10 Actors Who Made Ridiculous Movie Demands So They Wouldn't Be Hired... But Were

Though the prospect of a third Terminator film had been much discussed following the mammoth success of 1991's T2, Arnold Schwarzenegger long vowed that he wouldn't ever agree to make the movie without James Cameron also returning to direct.

Schwarzenegger held this line firmly for the better part of a decade, until he met with Cameron while a threequel was being mulled once again.

The director felt that the T-800 character was as much Schwarzenegger's as his own, and so encouraged Arnie to ask for a stupid amount of money and see how the studio responded.

While the actor had no real interest in a third film without Cameron, he followed the filmmaker's advice, asking for a stonking $30 million "pay-or-play" fee, meaning that once the contract was signed he would be guaranteed that sum whether the film was made or not.

The negotiation process ended up going on for 18 months with the contract receiving 21 drafts as Schwarzenegger continued to angle for more benefits.

This included an instant $3 million payout upon signing the contract, an extra $1.6 million for every week the movie went over schedule, a $1.5 million allowance for private jets, and numerous other perks such as 24-hour bodyguards and on-call limousines.

And incredibly, Arnie got everything he asked for. Considering he was paid $750,000 for the original movie and $15 million for T2, he sure as hell drove a hard bargain.

Ultimately the producers might've ended up questioning their concessions, then, when T3 ended up grossing less than T2 did an entire 12 years earlier.