Sam Worthington Talks "Avatar", "Terminator", "Clash" & More!

UPDATE: Michael here. Io9 has a one-on-one interview with Worthington where he talks more about Avatar, including his thoughts on the story.

Michael here.  Today at the Terminator: Salvation press junket Sam Worthington talked about his experiences working on his recent big projects, including Avatar and Clash of the Titans.

IESB has the full transcript of the discussion.  it's a great read, so I urge you to check it out.

A few excerpts:

Q: When you’re working on something like Avatar, is there a lot of physical precision involved?

Sam: Kind of. You’re never dictated by the technology with Jim. Jim is paramount to the actors. Everyone thinks that he’s technology driven, but he’s the best fuckin’ acting director I’ve ever worked with. He picks up on subtleties and details that you wouldn’t believe. So, he’s employed me to come in and do my job, and then we use the technology and I work with him. It’s give and take. Jim isn’t a dictator. He wants it fuckin’ high, but so do I. I’m not there to get pushed around. I’m there to work with the man. And, that’s why I got the job. I don’t get pushed around. I’ve done 10 years [of acting] in Australia. I didn’t do that for nothin’. We worked together. It’s a privilege to work with directors who like pushing the boundaries and taking risks, like McG. He’s taken a hell of a risk on this movie, with his career. That’s what I like to be a part of.

Q: There’s probably never been a movie like Avatar, where nobody has seen a scene of it and there’s no trailer, but people are expecting it to be the second coming. Have you seen any of it?

Sam: Yeah. I watched it recently.

Q: Does it live up to the hype?

Sam: It’s amazing! Jim said, “The hype is gonna kill it.” Jim is not nervous. He doesn’t get nervous. It’s not the be all and end all. Hopefully, what this does is open up a world of the possibilities of what motion capture can do and the possibilities of what this 3-D technology can achieve. Hopefully, it starts that kind of revolution, and I think it will.

Q: So, you’re okay with all of the hype that comes along with projects like those?

Sam: That’s just part of the fun, isn’t it? I guess I’ll find out. My mates are sick of seeing my head. If this happened when I was 22, it could be a bit overwhelming. I’m 32. I know who I am, so I’m just going to enjoy the ride. As long as it doesn’t affect my work, and I keep producing work of a certain quality, that keeps me in the game, then I’m okay. As soon as it starts affecting what I can achieve, or I feel that I’ve got nothing to offer, I’ll go back to brick laying.

Head over to IESB for the full interview.

Comic-Con 2008: Terminator: Salvation panel pics!

Michael here with some pictures of the Terminator: Salvation cast from the panel earlier today. The best news out of the panel in my opinion was director McG saying that the movie will be whatever rating it needs to be...he is not cutting the film in order to fit a predetermined rating. So an "R" is definitely still in the cards-- it will just depend on what McG thinks makes a better film.

Sam Worthington and Moon Bloodgood:



Sam Worthington:




Anton Yelchin and Bryce Dallas Howard:



McG:



Moon Bloodgood:

After today's amazing footage Terminator: Salvation is now firmly my second most anticipated movie of 2009.  Can't wait to see more!

Comic-Con 2008: Terminator: Salvation footage ROCKS!

Hey folks, Michael here, and Comic-Con 2008 has a clear winner in terms of raw spectacle, scope, and badass characters--and that winner is Terminator: Salvation, which just screened a whole bunch of footage featuring Christian Bale as John Connor, an insanely intense Avatar lead Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, the incredibly attractive Moon Bloodgood, and rapper Common as Connor's right hand man.

Worthington was amazing in the clips, especially in the scenes where he faces off against John Connor.  Director McG said that he wanted an actor with the manliness and toughness to stand up against Christian Bale, and that Sam has those qualities in spades.  Indeed, the animosity between the two is palpable and should be awesome to watch this coming May.  I definitely see what James Cameron was talking about when he said the following of Sam:

“You know how Russell Crowe has this kinda innate strength about him and how in GLADIATOR men would follow him into hell. Well Jake needs to have that and for a young guy. And most of these young guys, they’re either physical, meaning that they’re like buff handsome guys who are pretty good actors; or they have a kind of vulnerability that they can reach, but very few of them know how to stand up and be a man……He’s just a really good actor”

The full Terminator: Salvation teaser will debut in front of Quantum of Solace on November 7.

