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Top 10 Terminator locations
Terminator (James Cameron, 1984)
The arrival of the Terminator
Griffith Observatory
2800 E Observatory Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA
The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) arrives from the future on the esplanade of the Griffith Observatory. Totally naked, he walks towards the railing and looks at the Los Angeles skyline before heading towards a group of Punks posted near one of the long self-service sights to steal their clothes. The Griffith Observatory is located in the park of the same name and was made famous in 1955 with the film The Fury of Life. One can find a bust of James Dean (touch it, it brings good luck). In this introductory scene, Arnold Schwarzenneger briefly gives the line to the actor Bill Paxton, then a beginner. Two years later, Paxton also appeared in the credits of Commando, in which he played a small role without ever interacting with the star Schwarzenegger. The two actors will meet again in 1994, still under the direction of James Cameron, in True Lies.
House of Sarah Connor
14239 Gilmore Street, Van Nuys, California, USA
In this first opus, a cyborg sets out in search of Sarah Connor in order to eliminate her. By a big mistake, Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) kills a homonym. At home, the other Sarah (Linda Hamilton) is in a panic after discovering the information on television. This first house will be important in this film. The robot there killed Ginger and Matt. The very idea of the saga, James Cameron would have had it in a dream while he was in a feverish state. He had a vision of a robot rising from a sea of flame.
Big Jeff’s
Carrow’s Restaurant, 815 Fremont Ave, South Pasadena, CA 91030, USA
Big Jeff’s is where Sarah Connor works. This restaurant in South Pasadena is actually called Carrow’s Restaurant. It serves mainly American cuisine such as burgers and fries. In the movie, Linda Hamilton, broke her ankle. Nevertheless, she continued shooting with a large bandage on her leg to hold it in place.
Crash scene in the tunnel
Tunnel at Lower Grand and West Gen Thad Kosciuszko Way, Los Angeles, California, USA
This four-lane road tunnel serves as the backdrop for the cult crash scene as Sarah Connor tries to escape from the Terminator. She has difficulty crawling away. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t need to talk much in that first film. He only says 17 sentences! 19 if you count the two more he says through the voice of a policeman and the voice of Sarah’s mother.
Scene of the tank explosion
795 Keller Street, Los Angeles, California, USA
The tanker explodes, causing a lot of damage on this street. Today, it is possible to find the exact location of this scene since the red brick walls at the height of which the semi-trailer goes up in smoke are very recognizable. The shooting of Terminator took place from March to June 1984 after that of Conan the Destroyer in which Arnold Schwarzenegger had the title role. Richard Fleischer’s film was nine months behind schedule, forcing James Cameron’s teams to postpone the production of Terminator by the same amount.
Terminator 2, The Last Judgement (James Cameron, 1991)
Scene of the truck falling from the bridge
9439 Hayvenhurst Ave, North Hills, CA 91343, USA
Seven years after the first part of the saga, James Cameron takes over the camera for this second opus. This bridge is located northeast of Los Angeles, in North Hills. He hosted this Terminator cult scene. The director shot Arnold Schwarzenegger three times. In addition to the first two opus of this licence, he appeared in Trues Lies in 1994, the remake of the French film La totale by Claude Zidi with Thierry Lhermitte, Miou-Miou and Eddy Mitchell.
Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines (Jonathan Mostow, 2003)
Hearse Scene
Griffith Park – 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles, California, USA
After the first two films directed by James Cameron, Jonathan Mastow takes over to develop the license. Several directors were approached: Ridley Scott, David Fincher and Roland Emmerich. The protagonists have aged well, eleven years separating the two opuses. All that remains, however, is Arnold Schwarzenegger and Earl Boen, who played Dr. Silberman in the first two films. Shooting started in April 2002 for 100 days, spread over 4 months. The technical team consisted of 350 people.
Terminator: Renaissance (McG, 2009)
Rio Grande Bridge
Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, El Prado, NM, USA
A first for this new Terminator opus: Arnold Schwarzenegger did not physically participate in the shooting. It only appears in computer-generated images. Directed by McG, it is brought to the screen by Christian Bale (John Connor), Sam Worthington (Marcus Wright) and Bryce Dallas Howard (Katerine Brewster-Connor). This bridge spanning the Rio Grande served as the backdrop for this new opus in the saga of the famous cyborg. Measuring 390 m in span, it was inaugurated in 1966 and is located on Route 64. It can also be seen in other feature films such as Natural Born Killers, Twins, The Signal or Wild Hogs.
Terminator: Genisys (Alan Taylor, 2015)
Skynet Headquarters
600 Oracle Pkwy, Redwood City, California, USA
This movie is a reboot of the franchise. Arnold Schwazenegger is T-800 again. Resistance leader John Connor (Jason Clarke) sent Private Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) in 1984 to fight Skynet. He finds himself at the seat of artificial intelligence…
Terminator: Dark Fate (Tim Miller, 2019)
Isleta del Moro, Cabo de Gata, 04118 Almeria, Spain
Direct continuation of the second part of the saga, this film was shot in Budapest in Hungary but also in Isleta del Moro. This beach near the restaurant La Ola was transformed into a shantytown along a coastal town. The mayor of Nijar, Esperanza Perez, where the action takes place, underlined the positive impact of the filming. This one allowed to make known a singular place and a unique landscape.
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Map of 100 cult places in Marseille [French Edition]
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By Anthony Thibault
From the "Casimir generation", Anthony has kept (in addition to a passion for Goldorak) a taste for inventive images, experimentation and curiosity. Passionate about travel and pop culture, he co-founded Fantrippers with Nicolas Albert to share his passion with as many people as possible.