Entertainment Weekly gave Terminator 2: Judgment Day yet another cover with their August 30, 1991 issue. And just like their July T2 issue, this one is perfection as well. It's loaded with T2 content, and it gets a lot of "firsts".
First of all, while many fans may think back and remember all the press writing and drooling about the special effects of T2 (which of course would have been completely fine considering it was like magic at the time), since the movie started getting covers and heavy press in June, there had been either no mention of any FX work at all or just a passing one in a sentence. Even the Official Movie Magazine had a short two page FX section which just showed some of Stan Winston's makeup and gags, and some magazines back in July posted photos of Arnold on the makeup chair but not really writing about it. It was until well into August, so two months after T2 permeated media, that there was a focus given to ILM's work (or any FX work), and it's this magazine that was the first.
It's got 3 pages dedicated to the CGI work, briefly explaining how it was done, the morphing and how they achieved the shot of the T-1000 in the canal morphing back into the cop form (a shot which James Cameron says here is the best CGI shot in the film). The article, titled "lights, camera, magic", is nicely augmented by great, high resolution screens from the film plus more.
Stuntwork is given a page, and the article talks about different gags but mostly focuses on Terminator's motorcycle jump and the T-1000 plunge from the second store on a police bike. Of course, this article also has photos which have never been seen before, and some since.
But those two large articles aren't everything on T2 in this issue. There's plenty more. The first feature is actually a 4 page article and interview with James Cameron, who is said to be relaxed already after a, as the magazine best describes it, "stunning" success of the movie. "The results silenced the skeptics literally overnight" said Entertainment Weekly. That's in relation to the biggest ever budget which here is listed as $90 million, with an explanation that the movie made $91 million before even hitting theaters from distribution advances and guarantees.
Cameron talks about a lot of different things on T2, the movie's message, violence, the pressure of making the most expensive movie ever made. He explains that Sarah in this film is not intended to be a role model: "Sarah's a borderline psychotic in this movie. Her character was meant to challenge, not to be idolized." He's got a similar opinion on the Terminator from the first film: "People remembered the Terminator as a cool guy. That bothered me a lot".
And talk about great photos! This article starts with a full page photo of James Cameron in a moody shadow, with a T-1000 hand morphing into a spike! It's a photo hard to find online today and a great thematic photo session. It's unbelievable it isn't widely spread and that no other photos were published from it.
And then there's even more! An interview with Robert Patrick, who talks a bit about his career and personal life. Patrick also talks a little about his preparation for the role. He trained 3 months on his own before the film, and studied praying mantises and cats. He's also subtly plugging his brother's band at the time, Nine Inch Nails. This is a first full on spotlight in a magazine for Robert, not counting T2's Official Magazine.
And there's even more! And another first - spotlight and interview with Eddie Furlong. Eddie is said to be already working on his second film, American Heart with Jeff Bridges, and is pretty candid about his complicated family situation. He talks about the way his friends treat him now and how surreal was it to visit Arnold Schwarzenegger's and Maria Shriver's house. Entertainment Weekly says that "critics and audiences have applauded [Eddie's performance] for its freshness and believability.
The magazine also gave T2 a very brief review, with a score B+
Great issue absolutely loaded with insightful and unique T2 content
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