10 Things You Might Not Know About ‘The Terminator’
The terminator (1984) is an American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and is now classified as a “Tech Noir” film. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as “The Terminator,” a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill a woman before she has her son – the savior of a future world. The film was such a big hit that it became a cult classic.
So many people watched The terminator that it’s hard to find anyone – young or old – who has never heard of the film. If you’re reading this list, you’ve probably heard of it The terminator and probably watched one or two movies from the franchise. So here are ten things you might not know about the super popular movie;
Related: Top 10 behind the scenes facts about Wes Anderson movies
10 It started as a dream
Celebrity director James Cameron only had one movie to his credit when he directed The terminator. His previous movie was Piranha II: Spawning (1982), and it was poorly received upon release. Unwilling to give up his career, Cameron decided to try his luck again, but his next movie idea would come in an unusual way.
One day Cameron developed a high fever and fell into a deep sleep. He had a dream about a metal death figure emerging from a fire. His skin had been stripped by the fire and exposed for what it really was – such was the idea of the film The terminator was born. The dream influenced the film’s title character. But this time James Cameron scored a big hit.[1]
9 Lance Henriksen was the first actor to dress up as a Terminator
When James Cameron decided to pitch the idea of the movie The terminator to film producers, he performed a stunt that would allow him to sell the film to them. During a meeting with Hemdale Film Corporation, Cameron had Lance Henriksen dressed up as the title character of The terminator. He also let him go to the meeting fifteen minutes before.
Shortly before Cameron arrived, Lance Henriksen kicked open the conference room door, wearing a leather jacket with gold foil on his teeth. He promptly put on a performance. The performance was so believable that the secretary dropped her typewriter on her lap. Henriksen got the role of Detective Hal Vukovich because of his problems.[2]
8 Cameron considered Schwarzenegger for the role of Kyle Reese
Arnold Schwarzenegger, who eventually played the title character, was originally considered for the role of Kyle Reese. At the first meeting between Schwarzenegger and James Cameron, although Schwarzenegger was interested in Kyle Reese’s good-guy role, he noted that the title character had very few lines.
Schwarzenegger began making suggestions on how the title character should be played, and it became clear to Cameron that Schwarzenegger would be better off as the on-screen title character. Cameron then suggested that Schwarzenegger play the Terminator. Schwarzenegger accepted the role at Cameron’s insistence.[3]
7 The most iconic line in the movie almost didn’t happen
The most iconic line in the film would have been lost forever if director James Cameron hadn’t stood his ground. In the hit movie, Schwarzenegger’s character delivers the iconic phrase for the first time. The line is now the most recognizable quote from the franchise. In one scene, the Terminator walks into a police station looking for Sarah Connor. Informed by the desk sergeant that he cannot see her, the Terminator says, “I’ll be back.”
Schwarzenegger suggested that he would rather say, “I’ll be back.” But Cameron disagreed, telling Schwarzenegger, “Don’t tell me how to write, because I’m not telling you how to act.” In the end, the decision was made, and just as Cameron predicted, Schwarzenegger succeeded.[4]
6 The Terminator created a movie genre
James Cameron had a secret message in the movie, one that only he would initially understand until it became public knowledge. When Sarah is first pursued by the Terminator, she goes to a club in Los Angeles called “Tech Noir.” Cameron came up with the club’s name as a reference to the non-existent genre he felt the film would fit into.
Today, Tech Noir has become its own movie genre. The word “Tech Noir” describes a mix of visionary sci-fi and film noir. Popular examples of this movie genre in the 21st century include Gamer (2009), a film about an online game in which the participants can control humans as players. Others include Dredd (2012) and Hardcore Henry (2015).[5]
5 In Poland, the film was released as The Electronic Murderer
While the movie The terminator carried his real name all over the world, there was an exception. In Poland the film was released asThe Electronic Killer. When the movie was released, the word “terminator” translated to the word “apprentice” in Polish, so the title in the country was understandably changed to something that would depict the movie as an action movie because no one would want to watch a movie about a student.
However, when the sequel Terminator 2: doomsday was released, it bore the title it had in other parts of the world, as the Polish people already knew what The terminator intended and what to expect from the sequel.[6]
4 There were almost two Terminators
The original terminator In the film, two Terminators are said to have been sent back in time, one to kill Sarah Connor. At the same time, the other would have protected her and both would have been played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, the movie had a small budget that couldn’t accommodate two Terminators, so the movie stuck with one.
Given the huge reception of the film worldwide, the idea was eventually used in Terminator 2: doomsday. When Skynet sends the T-1000 to kill the Resistance leader John Connor when he is still a child, the Resistance sends back a reprogrammed T-800 Terminator to protect John Connor.[7]
3 Schwarzenegger speaks less than 100 words in the film
The first terminator depicts Schwarzenegger’s T-800 as a stoic machine more interested in its mission than small talk. This is why he only had 17 lines The terminator, which amounts to about 70 words. The idea of limiting the Terminator to a few words is understandable. It would make the character look more menacing, a true “electronic killer” more interested in action than vain words. A positive result of the Terminator’s few words is the effect it had when he made the comment, “I’ll be back.”
If you compare the original terminator to its sequel Terminator 2: doomsday, where the Terminator speaks 700 words, and other films in the franchise, discover the writer’s foresight in the original film. No other Terminator comment is as popular as “I’ll be back,” a comment he made in the first film. All other films in the franchise have not produced their own tagline. That is the power of a few words.[8]
2 James Cameron sold The Terminator script for $1
When James Cameron wrote the movie The terminator, he lived in his car. His agent, who was supposed to help him promote the film and generate interest, didn’t like the idea of the film, so James Cameron had to fire him. Cameron then started looking for a way to bring the script to the screen himself.
In the marketing process The terminatorCameron had one drawback: his directorial debut Piranha II was not well received. Even if The terminator was a brilliant idea, you couldn’t trust a director like Cameron to bring it to life. Cameron received many offers for the script from studios who were not interested in hiring him to direct it. Some offers came with huge amounts of money, but Cameron wanted to direct the film.
In the end, Cameron made a deal with co-writer Hurd that he would sell her the full rights to the script for the sum of one dollar on the grounds that he could direct the film. The deal stuck.[9]
1 Another writer accused Cameron of stealing his idea
While The terminator arguably Cameron’s best idea ever because of the sequels that keep coming, when the film was released another major writer felt it was too close to his work for solace. The film found a fan in Harlan Ellison, a prolific and award-winning author and screenwriter. Although Ellison thoroughly enjoyed the film, he unfortunately noted similarities to the plot of his own 1964 film. Outer borders episode ‘Soldier’. In Ellison’s work, two enemy soldiers were sent back in time, one good and one bad. In addition, he believed that the idea of the T-800’s exoskeleton resembles a robot design in ‘Demon with a Glass Hand’, another work of his.
Ellison filed a lawsuit against James Cameron and The terminator distributor Orion Pictures. While Cameron found Ellison’s lawsuit baseless, opportunistic and wanted to fight to the bitter end, Orion Pictures was disinclined to fight. To silence Cameron, Orion Pictures management informed him that if he fought the case in court and lost, he would be solely responsible for the financial penalty that could follow. The lawsuit was settled out of court. However, Ellison has also sued other entities for alleged copyright infringement, including the creators of On time and age-old internet provider AOL.[10]