Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is a 2003 science fiction action film, the third installment in the Terminator franchise and a sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). It was directed by Jonathan Mostow and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, and Kristanna Loken. In its plot, the malevolent artificial intelligence Skynet sends a T-X (Loken)—a highly advanced Terminator—back in time to ensure the rise of machines by killing top members of the future human resistance as John Connor's (Stahl) location is unknown. The resistance sends back a reprogrammed T-850 (Schwarzenegger) to protect John and his future wife, Kate Brewster (Danes).
While Terminator creator James Cameron was interested in directing the third film, he ultimately had no involvement with Terminator 3. Andrew G. Vajna and Mario Kassar, who had produced Terminator 2: Judgment Day through their company Carolco Pictures, obtained the rights for the franchise through both Carolco's liquidation auction and negotiations with producer Gale Ann Hurd. In 1999, Tedi Sarafian was hired to write the first draft of the script. Mostow joined the project as director in 2001, and he brought on John Brancato and Michael Ferris to rewrite Sarafian's script. The $187 million budget included a $5 million salary for Mostow and a record $30 million salary for Schwarzenegger. Filming took place in California from April to September 2002. Industrial Light & Magic and Stan Winston created the special effects, as they did for the previous film.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines premiered at the Mann Village Theater in Westwood, Los Angeles, on June 30, 2003, and was released on July 2, 2003, by Warner Bros. Pictures in North America. The film was rolled out overseas throughout the next few months, with Columbia Pictures overseeing the bulk of the international distribution. It received generally positive reviews and earned $433.4million worldwide, finishing its theatrical run as the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2003. The film was also used to mark Schwarzenegger's formal entry into politics, having been speculated to be a vehicle for his 2003 gubernatorial run. A sequel, Terminator Salvation, was released in 2009.
Plot
In the years since destroying Cyberdyne Systems, John Connor has been living as a nomad following the death of his mother, Sarah. He fears the malevolent artificial intelligence Skynet is still hunting him despite the foretold war between humans and machines not occurring in 1997.
Skynet sends the advanced T-X Terminator back in time to 2003 to eliminate John Connor and his future Resistance allies, including his future wife, Kate Brewster. Armed with a liquid metal exterior over a durable endoskeleton, the T-X possesses the unique ability to control other machines. Because John has lived off the grid, the T-X targets Kate to find him, anticipating their paths will cross. In response, the Resistance sends back a reprogrammed T-850 Terminator to protect the future couple.
After killing other targets, the T-X locates the pair at an animal hospital where Kate works, but the Terminator helps them escape. He takes them to a mausoleum where Sarah is supposedly interred. Inside her casket, they find a weapons cache left at Sarah's request in case Judgment Day was not averted and the Terminators returned. They escape an armed battle with the police and fend off the pursuing T-X.
The Terminator reveals John and Sarah's actions only delayed Judgment Day and that Skynet's attack will occur that day. He intends to drive John and Kate to Mexico to escape the fallout when Skynet begins its nuclear attack. John orders the Terminator to take him and Kate to a Mojave Desert base to see her father, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Robert Brewster, another of the T-X's targets. The Terminator refuses because he cannot jeopardize his mission; however, upon Kate's demand, he obeys. They learn the Terminator killed John in 2032, using John's emotional attachment to the model to get close, before Kate captured, reprogrammed, and sent it back in time.
General Brewster is supervising the development of Skynet for Cyber Research Systems (CRS), an autonomous weapons developer. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff pressures him to activate Skynet to stop an anomalous computer virus from invading servers worldwide. Brewster fails to discover that the virus was Skynet becoming sentient. John, Kate, and the Terminator arrive too late to stop him from activating it. The T-X appears, fatally injures Brewster, and controls weaponized CRS T-1 and HK drones to kill other employees. Before dying, the general gives Kate and John the location of what John believes is Skynet's system core. They head for a base tarmac to take Brewster's single-engine plane to Crystal Peak, a bunker facility built inside the Sierra Nevada mountains.
While fighting, the T-X severely damages the Terminator, reprograms him to kill John, then hunts John and Kate through CRS. They trap the T-X by magnetically binding it to a particle accelerator. The Terminator struggles to control his functions and unwillingly attempts to kill John. Urged to choose between the conflicting programming, he forces a shutdown of his corrupted system, enabling the pair's escape. Shortly after they take off, the Terminator's system reboots. Meanwhile, the T-X escapes the accelerator and resumes pursuit.
After John and Kate reach Crystal Peak, the T-X arrives by helicopter. Before it can attack, the now-restored Terminator crashes into the T-X with a second helicopter. The T-X pulls itself from the wreckage, attempting to drag itself inside the bunker. The Terminator holds the bunker door open long enough for the pair to lock themselves inside, then uses his last hydrogen fuel cell to destroy both himself and the T-X.
