MOVIE NEWS – Arnold Schwarzenegger recently revealed that he wished his iconic character had killed more people. However, the director turned down his request.
The rivalry between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone has never been public. But it seems they kept an eye on each other after each film’s release. However, James Cameron, director of the hit film series, refused to let his rival ruin his vision for Terminator 2.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day, one of the best sequels of all time, grossed $520.9 worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 1991.
The first Terminator film made a modest $78.3 million. The sequel picks up ten years after Sarah Conor was rescued from the Terminator, the killing machine played by Schwarzenegger. In the first film, the Terminator was sent back to 1984 from 2029 with direct orders to kill Sarah Connor. In the second film, things change, and this time, after some redirection, Schwarzenegger’s Terminator is under direct orders to protect Sarah Conner’s son John Conner from another, more sophisticated machine, also in human form.
At a panel discussion at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Schwarzenegger revealed that he wanted his character, the Terminator, to kill at least 150 people in Judgment Day. “The reason why it became such a big hit was number one, Jim Cameron. Jim Cameron is a genius writer. He came up with this brilliant idea, even though at the beginning I was suspicious,” Schwarzenegger recalled. “He said ‘I want to make you a good Terminator.<<.”
The bemused actor said to Cameron, “What do you mean a good Terminator? I was killing 68 people in the first one. In the second one, I have to kill 150. We go up! Cut their throats and shoot them with a cannon and run them over with a car. I had to outdo Stallone. I said that my whole mission was being number one at killing amounts of people on the screen.” Naturally, when “The Govenator” approached Cameron with some comments about his character, the talented director shot down those ideas. “He said, ‘Arnold stop it. You’re a very sick guy. I am gonna make sure that in Terminator 2 you’re not gonna kill one single person.'”
With one blockbuster after another, it’s safe to say Cameron knew what he was doing. Every great director listens honestly to actors and their concerns, but this was just to top Stallone’s. Schwarzenegger and Stallone were the biggest action stars of the 80s and were constant rivals.
The constant rivalry over who would make the bigger bucks may have clouded Schwarzenegger’s judgment when he approached Cameron with his ideas for the 1991 film.
Cameron was true to his word. For those in need of a refresher, the former killing machine was taught tolerance by his protégé John Connor.
Source: YouTube
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