“It wasn’t a Sixth Sense kind of twist”: James Cameron Does Not Feel Fans Should Have Been to See Good Guy Arnold Schwarzenegger
James Cameron is the brain behind a list of spectacular masterpieces ever produced in the land of Hollywood. From being nominated for the prestigious Academy Awards seven times, the Canadian director needs no introduction anywhere in the world. The Arnold Schwarzenegger starer The Terminator is one of the most talked about franchises that came from James Cameron. The Terminator series is still known as the powerhouse of the action-adventure genre in Hollywood.
With the mammoth success of The Terminator, the acting career of Arnold Schwarzenegger was solidified on the grounds of Hollywood. James Cameron was way ahead of his time when he came up with the concept of a programmed cyborg time-traveling to save the earth from impending doom. He even changed the character of Terminator which went on to become one of the biggest game changers for its success.
James Cameron On Changing The Role Of Arnold Schwarzenegger In Terminator 2
The first part of the James Cameron-directed The Terminator saw the True Lies actor as a cyborg assassin who had been sent from 2029 to 1984 by Skynet to kill Sarah Connor, the mother of John Connor, who had a major role in defeating the Skynet in 2029. James Cameron went on to change the character of Arnold Schwarzenegger and it was a huge surprise for the actor too.
During an interview with the media outlet Empire Online, the Avatar: The Way Of Water director had to answer multiple questions from reputed directors, screenwriters, actors, and producers. Patrick McKay of The Lord Of The Rings fame went on to ask about the change in the character of the Terminator in the second installment of the franchise Judgement Day and how it impacted their marketing strategy as the biggest plot detail was given out during the promotion of the movie.
James Cameron replied-
“All of us have had our battles with the Suits, but the case you mention was not a battle. The Carolco guys, Mario Kassar, and Andy Vajna were good partners with me on T2, and I led the charge on marketing, including showing Arnold as the good guy. It wasn’t a Sixth Sense kind of twist that’s revealed only at the end of the film. He’s revealed as the Protector at the end of Act One. And I always feel you lead with your strongest story element in selling a movie.”
The Titanic director further continued as-
“I believed our potential audience would be more attracted to seeing how the most badass killing machine could become a hero than they would be to just another kill-fest in the same vein as the first film. Sequels have to strike a delicate balance between honoring the most loved elements from the first film, but also promising to really shake things up and turn them upside down. Our marketing campaign for T2 was exactly that promise, and it worked.”
According to the reports, even Arnold Schwarzenegger was not happy with the 360-degree change in the character. According to the End Of Days actor, it was difficult for him to fathom the audience’s reception of Terminator’s character changes from the first part of the action-adventure franchise to another chapter.
James Cameron Could Never See O.J. Simpson As His Terminator
Can you imagine someone else in the shoes of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Terminator? No! The Austrian-American actor fitted so well into the character of the programmed cyborg as if he was born to play the role. According to the reports, way before the 75-year-old actor was selected for The Terminator, the studio was looking forward to casting O.J. Simpsons for the role. During an interview with the Los Angeles Times in 2019, the actor revealed that James Cameron never wanted to go ahead with the former American football player. Arnold Schwarzenegger confessed-
“Somehow [James Cameron] felt that he was not as believable for a killing machine–So then they hired me. That’s really what happened.”
This even led to rumors circulating in the entertainment world regarding a dispute between Orion Studios and James Cameron, as according to the changes, both director and the production house were not on the same page. During one of the episodes of HBO Max talk show, Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace, James Cameron went on to squash all the speculations surrounding the selection of Arnold Schwarzenegger over O.J. Simpson. He said-
“Very early on, a highly placed person at one of the two studios that funded that film had a brilliant idea and called me up and said, ‘Are you sitting down?’ I said, ‘Well, no, I’m not.’ He said, ‘Are you sitting? O.J. Simpson for the Terminator!’”
James Cameron could never envision O.J. Simpson in his brainchild The Terminator. The movie was made on a budget of $6.4 million and went on to become a mammoth success with a box office collection amounting to $78.3 million in 1984.
The Terminator is available on Max.
Source: Empire Online
