Ryan knew all too well the nature of tabloids, especially those under the News Corporation umbrella. Perhaps not everyone knew about the New York Post, but when it came to The Sun, hardly anyone was unaware of it. Both newspapers were under Murdoch's control and shared the same sensational reporting style.
After the lawyer's letter was sent, the tabloids toned down their attacks quite a bit. It was still the early 90s, after all—they hadn't yet become as rampant as they would be later.
Ryan quickly put the matter behind him. After all, if a dog bites you, you don't bite it back, right? Besides, there was no rush—if the opportunity arose in the future, he would settle scores with News Corp. He wasn't the kind of person to let things slide.
As for filing a lawsuit—forget it. Those tabloids would love nothing more than for him to take them to court. It would be free publicity and boost their influence.
Originally, Ryan had wanted to visit Natalie, but unfortunately, the Long Island girl wasn't in New York. After her summer break began, she had joined a theater camp and headed to Tennessee early on.
After circling around various major cities in the eastern U.S., the crew finally arrived at the last stop of their trip—Miami, Florida, a coastal vacation paradise—on July 7th.
As time passed, Terminator 2's cumulative box office earnings became increasingly terrifying. After raking in nearly $60 million in its four-day opening weekend, its second week, though slightly lower, still brought in over $47 million in seven days.
In just two weeks, the film's North American box office surpassed $100 million. While it was still a bit behind Batman's performance, it was nonetheless impressive. Let's not forget—Batman was a superhero film with a massive built-in comic book fanbase even before the movie was released.
As of today, Terminator 2 has been in theaters for four weeks in North America and has earned nearly $160 million. It was all but certain that it would pass the $200 million mark. Meanwhile, the film had also rolled out in Europe and the Far East, including Japan and South Korea, where box office numbers were equally strong.
To put it bluntly, the film had swept the summer box office. Many other movies had even postponed their release dates because of its dominance.
The two groups of cast and crew promoting the movie on the East and West Coasts became the entertainment media's biggest focus. No matter where they went, they were surrounded by hordes of fans and dozens of reporters from big and small newspapers. In just a month, the amount of film they had "murdered" could probably stretch from New York to Los Angeles.
James Cameron had, as a result, firmly cemented his reputation as a master director. Linda Hamilton became an A-list actress. And the ones who benefited most from the film? Naturally, Ryan and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
As for Ryan, with the film's continued success, more and more media outlets began dubbing him the number-one child star in Hollywood—outlets as prominent as The New York Times and The Washington Post. And every time the cast promoted the movie, at least half the fans there were coming for him.
Of course, the one who gained the most was Arnold Schwarzenegger. The T-800 role catapulted him into the ranks of true Hollywood superstars. Rumor had it that some producers had already offered him $20 million to star in upcoming projects.
Unfortunately for them, Schwarzenegger had turned them all down—because he had the perfect script in hand.
A fan, during a media interview, once said: "I wasn't originally interested in movies. I only went to see this one because I liked Ryan. But once the movie started, the intense plot and suffocating tension had me trembling with excitement. The moment the T-800 delivered that fatal shot to the T-1000 made me ecstatic. I'll never forget the ending. It made me cry. I love Ryan's portrayal of John Connor—the rebellious, kind-hearted future savior—and I love Schwarzenegger's T-800. They stayed with me through the whole movie."
"Especially the T-800—I loved his leather jacket, his sunglasses, and that shotgun. I loved the human heart hidden beneath his metallic shell. The scene where the Terminator lowered himself into the molten steel still lingers in my mind—the slow descent, the bubbling furnace, watching the damaged Terminator melt away... I don't know what it was, but something made my eyes wet. When he gave that final thumbs-up before being consumed... it shattered my heart. I know crying in front of others can be awkward or embarrassing, but I couldn't help it."
Well then! His own die-hard fans were starting to become Arnold's die-hard fans instead! That was Ryan's thought when he read the report. But he didn't mind. Even though he had delivered the best acting performance in the movie, it was clear that only one truly iconic image would remain from this film: the T-800.
After such an intense promotional schedule, even someone as young and energetic as Ryan was beginning to feel exhausted. He was, after all, still growing.
After returning to their suite at the Hilton hotel from the theater, he just wanted to throw himself onto the bed and get a good night's sleep.
