We here at TheTerminatorFans.com enjoy a good book; there’s nothing better than submersing yourself in another world to forget all your problems.
The very first novelization of The Terminator (1984) was written by master of the macabre Shaun Hutson and was based on an early version of the script… We had the chance to ask Mr. Hutson a few questions about his career, inspirations and the state of the Terminator franchise…
What was the very first thing you wrote?
The very first thing I ever wrote was a truly appalling novel called The Headhunters which I did when I was about 17 and was quite rightly never published. It was a Mafia based book, a sort of Straw Dogs meets the Godfather and it was complete shit! The very first thing I ever had published was a war novel called Blood and Honour which Robert Hale published and paid me the princely sum of 150!
When did you decide that writing was your true vocation?
I decided writing was my vocation (or at least what I wanted to do for a living.) when I realized I could get paid for it.I wrote five war novels for 150 each back in the 80’s then had a horror novel published in paperback called THE SKULL and then I wrote one called DEATHDAY that had one scene in it with a giant slug. My agent at the time suggested writing a novel all about slugs which I thought was a bloody stupid idea (shows you what I know.) so I did it and the rest is history as the clich goes.
You’ve been writing a while, do you ever run out of ideas?
Yes, every fucking morning as soon as I sit down at my laptop! I find it much harder now than I did when I first started. Maybe because I don’t want to do stuff I’ve already done before (I’m very conscious of not repeating stories and plots that I’ve used before. I don’t think that’s fair on readers. You should give them something new with every book) and also because my mind is probably just seizing up or decaying but mainly because when I was younger I was fired up with enthusiasm and thought I could do anything. That passes, trust me.
Your writing is visceral, explicit and very graphic, (at times we’ve had to put the book down and come back later- when we’ve had a chance to collect ourselves a bit) have you ever written something and thought “I’ve gone too far with this one” ?
I don’t think I’ve ever looked at anything I’ve written and thought I should have toned it down and that includes the violent, sexual or profane aspects. I don’t write to shock people, I just write what I want to write and leave it at that. If a scene calls for violence then I’ll describe it because I think it’s necessary. If characters swear it’s because that’s what they’d do in real life (if they’re those kind of characters..) and if someone has sex I describe that too if its necessary. I only write scenes that are necessary and never just for the hell of it because I think they’re revolting, titillating or outrageous. Sometimes it isn’t worth describing every single detail of someone’s head being blown off so I don’t do it but if I feel it is then I won’t hesitate.
Which is your favourite Terminator movie?
My favourite Terminator movie would probably have to be the first one even though number Two is more polished. It was a good idea and it was well executed and I can understand why it became so successful.
What did you think of Terminator Salvation?
I wasn’t a great fan of Terminator Salvation to be honest. I think that studios just run the franchises into the ground sometimes. It reminded me of watching a video game for 2 hours but then a lot of films are like that these days in my humble opinion! Take away the special effects and there’s fuck all left. The Terminator series should have finished at number Two. But what do I know, they all made shitloads of money and that’s the studios only concern after all.
Did you enjoy writing the novelization of The Terminator?
I thoroughly enjoyed doing the novelization of The Terminator. I got a third draft script and it took me about 15 days as I remember. I wasn’t sure then how close to the script I was supposed to stick or whether I was allowed to add anything. I can remember adding one scene but that’s about it. I just thought I’d honour the script and not fuck about with it, I wasn’t going to be arrogant enough to think I could improve on the source material (I might have now.ha, ha.). With any novelization I think you should stay true to what the scriptwriter’s written and try and embellish his idea not stuff it full of your own.
From what we call tell, you’re a big music lover, we think Brad Fiedel should make a return to the soundtrack of Terminator,- do you have an opinion on this?
I thought Brad Fiedel’s soundtracks for Terminator 1 and 2 were excellent. It must be difficult for a composer to come up with new scores for a franchise because you’re basically dealing with the same material over and over again but I loved his scores for the first two. This obsession that studios have with creating ‘compilation’ soundtracks for films instead of orchestral ones drives me nuts but if you’ve got a soundtrack with loads of fucking pop music on then it’s going to sell more I suppose.
When you saw James Cameron’s The Terminator (1984) what did you think of it?
