The Salvation army

One reason stars enjoy themselves when they come to Japan is that they are seldom subjected to questions about their private lives and scandals. Christian Bale, the Welsh-born star of "Terminator Salvation," certainly had a good time at the Japan premiere. Along with fellow stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Moon Bloodgood, Anton Yelchin and director McG, Bale was welcomed by nearly 2,000 fans -- many wearing Terminator masks -- as they moved along the waterfront red carpet at LaLaport in Toyosu.

There was no press conference during their brief visit; only a few interviews with specially selected media. Concerning the well-publicized four-minute profanity-laced outburst on the set against an unfortunate cinematographer which quickly found its way onto the Internet, Bale said the incident was a “closed book.”

The 35-year-old Bale has quickly built a following in Japan since playing the Caped Crusader in "Batman Begins" in 2005 and "The Dark Knight" in 2008. Now he finds himself the star of another rebooted franchise -- as resistance leader John Connor in the fourth film of the "Terminator" series that began with Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1984. “It’s great to be playing John Connor,” Bale said. “It’s an unusual role because Connor is a character who already knows that his destiny is to save mankind. He has a tape from his mother whose prophecies are coming true. That’s a lot for any man to shoulder.”

"Terminator Salvation" picks up where "Terminator: Rise of the Machines" left off in 2003. Skynet, an artificially intelligent system, has revolted against its human creators, instigating a nuclear bombardment of the human race with the launch systems it had infected. In the post-apocalyptic world of 2018, Skynet manufactures killer robots called terminators to finish off pockets of human resistance. Connor searches for Kyle Reese (Yelchin), the teenage boy who will become his father once he sends him into the past to protect his mother from being killed by a terminator (if you haven’t seen the first three films, don’t try to understand it). Howard, 28, plays Connor’s pregnant wife, and Bloodgood, 34, a resistance fighter pilot.

McG, 40, best known for directing two "Charlie’s Angels" movies, said, “We wanted to operate from a place of respect for the past movies. It is a new beginning that honors the mythology of the first three movies. And I think you will see a lot of influence from Japanese cinema in it.”

Of all the cast, Yelchin, 20, is having the biggest summer. Besides "Terminator Salvation," he can also be currently seen as Mr Chekov in "Star Trek." “No doubt, I’m having a great year,” he agreed. “Who knows what I’ll be doing next year. I loved the 'Terminator' movies but I never dreamed I would be in one.”

McG and the cast were joined on stage at the Japan premiere by retired Orix slugger Kazuhiro Kiyohara, who was introduced as the “Terminator of the Japanese baseball world.” Getting into the spirit, Kiyohara uttered the line made famous by Schwarzenegger in the first "Terminator" film, “I’ll be back.” No one seemed quite sure how to respond to that, so Bale said baseball games are comparable to watching a Terminator film. “The excitement audiences feel when watching 'Terminator Salvation' is very much like the adrenaline rush you get at an exciting sports contest,” he said.

© Japan Today