“If I Had a Little Time Machine” on his biggest Terminator regret, the one that may have put him above George Lucas

James Cameron’s career changed dramatically in the 1980s as the director released back-to-back hit sci-fi classics: Terminator (1984) and Aliens (1986). The critical and commercial success of these films brought the director fame to a level that rivaled even the A-list stars who helmed his projects.

Soon after, Cameron began a tragic affair with Titanic in 1997, which remains one of the highest-grossing films to date. However, this is Cameron’s first big hit. Terminatorit also remains the biggest regret of his career – not in terms of its quality or success, but because of the missed opportunity that resulted from it.

Fight behind the scenes Terminator Saga

It’s not every day that a director is struck by lightning for an idea that then becomes a sure-fire hit on the big screen. But James CameronIdeas are always on an epic scale: from $2.2 billion Titanic up to $2.3 billion Avatar: The Way of Water. Thus, it is not appropriate for him to chase a concept that has already been created and polished until he sees the potential in it.

Terminator gave him the opportunity to realize the great concept for the sequel, which later became Terminator 2: Judgment Day is one of the greatest sequels ever recorded in history. Nose T2Cameron found closure in his Terminator saga, where there were no more stories he wanted to explore.

Coupled with the studio filing for bankruptcy in 1995 and a confusing battle over the film rights, the director pulled out of the project. Terminator 3 although he initially thought about writing and directing a threequel. During the 2014 Q&A. Los Angeles Times Heroes Complex Film Festivalhe showed (via /Movie):

I just felt like as a director I might have gone beyond that. I really wasn’t that interested. I felt like I had told the story I wanted to tell. I suppose I could have gone at it more aggressively and gone to the mat, but I felt like I was kind of working in someone else’s house because I sold the rights so early.

The same could not be said about the main actor, however. Arnold Schwarzenegger who made the character his own, and Rambo producer Andrew Vine, who fought hard and dirty to acquire the rights to the films through behind-the-scenes negotiations and dealt with a US bankruptcy court. Vajna’s secretive ploy later contributed to the breakdown of his friendship with Cameron, which was one of the main reasons why the director never returned to film. Terminator franchise.

James Cameron talks about missed opportunities

Despite the messy behind-the-scenes infighting and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s constant pleas for James Cameron to return to the franchise, the director remained firm in his decision not to interfere with studio politics. Cameron never expressed any interest in purchasing Terminator rights to himself, even when Schwarzenegger approached him with the idea after hearing Fox’s original proposal.

It was only later that I learned that Fox had made such ridiculous offers for low prices like $750,000. We could have owned the Terminator rights ourselves, but Jim didn’t want to get into that business.

For Cameron, the combined cost of purchasing the rights, producing the film, and paying Schwarzenegger’s $25 million salary would have increased the overall cost of the film. Terminator 3 up to 100 million dollars. At the time, this amount did not seem worth the effort. Cameron later began to regret his decision – “There was a moment when I discussed the issue of protecting rights” but he “I had to let go.”

In an interview with Toronto Sun In 2009, Cameron revealed that back in the 1980s, he sold the rights to the film for $1 on the condition that he be allowed to film the story. Regretting his decision after the film’s $78.4 million success, he stated:

I wish I had sold the rights for one dollar. If I had a little time machine and could send back something the size of a tweet, it would be: “Don’t sell.”

Unfortunately, had Cameron retained his rights at the time, the director’s net worth would have been even higher than that of George Lucas, the creator of Star wars myself. As the richest director, Lucas currently sits at the top of the ladder with a net worth of $8 billion, while Cameron is worth $800 million (via Celebrity Net Worth).

James Cameron now serves as creative consultant on the films, while Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton remain in the franchise as the two leads. Sixth and last film editing, Terminator: Dark Fate which premiered in 2019, collected 70% on Rotten Tomatoes and was immediately declared a failure.

Terminator is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.