When I first saw the original back in 1984 I wasn’t too impressed to be honest (cue thousands of people burning effigies of me.!) I liked the idea but some of the dialogue was excruciating (I’d already seen it in the script of course) but what the fuck, James Cameron is a multi-millionaire and I’m not so my opinion is academic really. You can’t argue with box office (and certainly not on a site dedicated to Terminator movies.). I liked the action scenes and it was well made but I could never really see why it became the phenomenon that it did if I’m honest.
– was there enough gore?
I don’t think more gore would have changed my opinion. Believe it or not I’m not a fan of gory films unless the blood and guts is necessary. Mind you, I did like the fact that the Terminator was such a single minded bastard and Michael Biehn was very good.
If you could write the script for T5 what would it be like?
A script for T5.is there definitely going to be one then? I don’t know what the hell I’d do. If I was asked to do it and the money was right then I’d come up with something! I’m not really sure where you take the franchise though, I think it’s already been run into the ground.
What do you think went wrong with the Terminator franchise?
The same thing went wrong with franchise as other movie series. Namely, they didn’t know when to stop. There’s only so much mileage in the greatest idea. Film makers should know when to stop. When a franchise goes on too long there’s a real danger of destroying the affection that the original is held in.
What do you think of James Cameron as a director?
As a director I think James Cameron is brilliant at action scenes but I’ve never been too impressed with his handling of actors. I think that many of his films are overwritten and too long (The Abyss, True Lies, Titanic) and some of his dialogue drives me nuts (for instance, when the young John Connor teaches the Terminator street language in T2.I hate that scene.). But, as I said before, his films make tons of money so what do I know?
Who is your favourite character from Terminator?
My favourite character from the Terminator is probably Kyle but I don’t really have a favourite to be honest.
Do you think that films nowadays aren’t as interesting as they were in say, the eighties and nineties?
I think that films on the whole have deteriorated in quality in the last thirty years. I think that films of the 80’s were bloody appalling in general, they perked up a bit in the 90’s but I could count the number of GREAT films of the last thirty years on the fingers of one hand! The seventies were the last golden age of film making with pictures like The Godfather, Taxi Driver, The French Connection, Deliverance, All the President’s Men, The Exorcist, Jaws and a dozen others. What the fuck did the eighties give us? Footloose and Top Gun.wow.the nineties gave us Seven and Fight Club but the noughties have offered very little other than the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I’m talking GREAT films here by the way not just adequate ones. There are too many directors who come straight from working in music videos now and it’s like watching prolonged fucking MTV shit. No one can keep a camera still for more than two seconds (with one or two exceptions) and so many actors and actresses are interchangeable and lacking character. Where the fuck is the new De Niro or Pacino? The new Meryl Streep or Michelle Pfeiffer and please don’t offer me Zac Ephron, Robert Pattinson, Megan Fox and Scarlett Johansson to replace the ones I mentioned! Scripts seem to be bashed out with little feeling for character because audiences just want a quick fix. I also hate the way lots of films treat violence as humorous (take a bow Robert Rodriguez.) I hate the trivialization and acceptance of violence in modern films. However, when you do see a good one it’s a real delight. By the way, I also hate Quentin Tarantino films.He thinks he’s the new Scorsese and he isn’t fit to clean Marty’s fucking boots.
Who is your biggest influence in writing?
My biggest influences in writing were Sam Peckinpah (director of The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs and Cross of Iron), Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, Robert Towne and probably the old Hammer horror films from the fifties and sixties. I loved those. They had real style. Peckinpah was a genius and Scorsese in the seventies was breath taking. His more recent films like Casino and Goodfellas have been brilliant too. David Fincher is a bloody good director too and I love the writing of Chris McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects and The Way of the Gun). How’s that?
Is there a specific piece of writing that you’re particularly proud of?
I’m proud of everything I’ve ever written for different reasons. I never read my own books again once they’re finished but every one of them has things in that I’m proud of. If I had to name one I’d probably say RENEGADES, DYING WORDS or LUCY’S CHILD. And of course, the novelization of The Terminator.The trouble is, when you’ve written as much as I have (more than 65 books) you tend to forget a lot of what you’ve done!
Fans were disappointed with the age rating of Terminator Salvation (12 UK, PG13 in the USA) do you think that Terminator 3: ROTM and Terminator Salvation compromised themselves by trying to make the films more accessible to younger viewers and newer fans (ie, less gore meaning wider age range of the audience and more kerching) ?
