Hit films can begin in the most unlikely places, but when director James Cameron dreamed of
a knife-wielding steel skeleton crawling through flames, he could never have guessed how successful
his �Terminator� would become.
Its sequel would be just the first time Cameron would redefine blockbuster filmmaking, but
even devoted fans may not realize just how strange the franchise�s earliest days really
were.
Here are Screen Rant�s 10 things You Need to Know About the Terminator.
Cameron�s Cameos
Director James Cameron has made a career of large-scale movies, but he�s just as well
known for his personal touches.
Specifically, lending his voice to a number of easy-to-miss off-screen roles.
In The Terminator, Cameron�s voice can be heard cancelling a date on Sarah�s answering
machine, and as the Tiki Motel receptionist.
In the sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Cameron has a much more� horrifying role:
voicing the death shrieks of the T-1000.
Biehn�s Bad Luck
The Terminator marked the first of several collaborations between James Cameron and Michael
Biehn, cementing the young actor as one of the most unforgettable sci-fi stars on the
�80s and �90s - and creating a strange running joke in the process.
Cameron would make sure the actor paid a price for his starring roles, having his characters
bitten on the hand in all three of their films: as Kyle Reese in The Terminator, Corporal
Hicks in Aliens and The Abyss.
Cameron originally planned on casting Biehn in his 3D hit Avatar, so we have to assume
he had a set of alien teeth with the actor�s name on it.
I�ll Be Back
It�s hard for modern fans to believe that the success of the Terminator series was ever
in doubt � even harder to think that the iconic tagline �I�ll be back� was just
as uncertain.
Surprisingly, star Arnold Schwarzenegger didn�t like the sound of the line, believing a robotic
killer would pronounce it in proper English, as �I will be back.� In the end, James
Cameron insisted that HE was the writer, and Arnold was proven wrong.
The line became an instant hit, following him throughout his entire movie career.
Bug Spray
Plenty of movie magic went into making the film, but not every extra touch in the film
was planned ahead of time � or healthy for the cast and crew.
When Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor emerge into the fog after hiding out under a bridge, the
fog isn�t real � but it isn�t fake, either.
The film�s production took place during insecticide spraying for a fruit fly outbreak
in the Los Angeles area.
The filmmakers had planned to wait for the clouds to clear, but decided to use the added
effect instead.
Looks like a robot wasn�t the only thing trying to kill them.
Guerrilla Filmmaking
Terminator may be a billion-dollar property these days, but the first film was a different
story.
The Terminator first revealing his stolen �biker� outfit and punching through a
car window is hard to forget.
But the lengthy shot was actually the last to be completed, with James Cameron footing
the bill for the 2 hour shoot himself.
Since he had no permit to be filming on the street, only he and Arnold Schwarzenegger
were present, with the actor�s street clothes stashed behind the car in case a police officer
stumbled upon them.
Writer�s Block
James Cameron can�t claim all the filmmaker cameos for himself, with his friend and writing
partner William Wisher, Jr. making a brief appearance as the police officer who is knocked
out and carjacked by the Terminator after his first fight Wisher would also return for
the sequel, in which he cameos as a shutterbug shopper, and later as a TV reporter in The
Abyss.
Wolfie
It isn�t just humans who make up the core cast of the Terminator series.
In the sequel, the shape-shifting T-1000 attempts to lure John Connor home by copying the voice
of his foster mother, but the trap is foiled when John�s guardian Terminator uses the
wrong name for the family�s dog.
The name �Wolfie� wasn�t random, but James Cameron�s nickname for his own German
Shepard, �Beowulf,� who appeared in the first movie.
Wolfie would return as �Max� in the final scene.
Hopefully he got a raise for the sequel.
Twins
Terminator 2 is credited with pushing special effects even farther than its predecessor,
but not every effect was so �special.� Instead of struggling with split-screen when
it came to the T-1000�s shape-shifting, Cameron let nature do the work, casting twins
to play a security guard and his robotic doppelganger.
The trick reappears in the movie�s climax, calling on Linda Hamilton�s identical twin
sister Leslie, but it�s not the most clever one.
When the Terminator�s brain is opened up in front of a mirror earlier in the film,
viewers are actually looking at Arnold Schwarzenegger and Leslie through a hole in the wall, as
his castmates operate on a dummy.
Low Flyer
Relying on practical effects may be easier, but it�s not always safer.
Modern audiences may look at the helicopter chase scene of T2 and assume some special
effects were responsible.
Particularly the shot of a helicopter flying under an overpass with little room to spare.
While a chopper was suspended on a crane for close-ups, the pilot told James Cameron he
could pull off the stunt for real.
Having seen his mastery of the machine already � narrowly missing another overpass in the
same chase � the director agreed.
The camera crew called the stunt too dangerous and refused, leaving only Cameron and his
driver to witness it firsthand.
Audiences, however, can enjoy it for all time.
The Launch of a Universe
The Terminator became a hit series, but fans may not realize that long before shared universes
were all the rage, James Cameron had crafted his own.
It began with the Terminator, as one LA news anchor would reappear to cover a hurricane
in Cameron�s underwater alien adventure, The Abyss.
That film�s cast is employed by the oil company Benthic Petroleum whose logo can also
be seen at the gas station John and Sarah visit in T2.
It wouldn�t stop there, as one frantic reporter would reprise his role in True Lies.
Cameron clearly had a few favorite actors on standby, but the end result is a single
universe of blockbuster hits.
So what do you think of our list?
Are there any bits of trivia or easter eggs that you think are essential for Terminator
fans?
Let us know in our comment section and don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more
videos like this one.