Vintage Magazine Collection: Starburst #158, October 1991


Let's finish up October of 1991 on the other side of the Ocean with UK's excellent Starburst #158 magazine. This is also one of my favorites because of the terrific content it has. The issue scores another full cover for Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and contains a very, very good interview with James Cameron. Cameron is said to select Starburst out of only three magazines he would give interviews to on his UK promotional tour. The interviewer asks some terrific questions. First of all, Cameron can't praise Mario Kassar of Carolco enough. He explains how he usually hates the suits, but that Mario is different. Not only he lets the director do his movie, and the writer do his story, but Jim says there would be nobody like him to go ahead with a budget this big. The praise for him, deservingly so in my opinion, is present throughout the interview. 

Cameron also for the first time sets the record straight with the budget, denying the $100 Million rumor and confirming the $80 million. 

He is also asked if T2 could be looked at as the first film, but with bigger budget, with which he rightfully disagrees. James Cameron: " although we do take the same T1 elements and turn them on their heads. The Terminator becomes the reluctant hero, Sarah Connor - the potential victim in the original - now becomes almost psychological Terminator herself, and another innocent victim becomes her prey. I would argue that it's a new story altogether". 

Cameron also explains that the hero angle was not Arnold's idea and that he had no input in the story whatsoever - he told Mario that whatever Cameron wants to do, he trusts him, and so did Mario. He also explains that it was tricky not to turn Terminator into Arnold in the movie, and restates the idea that the Terminator in the first movie was not evil - he was just blank. 

They also talk about the violence and Sarah's now complex character, with Cameron praising the very hard and excellent performance of Linda Hamilton. This terrific interview is augmented by phenomenal, some full page photos. 

There are also four pages of reader's reviews of the film, which are all glowing aside from two from detractors.


Back to Terminator Trilogy