I think there are too many watered-down films around now. Films that have had their balls removed so that they’ll attract a bigger audience. That’s the main fault with a lot of films these days, they’ve got no fucking balls. They try so desperately to appeal to that 13-20 age group and don’t give a fuck about people who might actually appreciate something more intelligent. All that matters to the film companies is money. Years ago writers and directors were the most important things about films but now it’s the marketing departments that rule. If you can’t tie your film in with McDonalds or Burger King then you’re fucked! Mind you, it’s only going to get worse.3-D is a waste of time too, it just distracts people from how bad the film they’re watching really is. A film is supposed to be memorable because it’s got a great story or brilliant acting or superb direction not because you feel you want to keep ducking all the time because swords are being poked in your fucking face.
Who should win, SkyNet or John Connor?
You should probably ask the director of the next Terminator movie.
Have you seen any films recently that you’ve really enjoyed?
Recent films I’ve seen that I enjoyed include Buried, Limitless, The Adjustment Bureau, Kill List and Red State.
Are you still a Terminator Fan?
Well, I suppose I’d have to say yes. Even though none of the franchise would ever make it onto my list of top films I’ll always have a soft spot for them because of having done the novelization of number one.
Each writer has mannerisms which seem to make an appearance in every book, what draws you to the sphincter release? (lol)
I’m probably drawn to the ‘sphincter release’ because I’m full of shit. something people reading this will no doubt attest to.I think authors use certain words and phrases like little trademarks or in jokes knowing that their regular readers will recognise them. I have a thing for saying that blood smells coppery so I’m told and also for people to sip at cold coffee without knowing it.ah, well, no one’s perfect are they?
Is there anything from the earlier version of the script for The Terminator which wasn’t in the movie but you think should have been?
To be honest, I can’t remember any scenes in the script that weren’t in the film. Some of the dialogue wasn’t used but there was nothing in the script I worked from that didn’t appear in the movie. Kyle wasn’t a secret cross dresser if that’s what you’re worried about and Sarah didn’t collect porcelain unicorns in her spare time. What the earlier drafts were like I don’t know. If there were any loose ends I think Cameron tied them up in T2.
Terminator is essentially a war movie but it has managed to avoid scenes of child soldiers due to the subject’s controversial nature, what’s your opinion of playing it safe with a war film?
You shouldn’t play it safe with any kind of film in my humble opinion. Show the child soldiers, fuck it. If you’re making a war film then it’s not really material to be coy about is it? Either do it properly or don’t do it at all. I must admit I never thought of any of the Terminator films as war films (I know there’s supposed to be a war between machines and humans but for me that was never stressed strongly enough to make the film classifiable as a war film.) For me they were pure science fiction but as I’ve said before, what do I know?
Who do you think should direct the next Terminator film?
I don’t think anyone should direct the next Terminator film because I don’t think there should be one. They’ll probably give it to someone who’s done one of the Final Destination or Saw franchise. Someone more used to surface gloss than character or one of the Transformers lot to ensure the whole thing is noisy, irritating, completely lacking emotion and basically pointless. Sorry to be a damp squib here but they should lay the franchise to rest, they’ve fucked around with it enough already. What’s the betting a remake of the original is on the cards in the not too distant future?
Avatar or Terminator?
Avatar or Terminator? I’d have to say Terminator, I didn’t like Avatar to be honest. I think the guys from South Park got it right when they called it Dances With Smurfs..sorry…Maybe they should combine the two and set it on the Titanic which gets sunk by a huge alien space ship that rises up out of the sea when it’s attacked by mutant flying piranha.just a thought.
We have been closely following the Terminator Salvation Novels, which have more violence than the film itself, infact the books have been used as a device to fill in the many holes of a movie with a non-existent plot. Would you ever wish to return to the world of Terminator with a new novel,- one in which you would have more time to delve into your own thoughts and ideas instead of working from a script?
I’m quite happy to do novelizations to be honest. I don’t think I’d have enough new ideas to put into a Terminator novel of my own. If they asked me to do the novelization for Terminator 5 I’d happily do it! Other writers feel that they have to try and make the novelizations their own but I’m just happy as I said before to be faithful to what the scriptwriter first laid out. And to be honest, if you’re using a novelization to fill in holes that are there in a film then you’re in trouble!
