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

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

#51
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Scully in the X-Files also inspired a lot of girls to study STEM.

Scully was always wrong, though. Is that really who people wanted to become?

I wouldn't say she was always wrong. I get her methodology wasn't always right or appealing, but she did inspire a lot of girls, which is a good thing.

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

#52
post #4

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 releas…

> I'm not sure that anyone under the age of 45-50 can truly appreciate

Another possibility that fits these facts is that everyone is impressionable at 10-15 years old.

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

#53

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."

Also I think we are pretty close to the year 2027 which was supposed to be the year that humans defeat Skynet. Time flies.

Who knows, maybe Trump can help.

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

#54
post #8
post #4

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 releas…

45yo here, pretty much just testifying that this is exactly what I remember, and I was young at the time. I still listen to Guns'n Roses "You should be mine" frequently mostly due to that movie. Also, Robert Patrick is the best terminator.

Robert Patrick in T2 locations: https://youtu.be/g_weC1AnDYU?is=BCovDJI83JzV2Zlj

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

#55
post #4

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 releas…

> 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 I'm in that age range and I lived through T2 and Endgame and I'll have to disagree. T2 is one of my favorite movies of all time but experiencing the Endgame premiere, as a hardcore fan, with the other hardcore fans, was something else, it had the whole teather…

Endgame is basically "camp" (though large as camps go) at this point, and I mean that in a nice way, like how Rocky Horror Picture Show evoke similar audience reactions.

But T2 references were everywhere and people not in to movies or action or sci-fi or pop culture knew and know them.

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

#56
post #4

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 releas…

My initiation was the first Alien movie on VCR. I watched it maybe in 1990 or 1991, but definitely before I reach 10 years old. It was also the first movie that I watched. The movie scared the shit out of me for months afterwards. When looking back, all these movies (Alien, Terminator 2, and Jurassic park) were very well done. They never tried to achieve anything that was out of reach back then, and story-wise they w…

[dead]

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

#57
post #2

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...

It’s interesting to me that people thought/think this was a good effect. I saw t2 in the theaters when it was released and I thought this was the phoniest effect of the movie. It was extremely cheesy, so clearly sitting on top of the actor. They literally looked like aluminum flowers taped on to his shirt.

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

#58
post #26

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/

The T2 nuclear destruction of LA was done by Electric Image. Small software house doing 3D rendering on the Mac.

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

#59
post #30

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,

Apparently it's available to stream for free:

> Steve 'Spaz' Williams is a pioneer in computer animation. His digital dinosaurs of JURASSIC PARK transformed Hollywood in 1993, but an appetite for anarchy and reckless disregard for authority may have cost him the recognition he deserved. Directed by Scott Leberecht

Jurassic Punk (2022) 80mins

https://watch.plex.tv/movie/jurassic-punk-2022

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

#60
post #4

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 releas…

What’s interesting to me is how today, something like Avatar 3 has seemingly no traction or notable impact.

Perhaps it’s generational. It clearly did well in the box office, so somebody went out and saw it. But nobody I know directly, indirectly, or remotely has seen it.

It got zero chatter in any of the places that I frequent, and that includes some SF themed communities.

Big picture. Lots of tech, very expensive, Cameron, the whole kit. But whatever impact it had, clearly I was out of its blast radius.

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