James Cameron pays tribute to ‘Terminator’ cinematographer Adam Greenberg, who has died aged 88

James Cameron has paid tribute to Adam Greenberg, the cinematographer on the first two Terminator films, who has died aged 88.

News of Greenberg’s passing was confirmed by his fellow cinematographer Avraham Karpick on Thursday (October 30), although no cause of death has been revealed.

Greenberg was best known for serving as director of photography on The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), the latter earning him an Oscar nomination, and now Cameron, who directed both films, has said that he “could not have done” the films without him.

In a statement to Deadline, Cameron has said: “I learned so much from Adam, not just about cinematography, but about the spirit of independent production. He refused to let budget limitations inhibit his artistic expression. Adam had done scores of films when I worked with him on my first, and his scrappy, can-do spirit has been a guiding light for me ever since, even on the biggest of productions.”

“I saw him last a few years ago, when he graciously came in to help color time Terminator 2: Judgment Day for its stereo 3D re-release,” he continued. “I had just been in the middle of arguing with the colorist that the blues in a night scene were too purple, and needed a little cyan. Adam took one look at the scene, took me aside and said ‘Jim, don’t you think it needs a point of cyan?’ He remembered a point of color over two decades later. That’s precision. I now see color with his eyes.”

Cameron added: “I could not have done my Terminator films without Adam. He taught me the narrative power of color and lighting. Nobody did night photography like Adam. I pride myself on my hand-held camera operating, but I learned that at Adam’s knee. He was the master. I know there is a whole generation of filmmakers that he influenced, and there were a handful of us that were privileged to have him shoot for us. We got to learn the lessons directly at his side. His talent and spirit will be missed.”

Greenberg was born in 1937 in Poland and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel, where he began working as a film lab technician and documentary cameraman. After being involved in a number of Israeli films, he moved to the US, and aside from his work alongside Cameron, he also worked on Three Men And A Baby, Turner & Hooch, Ghost, Sister Act, Rush Hour and Snakes On A Plane, his final feature film credit in 2006.