User:Andrzejbanas/terminator

Development
In Rome, during the release of Piranha II: The Spawning director James Cameron had a dream about a metallic torso dragging itself from a explosion holding kitchen knives. When Cameron returned to Pomona, California he stayed at Randall Frakes home where he wrote a draft for The Terminator. To translate the draft into into a script Cameron enlisted his friend Bill Wisher who he had a similar approach to storytelling. Cameron gave Wisher the early scenes involving Sarah Connor and the police department scenes to write. As Wisher lived far away from Cameron, the two communicated script ideas by recording tapes of what they wrote by telephone. Cameron's agent hated the idea for The Terminator and told him to work on something else. After this, Cameron fired his agent.

Gale Anne Hurd, who had worked at New World Pictures as Roger Corman's assistant showed interest in film project. Cameron sold the rights for The Terminator to Hurd for one dollar with the promise that she would produce it only if Cameron was to direct it. As a producer, Hurd had suggested edits to the script and took a screen writing credit in the film. Cameron has stated that Hurd "did no actual writing at all". Cameron and Hurd had friends who also had worked with Roger Corman who were now working at Orion Pictures who distribute the film if Cameron good get financial backing elsewhere. The script was picked up by John Daly at Hemdale Pictures. Cameron wanted his pitch for Daly to finalize the deal and has his friend Lance Henriksen to show up to the meeting early dressed and acting like the terminator. Henriksen showed at the office kicking open the door wearing a leather jacket and ad gold foil smothered on his teeth and fake cuts on his face and then sat in a chair. Cameron arrived shortly after which relieved the staff from Henriksen's act. Daly was impressed by the screenplay and Cameron's sketches and passion for the film. In late 1982 Daly agreed to back the film with help from HBO and Orion.

Pre-production
One of Cameron's first tasks was to find someone to play Kyle Reese. Orion wanted a star who's popularity was rising in the United States but also would have foreign appeal. Orion's co-founder Mike Medavoy had met Arnold Schwarzenegger and sent his agent the script for The Terminator. Cameron was dubious about casting Schwarzenegger as Reese as he felt he would need someone even bigger to play the Terminator. The studio had suggested O. J. Simpson for the role of the Terminator. Cameron did not feel that Simpsons would be believable as a killer. Cameron still agreed to meet with Schwarzenegger about the film and devised a plan to avoid casting Schwarzenegger. Cameron planned to pick a fight with him and return to Hemdale and find him unfit for the role. On his meeting with Schwarzenegger, Cameron found was entertained by Schwarzenegger who would talk about how the villain should be played. Cameron began sketching his face on a notepad and asked Schwarzenegger to stop talking and remain still. After the meeting, Cameron returned to Daly about saying Schwarzenegger would not play Reese but that "he'd make a hell of a Terminator." Schwarzenegger was not as excited by the film, during an interview on the set of Conan the Barbarian, an interviewer asked him about a pair of shoes he had (which were for The Terminator). Schwarzenegger responded "Oh some shit movie I'm doing, take a couple weeks." Schwarzenegger spent three months training with weapons to be able to use them and feel comfortable around them for preparation for the role.

For the role of Reese various other suggestions were made for the role including rock musician Sting. Cameron chose Michael Biehn for the role. Biehn originally felt skeptical about the part feeling that the project was silly. After meeting with Cameron, Biehn stated his "feelings about the project changed." Hurd stated that "almost everyone else who came in fro the audition was so tough that you just never believed that there was gonna be this human connection between [Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese]. They have very little time to fall in love. A lot of people came in and just could not pull it off." In the first few pages of the script, the character of Sarah Connor is written as "19, small and delicate features. Pretty in a flawed, accessible way. She doesn't stop the party when she walks in, but you'd like to get to know her. Her vunerable quality masks a strength even she doesn't know exists." Cameron chose Linda Hamilton for the role who has just finished filming Children of the Corn. Cameron found a role for Lance Henriksen as Detective Hal Vukovich as Henriksen had been essential to finding finances for the film. For the special effects shots in the film, Cameron wanted Dick Smith who had previously worked on The Godfather and Taxi Driver. Smith did not take Cameron's offer and suggested his friend Stan Winston for the job.

Production
Production on The Terminator was ready to be filmed in early 1983 in Toronto. Production was halted when producer Dino De Laurentiis applied an option in Schwarzenegger's contract which would made Schwarzenegger unattainable for nine months while he was filming Conan the Destroyer. During the waiting period, was contracted to write the script for Rambo: First Blood Part II, refined parts of The Terminator's script, and met with producers David Giler and Walter Hill where they discussed a sequel to Alien.

On creating the Terminator's look, Winston and Cameron passed back and forth their sketches. They eventually decided on a design that was nearly identical to the original one Cameron drew in Rome. Winston had a team of seven artists who for worked for six months to create a puppet of the Terminator. It was first molded in clay, then plaster then forced with steel ribbing. These pieces were then sanded, painted and then chrome-plated. Winston sculpted a reproduction of Schwarzenegger's face in several poses out of silicone, clay and plaster.

In March 1984, the film started production in Los Angeles. Most of The Terminator's action scenes were filmed at night which led which lead to tight filming schedules before the sun came up. A week before filming started, Linda Hamilton sprained her ankle which lead to production being changed so the scenes where Hamilton is running occured as late as the filming schedule allowed. Hamilton's ankle was taped every day and she spent most of the film production in pain.

