James Cameron has earned a grandiose reputation with his spectacular work in the film-making industry. From being the mastermind behind the 1997 Titanic to the heavily VFX-based Avatar series, he has left audiences spellbound with his creative skills. However, there was a time when he had to make a sacrifice to save his movie, True Lies. While the project did not enjoy the same success as his big projects, it was indeed a big hit at the time.
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the lead protagonist, Harry Tasker, the 1994 movie follows his story who struggles to balance his double life as a secret agent with his familial responsibilities. Given that every movie comes with a deadline, he had to scrap an action sequence to keep up with the scheduled release.
James Cameron Revealed His Sacrifice to Save Arnold Schwarzenegger’s True Lies
The scene in question is the opening action scene of True Lies where Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character, Harry Tasker, escaped an explosive party as henchmen on skis and snowmobiles chased him. But, film director, James Cameron in a conversation with Greta Gerwig for Variety’s Directors on Directors shared that the scene was planned much more than that.
Cameron is known for pushing the creative boundaries to create a picturesque moment however he had to sacrifice the same when it came to filming that James Bond-esque moment.
In the interview, the director shared,
“Sometimes compromises lead to something that actually works. When we were making ‘True Lies,’ we had this elaborate setpiece that was going to take place up in these snowy mountains. There was skiing and a crashed helicopter. [Arnold Schwarzenegger] winds up skiing a helicopter on its skids down the mountain — a big James Bond sequence.”
While the scene could have gone to great heights, he shared that it could have comprised the scheduled release date.
“We shot one night in the mountains. I had this horrific image that we were going to be there for three weeks. We were already behind schedule. At that point, I knew we just wouldn’t hit our release date if we stayed there.”
Eventually, Cameron came up with an alternative that could save time while comprising the shot.
James Cameron Chopped Off a James Bond Sequence in True Lies
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The very next day, Cameron called the crew together in the hotel to inform them that they would film the scene that night only.
“I got the crew together in the hotel the next morning. I said, ‘We’re going to finish the scene tonight. The helicopter’s out, this is out, that’s out. He shoots two guys, jumps in the van, they drive away.’ We finished it in one night.”
Eventually, he was able to film the sequence chopping off the helicopter gag. The actual scene ended up becoming funnier where Schwarzenegger shot the bad guys. Hence, the scene eventually cut off some action to pull it off. Nonetheless, the movie was an incredible success both critically and financially grossing over $375 million worldwide.
True Lies is available to watch on Apple TV.
