This '80s Sci-Fi Movie Is A Sneaky Space Remake Of Western Hit The Magnificent Seven

If the only thing you know about the Roger Corman-produced 1980 sci-fi, "Battle Beyond the Stars," is that it was James Cameron's first significant gig as an art director and special effects guy, you're probably not alone. The low-budget remake of one of the greatest westerns, "The Magnificent Seven" (and by extension, Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai"), Jimmy T. Murakami's feature attempted to ride the wave of space operas that "Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope" created three years prior in 1977 with mixed results. Although it was a modest success at the box office, "Battle Beyond the Stars" was a cheesy, half-hearted sci-fi at best — one that critics didn't love, to say the least.

Starring George Peppard, Robert Vaughn, Richard Thomas, and John Saxon in the primary roles, the film takes us to the peaceful farming planet of Akir in outer space, which suddenly becomes threatened by the tyrant and ruler of the Malmori Empire, Sador. To save their home, the leaders of Akir decide to hire mercenaries from all over the galaxy to defend them when Sador returns. They send a young pilot called Shad with a spaceship to go and find the best warriors out there, who are willing to risk their lives in this mission for a modest reward of food and shelter on their lovely planet.

Cameron recalled his experience on Graham Bensinger's podcast (via Entertainment Weekly), explaining that he got promoted out of nowhere two weeks before shooting only because the previous production designer had been suddenly fired. "None of the sets were designed or built. Okay, I guess I'm jumping into the fire," he explained, adding that the producers and the production manager likely chose him because he didn't mind the relentlessly long hours, had artistic vision (which made movies like "The Terminator" all-time classics), and could draw. Still, as the eventual director of "The Abyss" pointed out, "They had no idea that I had any management skills whatsoever."

What Cameron didn't expect, however, on top of his technical and managerial duties, was that he'd also be the guy appointed to distribute the drugs among the crew. "Say what?" he must've thought when he was handed some illegal substances alongside petty cash vouchers and day shift crew lists. As he recalled, "I'm like, 'Wait a minute, what do I do with this stuff?' I mean, I didn't take drugs. You know, for me, coffee was plenty."

Luckily for the "Avatar" creator, he had an assistant art director who knew how to take care of that aspect of the job. Summing up his memories on "Battle Beyond the Stars," Cameron said, "Apparently in that world, you are judged as a production designer or an art director by how fairly you distributed the drugs. I mean, I didn't want to play that game. It wasn't my thing." And that's an anecdote probably more worthy of remembering than anything that occurs in the deservedly forgotten sci-fi that "Battle Beyond the Stars" is.