18 More Things You Didn't Know About The Terminator
15. The True Inspiration For The Film
Most cinephiles are aware that James Cameron devised the idea for The Terminator when he had a fever dream of a the upper half of a robot crawling through fire. But if you watch the movie, you will see another component for the story's inspiration. In the credits, it cryptically reads "Acknowledgements to the works of Harlan Ellison".
Most viewers wouldn't give a second thought to this credit, not realising Ellison is the inspiration for the entire plot. Ellison was an award-winning author who devised scripts for Star Trek and The Outer Limits. When Ellison saw the film, he noticed it had suspicious similarities to his work, Soldier from Tomorrow, which was adapted into an episode of The Outer Limits called Soldier.
In this story, two warriors from the future are transported to the present day. Ellison also considered The Terminator may have borrowed elements from his short story, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, which revolves around a supercomputer that has taken over the world.
Despite the fact James Cameron denies these allegations, Marc Shapiro's biography on the director states he "ripped off a couple of Harlan Ellison stories" while devising the plot. The case went to court, with Ellison receiving an undisclosed sum.