Piranha II: The Spawning

Piranha II: The Spawning
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJames Cameron
Screenplay byCharles H. Eglee
James Cameron
Produced by
  • Chako van Leuwen
  • Jeff Schechtman
Starring
CinematographyRoberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli
Edited byRoberto Silvi
Music byStelvio Cipriani
Production
company
    • Chako Film Company
    • Brouwersgracht Investments
Distributed by
Release dates
  • August 14, 1982 (1982-08-14) (Italy[1][2])
  • November 5, 1982 (1982-11-05) (United States)
Running time
    • 94 minutes (theatrical)
    • 84 minutes (Director's cut)
Countries
  • United States
  • Italy
LanguagesEnglish
Italian
Budget$145,786[citation needed]

Piranha II: The Spawning (titled Piranha: Part Two – The Spawning on-screen and released internationally as Piranha II: Flying Killers) is a 1982 monster horror film directed by James Cameron in his feature directorial debut. It is the sequel to the 1978 film Piranha, and the second installment in the Piranha film series. The screenplay was written by Cameron and Charles H. Eglee, under the shared pseudonym "H.A. Milton". The film stars Tricia O'Neil, Lance Henriksen, Steve Marachuk, Ted Richert, Ricky Paull Goldin, and Leslie Graves.

Cameron, previously a special effects artist for Roger Corman, was hired as director after executive producer Ovidio G. Assonitis fired his predecessor. The production was fraught with difficulties, as Assonitis exerted heavy creative control, hired an Italian crew that did not speak English, and prevented Cameron from participating in editing. The degree of Cameron's creative control over the final cut is disputed. Some sources claim he was fired after two weeks and the film was directed mostly by Assonitis, others maintain that Cameron was present for the entirety of principal photography.

After its release, Cameron largely disowned Piranha II for many years,[3] but has since acknowledged the film as his directorial debut.[4] It received negative reviews upon release and was a box office bomb, but has enjoyed later success as a cult film by fans of Cameron.

  1. ^ "Visto censura 78048" (PDF) (in Italian). www.italiataglia.it. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  2. ^ "Cinema - Prime visioni Albenga". La Stampa (in Italian). Vol. 170. 1982. p. 18.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference TerminatorFiles was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).