History Trivia / TheAbyss

* CreatorBreakdown:
** Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio suffered both a physical and emotional breakdown because of how hard the shoot was. Ed Harris also had to abruptly pull his car over one night--because he had burst into spontaneous crying.
** Creator/JamesCameron was divorcing Gale Anne Hurd at the time.

* EnforcedMethodActing: One such scene led to Creator/EdHarris decking Cameron after he almost drowned for real. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio got her own bit of that, too, with the resuscitation scene. Cameron kept demanding retakes, meaning she was repeatedly getting her chest pounded on (gently, but still) while soaking wet and half naked. She stormed off the set and wouldn't come back until Cameron agreed to wrap it already. And lest you think this was her being a prima donna, she stormed off specifically because they had actually run out of film stock shooting the many re-takes, and Cameron ''still'' wasn't happy.

** Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio suffered both a physical and emotional breakdown because of how hard the shoot was. Ed Harris also had to abruptly pull his car over one night - because he had burst into spontaneous crying.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Subverted. The extra scenes with the aliens from the Special Edition were cut for time - but it was Cameron himself who chose to do so. The studio actually wanted the scenes left in, but Cameron had final say.
* FatalMethodActing: A near miss. Creator/EdHarris nearly drowned - and Cameron ''kept rolling''. It's the only time an actor has actually punched him.

* ProductionPosse: Averted. Aside from Creator/MichaelBiehn, none of Creator/JamesCameron's regulars at the time were used. Creator/LanceHenriksen was intended but unavailable. However a few minor roles were filled by actors who would work with Cameron again - William Wisher Jr (Bill Tyler), Joe Fargo (the anchorman) and Tom Isbelle (the reporter seen in the Special Edition's finale).

** It's significant that Cameron himself declared this the worst production he was ever involved in. It's the only production where he had to spend most of his time hanging upside down in decompression tanks from filming underwater -- he even said he had to review the footage in this position. He also almost drowned Creator/EdHarris through EnforcedMethodActing, which resulted in the one and only time an actor has ever actually punched him. Cameron himself nearly drowned during production, too, when his diving suit malfunctioned while he was weighed down at the bottom of the giant water tank during filming.
* TypeCasting: Creator/MichaelBiehn, as an intense military type. While two of his [[Film/TheTerminator famous]] [[Film/{{Aliens}} roles]] were heroic characters, he found himself playing villains in everything else. So it's against type in terms of his previous work with Cameron - but within type otherwise.

* TroubledProduction: In a word, [[UpToEleven yes]].

* TroubledProduction: In a word, [[UpToEleven ''yes'']].

* TroubledProduction:

* DyeingForYourArt: The cast had to become certified divers before shooting began [[UpToEleven (as in being put through a course usually reserved for diving INSTRUCTORS)]]. Shooting underwater extensively also required that they also undergo decompression before leaving the set. Ed Harris also sustained injuries on-set significant enough that he nearly had to turn down roles after shooting had wrapped. Not to mention that certain members of the crew, who literally spent close to the entire day underwater, for months, during the shoot, actually had their hair bleached white by the chlorine in the water. Creator/MichaelBiehn grew a big moustache for the role of Coffey, to make him look creepier.

* TypeCasting: Creator/MichaelBiehn, as an intense military type. While two of his famous roles were heroic characters, he found himself playing villains in everything else. So it's against type in terms of his previous work with Cameron - but within type otherwise.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The film has never seen a release past DVD and is unavailable on streaming outlets. A re-release on HD/UHD and streaming has fallen into DevelopmentHell, with James Cameron only making vague promises of releasing this film and a fellow victim of this trope, ''Film/TrueLies'', on new formats in the future.

* BoxOfficeBomb: Budget, $70 million ($142 million adjusted). Box office, $54,461,047 (domestic; $120,736,800 adjusted), $35,539,051 (worldwide; $72,185,379 adjusted). The ONLY bomb Creator/JamesCameron has directed.

* ReferencedBy: In ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' after Kerrigan's FaceHeelTurn, Raynor dubs her "Queen Bitch of the Universe.''

* ActorAllusion: Creator/MichaelBiehn (Coffey) has been bitten on the arm in every Creator/JamesCameron movie he's been in: This one, ''Film/TheTerminator'', and ''Film/{{Aliens}}''.

* ProductionPosse: Averted. Aside from Creator/MichaelBiehn, none of Creator/JamesCameron's regulars at the time were used. Lance Henriksen was intended but unavailable. However a few minor roles were filled by actors who would work with Cameron again - William Wisher Jr (Bill Tyler), Joe Fargo (the anchorman) and Tom Isbelle (the reporter seen in the Special Edition's finale).

* DuelingMovies: Against ''Film/DeepStarSix'' and ''Film/{{Leviathan 1989}}''.

* CaliforniaDoubling: a set in South Carolina and a cave in Missouri covered for the Caribbean Sea.

* ProductionNickname: During the rigorous and problematic shoot, the cast and crew began calling the film by various derogatory names such as "Son Of Abyss", "The Abuse" and "Life's Abyss And Then You Dive".

* ThrowItIn: The novelisation was developed alongside the film. Orson Scott Card wrote three chapters for the hypothetical backstories of Coffey, Bud and Lindsay. When Cameron saw these, he gave them to the actors to help them develop the characters. Lindsay's reason for being hard on people is that she grew up the youngest in a family with five brothers - and had to fight to be noticed. The biographies of Coffey, Bud and Lindsey are the first three chapters of Card's {{Novelization}}.

* CreatorBacklash: Both Creator/EdHarris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio have refused to talk too much about the film, due to how much of a nightmare it was to shoot. James Cameron himself declared it the worst production he'd ever been involved in.

