Well, we thought it was pretty obvious to presume that when they announced that Terminator (2019) would have a Mexico setting that there would be some form of political statement or view on Trump’s America and here is a kinda confirmation of it; with the presence of the U.S./Mexico border in the movie. We know that Dani Ramos will come from Mexico City and she will be torn from her family and get caught up in one of those age old Terminator lore destiny tales of greater importance and survival for the better of mankind.
James Cameron on the Trump Administration:
‘These People Are Insane’
Arnold Schwarzenegger jokes about Terminator 6 plot…
“The T-800 travels back to 2019 to get Trump out of prison!”
With the recent announcement that the movie would also have a United States setting- we would also presume the movie is a huge chase to the border, with not only Gabriel Luna’s Terminator in hot pursuit but also the hindrance of the U.S. government; who will not give a fuck about Dani Ramos, her importance to the human race or her plight.
In the way that Terminator 2: Judgment Day had something to say about authority and the system; Terminator (2019) should have something to say about our present state of affairs in order to convey a sense of relevance on a human level to our times that the last 3 Terminator movies have not. Not only to say that Law Enforcement might be an issue for our protagonists,- this is Mexico everyone, so gangs/cartels could also be involved in the plot with innocents caught up in the middle perhaps? Something this new Terminator movie does have is strong potential and plot avenues that should be new to the franchise if done right.
James Cameron:
“To me both the first film and the second film were about the dehumanizing effect of technology and of the technical society where people lose their humanity and their empathy; whether its a psychologist who doesn’t listen to the patient, whether its a cop, an authority figure/soldier.”
Joe Morton best described Terminator 2: Judgment Day as a story about “anti-authoritarianism” encapsulating what Mr. Cameron says his movies were about perfectly. Politics right now have purposefully caused divide and hatred between left and right and we would like to think that Terminator movies are about humans coming together to otherthrow “the machine” be that man or machine. James Cameron is damn fixated on family dynamics with his movies, it’s his way of *cough* manipulating *cough*… pulling on the heart strings of the audience in an effort to ingrain his projects in the hearts and minds of generations.
Spain and Hungary are going to replicate both the United States and Mexico, while we have some fans reaching out hoping that Mexico scenes would be filmed in Mexico; Spain seems to be the main choice location to replicate Mexico due to the nature of the good old tax rebate/incentive for Hollywood, that and also filming in Mexico has also be known to not always be safe- people were obviously shocked when Carlos Muñoz Portal a location scout for Netflix’s “Narcos” was shot dead while just looking for a safe and decent environment to film.
Variety reported:
Muñoz’s bullet-riddled body and car were found in a remote area near San Bartolo Actopan in the state of Mexico near the borders of Hidalgo state, which is said to have one of the highest murder rates in Mexico. In July, 182 cases of homicide were reported in the densely populated state, a ratio of 12.2 for every 100,000 inhabitants.
For one; we don’t want Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger or any other cast or crew member of Terminator (2019) to be shot dead or to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,- so we highly welcome the mentioned shooting locations and feel trusting in Sonja Klaus as production designer to be able to convince the audience that we are fully in the Mexico locations be it New Mexico, City of Mexico, the border or any other intended location the audience is meant to believe they are in due to her meticulous nature and eye for detail on set design/requirements. Safety comes first Terminator Fans, the rest should be hard work and solid Hollywood magic.
Variety Reports:
The Tim Miller-directed “Terminator” reboot — yet to be titled — will partly film for two weeks in early summer in several locations in Madrid, with the aim of replicating the U.S.-Mexico border.
Two “Game of Thrones” Spanish partners, Peter Welter’s Fresco Film and location manager Tate Aráez, twice winner of a Location Managers Guild Intl. Award, have joined “Terminator’s” Spanish shoot, which will also lens in Hungary.
“Everybody Knows,” a European co-production starring Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Ricardo Darín, mainly lensed in the Madrid-area town of Torrelaguna.
Both the “Terminator” reboot and “Everybody” shoots were backed by Film Madrid, run by Madrid’s regional government to promote and advise film and TV productions.
“There is a growing locations demand for international film projects,” says Film Madrid coordinator Samuel Castro. “But Madrid is especially emerging as a key nerve center for TV series production, as Spanish TV fiction expands its international presence.”
Interestingly Variety continues…
In June, Film Madrid will organize a trip for Asian producers “to promote Madrid as a potential hub that connects Asia with Europe and Latin America,” Castro says. Attendees include Raymond Phathanavirangoon, founder of the Southeast Asian Fiction Film Lab, and Makoto Kakurai at Tokyo’s Office Kitano.
Closing a circle in Madrid’s film-TV big shoot scene, city hall has just launched its own City of Madrid Film Office, with a fluent relationship with its neighbor Film Madrid, both looking to provide optimal coverage for shoots in the city and the region.
