MovieChat Forums > Piranha Part Two: The Spawning (1982) Discussion > Wait......So There IS a James Cameron' E...

Wait......So There IS a James Cameron' Edited' Version Out There?

posted 13 years ago by jjamp48
7 replies | jump to latest

I'm not sure what to believe about this film's production - seems like I've heard many stories. I don't want to get too into that, but I have read Cameron(after being fired?), was able to go back (after the release?) and edit the film as close as possible to what he wanted originally. He was also supposedly able to sell this back to the distributor, which made a profit on it. Again, this is what I read, I don't claim this as fact.

So if that's true, WHAT happened to his edit of the film? I'm a big enough fan of his older work(and some of his new) to try to find this is it's out there. I have seen the film three times: once on the USA network, once on a movie channel, and once in the theater(it was a 5 feature "Animals Attacking Man" set). Now if I had to guess, those viewings were about half a dozen years apart and I really can't remember if they were all the same "version" of the film - you know what I mean?

So I guess my question is: how and where(if at all) was Cameron's cut of this film distributed? Is it still out there? Is it easy to find or is like the Holy Grail and not worth the hunt? Have I possibly already watched it? I thought it was a pretty bad film, but if his "true" version of the film is somewhere I'd be interested in checking it out. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

[–] wallacesawyer 13 years ago

The JC edit of the film might not actually exist. James appeared on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight promoting AVATAR. George asked him about PIRANAH II, but James denied ever making an edit. Course he mentioned it would've been a crime to break into the studio, etc. Maybe he was unwilling to admit is existed because he would basically be admitting to a crime.

http://www.freewebs.com/demonictoys/

[–] jjamp48 13 years ago

Thank you for the reply wallacesawyer, given the lack of action on this board, I'm glad someone responded. Honestly I have no clue what to believe, but this interview you mention seems more reliable than anything else I've heard of so I'm inclined to go with that. It does crack me up to think he may have broken into the studio to try to edit "his" film. That's determination right there! Thanks for the info, I'll have to check and see if that interview is up on youtube or something.

[–] wallacesawyer 13 years ago

Sorry, my mistake. It was The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQpDD6w6KOs

http://www.freewebs.com/demonictoys/

[–] jjamp48 13 years ago

Thanks again for the quick response and the link wallacesawyer. I'm sorry I didn't see this earlier. Nice interview, I liked how he joked about the potential break-in. It certainly seems as though he at least contemplated doing it, if not actually attempting it. It's good to see he's not opposed to talking about the film. Going forward I doubt he will be asked much about Piranha II, so this is probably the definitive take on it.

Looking back at the wikipedia page I see now that this interview is referenced in regards to the story of him editing the movie. Right after that though is the part which made me curious in the first place:

"Cameron was able to make a deal with a distributor, who agreed to buy his footage and allow him to re-score and re-cut the picture-basically restructure it to what was originally intended-before release, so his alternative vision eventually came out on home video in some regions, which made a profit for the distributor."

This is what really interests me. If that is true, where does this cut of the film exist? You're probably right in that it doesn't exist, also that wikipedia page for PII is full of "citation needed" markings. So who knows? I kinda doubt it's out there.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] jjamp48 13 years ago

A belated thanks to you, DarryLavid(I like your screen name). Not only did I enjoy the page, but the entire website was very interesting. After reading up, it looks as though the fan edit has the right idea and is probably pretty close to what Cameron may have wanted given the circumstances of the production. I'll have to look into checking it out at some point. Very cool, thanks again!

[–] 13 years ago

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