Piranha II: The Spawning is episode 75 focusing on the movie of the same name, as part of the Podinator: Judgment Cast miniseries covering the filmography of James Cameron. Posted Sepember 7, 2016.
Summary[]
In the debut episode of a new mini series examining the filmography of James Cameron, Griffin and David discuss 1981’s B horror, Piranha II: The Spawning. But what is the story behind Cameron’s first “unofficial” offering as a director? What was the main request from the Italian financiers of this film? In it’s 84 minute runtime are there more fish or people spawning? Together #thetwofriends delve into Cameron’s early career, share their mutual appreciation for actor Lance Henriksen, and attempt to make sense of this bonkers plot. [1]
It doesn't matter what we say here, no one's going to watch this!
James Cameron got his start electroshocking worms on low-budget Corman movies, and with Piranha II gets his first chance to direct on a Corman movie sequel project that was bought up by Italians. They had some interesting conditions for the movie, and so the final product features goodly amounts of 1) Penthouse T&A, and 2) piranhas that can fly. Of course, Cameron did not quite have the pull he later had, so this movie remained titled Piranha II: The Spawning rather than Piranhas or Piranha$.
So, why does James Cameron not really consider this movie to be his directing debut? Does Lance Henriksen pop like a motherfucker on screen, and does it look like he would make a good Terminator or a Bishop? Speaking of motherfuckers, what is going on with the romantic and the should-NOT-be-romantic-but-kind-of-looks-that-way relationships? And, even at this earliest stage of his directing career, where does it seem that the "Cameron Gaze" is looking?
Meanwhile David reacts to a negative review that complains about him cutting Griffin off too much - so he lets Griffin's song parody go long, and lets him run free to make points from atop his soapbox. And get ready: Griffin does some beautiful foley work on the way to his soapboxes.
Milestones and Ephemera[]
- Alternate location for dicks, to be more cinema-friendly: chest
- Ben's Gripe: size of the piranha
- "I love a French carnival!" -- Ben Hosley
- Box Office Game (November 1981) appears in Oops! All Box Office.
References[]
- ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Piranha II: The Spawning. Audioboom. Retrieved on October 3, 2022.