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10 Awesome Facts About The Terminator That You Must Know Before Watching The Latest Movie

Facts About The Terminator:

There is not a single sci-fi lover who hates the Terminator film series (the first two movies only, no one liked the sequels). But when the movie was being made, no one knew much about James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger and no one thought that the movie would become such a phenomenon. The latest installment in the franchise just released and the lead actors from the first movie are making a comeback, so it would definitely be something special.

#1: It was intended to be a Dark Horror movie

Facts About The Terminator

James Cameron had conceptualized the movie as a dark horror and not a sci-fi action movie. However, the viewers had different views about the movie as they felt it was a hardcore action movie. James Cameron was so surprised by this that he decided to take more action movies after this. Months before the release of the movie, Cameron didn’t expect any success from the movie. Ironically, it is now considered to be one of the greatest movies of all time.

#2: O.J. Simpson was considered for the role of Terminator

Facts About The Terminator

Arnold Schwarzenegger was not a very big name when the Terminator was being made so he was not the first choice of the producers. They were considering O.J. Simpson for the lead role but they feared that he was “too nice” to be taken seriously as a cold-blooded killer. In 1990, just before his first trial, Dark Horse Comics printed issues about his likeness. Well, if the glove doesn’t fit…

#3: The Iconic Catchphrase was almost altered

Facts About The Terminator

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s iconic catchphrase – “I’ll be back” almost became I will be back as Arnold thought it sounded more machine-like without a contraction. He even felt that “I’ll” sounded too feminine. It was a major disagreement between Arnold and Cameron and in the end, Cameron had to say that, “I don’t tell you how to act, so don’t tell me how to write.” This line was ultimately voted as the #37 movie quote by the American Film Institute.

#4: Arnold was not a man of many words

Facts About The Terminator

Arnold Schwarzenegger was not a very big name in the Acting industry during the time Terminator was being made. Before the Terminator, Arnold was in the movie Conan The Barbarian (1982), in which he had only 24 lines in total. Cameron took a page from this book and decided to give him even fewer lines than Conan. In the Terminator, Arnold speaks only 14 lines. However, he doesn’t need words to express himself, his action is enough.

#5: The Sequel Created Box Office History

Facts About The Terminator

After the success of the first movie it was a given that the sequel would be loved by the fans as well and after waiting for 7 long years, the fans finally got the sequel and it broke all the Box Office records. Terminator 2: Judgement Day broke the record for the Highest Opening Weekend record for an R-Rated movie and on top of that, it became the first movie to break the US $300 million at the international Box Office.

#6: Linda Hamilton wanted Sarah Connor to be “Crazier”

Facts About The Terminator

Linda’s portrayal of Sarah Connor in the first movie was praised by the fans all across the world but she was still not satisfied. She turned down a part in another movie after hearing a simple outline of the plot by Cameron, although she had one condition. She said that Sarah Connor’s character should be more evolved now, she should no longer portray a meek and fable waitress, she wanted to “be crazy” and thanks to that we got one of the most badass female characters of all time.

#7: Arnold had to train in Gun-Fu

Facts About The Terminator

To prepare for the killer cyborg, Arnold worked with guns every single day for a month. The first two weeks he practiced weapons stripping and reassembly blindfolded until the motions became automatic, just like a machine. He also trained himself to be ambidextrous. He ended up getting a compliment in “Soldier of Fortune” magazine for his realistic handling of guns on camera.

#8: Schwarzenegger ignored the other actors

Facts About The Terminator

During the filming of the first movie, Arnold Schwarzenegger avoided any contact with Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn as he was their enemy in the movie. He decided to take this step to keep the animosity between them realistic and so that the fans could feel that he was actually trying to kill them.

#9: Cameron fired his agent for not liking the script

Facts About The Terminator

James Cameron had not been a part of anything noteworthy when he was writing the script for Terminator. He was considered a nobody. In fact, he was either living in his car or sleeping on the couch of a friend when he wrote the script of the movie. Cameron was so confident about his work that he even fired his agent because he didn’t like the story idea Cameron had conceived for this film.

#10: It was raining money

Facts About The Terminator

After the first movie was loved by the fans, the production house spared no expense for the sequel. James Cameron received $5 million to direct the sequel whereas, Arnold received a whopping $15 million. To put that more precisely, Arnold spoke a total of 700 words in the entire movie, so in a way, he was paid $21,429 per word. The phrase “Hasta la Vista, Baby” cost $85,716.

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