Film from the future

May 20 is now Terminator Day.

The newest film in the action franchise, directed by Newport Beach native McG, was given a special post-Newport Beach Film Festival advance screening Wednesday night at the Regency Lido Theatre.

Newport Beach Mayor Ed Selich read a proclamation of appreciation to McG from the city, marking Wednesday as a celebration of all things McG and Terminator.

At $20 a head, the screening benefited ASB programs at Corona del Mar, Newport Harbor and Mater Dei high schools.

Afterward, moviegoers moved the party to McG’s A Restaurant, where comedian- cum-vodka-magnate Dan Aykroyd tended bar.

McG brought the film to Newport Beach hot on the heels of its L.A. and New York premieres. He said that although he spends most of his time in Los Angeles, he maintains a home in Newport.

“I won’t leave it for the world,” the Eastbluff native said. “I’m a kid from Newport Beach who didn’t have a rich uncle in Hollywood, but I always loved film and I just wanted to pursue my passion. This is a wonderful, artistic community, and it showed me that if you love something and you follow through with it, you can do anything you want.”

The orange-haired youth was known for his frequent trips to the Lido and the Edwards Big Newport, as well as to local music shops.

He was happy to be able to work on his latest film with a cast that includes some of the world’s top actors, like Christian Bale, as well as many unknowns that he hopes to launch into stardom.

“I believe Christian Bale is the most talented and incredible actor of our generation,” McG said.

A special type of cameo in “Terminator Salvation” will draw gasps as well. The film opens nationwide today.