This 12-minute short featuring much of the cast and crew of Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) cost $60 million to produce, making it the most expensive venture per minute in movie history. The film was the centerpiece of a multimedia attraction at the Universal Studios Florida theme park in Orlando and represented a quantum leap forward in interactive entertainment. The show begins with television monitors in the entranceway laying foundation for the story as the spectators wait in line, and the show continues inside a state-of-the-art auditorium. A spokeswoman for Cyberdyne Systems explains that the terrorist actions presented in the last feature did not stop construction of Skynet, the global satellite nuclear-defense system. Some stunt doubles for the series' stars appear onstage while the real actors appear on video, taking over the presentation and leading a motorcycle ride across the stage and seemingly into the movie screen by the Terminator T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and John Connor (Edward Furlong). This cues the start of the spectacular 3-D short, which takes place in 2029 Los Angeles. John and the Terminator battle vicious killer robots including the gigantic T-1000000, the most fearsome Terminator yet seen, on their way to finally destroying Skynet for good. Three different screens, astounding 3-D effects, and mechanical enhancements such as mists of water and vibrating seats put the audience directly into the multimedia experience as never before. This work was written by James Cameron and Gary Goddard (Masters Of The Universe) and directed by James Cameron with special-effects masters John Bruno and Stan Winston.

A full scale mock-up duplicating the dimensions of the planned Florida venue was created in an airplane hangar at the Van Nuys Airport in the San Fernando Valley. The unique 3-D film format used six, solid-state Electrosonic projectors that were electronically interlocked to run 70mm film synchronously, at the high speed of 30 frames per second. The image was projected onto a triptych of adjoined silver screens. The effect of the six projectors running simultaneously was to produce one, contiguous, 3-D image across the three screens, accomplishing a wrap-around effect reminiscent of Cinerama.

The attraction opened in the Hollywood area of Universal Studios Florida in Spring 1996, with additional venues opening in the Upper Lot of Universal Studios Hollywood on May 6, 1999 and the New York section of Universal Studios Japan on March 31, 2001. The Hollywood venue replaced a parking structure complex that previously held Fievel's Playland and An American Tail Theatre.

 

PRE-SHOW

The story takes place before the dreaded August 29th 1997 date. Cyberdyne has recovered from the 1995 attack and moved to a different location, continuing their development despite their losses. A Miles Dyson memorial has been placed in the building.

A group of senators, congressmen and special guests is invited to the Cyberdyne building for a confidential, top secret presentation of Cyberdyne's newest developments. They're shown a promotional video that presents various inventions that will allow people to interact and communicate physically through robotics from different sides of the world, see and perform better and more. The video also informs the guests about Skynet - a thinking machine, the near-ready defense system that will control everything including satellites, communications, fleet, air force, missiles, ground army and the nuclear arsenal.

The presentation is hacked and interrupted by a live message from a teenage John Connor (Edward Furlong) and Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton). They caution the visitors against Skynet quickly telling them the story of the future war , the time travels and the events of T2. After they leave their warning the video gets back on.

MAIN SHOW

Kimberly Duncan - the Director of Community Relations and Media Control for Cyberdyne appears, leading the guests to the big auditorium called the Demonstration Center. There, the guests are presented with the soldiers of the future - The Cyberdyne Series 70 Automated Fighting Infantry units, or Terminators T-70. After the shooting demonstration John and Sarah broke into the building, deactivate the alarm and the T-70s. Soon it appears that the T-1000 (Robert Patrick) has been there all along, morphed into a big Cyberdyne logo on the wall, waiting for John to fall into the trap. John and Sarah take cover in the crowd but the T-1000 spots them with the help of the T-70s that he reactivated. The T-800, aka Uncle Bob (Arnold Schwarzenegger) arrives through a time portal and takes John with him to the future. The T-1000 follows. As we learn later on in the show, the TDE (Time Displacement Equipment) is a different one that the one used to send the time travelers in the previous movies.

FEATURE FILM

The T-800 and John arrive in 2029, in the heart of the final battle between the humans and machines. They manage to slow down and escape the T-1000 but they are immediately spotted and shot at by a flying Hunter Killer. After taking a cover in the nearby ruins, the FHK releases the Mini Hunters to follow and destroy them.

After getting rid of the Mini HKs John is attacked by another T-800, but the good T-800 comes in just in time.

 

The T-800 and John sneak into the Skynet's pyramid which is left almost completely unguarded since all of the units are out on the field taking the last stand. They descend deep down reaching Skynet's central core and face his guardian, the giant liquid metal monster, T-1000000. The T-1000000 is temporarily stopped by the liquid nitrogen which gives the T-800 time to plant explosives and activate the Time Portal for John to return home. The day is saved

From Universal website:

Set in the present, “Terminator 2: 3D” sends the “Terminator” and cast member Edward Furlong on a time travel journey to Los Angeles 2029 and a world policed by cyborgs controlled by sentient corporate behemoth, Skynet. To save humanity from total destruction, the duo takes on Skynet’s doomsday complex and its army of killing machines including the all-new, fearsome T-1000000. If they are to succeed in preserving the safety of future generations, they must destroy Skynet.

The adventure begins when guests enter Cyberdyne Systems’ constructed headquarters as interlocking three-dimensional images and digital composite computer graphics are projected onto three massive 23’x50’ screens, spanning 165 feet and combined with explosive stunt work.

SPECIAL: Q&A WITH T2 3D CO-WRITER: CLICK HERE

 

TERMINATOR 2 3D: BATTLE ACROSS TIME

Universal Studios and Lightstorm Entertainment 1996

Director: James Cameron, John Bruno and Stan Winston

Writers: James Cameron, Gary Goddart and Adam J. Bezark
Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, Earl Boen

Producers: Jessica Huebner (associate producer), Frank Kostenko Jr. (line producer), Andrew Millstein (executive producer), Scott Ross (executive producer)
Composer: Brad Fiedel

Release Dates: Fall 1996 (Florida), May 6, 1999 (Hollywood), March 31, 2001 (Japan)
Running Time: 12 min 41 sec.

MPAA Rating: PG 13 Production Budget: $60,000,000

Winner of 1996' Themed Entertainment Award for Outstanding Achievement

HOME