Arnold Schwarzenegger Fought James Cameron Over Saying ‘I’ll Be Back,’ Says Director Told Him: ‘Don’t Tell Me How to F—ing Write’

It turns out The Terminator is no match for James Cameron. In Arnold Schwarzeneggers new Netflix documentary Arnold, the actor and Cameron remembered clashing over the iconic Ill be back line from 1984s The Terminator (via Insider).

Sometime in the middle of the shoot, were doing this police station scene. The line is, Ill come back. It wasnt meant to be like a big moment at all, said Cameron, who co-wrote The Terminator with Gale Anne Hurd. It was literally meant to be, on its face, No problem, Ill come back. For some reason, Arnold didnt say, Ill come back. I said, Well, just say Ill be back. Keep it simple.'

Schwarzenegger admits in the documentary that he thought Ill be back sounded funny because he was playing a cyborg and thought I will be back sounded more machine-like and appropriate. When Schwarzenegger made the suggestion, Cameron fired back.

And he says, Are you the writer?' Schwarzenegger said. And I said, No, and he said, Well, dont tell me how to fucking write.'

Cameron won the clash, and Schwarzeneggers Ill be back line went on to become the definitive moment of the The Terminator franchise and one of the most famous lines of movie dialogue in history.

Schwarzenegger now admits that Cameron was absolutely right, adding, 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.

Cameron and Schwarzenegger would reunite for the films 1991 sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Neither of them expected the original film to become such a classic, and Schwarzenegger said it freaked out Cameron that The Terminator became such a critical smash hit.

What is successful box office-wise doesnt mean that the critics will like it, Schwarzenegger said. 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.

Arnold is now available to stream on Netflix.