It’s a small, simple phrase that is commonly used in everyday life. But for Arnold Schwarzenegger, it’s a defining catchphrase. James Cameron would attempt to make his directing debut with 1981’s Pirahna II: The Spawning, but after being asked to leave that production, he would go on to create one of the most beloved action/sci-fi films of all time. It was amplified by the larger-than-life presence of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Audiences got a wide exposure to the star’s iconic accent, and when he uttered the words, “I’ll be back,” he had made his stamp on culture.
The famous three-worded calling card for Schwarzenegger may have lasted just a second in the movie, but the moment was interestingly debated behind the scenes. Variety reports via Insider on Schwarzenegger’s recollection of filming the police desk scene in his new Netflix documentary, Arnold. According to Arnold, the line felt awkward coming from a machine and thought a more formal phrasing like “I will be back” was more robotic and less human. Cameron took umbrage at Schwarzenegger’s note. When Arnold inquired about it, he explained, “[Cameron] says, ‘Are you the writer?’ And I said, ‘No,’ and he said, ‘Well, don’t tell me how to f*cking write.’”
James Cameron would recall filming the scene, “Sometime in the middle of the shoot, we’re doing this police station scene. The line is, ‘I’ll come back.’ It wasn’t meant to be like a big moment at all. It was literally meant to be, on its face, ‘No problem, I’ll come back.’ For some reason, Arnold didn’t say, ‘I’ll come back.’ I said, ‘Well, just say “I’ll be back.” Keep it simple.’” And the rest is history. Arnold humbly admits Cameron made the right call, “It became the most quoted movie line, I think, in the history of motion pictures. So this just shows to you who was right and who was wrong.”
It became so popular that Arnold and the subsequent filmmakers he would collaborate with after The Terminator‘s success kept the train rolling. Arnold would say the line in more movies, such as Commando, Twins and The Running Man, as a little nod to the audience. Arnold also revealed in the documentary that The Terminator‘s critical praise freaked out Cameron. “What is successful box office-wise doesn’t mean that the critics will like it. So to have Time magazine, their critic, pick it as one of the top 10 movies was unheard of. It even freaked out Jim Cameron. All of a sudden, I was on a roll.”
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