But Cameron wouldn't let him rest. He dragged Ryan to the hotel café, found a quiet corner, and sat down with a big smile on his bearded face. Ryan was puzzled, but after about ten minutes, he finally understood what was going on.
A middle-aged man entered the café and walked straight to their table. After shaking hands, James Cameron introduced him. "Ryan, this is Grant Hill, production manager at 20th Century Fox."
Then, he introduced Ryan to the man as well.
Grant Hill? Ryan frowned. He vaguely remembered a basketball player with that name. Well, he didn't care for basketball much and didn't remember clearly. But he was certain he had never met this man before. After all, due to the situation with News Corp, he had rarely interacted with 20th Century Fox.
After exchanging greetings, everyone sat down again. Ryan, sharp as ever, glanced at the two quietly chatting and quickly guessed what this was about.
20th Century Fox was a film subsidiary of News Corporation, and also the studio that had the most successful collaborations with James Cameron. Ryan knew that if it weren't for his own interference, future films like True Lies, Titanic, and Avatar would all have been produced through such collaborations.
Because of persistent attacks from tabloids like the New York Post, Ryan had developed quite a dislike for News Corp. During the promotional tour, he had complained about them more than once. Cameron probably picked up on that and secretly arranged this meeting.
Truth be told, Ryan understood that those tabloid attacks were largely due to the nature of the press itself and had little to do with the movie studio. And in North America, hype is hype, business is business—they're two different things.
Things quickly got down to business after a few pleasantries.
"Ryan, 20th Century Fox is interested in investing in True Lies. I'm here to hear your thoughts," said Grant Hill.
"I gave the script to Jim. Whichever studio he chooses to work with is his decision. As for the script rights and payment, your people can talk to Pat," Ryan said. He had originally thought of investing in the film himself, but after recalling its enormous budget in his past life—and looking at his own modest funds—he gave up on that idea.
"Do you have any suggestions?" Hill asked again.
"This is Jim's movie. It's best I don't comment too much."
But when Cameron gave him a pointed look, Ryan had to relent. "Fine, one thing—the script was inspired by an old French film. I currently hold the rights, so you'll probably have to pay a bit more."
The two men just stared at him. Ryan sighed and added, "Also, you might want to talk to the Pentagon—get a few real Harrier jets. And Arnie should at least learn how to take off and land one."
"Actually…" Cameron stroked his beard and said, "I was thinking of changing the daughter to a son and having you play the role."
"Oh, come on, Jim. That would mean rewriting the whole character. Besides, I'm the wrong age now." Ryan definitely didn't want to act alongside Cameron again unless absolutely necessary.
Not to mention, in his previous life, Eliza Dushku—who played the daughter—fell from a plane during filming, breaking several ribs and spending months in the hospital. God only knew if something like that might happen to him if he took the role.
Grant Hill hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. Of course, they only needed to agree on intent—agents would handle the specifics.
After a few more words, the conversation turned to the film's budget. Grant Hill knew that Ryan, Nicole, and others had set up a shell production company, and he politely asked, "Ryan, actually, our two sides could work together."
Ryan understood what he was getting at and smiled as he asked, "Grant, how much are you budgeting for this movie?"
"At the moment, it's $100 million," Hill said without even batting an eye.
Indeed, the massive success of Terminator 2 had revealed James Cameron's true potential. It also made it clear that big box office results would increasingly require big investments and major productions.
But Ryan knew full well that $100 million wouldn't be enough for Cameron's ambitions. The investment would need to increase by at least 20%. And from what the bearded director had said, the movie wouldn't even start shooting until next year. Ryan didn't want to have all his money tied up in a single project for so long.
"Let's forget it. You should know—we're already working with Warner on The Bodyguard and with Miramax on A Few Good Men. We don't have enough funds right now." Ryan directly declined.
As they parted ways, Grant Hill shook Ryan's hand seriously—treating him as an equal. "Very well, Ryan. I think we'll have more opportunities to work together in the future."
"We definitely will," Ryan replied politely.
Back on the hotel floor, just before entering his room, Ryan exchanged a few words with Mario Casas, who told him that he wouldn't be attending the crew's events tomorrow. Instead, he was heading to the beach set in Miami to visit the shoot.
Nicole Kidman was currently filming some naval scenes there with her crew.