Terminator 2 Judgment Day: 10 Things You Didn’t Know
Tri-Star Pictures
Arguably one of the greatest sequels of all time, Terminator 2: Judgment Day smashed box office records for an R-rated film, and still thrills fans to this day, with CGI effects that were lightyears ahead of its time!
Here are 10 things you didn’t know about the film…
1) Male stripper night
Although it was surrounded by crew vehicles and equipment, a woman wandered into the set of the biker bar, thinking it was a real bar where she could get a drink. Upon walking in, she was confused to see Arnold Schwarzenegger standing there in nothing but a pair of boxer shorts. ‘It’s male stripper night,’ he told her.
2) Production took so long that Edward Furlong’s voice and height had to be altered
The movie ended up taking so long to film that Edward Furlong, who plays John Connor in the film, had grown considerably taller than in the first shots he had filmed, and his voice had also deepened. This resulted in his voice having to be dubbed in the editing process. And, to keep his height consistent with Linda Hamilton’s, he had to stand in a hole in the ground in some scenes.
3) Linda Hamilton’s twin sister appears in the metal works scene
The T-1000 is the master of imitation and can quickly morph into anything it touches. In the metal works factory towards the end of the film, it transforms into Sarah Connor, and at one point the fake Sarah and the real Sarah are on screen at the same time. But there was no camera trickery there. The decoy was played by Linda Hamilton’s twin sister Leslie
4) Robert Patrick could easily outrun John Connor’s dirt bike
The T-1000 runs an awful lot throughout the film. Whether he’s chasing after dirt bikes or reversing police cars, he is one fast sprinter. To get in shape for the role, and so that he wouldn’t get out of breath (since liquid metal doesn’t breathe), Robert Patrick started running intensively. He actually got seriously good at it and, when filming the scene where John Connor is fleeing the shopping mall, Patrick found that he could easily outrun the dirt bike, and therefore had to hang back a bit.
5) The only oscar-winning Terminator movie
When you think of the Terminator franchise, you don’t necessarily think of critical acclaim. However, Terminator 2 is the one film that breaks that stereotype. The film was nominated for a whopping six Oscars, and it won 4; picking up Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Sound and Best Make-Up.
6) Linda Hamilton suffered permanent hearing loss filing Terminator 2
Linda Hamilton took out her ear plugs between takes in the elevator shootout scene and forgot to put them back in, with dire consequences. When a fake gunshot sounded, she instantly and permanently received hearing loss in one of her ears.
7) The Rodney King incident happened right next to filming
One night whilst filming the biker bar scene, unbeknownst to the crew, right across the street, Rodney King was being beaten badly by police officers; a case of police brutality that sent shockwaves across the globe. The incident later inspired James Cameron to write the film Strange Days.
8) A last-minute Christmas day bonus scene
Initially, in the finale of the film, you didn’t see Arnie re-boot and pull the metal rod out of himself. Instead, you see him switch off when the T-1000 drives the rod through him, and then he appears again later to shoot the T-1000 into the vat of molten metal.
Whilst in the editing process, Cameron noticed that it didn’t make much sense, and the audience would wonder how Arnie’s character managed to return after powering off like that. So, he got in touch with Arnie to film a last-minute scene where he reboots and pulls the metal rod out. It was so last minute, in fact, the scene was filmed on Christmas Day.
9) Linda Hamilton learnt to pick locks for Terminator 2
Ahead of the scene where Linda Hamilton picks a lock with a paperclip in the mental hospital, the actress spent time mastering the art of lock picking for real! Hamilton wanted the shot to look as realistic as possible, and this extra effort certainly paid off in the finished film.
10) The steel works set was actually pretty cold
The vat of molten steel was actually a much less dangerous substance, which needed to be kept fairly cold to maintain the correct consistency. This meant that the set was actually pretty chilly. To maintain the illusion that the characters were in a scorching hot environment, they were constantly being topped up with spray-on fake sweat!
There you have it – 10 awesome pieces of Terminator 2 trivia!
Terminator 2: Judgment Day trailer
Terminator 2 Judgment Days low-down
Run time: 2h 17m
Release date: July 3, 1991
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Edward Furlong, Linda Hamilton
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