Sigourney Weaver Relieved to Miss Gruelling Shoot on The Abyss

James Cameron has a reputation for being a tough director, and one of his most challenging productions was the 1989 sci-fi film The Abyss, which raked in $90 million at the box office. In a recent chat with The New York Times, Sigourney Weaver shared her relief at not being involved in the project, having already experienced Cameron’s intense style during the making of Aliens.

Weaver’s Take on Cameron’s On-Set Approach

Weaver recalled that, while Cameron could be witty and funny away from the cameras, his attitude on set was a different story. She remembered a dinner with him after filming wrapped, noting the contrast between his off-set persona and his work mode. Reflecting on her time shooting Aliens, she said:

He was wildly funny, witty. I can understand why that guy couldn’t come out during ‘Aliens,’ because that was a tough shoot, especially for him. Let’s put it this way: I’m glad I wasn’t shooting ‘The Abyss’ with him.

During Aliens, Cameron was still new to the franchise and found it hard to connect with a young actress struggling with props. Weaver stepped in, suggesting he try a different approach:

I sort of trundled up to him and I said, ‘You know, when you yell at an actor, you yell at all of us, so understand that what she was doing actually was very hard. Maybe shoot something else while she gets used to doing this stuff the way you want it.’

To his credit, Cameron took her advice on board. Weaver later described him as a good bloke, and reckons he’s mellowed out a bit since those days.

The Abyss: A Test of Endurance for Cast and Crew

The Abyss starred Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn, and was notorious for its punishing shoot. Nearly half the film was shot underwater in an abandoned nuclear power plant in South Carolina. The cast spent more than 70 hours a week filming over six months. Harris once admitted he broke down in his car after a long day on set.

Even Cameron himself wasn’t immune to the dangers. He nearly ran out of oxygen while filming underwater. Harris later told a story about a particularly tough scene:

We were guinea pigs, in a way, Jim wasn’t quite sure how this was all gonna go down… [in the drowning scene I was] screaming at her to come back and wake up, and I was slapping her across the face and I see that they’ve run out of film in the camera—there’s a light on the camera—and nobody had said anything. And Mary Elizabeth stood up and said, ‘We are not animals!’

Mastrantonio, who played a key role, reportedly walked off set after the ordeal. Despite the difficulties, Harris said he held no grudges:

It was very difficult, but it was worth it, I met some great people. The Abyss is a really great movie up until the last 10 minutes, which was the big disappointment. I like Jim. He’s an incredibly talented, intelligent guy. In subsequence years after filming, it was always good to see him.

The Abyss: A Cult Classic with Lasting Impact

The Abyss follows a civilian diving team recruited by the Navy to search for a missing nuclear submarine, only to encounter mysterious underwater life and face sabotage and flooding at extreme depths. The film runs for 140 minutes and was released on 9 August 1989. It went on to become a cult favourite, earning four Academy Award nominations and winning for Best Visual Effects at the 62nd Academy Awards.

Today, The Abyss is available for streaming on Disney+.