James Cameron is famously not easy to work for on films he directs. However, it sounds like he can also be a demanding presence on movies where he isn’t in completely charge. This was reportedly the case during post-production on Terminator: Dark Fate, which marks Cameron’s return to the Terminator franchise after almost 30 years. Although he bequeathed directorial duties to Tim Miller, Cameron apparently had his own uncompromising vision for the film as a co-writer and producer.
Via Cinema Blend, Cameron was recently asked if he had any disagreements with Miller during Dark Fate’s editing process. Surprisingly, he described the mood in the edit bay using rather gruesome terms.
“I would say many,” said Cameron. “And the blood is still being scrubbed off the walls from those creative battles. This is a film that was forged in fire. So yeah, but that’s the creative process, right?”
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Cameron has a well-documented reputation for losing his temper on movie sets. Regardless, he seemed to insist that this isn’t always a by-product of collaborating with him. In fact, he had nothing but good things to say about working with Robert Rodriguez on Alita: Battle Angel, which Cameron also co-wrote and produced.
“I mean, my work with Robert on Alita was very different,” continued Cameron. “Robert loved the script, loved everything, said, ‘I just want to make this movie. I want to make the movie the way you see it.’ I was like, ‘No, you got to make it your movie.’ I had the reverse experience with Tim, which is Tim wanted to make it his movie. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, but I kind of know a little about this world.’ So I had the matter and the anti-matter version of that producorial experience.”
Fortunately, any clashes between Cameron and Miller don’t seem to have drastically hurt Dark Fate’s quality. The film has earned mostly positive reviews, with several critics calling it the best Terminator entry since T2. Fans can form their own opinions when the film opens in theaters tonight.
Should Cameron have let Miller guide the editing process on his own or are you glad he stepped in? Tell us what you think in the comment section below!
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