We know you like your rock/heavy metal, which bands have you banging your head and screaming?
On the subject of rock music I love all the big bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, AC/DC, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath and I also like Queensryche, Megadeth, Great White and Seether. I can’t stand some of the new “screamo” bands however.if the golden age of films was the seventies then the golden age of rock and metal was the 80’s so I’m still stuck in that decade.
Aside from the early script of The Terminator did the studio give you any other reference material?
I had nothing to work from on the first Terminator apart from the script. No stills, no biographical details or anything as far as I can remember. My agent gave me the script said “turn that into a book” and that was it. Mind you, at least I didn’t have anyone else telling me what they did and didn’t want. I was left to my own devices. Let’s not forget that the original was a small budget piece and it only became huge over a period of time. There wasn’t a great deal of publicity when it was released and no one knew who Arnie was at that time.
Did you know who Arnold Schwarzenegger was at the time of writing the book seeing as Terminator was the movie that made him a household name?
I’d heard of Arnold Schwarzenegger because I’d seen him in a very good film called Stay Hungry with Jeff Bridges and Sally Field and he’d also been in Conan the Barbarian two years earlier and that is one of my favourite films. I thought he was born to play that part. I recently saw the remake and thought it was awful. Casting him as the Terminator was inspired at that stage of his career.
Which direction would you like to see the saga go in?
I think the saga should really be laid to rest personally. If they keep making them they’ll run it into the ground and I’m not sure there’s that much more to explore to be honest.
Obviously Hollywood and businessmen (not film makers) have damaged the Terminator franchise with a lack of care and understanding of fans, what do you think should be avoided?
Studio heads will always squeeze any franchise until they get the last few dollars out of it. Fans will just have to remember what they like about the series because no one making the films is going to give a shit to be honest. The franchise is a cash cow for studios, nothing more.
Who are you reading at the moment?
I don’t read fiction. I read non-fiction if I read at all. Military history or film books. The last novel I read was Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris about five years ago. I read short stories occasionally but other than that I tend to vegetate in front of the TV.
There have been many depictions of how John Connor received his infamous facial scar, a couple of examples; S.M. Stirling’s Novel T2: Rising Storm, gave him his scar from the tusk of a walrus with a skynet chip in its head. In Terminator Salvation an Endoskeleton with scratched John’s face whilst he lay injured on the floor. If you could inflict the wound upon John Connor, how would you do it?
How would I give John Connor a scar? Shoot him. Either that or ask James Cameron, I’m sure he knows how he got it.
Do you have any words of wisdom for aspiring writers out there?
My only words for aspiring writers would be get a proper job. The book business is so different now to when I started. Writers have to jump through so many hoops for publishers. Unless you’re one of the big boys (or a fucking celebrity.) you get very little support. However, if anyone is thinking of writing a novel then I’d say just go for it. It’s mostly luck if you get anything published anyway but now so much of it is about who your agent has lunch with etc. etc. If you know the right people you’ll get published just don’t try to have a personality or a point of view because publishers get scared by people who don’t conform to the safe and secure views so many of them hold about writing. If it works it’s great but it’s a business full of bullshit to be honest. Every now and then you’ll come across someone genuine who will try to help new talent but for the most part they just want product that they can market easily and drop into boxes.
Do you have any works in the pipeline that you would like your fans to be aware of?
I’m just doing novelizations of three old Hammer films at the moment. I just did Twins of Evil and am just finishing X The Unknown which is enjoyable (it was made in 1956) trying to update it etc. And on the subject of novelizations I think that’s where you came in wasn’t it?….
If you’re a true Terminator fan you’ll no doubt understand Shaun’s point of view: who hasn’t been angered by Zac Effron eh?
The very ideals of movies in society today have been completely corrupted by the almighty dollar,- the only people getting their money’s worth are the studios and we, the fans, suffer through the selective ignorance of Hollywood. Maybe as fans we’re doomed to disappointment… History repeats itself and Terminator is now only known for its flaws and loopholes. There are too many weaknesses for soulless money merchants and fat-cats to exploit in the Terminator plotline… Shaun Hutson to write T5?
READ OUR REVIEW OF “THE TERMINATOR (1984) by Shaun Hutson”