In the beginning, there was Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron. 4 decades later, the friendship still persists as the actor and director still recall each other in conversations, each guiding the other through career, life, experiences, and adventures. However, when it comes to one of them showing the other up, there might be some things that even the 4 time Mr. Olympia might fall short of. The pair, whose relationship began with 1984’s The Terminator and proceeded through the years on and off the sets of the time-traveling robot assassin, did have some memories to make along the way.
James Cameron Shows Up Arnold Schwarzenegger in a Stunt
The collaboration of Hollywood’s endearing A-lister with the uncanny idiosyncracies, inimitable accent, and unusual physique, Arnold Schwarzenegger and all-time heavy-hitting record-setting writer/director, James Cameron has to be one of the best actor and director pair to exist within the walls of the gilded industry. In an interview with The Ringer, Tom Arnold claimed about the two:
“He’s a rawboned, 6-foot-3 fu*king Canadian dude, man. He’s ready to go. And part of the reason for his success is because he is that guy. If he tells [Arnold Schwarzenegger], ‘I want you to go down this escalator, jump over, do that,’ and Arnold looks at it and goes, ‘Boy, I don’t know if I could do it,’ he goes, ‘OK. I’ll do it.’ He’ll do it. There is nothing that he won’t do. And it inspires you.”
Although it might be difficult to imagine Cameron, the brash, intelligent, and perceptive director swinging on a cable rope, jumping down escalator shafts, and executing perfectly timed stunts, those who have known him and have had the pleasure of working alongside him seem too keen to believe such a thing with ease. And the industry actors, if given the chance (albeit a rare one) to work with Cameron, wouldn’t pass it up for the world – well, apart from Matt Damon apparently.
The Ineffable Hollywood Legacy of James Cameron
James Cameron’s immeasurable contribution to Hollywood’s chapters in the golden era of technological evolution and exceedingly brilliant visual effects and computer-generated imagery is one that is untarnished simply by the unquantifiable vision and ambition of each of his projects. Sigourney Weaver, the protagonist of his 1986 film, Aliens, claimed:
“When you work with [James Cameron], it’s scary, but it’s also exhilarating. You have to bring it. You have to bring your top game.”
Also read: James Cameron Becomes the First Director Ever to Have 3 Films Gross Over $1.5 Billion Worldwide
Ranging from 1997’s Titanic – the film that stands in a class of its own – to portraying a daring female protagonist single-handedly battling against an extraterrestrial colony for survival in the epic sci-fi action adventure, Aliens (1986), Cameron’s brushstrokes of wide vision and expansive ambition reaches far, defying existing genres and establishing new ones. As a literary person would note, he may very well be a modern-day Oulipian.
Source: The Ringer
