terminator_rating

That man McG seems to change his story an awful lot. I can’t even unravel all of the threads of argument about the rating for Terminator Salvation (something… about… pizza?) but I do recall that, at various times, it was either fully intentional or fully unintentional that Moon Bloodgood’s infamous breast-baring not be part of the final cut. And how much violence or gore was snipped from the picture to get it into theatres with a tween-friendly rating?

In May, the last time Peter reported on the issue, the official line was something like this:

Director McG only cut one shot in Terminator Salvation to earn the PG-13 rating. The quick cut involved featuring Sam Worthington’s character Marcus “stabbing a screwdriver through the shoulder” of a thug. McG claims that in the end the Moon Bloodgood shot “felt more like a gratuitous moment of a girl taking her top off in an action picture, and I didn’t want that to convolute the story or the characters.”

According to the latest Red Carpet Ratings bulletin from the MPAA, the Director’s Cut has been rated R for “some violence” and “brief nudity.” This doesn’t necessarily dispute the earlier report of what precisely was sliced out of the film, though the Director’s Cut label does throw a funny light on McG’s respectability.

Either he’s letting them call it his own personal cut when it’s just the everything-back-in cut or he’s changed his mind about the boobs or he was lying before or… I told you it got tangled, didn’t I?

I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt. Let’s just assume for now that his motivations are good.

So, there’s going to be a bit of breast and a bit more blood on the Salvation DVD and Blu-Ray. Is this a good thing? Do you care? I quite enjoyed the film, if I’m being honest, but I’m not too convinced these additions will make any significant difference in any respect. I suppose they won’t really hurt.

Via UGO.

  • Guest
    Obviously, it is a good thing to include Moon Bloodgood’s breasts. I personally believe most movies would benefit from the inclusion of... Moon Bloodgood’s breasts.

    In conclusion, I would have to say I like saying "Moon Bloodgood’s breasts."

    Thank you.
  • IsaacRosales
    Not even grade-A boobs would save this movie. Although Salvation did have some pretty incredible shots (Christian Bale inside the falling helicopter), I just couldn't handle the fact that a 15 year old could've written a better script, dialogue wise, for what should have been an amazing movie.
  • It is an insult for 15-year-old kids. I would say 12.
  • stuntmanbob
    I completely agree!
  • I loved this movie too. Was there ever any doubt the topless scene and extra violence would end up on the DVD?
  • Ryan
    Does anyone know if the alternate ending will be on the dvd/blu-ray release? I'm dying to see that. Was it even filmed?
  • Daniel
    Marcus is nude in the mud, remember?
  • Gher
    Wonder how long the movie will be now.
  • Garber
    So much for cutting the movie down to a PG-13 rating. The movie only grossed $125 million domestically, which is great if it didn't cost north of $200 million. Moral to the story, a family-friendly rating doesn't make a difference if the movie just plain stinks. Of course, this theory is thrown out the window in regards to Transformers 2 (but Transformers 2 defies all reason and logic, both in the movie itself and in its ridiculous success).
  • Goldfoot
    Wouldn't the "Some violence" be referring to the "violence and action" for which it was rated PG-13?
  • BrendonConnelly
    Not when they lay the blame of an R at said violence and action's door.
  • probot
    The movie going public is a hard one to crack...hm, must investigate further.
  • freemachine
    Stirring up publicity for DVD sales.
  • "McG’s respectability"

    Now that's funny.
  • [A]
    Haha it is !
  • Kyle C.
    In my opinion, Terminator Salvation was the best dumb action movie of the summer. While Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe were absolutely atrocious, I just sat back and enjoyed this film for what it was. I can't wait to see Bloodgood's goods and think it can only add to the fun of the film, I mean, now I can also have alone time with the film and that only adds to the value. Can't wait for the "Director's Cut."
  • Frederik
    Star Trek and District 9 were MILES better than T4, but I enjoyed it aswell.
  • tenno
    Can't hurt pretty much sums it up
  • JamesC
    This movie could have done without the submarine scenes all together. And humor was one of the better additions to T2. Why make it all grim and no grin?
  • clarencesomerset
    A large part of the problem with the film was its Frankenstein script. Bale had been approached to play Marcus - the original main protagonist in a story where John Connor barely figured. But when Bale decided to play Connor, the script was re-written many times to increase Connor's screen time. Thus, the weird sensation that the Connor character was out of place in the story.
  • Manuel
    If only the writers could've remembered what John Conner actually stands for... I mean it's freakin' obvious if you see his initials and watch the first two movies. Sarah has a son without a father who doesn't really exist... he's mean to save humanity... his flippin' initials are J.C.... come on McG. John Conner is Jesus and you like did nothing with his character. What has John been through if to only have the light shine on a cyborg?

    Though i still liked this movie, they need to rewatch the first two movies. Or get James Cameron to force people to let him produce or something...
  • If McG wanted to be taken seriously he wouldn't have called himself McG.
  • He did not name himself McG, the nickname was created by his family when he was young.
  • Itri12
    Well he shouldn't listen to his family.
  • shoothamaguchi
    He may not have come up with the nickname McG, but he is the one who decided to put it on his films instead of his real name.
  • drbenway59
    I'm sure a lot of directors had nicknames when they were children. None of them are obnoxious enough to actually use these names professionally.

    McG's oft-repeated explanation for his name is that "Hey, that's just my name." Well, no, it's not: his passport says "Joseph Nichol".

    What's my point? Starting with his ridiculous explanation about his ridiculous name, the man is full of shit.
  • Frederik
    The fact that people even give a damn about his name is just retarded. Who cares what his name is? Neither Spike Jonze or Eric Bana use their real names.

