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The Terminator 2 continuity goof that drove Cameron mad

Photo credit: TriStar
Photo credit: TriStar

From Digital Spy

James Cameron can do whatever the hell he wants. Arguably the most powerful man in Hollywood, he's the kind of director that makes the highest-grossing film of all time and then follows it up with an even higher-grossing film. He builds his own submarines, funds mining missions on Mars and tells global oil companies where to drill.

Thankfully though, he's not George Lucas, so when he decided to remaster Terminator 2: Judgment Day for the new 3D re-release, he didn't feel the need to completely ruin it.

"I kinda resist the urge to go back and change things," he tells Digital Spy. "It's a very slippery slope. Where do you draw the line?

"The film is a snapshot of what was possible – just barely possible – at that time. Trying to make it into a contemporary film is really kind of… pointless. It's really not necessary either, because the film works."

Almost. As practically perfect as T2 is, there was one continuity goof that bugged Cameron so much for the last 17 years that he couldn't resist the urge to go back and tinker.

"Just one," he laughs. "But I had to fix it. When the tow truck crashes into the canal, the windshields pop out, but they're clearly back in right after that. They're even a part of the story – the T-1000 knocks one out with his hand to see better.

"So we digitally fixed it. But y'know, if I could have digitally fixed it at the time, I would have. So I consider that to be valid."

About to begin production on four Avatar sequels that will likely redefine the art of digital effects (again), Cameron's first landmark foray into CG still looks surprisingly cutting edge – mostly because so much of what you see on screen was done for real.

Photo credit: TriStar
Photo credit: TriStar

"I think its biggest virtue is that the CG effects were used sparingly," says Cameron, pretty much voiding his whole argument for Avatar. "That was a real helicopter flying under a real bridge. It was a real tanker truck crashing into a real steel mill. There was no f**king around back then."

Hypothetically then, if he were to make the film again today, does that mean he wouldn't shoot the whole thing on green-screen and put Arnie in a Lycra bobble suit?

"From a safety standpoint some of that stuff would probably be digital now," he muses, "but we'd still have to hang our hat somewhere. If you can still get a tow truck and crash it into a canal, I think we'd probably do that.

"There's always the temptation to go a little further, to push the physics, and I think that's where a lot of films get out on the short end of the limb. They start to lose connection with a reality. There was a lot of virtues in our limitations back in 1991."

Terminator 2: Judgement Day 3D will open in cinemas on August 29.


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