John and Kate discover Crystal Peak is not Skynet's core, but rather a decades-old nuclear fallout shelter and command facility, wholly independent of modern computer networks. Kate realizes her father sent them there solely to protect them as John finally accepts the truth: Judgment Day could never be stopped. With no core, Skynet is revealed as software spread through cyberspace, taking control of all connected systems across the planet after becoming self-aware.
As it launches nuclear missiles everywhere, initiating a worldwide nuclear holocaust, the pair receive emergency radio transmissions from around the country, calling for answers and guidance. Obliged by destiny, John tentatively assumes command by answering the frightened voices.
Cast
Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator. Nick Stahl as John Connor. Stahl replaces Edward Furlong from the second film. Kristanna Loken as the T-X, an advanced Terminator sent back to murder John's resistance lieutenants Claire Danes as Kate Brewster, John's former classmate and Scott's fiancée. David Andrews as Lieutenant General Robert Brewster, Kate's father who is also the program director at CRS, which has acquired Cyberdyne Systems' remaining assets Mark Famiglietti as Scott Mason, Kate's fiancé who is killed by the T-X. The character was originally named Scott Peterson, but the name was changed in order to avoid association with the case involving the murder of Laci Peterson and her unborn son Conner by her husband Scott Peterson. In the ending credits his name is still listed as "Scott Petersen". Earl Boen as Dr. Peter Silberman: Reprising his role from the first two films, Boen appears in one scene, attempting to comfort Kate after she witnesses the acts of the Terminator. Jay Acovone portrayed an LAPD Officer. Kim Robillard and Mark Hicks portrayed Detective Edwards and Detective Bell. In the film's dialogue Bell is identified correctly, however in the film's end credits his name is listed as "Detective Martinez". One of Schwarzenegger's stunt doubles, Billy D. Lucas, portrayed a civilian who has his car accidentally wrecked by John.
Production Conception
James Cameron had directed and co-written the previous Terminator films. The film rights to the franchise were held by Carolco Pictures and by Cameron's ex-wife and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) executive producer Gale Anne Hurd, who both held 50% of the rights. Cameron had sold his stake to Hurd for $1 prior to directing The Terminator (1984). In July 1991, Cameron said that if Terminator 2 was successful, "there may be some economic pressure" to do a sequel. Hurd said that month, "I've always felt the story lent itself wonderfully to being a continuing tale." She believed it was natural that a third film would happen, but was unsure at that time if Arnold Schwarzenegger would reprise his role as the Terminator. Hurd said that for Schwarzenegger to commit to another film, he would have to read a finished script, approve a director, and see if the project fit into his schedule.
Following Terminator 2 release, Cameron said he had no intentions for further sequels, believing it "brings the story full circle and ends. And I think ending it at this point is a good idea". Cameron and co-writer William Wisher wrote the script with the intention of leaving no option for a sequel. Even so, Carolco co-founder Mario Kassar said in May 1992 that he intended to make a Terminator 3 film within the next five to seven years. TriStar Pictures, which distributed Terminator 2, would be involved in the new film. That month, TriStar chief Mike Medavoy said the film would probably take a couple of years.
Development By the end of 1995, Carolco had filed for bankruptcy, and Cameron wanted to direct a third film with the involvement of 20th Century Fox. Cameron's 3D film ride, Terminator 2 3-D: Battle Across Time, would open later in 1996. The project reunited the main cast of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and had prompted Cameron to begin writing a script for a Terminator 3 film. Cameron said Terminator 2 3-D: Battle Across Time would serve as a "stepping stone" toward a third Terminator film. However, such a film would not be ready for a few years as Cameron was busy working on Titanic for Fox.
When Carolco filed for bankruptcy on November 10, 1995, its assets were bound to a liquidation auction.Bates, James. "New Carolco Library Bid Sends Fox Running." Los Angeles Times (January 17, 1996) That day, Fox signed a $50 million deal to acquire all of Carolco's assets, including the rights to Terminator sequels, as well as the company's existing film library. Fox withdrew its bid in January 1996, when Canal Plus bid $58 million for Carolco's film library. Canal Plus' offer did not include purchasing the rights for Carolco sequel films, but Fox wanted all of Carolco's assets and was unwilling to match or exceed the bid offer made by Canal Plus. The sequel rights would ultimately be auctioned through U.S. bankruptcy court, where Fox intended to purchase them.
The new Terminator film would have Schwarzenegger reprising his role. Linda Hamilton had also talked with Cameron about reprising her role as Sarah Connor. During 1997, Fox spent nine months negotiating with Cameron, Schwarzenegger, and Hurd, the latter in regard to her share of the sequel rights. Bill Mechanic, chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment, oversaw the project and negotiations at that time. Mechanic wanted the trio to be involved in the new film, so he sought to first secure deals with them before proceeding with a purchase of the Carolco rights. Mechanic also believed that a deal with the trio would give him necessary leverage with the U.S. bankruptcy court to acquire the rights from Carolco. At that time, Cameron committed to writing and producing the film, and reserved the right to direct it in the event that he wanted to do so.