Post-production
After production finished on The Terminator, some shots had to be made after post-production. These including scenes showing the Terminator outside Sarah Connor's apartment, Reese being zipped into a body bag, and when the Terminator's head is crushed in a press. The film's soundtrack was synthesizer music composed byBrad Fiedel. Fiedel described the film's music as being about "a mechanical man and his heartbeat". Almost all the music in the film was live preformed. Fiedel created music for when Reese and Connor escape from the police station that would be appropriat e for a "heroic moment". Cameron turned down this theme as he believed it would lose the audience's excitement. The soundtrack of the film was released in 1984.

Release
Orion Pictures did not have faith in The Terminator doing well and feared the critical reception. At an early screening of the film, the actors agents insisted to the producers that the film should be screened for critics. Orion only held one press screening for the film. The film was premiered on October 26, 1984. On it's opening week, The Terminator played at 1,005 theaters and grossed $4,020,663 making it number on in the box office. The film remained at number one in it's second week. It lost it's number one spot in the third week to Oh, God! You Devil. Cameron noted that The Terminator was a hit "relative to its market, which is between the summer and the Christmas blockbusters. But it's better to be a big fish in a small pond than the other way around."

After writer Harlan Ellison saw the film, he stated that he "loved the movie, was just blow away by it". Harlan believed that the screenplay for the film was based on the episodes "Soldier" and "Demon with a Glass Hand" which he wrote for the television series The Outer Limits. Orion gave Ellison an undisclosed amoutn of money and gave him an acknowledgement credit in later prints of the film. Cameron was against Orion's decision and was told that that if he did not agree with the settlement, they would have Cameron pay for any damages if a Orion lost the Ellison's suit. Cameron replied that he "had no choice but to agree with the settlement. Of course there was a gag order as well, so I couldn't tell this story, but now I frankly don't care. It's the truth. Harlan Ellison is a parasite who can kiss my ass."

Home video
The Terminator was released on video cassette in 1985. The film preformed well financially on it's initial release. The Terminator premiered at number 35 on the top video cassette rentals and number 20 on top video cassette sales charts. In it's second week, The Terminator reached number 4 on the top video cassette rentals and number 12 on top video cassette sales charts. In March 1995, The Terminator was released as a letter boxed edition on Laser Disc. The film premiered on DVD on September 3, 1997. IGN referred to this DVD as "pretty bare-bones...released with just a mono soundtrack and a kind of poor transfer." A special edition of the film was released on October 2, 2001 which included documentaries, the script and advertisements for the film. On July 26, 2010, the film was released on blu-ray.

Reception
The Terminator opened to generally favorable reviews. Variety praised the film, calling it a "blazing, cinematic comic book, full of virtuoso moviemaking, terrific momentum, solid performances and a compelling story...Schwarzenegger is perfectly cast in a machine-like portrayal that requires only a few lines of dialog." Richard Corliss of Time magazine said that the film has "Plenty of tech-noir savvy to keep infidels and action fans satisfied." Ed Time placed The Terminator on it's "10 Best" list for 1984. The Los Angeles Times called the film "a crackling thriller full of all sorts of gory treats...loaded with fuel-injected chase scenes, clever special effects and a sly humor." The Milwaukee Journal gave the film 3 stars, calling it "the most chilling science fiction thriller since Alien." The New York Times opined that the film was a "B-movie with flair. Much of it, as directed by James Cameron (Piranha II), has suspense and personality, and only the obligatory mayhem becomes dull. There is far too much of the latter, in the form of car chases, messy shootouts and Mr. Schwarzenegger's slamming brutally into anything that gets in his way." The Pittsburgh Press wrote a negative review, calling the film "just another of the films drenched in artsy ugliness like Streets of Fire and Blade Runner." The Chicago Tribune gave the film two stars, adding that "at times it's horrifyingly violent and suspenseful at others it giggles at itself. This schizoid style actually helps, providing a little humor just when the sci-fi plot turns too sluggish or the dialogue too hokey." The Newhouse News Service called the film a "lurid, violent, pretentious piece of claptrap". The film won three Saturn Awards: Best Science Fiction Film, Best Make-Up, and Best Writing.

Modern critical reception to the film has been positive. Film4 gave the film five stars, calling it the "sci-fi action-thriller that launched the careers of James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger into the stratosphere. Still endlessly entertaining." TV Guide gave the film four stars referring to it as an "amazingly effective picture that becomes doubly impressive when one considers its small budget...For our money, this film is far superior to its mega-grossing mega-budgeted sequel." Empire gave the film five stars calling it "As chillingly efficient in exacting thrills from its audience as its titular character is in executing its targets." Allmovie gave the film five stars, saying that it "established James Cameron as a master of action, special effects, and quasi-mythic narrative intrigue, while turning Arnold Schwarzenegger into the hard-body star of the 1980s."

The Terminator has received recognition from the American Film Institute. The film ranked 42nd on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills, a list of America's most heart-pounding films. The character of the Terminator was selected as the 22nd greatest movie villain on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains. Arnold's catch phrase "I'll be back" was voted the 37th greatest movie quote by the AFI. In 2005, Total Film named The Terminator the 72nd best film ever made. In 2008, Empire magazine selected The Terminator as one of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time. Empire also placed the T-800 14th on their list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters. In 2008, The Terminator was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.