This Sci-Fi Seven Samurai Remake Gave James Cameron His First Big Break

Calling Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" influential is an understatement. The action epic — which chronicles a group of warriors defending a farming village from bandits — has inspired everything from the "Star Wars" franchise to must-see Westerns like "The Magnificent Seven," itself a remake of Kurosawa's classic. "Seven Samurai" also received a sci-fi remake in the Roger Corman-produced "Battle Beyond the Stars," which features special effects by a young James Cameron.

Corman — the producer behind great '70s sci-fi movies like "Death Race 2000" — never met a trend he couldn't capitalize on. "Battle Beyond the Stars" cashed in on the popularity of "Star Wars" in the early '80s, but Corman pitched the idea as an intergalactic "Magnificent Seven" and "Seven Samurai." The producer then tapped John Sayles to write a worthy screenplay, with Jimmy T. Murakami taking the directorial reins.

"Battle Beyond the Stars" follows Shad (Richard Thomas), a young man who enlists warriors to help save his home planet from Sador (John Saxon) and his evil Malmori raiders. The heroes include Space Cowboy (George Peppard), whose name is self-explanatory, Gelt (Robert Vaughn), an assassin with a price on his head, and other quirky characters befitting of a sci-fi Western.

Like most Corman productions, "Battle Beyond the Stars" had an incredibly low budget, but it boasts some impressive special effects thanks to Cameron. The project also gave him his first big break in Hollywood, despite getting off to a rocky start.

James Cameron got a job on "Battle Beyond the Stars" after promising to build a cheap camera rig that would enhance the film's special effects. Roger Corman didn't like the finished product, but he was impressed by the young upstart's resourcefulness and hired him as a model-maker. Cameron used spray paint and McDonald's burger containers to create impressive budget-friendly spaceships, and Corman was so happy with the work that he gave him a promotion.

"I talked with him for a little while, and I said, 'Jim, this is something I've never done. I'm giving you a raise, and you're going to be the new head of special effects,'" Corman recalled in an interview with The Ringer. The producer also saw Cameron's potential as a director and tapped him to shoot some scenes for "Galaxy of Terror," a low-budget "Alien" knock-off released in 1981.

Cameron's got his first full directorial gig on "Piranha II: The Spawning" the following year, before moving on to bigger things. A terrifying dream that inspired him to make "The Terminator," and the rest is history. These days, Cameron is a bona fide blockbuster auteur, but who knows where he'd be if Corman hadn't spotted his talent early on.