the terminator script – Scripts on Screen

Terminator Movie Scripts

James Cameron was once fired from the Piranha II shooting after failing to get a simple close up on one of the protagonists. Later on, a food intoxication-induced vision gave him the premise for one of the most acclaimed action blockbusters in the last decades.

Terminator daringly explored the fear of humanity becoming a slave of its own creations. And it did so with clever special effects, a terrifying villain (Schwarzenegger in his peak) and the unknown Linda Hamilton as the lead. It also set the first of many collaborations between Cameron and Gale Ann Hurd, Stan Winston, Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton and others.

The Canadian filmmaker learned some lessons to create one of those rare sequels that are arguably better than the original. Noticing the charisma of his own creation, he turned the villain into a hero and pushed technology to the limit to produce a truly spectacular film with some smart and effective dramatic notes.

Now a legendary franchise, the Terminator has become a bona fide pop culture icon and has spawned a total of 5 films, numerous video games and a brief TV show (The Chronicles of Sarah Connor). A 6^th installment reuniting the original cast is expected to be released in 2019.

(1984) The Terminator

(1991) Terminator 2: Judgment Day

(2003) Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

(2009) Terminator Salvation

(2015) Terminator Genisys

The Terminator

Year:1984

Director:James Cameron

Written by:William Wisher Jr. (Dialogue), James Cameron (Writer), Gale Anne Hurd (Writer)

Script Synopsis:In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?

The Terminator Script Resources:

The Terminator Script PDF at Script Slug
The Terminator Script - 1983-04 Draft at IMSDb
The Terminator Script at Sci-Fi Scripts
The Terminator Script - Fourth Draft, April 20, 1983 at Screenplays For You
The Terminator Script PDF - (EARLY) 10/11/82 1ST DFT. at Script City ($)
The Terminator Script PDF - (EARLY) 4/20/83 4TH DFT. at Script City ($)
The Terminator Script PDF - 3/11/84 5TH DRAFT at Script City ($)
The Terminator Script PDF - 4th 4/20/1983 at Script Fly ($)
The Terminator Script PDF - 5th 3/11/1984 at Script Fly ($)
The Terminator Script PDF - 1st 10/11/1982 at Script Fly ($)
The Terminator Transcript at Script-O-Rama

Note: Multiple links are listed since (a) different versions exist and (b) many scripts posted become unavailable over time. Please notify me if you encounter a stale link.

James Cameron Movie Scripts

Ever since the release of Titanic (1997), James Cameron has been recognized as a filmmaker whose thirst for innovation and authenticity has challenged the physical and technical boundaries of Hollywood. And with the release of his most recent work, Avatar (2009), James Cameron once again proved that he still has what it takes to wow the box-office.