Arnold Schwarzenegger, who reprises the role of the T-800 cyborg in the upcoming sequel film Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, told SCI FI Wire that he feels a lot of responsibility in doing another film in the popular franchise. "It's fun," Schwarznegger told reporters on the Los Angeles-area set of the film. "And it is a big responsibility at the same time, because people expect this movie, obviously, to be as good as, if not better than, the second one and the first one."
This week, Schwarzenegger and co-stars Nick Stahl and Claire Danes were at the Rose Hills cemetery in Whittier, Calif., shooting a scene in which the T-800 retrieves a coffin from a crypt under a hail of gunfire from sheriff's deputies and SWAT officers. Dressed in black leather jacket, leather pants and trademark shades, Schwarzenegger hoisted the black metal coffin on his left shoulder (with the aid of a strategically placed crane), turned and trained what appeared to be a 50 mm tank gatling gun on the officers and opened fire with a loud percussion and yellow muzzle flash.
"The good thing about [doing this] is that Hollywood ... and the whole industry is in a mood for making the sequels better than the originals, or making the three-quel better than the sequel," Schwarzenegger said, still bearing makeup that simulated bullet hits to his face, revealing shiny endoskeleton beneath. "In the old days, just 10-20 years ago, they always tried just to do the hit-and-run thing, where they throw a little bit of money at something and said, 'OK, let's make some money out of that,' and then bow out. Now they're thinking of it much differently. So therefore they make it in a quality way. They hire good people, the best in the business in every department and spend the money on it."
As for his much publicized comments that he wouldn't do the sequel unless James Cameron directed, Schwarzenegger said, " changed my mind. And, you know, that's it." Jonathan Mostow is directing T3, which is due out in 2003.