The Legacy of 'The Terminator' in 2025

This week, we look into the past and the future at once. In 2025, the idea of sentient robots threatening the future of humanity might not sound so far-fetched. But when a naked cyborg arrived in Los Angeles in the form of Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1984's The Terminator, it was a warning sign way ahead of its time. Director James Cameron, who would go on to mount epic spectacles ranging from Titanic to Avatar, emerged from B-movie maestro Roger Corman's low-budget filmmaking factory to create one of the most impactful blockbusters of all time. 

He wasn't alone, either: Producer Gale Anne Hurd, another Corman alumna, joined forces with Cameron to stitch together the $6 million dollar production. Hurd visit the Playhouse to revisit The Terminator and think through its resonance more than 40 years down the line as a timeless work of art, one heck of a warning sign...and let's face, a really cool action movie too.