get into the acting after I'm through here,' adds Schwarzenegger."
He did not act in the first one either!
Am I the only one that remembers the bad guys digitally changing the face of a guy who dies in the Running Man to be that of Arnold?
I find it interesting that we are now getting to the point where the future in sci fi films is becoming the reality. . .
Remember that the first terminators were made of rubber and could easily be identified as robots from close range. Arnie should totally reprise the role: old, wrinkly and saggy parts would make for an awesome first generation terminator.
-Matt
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Digitized versions still make real money. I wonder what Arnold stands to gain from his participation in the film? Even tho personally I feel his presence in the film will be far more distracting than anything else.
On the Oregon Cost born and raised, On the beach is where I spent most of my days
...to get a digital Shatner in the new STAR TREK film?
Why was a body-cast taken in the first place? Did the producers send someone back in time to get the mold so it would be available for 'Salvation'?
Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
This probably makes the Actor's Guild shit themselves. Technically, they may have an intellectual property clause wide enough to drive a Freightliner full of liquid nitrogen through. They could digitize him, and as long as he didn't have a speaking part, they could even have an action sequence with him fighting Bale/Connor and all of that, and say "hey, it's all covered under the same contract that lets us use your likeness for Terminator toys, etc. We don't owe you anything."
That, of course, would probably put a halt to actors willing to be greenscreened and bodysuited, and do voiceover for tie-in games like Jackman and Wolverine.
And how, exactly, did he fail to do what any other somewhat successful politician does? He avoided answering questions and did whatever the hell he wanted to do after he was elected.
So far, I'd say he does a pretty darn good job as a politician... just not as a leader of a state. But if we wanted leaders we wouldn't elect politicians in the first place, now would we?
May not work until they get the voice synthesis and the mannerisms right. They might as well start from scratch if they're going to develop digital "actors".
The character is an emotionless cyborg. There aren't a lot of mannerisms to get right, and voice inflection is minimal as well.
In this particular case, since he plays a robot, the only real way to keep him in the movies is through digital enhancement, unless they want to come up with a reason the unchanging cyborg turned into a wrinkly old man and why his giant muscles turned into sagging manboobs.
I worry that the new movie will be too CGI-heavy, but the Terminator series has done pretty well with the special effects so far, so I guess we'll just wait and see.
... so the figure can appear in "Terminator Salvation" as a living, breathing actor.
To recap, we will have a CGI farm pretending to be an actor pretending to be a robot pretending to be a man.
Imagine if we could get a Beowulf cluster of these things.
"We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." --The American President (20.1.2009)
"Additionally, digital actors have less of an impact (episodes IV, V, and VI vs. episodes I, II, and II for example). "
Ahhhhh... so it WAS a robotic reproduction of Natalie Portman in the new Star Wars movies?
Finally something explains that performance...
So we may see new movies with Bogart, Wayne, Hepburn, Garbo and many others.
But never Paul Newman. He had this little bit in his will which said his executors should prevent any:
"virtual performance or reanimation of any performance by me by the use of any technique, technology or medium now in existence or which may be known or created in the future anywhere in the universe."
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
CGI-heavy is kind of relative. The more lameness in the storytelling (acting/script/direction) the easier it becomes to feel like a movie is too CGI-heavy.
Mmmm, sagging manboobs
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Hey, wouldn't Keanu Reeves have made the perfect Data... or Spock?
I mean, no visible emotions at all... Even Nimoy couldn't do that.
They would have had to skip that episode where he got a emotion chip though...
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
Not to mention Keanu Reeves... Fixed that for you.
I suspect this is less about Arnold not being able to find the time than about the changes in his appearance. He's 25 years older, he's had heart-valve-replacement surgery, and although he's still physically active, he doesn't have the muscle-bound physique of his Pumping Iron days. A CGI Arnold will be a lot more convincing than the real thing!
