Did You Know These Behind-The-Scenes Secrets Of The Terminator Franchise? By Michael Edward Taylor and Andrew Dyce August 29th is Judgment Day- where were you when Skynet took over? To celebrate our survival of the robot uprising, Sideshow did a special Terminator-themed Live Show, which you can see right here.  Then, read on to learn some behind the scenes secrets of the Terminator franchise thanks to our friends at Screenrant! When The Terminator hit theaters on October 26, 1984, it took the world by storm. James Cameron’s futuristic thriller redefined both the post-apocalyptic and time-travel sub-genres, while introducing fascinating concepts about the dangers of modern technology. It also cemented Arnold Schwarzeneggerâs status as one of the biggest action icons of the â80s and beyond. Cameronâs directorial skills were also rightfully lauded, and after the success of the film (and his subsequent hit Aliens), the inevitable sequel was green-lit, resulting in the immensely popular 1991 box-office smash Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which expanded upon the original filmâs mythos, while adding a bigger sense of action and spectacle, bolstered by a drastically bigger budget than the original. With an ever-expanding roster of new movies, the series remains one of the most popular franchises in sci-fi history. Letâs look back at some behind-the-scenes facts that you may not have known about everyoneâs favorite time traveling robot… ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER WANTED TO PLAY KYLE REESE Orion Pictures Studio Head Mike Medavoy initially suggested O.J. Simpson as The Terminator– which led to the Director James Cameron approaching Arnold Schwarzenegger to play the time-traveling soldier, Kyle Reese: âMedavoy came up to me at a screening and told me that they already had the Terminator cast with O.J. Simpson.â When the actor later met with James Cameron, the director became intrigued by Schwarzeneggerâs suggestions on the T-800âs motivationsâsuggesting several elements of the character that would make it into the final product. Cameron then asked Schwarzenegger if he would play that part instead.  At first, Schwarzenegger was reluctant to play a villain, but he eventually warmed to the idea. Another interesting piece of trivia: before Michael Biehn was cast as Reese, other performers considered for the part included everyone from Sting and Bruce Springsteen to Bruce Willis, Kurt Russell, Mel Gibson, Christopher Reeve, and Mickey Rourke! JAMES CAMERON USED TWINS TO SAVE MONEY FOR T-2 Terminator 2: Judgment Day was an incredibly expensive production for its time, but director James Cameron tried to cut corners and save money whenever possible. One of the most effective ways of cutting costs involved the use of twinsâand not just one, but two sets of identical siblings were used over the course of filming. The first instance involves Lewis the security guard who is murdered by his doppelgänger (the T-1000 in disguise). To achieve this old-school visual effect, he hired identical twins Don and Dan Stanton (also known for their dual roles in Good Morning, Vietnam and Gremlins 2: The New Batch).  And Linda Hamiltonâs twin sister Leslie also played a significant role in Judgment Day, portraying Sarah Connorâs T-1000 facsimile. JAMES CAMERON CAMEOS Director James Cameron lent his voice to a number of easy-to-miss off-screen roles. In The Terminator, Cameronâs voice can be heard cancelling a date on Sarahâs answering machine, and as the Tiki Motel receptionist. In the sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Cameron has a much more⌠horrifying role: voicing the death shrieks of the T-1000. LANCE HENRIKSENâS BRIEF TIME AS THE TERMINATOR While Lance Henriksen is best known for playing the benevolent android Bishop in James Cameronâs Aliens, he previously collaborated with the director on the original Terminator movie, playing doomed police Sergeant Hal Vukovich. But he initially lobbied to play the cold blooded cyborg himself! While he didnât nab the role, he did play a crucial part in getting Cameronâs film off the ground: he dressed like the character during a pitch meeting for the film with Hemdale Pictures. The actor burst through the door wearing a leather jacket, fake lacerations, and gold foil on his teeth and sat down in the chair. The director arrived shortly afterwards, pleased by the shocked expressions of Hemdale head John Daly and his staff. Henriksenâs interpretation was so impressive that it helped finalize the deal. T-2âS ALTERNATE HAPPY ENDING James Cameron shot an alternate ending to Terminator 2: Judgement Day that ruled out any ambiguityâJudgment Day never happened at all: humanity had triumphed! In the clip, Sarah Connor gives this wistful speech: âAugust 29, 1997, came and went. Nothing much happened. Michael Jackson turned 40. There was no Judgment Day. People went to work as they always do. Laughed, complained, watched TV, made love. I wanted to run to through the street yelling to grab them all and say, âEvery day from this day on is a gift. Use it well.