"Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (commonly abbreviated as T2) is a 1991 action/science fiction film. It was directed, co-produced, and co-written by James Cameron, and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong and Robert Patrick. It is the first sequel to the 1984 film The Terminator, and picks up ten years after the events of the first film. It follows Sarah Connor, her 10-year-old son John, and a protector from the future (as in the first film), as they try to prevent a new possibility that Judgment Day — a day in the future when machines will start to exterminate the human race — may still yet occur.
T2 was a significant box office and critical success. It had an impact on popular culture, and is considered by many to be hugely influential in the genres of action and science fiction. The film's visual effects include many breakthroughs in computer-generated special effects, marking the first use of natural human motion for a CG character and the first computer generated main character.
Two versions of the film exist: the Theatrical cut and a "Special Edition" of the film for Laserdisc, VHS, and DVD. The special edition has been the same from release to release, with all the scenes that Cameron reinserted intact. There are, however, two scenes that Cameron shot but chose not to reinsert into the film which have been included as an accessible extra on most "Special Edition" releases. The first scene shows the T-1000's tactile approach to acquiring information about the physical world, "scanning" John's room with its fingertips, and eventually finding a hidden shoebox containing pictures and tapes of Sarah, seen at the end of the first film. The second scene is an alternate ending set in 2027 with an aged Sarah Connor reflecting on how Judgment Day was averted.
Shooting began on October 9, 1990, and was completed on April 4, 1991. The film won four Academy Awards: (Best Sound, Best Make Up, Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound Editing). Most of the key Terminator effects were provided by Industrial Light and Magic for computer graphics and Stan Winston for practical effects. The external shots of Cyberdyne Systems Corporation were filmed on location at an office building in Fremont, California.
According to the "Extreme Edition" DVD special features, Linda Hamilton's twin sister Leslie was used in scenes that required two Sarahs. She is the mirror image of Sarah in the scene where they open up the Terminator's head, and in the scene where the T-1000 impersonates Sarah, she is whichever one is farthest from the camera, alternating between the real Sarah and the T-1000 based on camera position. Wikipedia
