A meaningful “box office failure”. What did Cameron see in The Abyss?

The harsh filming process almost drowned Cameron.

Filming for ``The Abyss'' averaged 18 hours a day. Since most underwater filming takes place at a depth of 4.5 meters and 2 atmospheres of pressure, they saved time by setting up an underwater station where Cameron and his cast could replenish oxygen while wearing their diving suits. It was a long dive, and they had to stay underwater for at least an hour at a depth of 3 meters to reduce the effects of pressure differences on their bodies. Not wanting to waste time, Cameron set up an environment where he could check the developed material while holding on to a Rope underwater. When my neck hurt from the weight of the helmet, I held it upside down and had the monitor turned over to continue checking.

Cameron didn't shy away from the challenging filming set, but there were some members of the cast who were overwhelmed by the harsh environment. In the scene where Harris is descending into the abyss, he acts by holding his breath in a helmet full of liquid, and when he reaches his limit, he signals to the support diver with a gesture of ``I'm running out of oxygen'' and asks him to hold the regulator in his mouth. was. However, on one take, the diver got caught in the cable and was unable to rush in, even though he sent a signal saying there was a lack of oxygen. Another diver approached him, opened his helmet, and placed the regulator in his mouth, but the mouthpiece was on the wrong side, causing Harris to swallow a large amount of water. Harris thought, ``I'm going to die here,'' but Giddings, the cinematographer, intervened and forced him to put his regulator in his mouth, saving him.

“The Abyss” (c)Photofest / Getty Images

Filming was also a challenge for Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who played Lindsey, Bud's estranged wife and the architect of Deep Core. A particularly tough scene was when Bud desperately tried to revive Lindsey, who had suffocated and was in a state of suspended animation. In the scene, she was soaking wet, her shirt was torn open to reveal her breasts, and she used eye drops to dilate her pupils and performed her "dead" performance without blinking.

An incident occurs in Take 2. Harris, Mastrantonio, and the actors who played the crew watching over them gave great performances, and just as it looked like Lindsay was about to come back to life, the film ran out. Mastrantonio was furious that all his takes had been wasted, yelled, "We're not animals!" and left the scene, not returning for several hours.

Cameron himself almost drowned during filming. When working under water, a full tank of oxygen would last an hour and 15 minutes, so an assistant was to alert him after an hour. However, while they were having a meeting at the bottom of the tank, about 10 meters deep, the assistant forgot to warn them and ran out of oxygen. Unnoticed by the divers around him, Cameron took off his helmet, which was packed with expensive electronics, and his buoyancy vest, and slowly exhaled the air from his lungs as he ascended to the surface. A diver finally arrived and applied the regulator, but it was broken and Cameron inhaled water. He was able to break free by punching the diver who tried to restrain him, thinking that he was panicking, and was finally able to reach the surface.

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