Those are the two guys responsible for Terminator: Dark Fate — Director Tim Miller and Executive Producer (and braintrust) James Cameron.
The result of a great movie requires everything lining up in perfect harmony, specifically the actors. It’s known as “chemistry.” That particular combination of elements that, when mixed and measured correctly, creates a novel potion creating greatness.
Yeah, Tim and James didn’t have that. Like, at all.
Miller sat down with Los Angeles public radio KCRW 89.9 FM and host Kim Masters, host of “The Business,” for a revealing interview about the dark fate that ensued behind the camera. Essentially, why he will “never work with Cameron again.”
No, but it has nothing to do with whatever trauma I have from the experience, it’s more that I just don’t want to be in a situation again where I don’t have the control to do what I think is right.
“Trauma”? Yeah, that’s usually a word associated with a happy experience, right? Is Tim Miller a control freak? Is James Cameron an even bigger one?
Whatever the reason, something plagued this production, as seen through its meager $29 million in Dark Fate’s opening Nov. 1 weekend.
“I’m sure we could write a book on why it didn’t work,” said Miller of Dark Fate. “I’m still not sure and I’m processing, but I’m very proud of the movie.”
Cameron apparently has some subtweet thoughts on why this film didn’t work.
“The blood is still being scrubbed off the walls from those creative battles,” Cameron told reporters in October. “This is a film that was forged in fire. But that’s the creative process, right?”
Blood on the walls? Grief in the director’s chair? What else, Tim?
Even though Jim is a producer and David Ellison is a producer and they technically have final cut and ultimate power, my name is still on it as director. Even if I’m going to lose the fight… I still feel this obligation to fight because that is what the director is supposed to do. Fight for the movie.’
This seems to be a duel of two visions, when successful movies only benefit from one. Jim wanted one thing. Tim wanted the other. And, as fans, we got what was left in the middle.
But hey, Que Será Será.
[Tim Miller said] ‘I just got an email last week from Jim, who said, “I know we clashed a little bit. I put it all down to two strong, creative people with differences of opinion and I think it made the movie better. I’ll be back in L.A. in December. Let’s go get a beer.”‘
Yeah, something tells me it’ll be a frigid day in Skynet when that beer run happens. Possibly another, even colder day for a successful Terminator movie again as well.
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