James Cameron made a landmark movie in the science fiction genre with The Terminator in 1984. Cameron cast Arnold Schwarzenegger as the supervillain AI robot from the future. The Titanic director conceived the idea for the film from a dream about a metallic humanoid holding kitchen knives. For Cameron, the film was also a platform to realize some unconventional fantasies, which he revealed when he later discussed the appeal of The Terminator.
The Avatar director shared that the villain character was more like a dark Superman who had the freedom to carry out evil acts without concern for retribution. According to Cameron, this ability to commit any wrongdoing represented a hidden little demon that everyone carried.
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James Cameron Has A Weird Interpretation About The Terminator’s Appeal
When James Cameron approached the lead actors of the film, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Biehn, both actors felt that the film was too silly. Schwarzenegger revealed that he only gained confidence in the movie after watching the first 20 minutes of the edited cut. Cameron’s concept was definitely ahead of its time, but he managed to stylishly convey the story to his audience.
When the Aliens director was asked about the appeal of his sci-fi film, he explained that the character tapped into the strange fantasies that everyone secretly harbored. According to the True Lies director, people often yearned to be like the Terminator and act out their violent thoughts. While the director’s point may seem odd, it is not without some merit. James Cameron stated (via IMDB):
“It’s like the dark side of Superman, in a sense. I think it has a great cathartic value to people who wish they could just splinter open the door to their boss’s office, walk in, break his desk in half, grab him by the throat and throw him out the window and get away with it. Everybody has that little demon that wants to be able to do whatever it wants, the bad kid that never gets punished.”
The Terminator was instrumental in launching James Cameron’s career in Hollywood. The Abyss director only has a handful of films in the industry, but he’s deemed one of the most innovative filmmakers in the world.
James Cameron Initially Did Not Want Arnold Schwarzenegger In The Film
Another appealing factor to the villainous AI robot, apart from James Cameron’s weird reasoning, was Arnold Schwarzenegger himself. However, Schwarzenegger was the studio’s choice for the protagonist Reese. Cameron did not want to cast the Twins actor as he was concerned that he would then need to find another big actor to play The Terminator. Cameron went to meet the FUBAR actor with the intention of avoiding casting him.
But Schwarzenegger impressed Cameron with his comments on how the villain should be portrayed. Cameron then cast him as the villain, rather than in the role of Reese. But the Escape Plan actor initially felt that the movie was silly, even calling it a “sh*t movie” in an interview during the film’s production. But he still committed to the film as he sought a change of pace from his previous work in the sword and sorcery film, Conan the Barbarian.
The film worked wonders for both Cameron and Schwarzenegger and went on to gross $78.3 million at the box office. The success also spawned several sequels, making it into a big franchise. The Terminator is now available for streaming on Max.