    Get the fuck over it.
  • sammyjankis
    I hope it includes the scene in the sewer system with the Terminator coming up behind them.
  • starscream9289
    The movie had some great action scenes, but that's about it.

    Moon Bloodgood’s breasts are all the motivation I need to pick up the DVD.
  • freemachine
    The only addition I'd care about would be getting the video of Bale's meltdown as a special feature.
  • One of the most disappointing films to me in recent memory. All the production buzz sounded good. Terminator, one of my favorite franchises. Plus Bale.

    And still ended up quite the snoozer.
  • Toaster27
    I seem to recall another article about him cutting out tons of dialog scenes for the theater cut. Any word if these will all be added to the D.E. My hope is that they would maybe bring out some better character to the movie.
  • Jake
    I cannot believe McG actually said that the shot :
    "felt more like a gratuitous moment of a girl taking her top off in an action picture, and I didn’t want that to convolute the story or the characters.”
    uhhh... did he see the horrible, SUPER cliched action movie he made? every single action-movie stereotype was in it, from the moronic story, to the completely unnecessary child (who has some sort of extra sensory perception) to the grizzled war-hungry commander screaming "dammit this is WAR!".
  • Juicebox
    I was going to give McG the benefit of the doubt... but at the end of the day, I'm just tired of his "say one thing, but it's actually something else..." way of selling his junk movie.

    McG just seems to have a problem keeping his stories straight. He wants to seem like the good guy while not actually doing anything to warrant it.

    It seems throughout this whole debacle that he claimed to pay fan service to get people in the seats (and we saw how well that worked out...) In the end, the public got a shitty movie, and he further tarnished his reputation by consistently putting his stamp on a highly inferior product.

    When he gets out of director's jail (is his Nemo movie really happening?), it would be refreshing for him to stay behind the camera instead of showing the public that he's full of shit.
  • slumbergod
    Hmmmm, I never buy a DVD when it comes out...the reason is simple: I know that in x months time there will be a new version then some time later yet another. I get tired of buying a movie just to find out a better one is coming along - the Super Extended Director's Definitive Unrated Cut.

    Breasts are an important feature of any movie so Bloodgood's better be included (and a Special Feature docu about them too).
  • onemankru
    I am a hip hop artist and a pro-wrestler, so I understand the psychology of telling a story. Personally, I am one of the biggest fans of the Terminator franchise. I thought Terminator Salvation definitely was a shot in the arm. Sure, the picture had a few flaws, but so did ALL of the others. People need to quirt bickering about what makes sense and what doesn't, because sending a soldier back through time to bust a nut in your mom to insure your own existence doesn't make any sense either. It's "science fiction/horror/action" (key word is fiction). Here's what I, as a fan, believe should happen in Terminator 5 if they choose to go the time travel route:

    T-5 should start out like T-2 did...show us the future in the beginning of the film, give us 10 to 15 (maybe 20) minutes of a direct sequel to Terminator Salvation, show us suffering, the desperation of mankind, the prison camps with the "human disposal units", show us Connor and Reese intercepting data and discovering skynet's plan to terminate the resistance via time travel (sending the first T-1000 prototype). Show us how they find the equipment, with Reese volunteering to go back to warn the world, but Connor refuses, gives Reese a picture of Sarah Connor (he doesn't "know why at the time"), puts Reese at the controls of the time displacement equipment, sending Connor back through time, and in that desperate act, Reese gets caught and sent to the prison camp where he got the barcode on his arm. Show the present day with a naked John Connor falling out of the sky, and being arrested for multiple crimes stemming from his desperation to speak to the scientist who "accidentally" develops the T-1000 in the future. Like Kyle Reese in the first picture, everybody think's Connor's a flake that needs to be contained. Skynet sends the first T-1000 prototype (not played by Robert Patrick) to kill Connor and all the survivors of Judgement Day. Robert Patrick's scientist character is the only one "crazy enough" to believe Connor, so he helps Connor escape police custody to "expose and destroy" the T-1000. And at the very end, Robert Patrick's "obsessed with youth" scientist character secures a sample of liquid metal from the T-1000 prototype for his own selfish reasons, and betrays John Connor, thus, getting him committed to an insane asylum.
  • Dev
    I'm a little upset that the director's cut is only being released on blu ray and not old school dvd. But other than that, I think the haters are mental giants. Terminator: Salvation wasn't the best written action film out there, not even close. However, it was leaps and bounds better than Terminator 3, and far better than that mediocre television show that cast a handful of Hollywoods most talentless.

    Even with the script flaws and Bale not giving his best, he's still far more of a talented actor than Arnold or Hamilton, or pretty much any of the other actors they've had in earlier flicks. And the post apocalyptic atmosphere was lovely, and the terminators came off menacing again, much like they did in the first flick, but in the last two. And that can be blamed on them adding levity to the last two flicks. The original is still king but that's only because Arnold is given a very limited amount of lines. The minute he has more than 4 lines in a film, that film is toast.

    He had to be one of the worse actors of the 80's. I mean Stallone was an awful actor back then as well, but at least he had Rocky on his resume while Arnold, he never pulled off one film that really had any artistic integrity.
  • rix
    the tit shot of moon whatever really sux, can't see a thing
  • Benenetto
    How about they just show us the whole damn war that we have all been wanting to see since T1. The timeline in the films has changed now, the future has been altered, they can do what they want, so......show the war!
  • Cale
    This page is further proof that everyone in the world has their own unique ridiculous opinions, and I'm thankful that it miraculously has NOT ended movies and television and movies altogether.
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