Filming Terminator 2: Judgment Day

intersection of plummer st , hayvenhurst ave in san fernando valley, site of truck falling flood-control channel underneath

principal photography of terminator 2 spanned 171 days between october 9, 1990, , march 28, 1991, during crew filmed @ mojave desert before visiting 20 different sites throughout california , new mexico. these locations ran gamut crowded santa monica place shopping mall, 2 terminators converged on john, brief shots coming westfield mainplace , los cerritos center, flood control channels in san fernando valley, played host chase between terminators , john; river had redirected allow filming on otherwise wet channels. cameron , crew filmed terminator 2 @ corral bar , lake view medical center (known pescadero state hospital criminally insane in film), both located in lake view terrace. external shots of cyberdyne systems corporation filmed on location @ office building on corner of gateway boulevard , bayside parkway in fremont, california. working 1,000 crew members, production team oversaw numerous stunts , chase sequences, notable of took place on los angeles–long beach terminal island freeway, prior terminator 2 s climax. ten miles (16 km) of electric cables laid illuminate night-time chase, saw full-scale helicopter crash, sliding tanker, , other elaborate paraphernalia.

hamilton s twin sister, leslie hamilton gearren, used in shots required 2 sarahs, including scene sarah , john perform repairs on terminator s head (deleted theatrical release, restored on extended edition), , in of shots t-1000 impersonates sarah. gearren playing whichever sarah farthest camera, alternating between real sarah , t-1000 based on camera position. set of twins, don , dan stanton, used depict scene t-1000 mimics guard @ asylum.

an unprecedented budget of $102 million (1991 dollars)—3.5 times cost of average film , approximately 15 times $6.4 million budget of terminator—was reserved terminator 2. significant proportion of actor , film-crew salaries. according daily sentinel , daily beast, arnold schwarzenegger given $11–12 million gulfstream iii business jet, while $5–6 million allocated towards james cameron s salary. production itself, included special effects , stunts, totalled $51 million. despite significant expenditure, film had recovered budget prior release. worldwide rights sold $65 million, video rights $10 million, , television rights $7 million.