Comic-Con 2008 Coverage Preview!

Michael here.  I'll be in San Diego covering Comic-Con for MarketSaw from Thursday through Sunday, updating as often as possible (let us hope the free wifi in the convention center stands up to the 140,000 attendees!)

There will be several 3D related panels this year, including UP and Bolt from Disney/Pixar on Saturday and the NASA-sponsored, Star Trek-actor-filled Quantum Quest on Thursday. And, of course, I'll be attending Warner Bros.' Terminator Salvation event on Saturday, where Avatar actor Sam Worthington might be on hand, and Thursday's Fox panel, where The Day the Earth Stood Still and Max Payne are the only films announced so far to have a presence at the panel...but, as any regular conventioneer knows, however, surprises are a dime a dozen at the Con.  Might there be an Avatar-related announcement at the Con?  If there is, the Fox panel is where it will most likely be!

The panels:

Thursday, July 24

11:30-1:00 20th Century Fox: The Day The Earth Stood Still and Max Payne—
Stars Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly, plus director Scott Derrickson and producer Erwin Stoff, present an exclusive look at The Day The Earth Stood Still, Fox's contemporary reinvention of its 1951 classic. Keanu is Klaatu, an alien whose arrival on our planet triggers a global upheaval. As governments and scientists race to unravel the mystery behind the visitor's appearance, a woman (Jennifer) and her young stepson get caught up in his mission—and come to understand the ramifications of his being a self-described "friend to the Earth." Klaatu Barada Nikto.

The legendary interactive video game Max Payne comes to the big screen, telling the story of a maverick cop determined to track down those responsible for the brutal murder of his family and partner. Hell-bent on revenge, his obsessive investigation takes him on a nightmare journey into a dark underworld. As the mystery deepens, Max is forced to battle enemies beyond the natural world and face an unthinkable betrayal. "Max Payne" himself—Mark Wahlberg—will be on hand with Mila Kunis, Ludacris, and director John Moore to discuss turning the game's noirish, hard-hitting, and complex world and characters into a movie event. Hall H

3:30-4:30 Quantum Quest— This stellar panel will introduce Comic-Con audiences to Quantum Quest, the 3-D, large format CGI-animated film designed to both excite and educate young audiences about the wonders of science. Joining the panel will be co-directors Dr. Harry Kloor (Star Trek Voyager) and Dan St. Pierre (Everyone’s Hero, Shark Tales), voice actorsBrent Spiner (Indpendence Day, Star Trek: The Next Generation), Robert Picardo (Star Trek), Gary Graham (Enterprise), Anousheh Ansari, the world’s first female private space explorer whose blog from space thrilled millions of visitors daily, and Charles Kohlhase, the NASA/JPL coordinator for the film. Shawn Clement, the film’s composer, rounds out the panel. Ballroom 20

Saturday, July 26

1:15-2:00 Warner Bros.: Terminator Salvation— In the highly anticipated new installment of The Terminator film franchise, set in post-apocalyptic 2018, Christian Bale stars as John Connor, the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. But the future Connor was raised to believe in has been altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet’s operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind. Hall H

2:30-3:30 Disney Pixar: Bolt and UP—
For superdog Bolt, every day is filled with adventure, danger and intrigue, at least until the cameras stop rolling. Be the first to see exclusive animation as directors Chris Williams and Byron Howard present the new 3D comedy-adventure from Walt Disney Animation Studios!

Then it's UP: From the inventive storytellers that have taken you into the worlds of space, toys, and superheroes comes the extraordinary adventure that will take you to a lost world where anything can happen, and everything will. Meet director Peter Docter (Monsters, Inc.) as he presents the first-ever look at Disney Pixar's new animated 3D adventure comedy, UP. Hall H