James Cameron Reveals He Was “High on Ecstasy” When He Came Up with Terminator’s John Connor

[Tsing]

Image: StudioCanal



Some would argue that drugs are very effective in boosting one’s level of creativity. That seems to have been the case for director James Cameron, whose iconic Terminator sequel turns 30 this year. In an oral history celebrating the action film’s 30th anniversary, Cameron revealed that he was actually “high on ecstasy” when he came up with the idea of John Connor, the younger version of whom was played by actor Edward Furlong in Terminator 2. Cameron explained how he was high while listening to a Sting song about nuclear war called “Russians” with a lyric (“I hope the Russians love their children too”) that ultimately inspired his idea of a kid being the future savior of the human race. The Ringer’s oral history on Terminator 2 also features some other interesting trivia from the actors involved, such as how Arnold Schwarzenegger...

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[Auer]

I was high on coke once and got in to a barfight because of a hot asian chick.
No one gives a ****.

 

[Burticus]

I was high on coke once and got in to a barfight because of a hot asian chick.
No one gives a ****.

Did you make a blockbuster movie out of it? No? Lost opportunity.

Seriously though, lots of creative people get creative ideas while their brains are under expansion....

 

[Brian_B]

Seriously though, lots of creative people get creative ideas while their brains are under expansion....

Or is it the Monkeys with a typewriter situation? Just a lot of ideas - the vast majority of them are extremely dumb, but every now and then a diamond pops up.

 

[Dogsofjune]

Ugh. the things I have written drunk. I guess I can make a trip to Raytown Missouri, or Independence. Have to check what my dental plan covers.

 

[Burticus]

Ugh. the things I have written drunk. I guess I can make a trip to Raytown Missouri, or Independence. Have to check what my dental plan covers.

Yeah I thought I was going to be a screenwriter or something a long time ago. So I kept journals and wrote down anything that struck me as interesting at the moment... a lot of the time when wasted. You read that crap the next day and it's like... *rips out page, crumples into a ball, throws into trash* WTF was I thinking?