A Canadian janitor sold his script for $1 in the 1980s — today his movies have made over $8 billion
Known as the 'City of Dreams,' Los Angeles draws thousands of people every year, all chasing fame and success. While reality shatters the hopes of many, those who succeed often have the most amazing rags-to-riches stories. James Cameron, who started as a janitor and went on to become a model maker before pushing out multibillion-dollar film franchises, is one such example. Cameron was born in Canada in 1954 and relocated to California when he was 17. He first studied Physics in college before changing to English and eventually dropping out to pursue his dreams.
With the idea of a futuristic cyborg assassin for a film, Cameron was keen to establish himself in Hollywood. But no one was keen on giving him a chance in the early 1980s. Eventually, his enthusiasm and script caught producer Gale Anne Hurd's attention who saw potential in Cameron's idea. However, he offered to buy it for just $1— the catch being Cameron had to direct the movie. With the support of Hemdale Pictures, a small production studio, Cameron was given a modest budget of just over $6 million to carry out his vision, which became 'The Terminator'.
“The Terminator” script was sold for $1.🤔 pic.twitter.com/8LZEeAx7BX
— MentalMulisha665 (@MentalMulisha65) March 28, 2024
After 'The Terminator' became a box-office success, Cameron's career took off and he never looked back. His 1986 film 'Aliens' raked in $100 million while 'Titanic' in 1997 cemented his reputation in the film industry. The iconic movie was among the highest-grossing productions. His film, 'Avatar,' eventually shattered the record in 2009. Cameron has so far directed 9 films which combined grossed over $8 billion worldwide. Despite 'The Terminator' bringing him his career break, it is also one of his greatest regrets.
Yes, that's true! James Cameron, the director of "The Terminator," sold the rights to the script for just $1 with the condition that he could direct the film. It turned out to be a very wise decision for him in the long run.
— 🅚🅘🅝🅖 🅢🅛🅨 (@KingSly2467) March 28, 2024
In a 2009 interview, Cameron admitted having regretted selling the rights to the movie for just $1 as it went on to gross $78.4 million. As reported by Fandom Wire, he said, "I wish I hadn’t sold the rights for one dollar. If I had a little time machine and I could only send back something the length of a tweet, it’d be – ‘Don’t sell.’" Had Cameron retained the rights to 'The Terminator', his net worth today could have surpassed every mastermind.
While his films have turned out to be immensely popular, some of his dialogues have drawn criticism. When asked how he would react to people who think his scripts are 'cringe-worthy,' Cameron opined, "Just the production value, you know? I don't cringe on any of the dialogue, but I have a lower cringe factor than, apparently, a lot of people do around the dialogue that I write." He cockily added, "You know what? Let me see your three-out-of-the-four-highest-grossing films— then we will talk about dialogue effectiveness," the Collider reported.