Somehow, Ridley Scott, director of “Alien,” “Blade Runner,” two of the biggest sci-fi movies in Hollywood history, thought helming “Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines” was too outlandish a prospect.
Deadline reports (via a new interview with The Guardian) that Scott turned down a massive $20 million payday to direct the sequel because, in his words, he thought he’d try to “make it real.” Yes, the man whose entire cinematic reputation was built on xenomorphs and replicants, looked at a plot centered on time-traveling killer robots and thought it was too outlandish.
“I’m proud about this. I turned down a $20M fee. See, I can’t be bought, dude,” Scott told the outlet. “Someone said: ‘Ask what Arnie [Schwarzenegger] gets.’ I thought: ‘I’ll try it out.’ I said: ‘I want what Arnie gets.’ When they said yes, I thought: ‘F*ck me.’ But I couldn’t do it. It’s not my thing.”
Scott’s negotiations for “Rise Of The Machines” would’ve happened in 2001-2002, on the heels of two of his most successful films, “Gladiator” and “Black Hawk Down” (Scott also adapted “Hannibal” in between). In other words, he hadn’t helmed anything sci-fi or fantasy related in about fifteen years, with 1985’s “Legend” his last true genre picture. It sounds like that’s part of the reason Scott turned down the chance to direct Schwarzenegger. “It’s like doing a Bond movie,” he continued. “The essence of a Bond movie is fun and camp. Terminator is pure comic strip. I would try to make it real. That’s why they’ve never asked me to do a Bond movie, because I could fu*k it up.”
To be fair, Scott isn’t one for projects that are too fantastical. And his only two forays into genre filmmaking since “Rise Of The Machines” came out are “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant,” sequels that expand upon “Alien” in relatively grounded ways. Still, beyond their set-up, it’s not as if James Cameron‘s two “Terminator” movies push the envelope of realistic action-violence further than any action movies Scott made earlier in his career, like “Black Rain.” But, according to Scott, his decision to turn down “Rise Of The Machines” was made more out of integrity than not being able to helm the material. Okay, whatever.
Jonathan Mostow went on to direct “Rise Of The Machines” instead, with Schwarzenegger returning as the T-800, and Nick Stahl and Claire Danes also starring. The film didn’t fare as well as its predecessors with critics and audiences, and the franchise’s credibility has dwindled since. After two more middling sequels and a failed Fox TV series, Cameron returned as an executive producer for 2019’s “Terminator: Dark Fate,” but that film was only a minor return to form. Still, the franchise continues, with the animated series “Terminator Zero” hitting Netflix last year.
But what about now? Would Scott get in the director’s chair for a new “Terminator” film? Well, he has a sci-fi actioner on the way to theaters in “The Dog Stars,” but he has no interest in returning to the “Alien” franchise, and has several other irons in the fire, including “Gladiator 3.” Besides, according to Scott, there’s no number high enough for him to make a “Terminator” movie anyway…
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