I had heard, I cannot verify that when the idea was getting tossed around, Cameron orginally had a idea for Terminator 3.
It was along the lines that John was a computer hacker and in his attempt to hack into the Skynet mainframe caused it to become self-aware. I also heard that skynet was suppose to have sent several infiltration units back into time and posed as workers and scientists on the Skynet program advancing it much further and ensuring that they could protect any plugs from getting pulled. It was along the lines that Skynet would become self-aware around the begining to mid-part ofthe film.
The protectors were suppose to be Col. Perry(mentioned in the first film) and a few other TECHCOM protectors. The strange Cameron twist was going to be that a younger Perry came back in time and guided John up until the moment they sent the machines back. There was two Perrys the one born in the regular timeline sent back to protect John and the aged one that stayed with John from protection. I guess it was suppose to give the resistance a step ahead. It was allegded that Perry the older one would die sending back the protectors and letting the younger one through with Reese, the t-800 and the TECHCOM soliders.
I suppose and I have heard this for years from the time the second terminator came out, that without it being mentioned, that all the terminators and protectors were sent back during the same raid on SAC NORAD in Camerons view. Skynet had just been systematic sending terminators at different time periods in case one failed.
I know this was never scripted, but I guess Cameron and another writer tossed the idea around. I don't know if it was true, it definately would have been more intresting than Mostows. We know Cameron would have done much better this way or whatever way he would have wanted it to be. I don't even consider Terminator 3 to be a part of the terminator story.
That does sound interesting, especially since they are moving away from the standard plot of sending back one terminator, and introducing new, non-terminator characters.
Would have been good too see it substance, but it wasn't to be eh.
It would have been alot better. The disagreement for T3 began when Cameron and another writer fought with executives about the idea. This was tossed around in 96' to 98. The executives wanted the same story line as far as the terminator chases Conner type of story, for money. Cameron wanted to change direction. He wanted the movie to go in the direction of the machines rise to power. Cameron himself has expressed that most sequels failures are because they try to relive its first movies success based on the same story line.
There were alot of ideas that Cameron had right after T-1's success. He sort of didn't want to get caught in making the films for life. So, he left it sort of open and shut with T2. Executives wanted just another money maker. The first two were very good and imaginative films. Cameron set the pace of Sci-FI with a low-budget T-1, this would later be a great story destroyed by Mr. Mostow.
Last edited by lau_timmy on May 4th, 2005 at 01:13 PM
Sounds like a very original and satisfying idea lau_timmy, I would have very much enjoyed that version of T3 making it to the silver screen with Cameron's own personal stamp on it.
this sounds more complex and confusing than mostow's happy-go-lucky "Terminator for dummies" .... i think Cameron would've needed to stretch the movie close to 2.5hrs just to explain to ppl all that
but knowing cameron, i still wouldn't be bored with the movie ^__^
i honestly got furious when i heard that t3 was also going to lead to the same thing as the first two movies. two machines sent back into time to protect and destroy their desired humans. but only 1 sweet twist in t3 was that it finally lead to the begining of the war, which i frankly thought i would never see in a terminator movie. all set up nicely, major plotholes and a hekk lot more problems.
James Cameran was against T3 because he wanted to do it himself. He was planning on making a third terminator movie ever since the release of the second one. However, after several years of not attempting to get it made (not attempting to make hardley anything since Titanic) the guys who owned the rights to the Terminator franchise took it upon themselves to get it made.