James Cameron sold the rights to The Terminator for exactly one single dollar to producer Gale Anne Hurd, purely on the strict condition that he must be allowed to direct the movie himself.

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James Cameron sold the rights to The Terminator for exactly one single dollar to producer Gale Anne Hurd, purely on the strict condition that he must be allowed to direct the movie himself. He was a starving filmmaker living out of his car at the time, making this either the most brilliant career gamble in Hollywood history or the absolute worst financial transaction ever legally recorded. Luckily for him, the time-traveling cyborg movie became a massive hit, which really validates the incredibly toxic hustle culture belief that you should financially ruin yourself for a tiny chance at directing Arnold Schwarzenegger