12 Snappy Facts about Terminator
The Terminator from 1984 is arguably one of the most memorable sci-fi action films of the 80s. It started a new genre of movies and set the bar for others to follow. Here are 12 Snappy Facts About The Terminator you probably never knew
1 James Cameron had a nightmare
While in Rome directing Piranha II The Spawning, Cameron came down with a fever. While sleeping it off he dreamed about a metal endoskeleton creature crawling out of a ball of fire. The next morning he immediately jotted down his experience, and over the next couple of weeks it evolved into a story of a futuristic robot sent back in time on an assassination mission.
2 O.J. Simpson
Orion initially wanted Arnold Schwarzenegger to play the role of Kyle Reece, while O.J. Simpson was earmarked to play the role of the Terminator.
3 The Conan connection
Filming started in 1983 but had to be halted. Schwarzenegger was forced by a clause in his contract to appear in Conan the Barbarian. This meant that filming of The Terminator was postponed for a duration of nine months.
4 Cameron got married to Hamilton
James Cameron and Linda Hamilton got married years after the movie, but like most Hollywood romances, it ended in divorce.
5 I’ll be back
The famous line ‘I’ll be back” was originally slated to be different. The script initially contained the phrase “I’ll come back”. Not as badass as the one we all know now.
6 Only 14 lines
In The Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger literally only had 14 lines of speech.
7 Skynet and the liquid cyborg
Most of the script and storyline for the sequel (Judgement Day) were originally intended to be included in the first movie. Budget constraints and the lack of access to CGI prompted Cameron to abandon the idea, and stick to one cyborg sent back from the future. Only after he directed The Abyss, did Cameron have the means to create the T-1000 liquid robot, and revived his idea for Terminator 2.
8 The teaser trailer
The teaser trailer for the movie was narrated by Peter Cullen. Known for the voice of Optimus Prime in Transformers, and the voice of KITT, the black car in Knight Rider.
9 Poland
In Polish, the word ‘terminator’ roughly means ‘the apprentice’, so The Terminator was released in Poland with an altered name. “The Electronic Murderer”. Yes, that just sounds weird.
10 off screen relatioships
Schwarzenegger kept a distance from Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn on purpose, to keep acting as realistic as possible whenever filming was done.
11 Kyle Reece
Schwarzenegger was originally to play the role of Kyle Reece, and Cameron did not like Biehn’s Southern accent at the start.
12 The Cyborg Dog
One of the early ideas was that the Terminator would be accompanied by a cyborg dog of all things. Needless to say, the idea of a metal red-eyed pooch got canned in its infancy.
