Piranha II: The Spawning
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| Piranha II: The Spawning | |
|---|---|
 French film poster. |
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| Directed by | James Cameron |
| Written by | James Cameron |
| Starring | Tricia O'Neil Steve Marachuk Lance Henriksen Ricky G. Paull Ted Richert Leslie Graves |
| Music by | Steve Powder |
| Cinematography | Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli |
| Editing by | Roberto Silvi |
| Release date(s) | 1981 |
| Running time | 94 min. |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Piranha |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Piranha II: The Spawning is a 1981 horror movie, the sequel to the 1978 low-budget movie Piranha, and the directorial debut of James Cameron. As in the first film, which was inspired by the success of Steven Spielberg's 1975 film Jaws[citation needed], piranhas act as the antagonist monsters harming human life, and have developed the ability to fly, which they did not have in the first film.
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[edit] Cast
- Tricia O'Neil - Anne Kimbrough
- Steve Marachuk - Tyler
- Lance Henriksen - Steve Kimbrough
- Ricky G. Paull - Chris Kimbrough
- Ted Richert - Raoul
- Leslie Graves - Allison
- Captain Kidd Brewer Jr. - Lou
- Jan Eisner Mannon - Lisa
- Carole Davis
- Arnie Ross
- Tracy Berg
- Albert Sanders
- Anne Pollack
- Dorothy Cunningham
[edit] Credits
- James Cameron - Director
- James Cameron - Screenwriter
- Ovidio G. Assonitis - Executive Producer
- Giovanni Corridori - Special Effects
- Giannetto De Rossi - Makeup Special Effects
- Giannetto De Rossi - Special Effects
- Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli - Cinematographer
- Lee Reynolds - Screenwriter
- Roberto Silvi - Editor
- Antonio Corridori - Special Effects
- Chako van Leuwen - Producer
- Jeff Schechtman - Producer
- H.A. Milton - Screenwriter James Cameron's pseudonym (?)
- Steve Powder - Composer (Music Score)
- Medusa Paltrinieri - Art Director
- Carbonaro - Special Effects
- Chako VanLeeuwen - Producer
[edit] Trivia
- The making of this film had a difficult history. James Cameron was originally hired as the special effects director for this film (and his hand in story-writing can be suspected under the H. A. Milton pseudonym on the original script), and took over the direction when the original director left. Due to budget limitations the crew was composed essentially by Italians, none of whom spoke English, but some of them had prior experience on horror/fantasy movies, so they were able to satisfy Cameron requirements. After the first week of shooting, the set harmony was disturbed by some discussions about the work between the director and the producers (the executive producer, Ovidio G. Assonitis, asked to verify the day-to-day activities, arguing most of Cameron's choices), so whilst Cameron was just responsible for the shooting, most of the decisions are under Assonitis' authority. According to "Dreaming Aloud," a biography of James Cameron by Christopher Heard, Cameron was not allowed to see his footage and was not involved in editing. He broke into the editing room in Rome and cut his own version while the film's producers were at Cannes, but was caught and Assonitis re-cut it again.
- Cameron has defended the film by saying that it's the finest flying piranha movie ever made. Some of the mechanisms used to make the piranhas fly were later recycled into the facehugger animatronics for Aliens.
- According to Piranha II: The Spawning — James Cameron’s First Film, by Dr. John L. Flynn, most of the underwater scenes were filmed off Grand Cayman Island, and the stand-in for the Club Elysium is the Mallard Beach Hyatt. Interior scenes were filmed on a soundstage in Rome.
- Piranha II features some well-known Cameron hallmarks, such as the dangers presented by an alien environment, a nemesis or conflict instigated by man's technological hubris, and the presence at the center of the story of a seemingly average woman who finds herself thrown into a situation utterly outside of her experience, yet who shows great courage and resourcefulness in coping with it.[1]
- The 2002 DVD release adds some additional scenes that were cut out of the theatrical and VHS releases. The beginning of the film, for example, restores a scene of the doomed scuba couple Lou and Lisa conversing aboard their small boat prior to their fatal dive to the Dwight Fitzgerald. It endeavors to put their attempt at underwater lovemaking in some sort of context.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Films Directed by James Cameron |
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| Xenogenesis • Piranha II: The Spawning • The Terminator • Aliens • The Abyss • Terminator 2: Judgment Day • True Lies • Titanic • Dark Angel • Expedition: Bismarck • Ghosts of the Abyss • Aliens of the Deep • Avatar • Battle Angel • The Dive |