* EnforcedMethodActing: One such scene led to Creator/EdHarris decking Cameron after he almost drowned for real. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio got her own bit of that, too, with the resuscitation scene. Cameron kept demanding retakes, meaning she was repeatedly getting her chest pounded on(gently, but still) while soaking wet and half naked. She stormed off the set and wouldn't come back until Cameron agreed to wrap it already. And lest you think this was her being a prima donna, she stormed off specifically because they had actually run out of film stock shooting the many re-takes, and Cameron ''still'' wasn't happy.

* BoxOfficeBomb: Budget, $70 million. Box office, $54,461,047 (domestic), $90 million plus 98 dollars (worldwide). The ONLY bomb Creator/JamesCameron has directed.

** Commodore [=DeMarco=] was written for Lance Henriksen, but he was unavailable.

* ActorAllusion: Michael Biehn (Coffey) has been bitten on the arm in every Creator/JamesCameron movie he's been in: This one, ''Film/TheTerminator'', and ''Film/{{Aliens}}''.

* CreatorBacklash: Both Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio have refused to talk too much about the film, due to how much of a nightmare it was to shoot. James Cameron himself declared it the worst production he'd ever been involved in.
* CreatorBreakdown: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio suffered both a physical and emotional breakdown because of how hard the shoot was. Ed Harris also had to abruptly pull his car over one night - because he had burst into spontaneous crying.

* DyeingForYourArt: The cast had to become certified divers before shooting began [[UpToEleven (as in being put through a course usually reserved for diving INSTRUCTORS)]]. Shooting underwater extensively also required that they also undergo decompression before leaving the set. Ed Harris also sustained injuries on-set significant enough that he nearly had to turn down roles after shooting had wrapped. Not to mention that certain members of the crew, who literally spent close to the entire day underwater, for months, during the shoot, actually had their hair bleached white by the chlorine in the water. Michael Biehn grew a big moustache for the role of Coffey, to make him look creepier.
* EnforcedMethodActing: One such scene led to Ed Harris decking Cameron after he almost drowned for real. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio got her own bit of that, too, with the resuscitation scene. Cameron kept demanding retakes, meaning she was repeatedly getting her chest pounded on(gently, but still) while soaking wet and half naked. She stormed off the set and wouldn't come back until Cameron agreed to wrap it already. And lest you think this was her being a prima donna, she stormed off specifically because they had actually run out of film stock shooting the many re-takes, and Cameron ''still'' wasn't happy.

* FatalMethodActing: A near miss. Ed Harris nearly drowned - and Cameron ''kept rolling''. It's the only time an actor has actually punched him.
* ProductionPosse: Averted. Aside from Creator/MichaelBiehn, none of James Cameron's regulars at the time were used. Lance Henriksen was intended but unavailable. However a few minor roles were filled by actors who would work with Cameron again - William Wisher Jr (Bill Tyler), Joe Fargo (the anchorman) and Tom Isbelle (the reporter seen in the Special Edition's finale).
* RealitySubtext: Bud and Lindsay's rocky relationship, since James Cameron was in the process of divorcing Gale Ann Hurd.

* TroubledProduction: Helped by extensive underwater shooting, with several people nearly getting drowned (including Creator/JamesCameron and Ed Harris - who punched Cameron in the face in response!). And since HistoryRepeats, a few years later Cameron [[Film/{{Titanic 1997}} worked again in a movie filled with water and had a terrible time doing so]].
* TypeCasting: Michael Biehn, as an intense military type. While two of his famous roles were heroic characters, he found himself playing villains in everything else. So it's against type in terms of his previous work with Cameron - but within type otherwise.

** The studio pushed hard to get Michael Biehn an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. But they were unsuccessful.

** Jeff Bridges and Mel Gibson were considered to play Bud, in case Ed Harris wasn't available. Cameron also strongly considered Jamie Lee Curtis to play Linsday. He would later work with her in ''Film/TrueLies''.

* ThrowItIn: The novelisation was developed alongside the film. Orson Scott Card wrote three chapters for the hypothetical backstories of Bud and Lindsay. When Cameron saw these, he gave them to the actors to help them develop the characters. Lindsay's reason for being hard on people is that she grew up the youngest in a family with five brothers - and had to fight to be noticed. The biographies of Bud and Lindsey are the first two chapters of Card's {{Novelization}}.

* ThrowItIn: The novelisation was developed alongside the film. Orson Scott Card wrote three chapters for the hypothetical backstories of Bud and Lindsay. When Cameron saw these, he gave them to the actors to help them develop the characters. Lindsay's reason for being hard on people is that she grew up the youngest in a family with five brothers - and had to fight to be noticed.

* DyeingForYourArt: The cast had to become certified divers before shooting began [[UpToEleven (as in being put through a course usually reserved for diving INSTRUCTORS)]]. Shooting underwater extensively also required that they also undergo decompression before leaving the set. Ed Harris also sustained injuries on-set significant enough that he nearly had to turn down roles after shooting had wrapped. Not to mention that certain members of the crew, who literally spent close to the entire day underwater, for months, during the shoot, actually had their hair bleached white by the chlorine in the water.
** Michael Biehn grew a big moustache for the role of Coffey, to make him look creepier than his usual good guy roles.

* TypeCasting: Michael Biehn, as an intense military type.
** It becomes PlayingAgainstType when he becomes an evil variation of it.

* TroubledProduction: Helped by extensive underwater shooting, with several people nearly getting drowned (including Creator/JamesCameron and Ed Harris - who punched Cameron in the face in response!). And since HistoryRepeats, a few years later Cameron [[{{Titanic}} worked again in a movie filled with water and had a terrible time doing so]].