Q&A to feature Terminator 2 film composer Brad Fiedel 

SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Central Coast Film Society is excited to announce “They’ll Be Back” for in-person events starting with the 30th Anniversary screening of Terminator 2: Judgement Day at 1 p.m. on Jul. 3, at The Movie Experience in San Luis Obispo. 

After the screening, there will also be a 30-minute Q & A with Brad Fiedel, a film and television composer who is most known for his collaboration with director James Cameron on Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day. 

Terminator 2 debuted on Jul. 3, 1991, and the plot is that a cyborg, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor, must now protect her ten-year-old son, John Connor, from a more advanced and powerful cyborg.

Terminator 2 was directed and co-written by Cameron, who is also a Central Coast resident, as his property is on the Gaviota coast at Hollister Ranch near Santa Barbara.

Fiedel composed other top movies such as True Lies (1994) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis and Johnny Mnemonic (1995) starring Keanu Reeves. He currently lives in Santa Barbara with his wife, actress Ann Dusenberry. 

“We are so thrilled that Brad will be joining us. His music from this movie is immediately recognizable, and I think our guests are going to enjoy hearing him talk about the process of working on such an iconic film,” Daniel Lahr, Executive Director and Founder of Central Coast Film Society, said.

Since the start of COVID-19 in March of 2020, most movie theaters have been closed until the past few months. Some moved their operation outdoors if they could, but unfortunately, the central coast lost some local independent theaters along the way, such as the Parks Plaza Theater in Buellton closing indefinitely and the building going for sale. 

“We love going to the movies and the whole experience of sitting in a theater and enjoying the show with other people, the smell of popcorn, and getting excited when the lights start to dim. We hope to help our local theaters by partnering on more special event screenings, like Terminator 2,” Risley said. 

Tickets for the special screening include a medium popcorn and access to the Q&A, and are only available through the Central Coast Film Society website at centralcoastfilmsociety.org and click Events page. The cost is $10 for students and $15 for non-members. New and current Central Coast Film Society members get a free ticket as part of their annual membership benefits. Membership fees are tax-deductible charitable donations used to support student scholarships and community events. For a full list of membership levels, visit centralcoastfilmsociety.org/memberships.html.

The Central Coast Film Society aims to provide local filmmakers and films a venue to call home, foster future media artists, and create opportunities to get involved in the industry by hosting lectures, screenings, and eventually a film festival and filmmakers expo. They recently held their second student competition and first virtual event, “Never Stop Creating,” where more than $600 was given to local high school student filmmakers, photographers, media artists, and podcasters.