A standard problem when you have people playing "android" robots. Actors age. (So do machines, but not the same way.) I think the main reason they killed off Data in the last Star Trek movie was the difficulty explaining away Brent Spinner's signs of age. So they set up a new character who's supposedly a sort of continuation of Data, all ready to to play the role in the next sequel — which, I dearly hope, never gets made.
BTW, every time our Governor is on the news, I keep expecting him to turn to the camera and say, "Ai ahm ah macheen!"
Arnold was rich and famous years before he acted in The Terminator.
Conan the Barbarian was a decidedly non-android role.
And after Terminator, he had many very successful human roles. "Predator", "The Running Man", "Commando", "True Lies", "Total Recall"... anyone?
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
if a real life skynet evolved out of the computing power needed to make the next terminator movie realistic ;-)
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Fat drunk people are funny.
Look at classical depictions of Bacchus...never skinny.
Virginia is for lovers. EVE is for griefers.
The Governator revealed this week that he may appear in the upcoming 'Terminator Salvation,' but when he said he didn't want to act, he left many fans scratching their heads.
I don't see why, that's perfectly lucid if you ask me.
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
"It's not a too-muh!"
I only post comments when someone on the internet is wrong.
So in 10 years when we have the hardware to do this kinda thing on the average home PC... how scary is THAT going to be?
Poser pr0n is already bad enough now, can you imagine when it's a) Photorealistic and b) Based on real people?
I can see the scandals now.
"IL&M Apologizes for accidental leak of 3d Model Data"
"Jamie Lynn Spears / JFK sex tape confirmed fake"
"George Washington Punk Rock Show a surprise hit on new Youtube 5.0"
"'Jesus' starring in new Talk show on UPN, Neo-Christian groups object."
Not to mention Keanu Reeves...
Fixed that for you.
I thought he was already a robot?
You can reference some who acts like they are upset, or you can reference someone who is actually upset. Or happy, or whatever.
Acting is far more complex than chaining together a handful of emotions listed in a kid's book.
As much as actor like to poof it out into some sort of magical mystical thing, acting is just voice and expression.
Yeah, that's why all those youtube videos and student projects have such wonderful acting. On an unrelated topic, space travel's not a magical mystical thing, it's just an air-tight tube with thrust coming out the back.
These will be created digitally eventually. Based on some RnD stuff I have seen recently, this will happen a lot sooner then people think.
No, it won't. Just like mocap didn't kill keyframed animation. Just like photographs didn't kill painting. Jsut like TV didn't kill movies. What would really be needed to pull off automated digital acting is for a computer to have talent. That breakthru is much farther away than tech demos imply.
They could easily make a completly different movie starring ';woody' and 'Buzz' Just use there models in a new setting
Yes, with the right acting talent supporting it. Go watch the maknig of videos of Pixar's movies, there's all kinds of acting involved. Heck, go find that book the Illusion of Life. Look at how Disney animated movies back in the 40's. You're going to find that behind all of that great work are people talented at acting.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
It's that a puppet version of Yoda for $5,000 is far, far superior to a pixel version of yoda for 5 million dollars.
Spock (at least Nimoy's portrayal) was highly emotional. Nimoy just portrayed the emotion through subtle facial mannerisms (the raised eyebrows, how much he opened or half closed his eyes, the tilt of his head, and the way he would glance at certain people - much of the time, those "people" being McCoy, or the (many a time) "I'm glad you're safe, Jim" look to Kirk (for instance, end of "Doomsday Machine"s "Welcome aboard Captain")).
Because all of the mannerisms were there, and were more subtle, and quite often; Spock (as portrayed by Nimoy) would be far more difficult to pull off. Harder to make it noticeable, believable and yet still understated.
The Terminator (as portrayed by Arnold) on the other hand showed no emotion and at best, an obviously faked smile when commanded to. Much easier to portray via a CGI actor.
StarTrekPhase2 - The Five Year Mission Continues!
OJ as the Terminator? that makes no sense. Oh, wait...