TERMINATOR VAULT: THE STORY BEHIND THE TERMINATOR AND TERMINATOR 2:JUDGMENT DAY review
Not that long ago the original diehard fans of the Terminator saga discussed on JCO forums their dream products that, most likely, would never be produced. The fans cited a Terminator Duology box set, with only the first two movies included, and a book dedicated to the Duology only as well. Little did the fans know that it wouldn't be long before one of those would actually be available. With Titanic and Avatar having detailed, glossy coffetable books about the entire production, filled with photos, fans wished such prestigious editions of movie books were published back in the days, to detail the two iconic Terminator films by the now biggest director of all time James Cameron. The Terminator never even had any book released about it's development of production, and the Cameron biographies or magazines were the only written sources for it. T2 had an Illustrated Screenplay which covered the plot points and ideas within the story very well, and there was The Making of Terminator 2 book as well, but it had more of a magazine format.
Flash forward to 2013, enter "Terminator Vault: The Story Behind The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day" by Ian Nathan, an Empire executive magazine editor who previously detailed Ridley Scott's 1979 Alien. It details the production of the two Terminator movies conceived, written, designed and directed by James Cameron, without any unnecessarily large focus on the lesser sequels which stubbornly continue and drag a story that has been finished by the universe's creator. For any general movie fans or newcomers to the franchise, this book is a has-it-all. It covers just about everything from Cameron's brief biography and early work to the aftermath and influence of the Terminator pictures. Any generic or new fan will have a diehard fan's knowledge after reading this book. Not only it tells it all, but also debunks some myths and goes deeper into some of the legends concerning the birth of the franchise.
So what is there for life long fans, who became hardcore, diehard fans since the release of T2 or even since their repeated VHS viewings of the first movie in the 80's? Is there anything we wouldn't know after decades of repeated viewings, and many DVD and Blur Ray extras? Yes. First of all, not only we have a convenience of having everything collected together in one cofeetable book, but there are also some golden nuggets about which most fans wouldn't know. Want to know how much of his own pay Cameron offered to Carolco to ease their worries? Want to know another reason (other than record breaking pay) why Schwarzenegger went ahead and did a Terminator movie without Cameron? It's all there. And it's all there in a fantastically designed book that comes with a hardcover in a slipcase, many photos and great screencaps from the movies, and very cool extras, such as even a reproduction of the famous polaroid of Sarah. If you look at the sources for the book, you'll find a wide variety, from vintage magazines to articles and interviews, including brand new talk with Cameron for this book specifically.
What are the shortcomings of the book you may ask? Perhaps a bigger focus on how the scripts were changing and an inclusion of Cameron's painting of the endoskeleton in fire would have been welcomed, but that's small peanuts. As a fan who became a Terminator fan since 1989, and a diehard Terminator and James Cameron fan since 1991, I can only give it thumbs up
You can purchase the book on Amazon
Written by Adrian Czarny