We would make a guess that perhaps China Tech-Internet Giant Tencent who recently bought a stake in Skydance (the studio behind Terminator Genisys and Terminator – 2019) may be among those organised Asian producer visits to Spain. While we have some concerns about investment from China (due to that pesky strict censorship of the government that could hinder the brutal Terminator film fans want) you start to piece together a business goal that will be potentially profitable for both Tencent and Skydance but hopefully this will not be at the cost of art/integrity or the age rating for hardcore fans for Terminator (2019) and put us in a Terminator Genisys scenario once again,- a situation where it does really well in China and fails to entice the domestic and other markets.
In our last location report we talked about Extras being sought out for a “American Superproduction” in Murcia that matched all the hallmarks of Terminator (2019) and it also looks like a similar casting call for extras went out to Almeria.
Almeria and Murcia are both located in the south-east of Spain so we would take a guess that both of these locations are visually similar as not that far apart and both technically being coastal towns/villages. This particular casting call asked for extras fitting the requirements and look of Guatemala fishermen…
Diario de Almería reports about the production coming to a province of Almeria called ‘The Isleta del Moro’ (translated):
A few days ago a casting was held in Almeria to select people with a Latin profile for a shoot scheduled for later this month. The applicants were told that they were looking for people with a similar profile to fishermen from a coastal town in Guatemala.
So we could indeed be visiting Guatemala in the movie too? This would start to look like the movie could be a giant journey across the majority of Mexico to that border we talked about earlier.
Interestingly the people of Almería are slightly concerned that Arnold Schwarzenegger might not be part of the scenes that will be filmed (after his recent surgery) as they are hoping for a visit from him due to his past filming on the Conan The Barbarian movie and he did promise he would be back to film there…
That population already has a name in the province of Almería. It is the Isleta del Moro. And the shooting, which was kept at all times an absolute silence is Terminator 6 , a film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger who plays the T-800 in that film, directed by Tim Miller.
The veteran actor who already filmed Conan the Bárbaro in Almeria at the beginning of the 80s will be accompanied in this new film by the actress Linda Hamilton.
Remember that in September 2014, Arnold Schwarzenegger was in Almería to collect the Almería prize, Tierra de Cine and discover his name on the Paseo de las Estrellas in the city. The phrase that the veteran actor said after finishing the act is still remembered: ‘I will return’. At that time he was looking for locations for the filming of ‘The legend of Conan’, although this project has not materialized yet.
In principle filming is scheduled for May 29 and 30. Another doubt that currently exists is whether the protagonist Arnold Schwarzenegger who was operated on the heart a few weeks ago will come to Almería, or the sequences that will be recorded do not require the presence of the actor.
If Arnold Schwarzenegger is not part of the Almería shoot we hope he keeps his word on King/Legend of Conan returning to Almería to film and giving audiences a much needed journey back to barbaric bloodshed and sword wielding.
The report continues to specify the type of extras they want for scenes to add authenticity and the correct cultural/ethnic representation for the locations in the movie. Also some statements from extras that have tried to bag the much wanted roles in the movie as they anticipate a response to the studios if they have been successful or not…
For this film, men and women of varied ages of Latin American origin were sought with nationalities from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, etc. All the extras that have been selected will be registered in the Social Security.
Those responsible for the casting did not offer any information on the shooting, although everything seemed to indicate that it could be Terminator 6 . “We are doing a casting to select people of Latin American origin who may seem from a fishing village in Guatemala, we are going to select 30 people, so it is not an open call for casting,” said one of the casting directors.
The Colombian Maritza Moreno Peña, already veteran in the castings for films, since she has worked in Exodus and Game of Thrones is hopeful to be called. “I have a lot of time, because I’m standing and it’s very good for me, the cinema is very interesting, although it’s been many hours of filming, but I like it a lot.”
Carlina Mantilla is another Colombian who decided to go through the casting, being her first experience in film. “I am very excited to be able to participate in this film, if they choose me it will be an unforgettable experience.”
Another young woman who participated in the casting, maintained that “they have taken some pictures and they told us if we got dizzy, which indicates that the same thing we have to ride on a boat during the shooting”.
The truth is that for several days there have been props staff at the Isleta del Moro, which has attracted the attention of the residents of this small hamlet of Níjar. However, in this area of the province they are already accustomed to filming since there are many productions that have chosen this environment to immortalize it on the big screen. Now comes Terminator 6 .
We are liking what we are reading so far; it feels like the movie will have a solid journey, they seem to be going to a lot of effort to create an authentic Mexico setting with some really interesting sounding and (from a little research) beautiful looking locations which we hope will be the backdrop to something really heartfelt and epic but we hope the dreary tone of the first Terminator movie is present because we really miss it and talks of Tim Miller wanting to ground lots of humour was a great concern.
We just want something very serious, this isn’t Cobra Kai or Deadpool. Just please give us a real Terminator movie, especially after the disappointing looking ‘The Predator’ trailer which resembles nothing that fans love about the first Predator movie regardless of its R Rating. We are tired of complaining, give us something to love, to praise and to celebrate; because we really want that to happen and to have our passion totally reignited for this franchise once again for the long-term.
Updated note:
For all those people saying they won’t watch the new Terminator movie if it has any form of political or underlying message/voice on our current times (which most good movies usually do have in some form or other). Are you forgetting that one of the most successful sci-franchises of all time has politics coursing through it?
