Ridley Scott turned down a whopping deal to direct 'Terminator'

Oscar-nominated British filmmaker Ridley Scott reveals he turned a huge sum to direct a ‘Terminator’ film, and he is ‘proud’ of it.

Veteran film director Ridley Scott, who has helmed cinematic gems like ‘Gladiator’ films, ‘The Martian’, ‘House of Gucci’, ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘American Gangster’ among others, confirmed that he was approached to direct ‘Terminator 3’ (2003), following the franchise creator James Cameron’s exit after helming the first two films of the series, but turned the $20 million offer.

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Scott confirmed the decades-old rumours, saying, “I’m proud about this. I turned down a $20 million fee.”

The filmmaker recalled being suggested by someone to ask about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s check, to reprise his starring role, adding, “I thought, ‘I’ll try it out’. I said, ‘I want what Arnie gets’. When they said ‘Yes’, I thought, ‘F— me.’”

“See, I can’t be bought, dude,” the veteran continued. “It’s not my thing.”

“It’s like doing a Bond movie. The essence of a Bond movie is fun and camp. Terminator is a pure comic strip. I would try to make it real,” he explained and quipped, “That’s why they’ve never asked me to do a Bond movie, because I could f— it up.”

Notably, ‘Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines’ was eventually directed by Jonathan Mostow. The title opened to generally positive reviews from critics and went on to become the 7th highest-grossing film of 2003.