â Instead, I got drunk. That was 30 years ago. But the dark future which never came still exists for me. And it always will, like the traces of a dream. John fights the war differently than it was foretold. Here, on the battlefield of the Senate, his weapons were common sense and hope. The luxury of hope was given me by the Terminator. Because if a machine can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too.â A BITE OF BIEHN The Terminator marked the first of several collaborations between James Cameron and Michael Biehn, cementing the young actor as one of the most unforgettable sci-fi stars of the â80s and â90s â and creating a strange running joke in the process. Actors and directors forming shorthand jokes or repeated catchphrases are nothing new, but for Biehn, Cameron made sure the actor paid a price for his starring roles. Biehnâs heroes would wind up having their hands bitten in all three of their films: bitten by Sarah Connor in The Terminator, the lone survivor âNewtâ in Aliens, and by Bud Brigman (Ed Harris) in The Abyss.  Cameron originally planned on casting Biehn in his 3D hit Avatar, so we have to assume he had a set of alien teeth with the actorâs name on it too! ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGERâS INTENSE TRAINING To achieve the T-800âs automaton-like efficiency while wielding a variety of firearms, Schwarzenegger went through a rigorous training regimen for the original film. The actor practiced assembling and stripping weaponry while blind-folded, so that his movements would look clinical and automatic. Schwarzenegger spent many hours at shooting ranges, never looking down at his weaponry during reloading or cocking, and also resisted the urge to blink during scenes. To further this inhuman approach, the actorâs facial movements were also robotic: if you watch closely, youâll notice his eyes always move first, and his head follows. This is yet another testament to the creativity and preparedness he brought to his performance. In the end, Schwarzenegger spent far more effort on the physical nature of the character than delivering dialogue: he only uttered 58 words in the original film. BUG SPRAY Plenty of movie magic went into making the first movie a hit, but not every extra touch was planned ahead of time â or healthy for the cast and crew! After Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor spend an evening hiding out under a bridge from both police and the Terminator, the pair emerge into morning fog. As most movie fans would guess, the fog isnât real⌠but it isnât fake, either… The filmâs production took place during the 1982 Mexican Fruit Fly panic, when the insecticide Malathion was generously sprayed in the Los Angeles area. The filmmakers had planned to wait for the clouds to clear before shooting the scene, but decided to use the added effect instead. Oh, how the times have changed! BILLY IDOL ALMOST PLAYED THE T-1000 Before Robert Patrick landed the part of the liquid metal villain, Cameron had someone quite different in mind for the role, namely ’80’s MTV icon Billy Idol! Terminator 2 stunt coordinator Joel Kramer discovered this after looking over Cameronâs pre-production storyboards: âI was like, âJim, these storyboards look just like Billy Idol! And he was like, âYeah, he was my first pick.ââ In the end, it wasnât meant to be: the singer famous for songs like âRebel Yellâ and âWhite Weddingâ was involved in a nasty motorcycle accident, leaving him with a broken leg (which also took him out of the running for a high-profile role in Oliver Stoneâs The Doors). Even though Idol didnât nab the part, he would explore similar futuristic themes with his ambitious 1993 concept album: Cyberpunk. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER DIDNâT WANT TO SAY âIâLL BE BACKâ Itâs true. As hard as it is to fathom, Schwarzenegger almost put the kibosh on the most famous one-liner in his career. He asked if the line could be modified to âI will be back,â thinking it odd that the cyborg would speak in contractions. Cameron was not pleased with the suggestion, and in the end, 10 takes of the actor delivering his iconic catchphrase were shot, and they settled on one of the most memorable moments in 1980s cinema. Another weird factoid about this iconic phrase: in the novelization of Cameronâs screenplay the line was changed to âIâll come back.â It just doesnât have the same ring to it, does it? Bring a cybernetic addition your collection, check out Sideshow’s wide range of Terminator products – HERE. Prev Article Marvel's The Punisher Twitter Teases Episode Titles and Release Date with Morse Code 08/29/2017 Next Article Did You Watch This Week's Sideshow Live With Sculptor Alfred Paredes? 08/30/2017