Ridley Scott refused $20 million to direct Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines

Legendary director Ridley Scott says he turned down a reported $20 million offer to helm Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines, telling The Guardian he refused the job because the franchise did not suit his sensibility. Scott, speaking in a wide-ranging interview published Thursday, said he even asked to be paid what the film's star Arnold Schwarzenegger received but ultimately declined because he thought he would "fuck it up" by trying to make the material more realistic.

"I'm proud about this. I turned down a 20m fee. See, I can't be bought, dude," Scott told The Guardian. He said a colleague suggested he "ask what Arnie gets," and when producers agreed to his request he was surprised. "When they said yes, I thought 'Fuck me.' But I couldn't do it. It's not my thing," he said, adding that Terminator is "pure comic strip" while he would be inclined to "make it real." He compared directing the franchise to doing a James Bond movie, saying the latter's "fun and camp" essential differed from his style.

Scott's account helps explain why the third Terminator film, released on July 2, 2003, was directed by Jonathan Mostow rather than by Scott or original director James Cameron. Mostow,...