14 DAY TRIAL // Come May 22, “Terminator: Salvation,” the fourth installment of the box-office hit series, will hit theaters worldwide. Moreover, on that date, not only will fans get to see what director McG and appraised actor Christian Bale did to John Conner and the T, but also a couple of Chrysler cars being showed off and, most probably, destroyed beyond recognition.
ComingSoonNet reports, citing a Reuters piece, that Chrysler has already revealed plans to underwrite “Terminator: Salvation,” which means fans will get to see John Connor parade around in one of these beauties. Nevertheless, it’s not the sponsorship agreement that has taken the public aback, since it’s not out of the ordinary for car manufacturers or other brands to do so, especially when a project of T’s magnitude is involved.
What is stranger about the deal is that it comes on the heels of Chrysler receiving no less than $4 billion in emergency aid from the US government. Naturally, since it applied for and was granted such an aid, it is to be understood that it does not have the money to act the sponsor. Also, it is supposed to use the governmental funds to avoid layoffs, or a decrease in terms of quality or quantity, and not to give them away to movie studios.
“This spring, ‘Terminator 4’ comes out and we will be one of the sponsors,” Chrysler Director of Media Susan Thomson said in a presentation at the Automotive News World Congress, as quoted by the Reuters piece. “We have a following with the ‘Terminator’ movies, and we are going to continue with that.” Thomson further explained, refusing to disclose any financial terms of the deal.
Fans’ reaction to this report has been anything but indifferent. Whereas most are already unsatisfied with the levels in-movie advertising has reached and are just nodding their heads in disapproval, others are downright set on accusing Chrysler of flushing money down the drain in such hard times. Chrysler could have at least made the partnership less obvious, or tried to keep a secret from the public, other fans are saying on dedicated sites.
“Chrysler has received $4 billion in US government aid, and gosh that’s a lot of money. What are they going to spend it on? Keeping their workforces paid during these hard times? Oil for their robot builders? Making sure Christian Bale drives around in a Chrysler truck during ‘Terminator: Salvation,’ because then people will be like, ‘John Connor drives a Chrysler and he’s mankind’s savior, so I probably should too?’ Yes, that one.” a post on the movie-oriented blog IWatchStuff reads, regarding the announcement.