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The tech of 'Terminator 2' – an oral history (2017)

258 points by markus_zhang

by ortusdux

3 subcomments

Amazing writeup! I'll add that the custom squibs they made for the liquid metal bullet impacts are still one of the best practical effects ever.
https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/v6qjaj/bu...

by jmyeet

12 subcomments

I'm not sure that anyone under the age of 45-50 can truly appreciate just how big of a deal Terminator 2 was and how big movie releases can be. Like, nothing in the MCU era or the Star Wars prequels and sequels comes remotely close. Yes, they gross a lot of money but in terms of cultural significance, I've seen nothing close.
At the time I lived in a city when the local movie theaters would typically run major releases on 1, maybe 2 screens. Session times were like 11am, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm 6 days a week and I think 1 less on Sundays. This was before the age of smaller theaters in the large multiplexes so a big movie theater might only have 4-8 screens.
3 weeks after T2 was released, it was still showing on screens in my local movie theater for 12-15 sessions a day, even on Sunday, from 8am til midnight. I actually waited a couple of weeks for the hype to die down and went on an 8am Sunday session knowing basically nothing (because that's how things worked then) and the movie theater was still full.
The CGI was a big part of it. It has some fan service to it. My movie theater cheered when Arnie came out of the bar wearing the leathers and hopped on the bike. But it's not overboard. It's actually a really great story, which is kinda unusual for a sequel. Like, James Cameron really has to be commended for that.
But there was another aspect too and that was Linda Hamilton. This was one of the first mainstream big-budget movies that changed the way women were portrayed in film. Lots of people had posters of her wearing the sunglasses, carrying weapons, etc. It was actually a really big deal.
The 90s really was a golden era for movies. Like I used to go 1-2 times a week and just watch whatever was on, basically. I don't think I've been to a movie theater since Avengers End Game and even in the 2010s it was a 2-3 times a year thing max.
But it is amazing how much they did with CGI in the early 1990s for T2.

by whycome

3 subcomments

The 4K remaster of this is back in theatres next month for “Judgment Day” and the 35th anniversary.
https://www.fathomentertainment.com/news/fathom-entertainmen...

by macote

1 subcomments

It's worth mentionning that Softimage was used for Terminator 2.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Softimage_(company)
https://www.fxguide.com/quicktakes/remembering-softimage/

by eldog_

2 subcomments

Recommend "Jurassic Punk" (2022) - the documentary about Steve ‘Spaz’ Williams who is featured in this interview. It covers T2 as well as Jurassic park and goes into the politics inside ILM,

by raychis

2 subcomments

This was a fantastic read. I had no idea how much of Terminator 2 had to be invented from scratch. It's amazing to think that a lot of the tools and ideas that shaped modern VFX started with engineers just trying to solve one impossible problem after another.
Some films really do stand the test of time, I'm not really sure that contemporary CGI will really age as well.

by xnx

5 subcomments

Can anyone confirm that the helicopter flying over the underpass was actual flying and not VFX or a chopper on a trailer?
There are claims that the stunt pilot flew under (twice!), but it seems like no amount of skill could avoid weird uncontrollable effects from rotor wash.

by gexla

2 subcomments

And speaking of technology, it would have been great to see the Phase Plasma Rifle at a 40 watt range make an appearance, if only by mention of name again.

by KellyCriterion

0 subcomment

There was a behind-the-scenes some years ago, in which they showed: A lot of effects werent GFX, but actual scene/scenerie building

by ChrisArchitect

1 subcomments

And back in theatres this year for the 35th anniversary, in time for Judgement Day (August 29).
Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZgIESxakso
"The 4K and 3D presentation uses STUDIOCANAL’s acclaimed 2017 restoration and 3D conversion."

by xnx

0 subcomment

Amazing. Photoshop wasn't even a year old when they were doing this.

by opengrass

0 subcomment

T2 is the best movie ever made and got praise from nuclear physicists.

by deadcatfound

0 subcomment

As a T-1000 nerd, i thought this was pretty cool.

by windowliker

2 subcomments

Disappointed this only focuses on the contemporary technology used in making the (admittedly amazing) visual effects for the film, which has been addressed multiple times across various formats. When I first watched T2 as a kid the thing which grabbed me more was that gadget John Connor uses to hack the ATM and all the cool stuff in the Cyberdyne offices. It would be nice if someone wrote an article discussing that aspect of the film, for the record and posterity's sake.

by areznichenko

0 subcomment

[flagged]

by areznichenko

0 subcomment

My favorite movie of all time. It's incredible how much of the technology had to be invented just to make Terminator 2 possible. More than 30 years later, the VFX still hold up-and with today's AI revolution, the film feels even more relevant than ever.