A 17 Oct 1988 HR “Hollywood Report” column noted that writer-director James Cameron first conceived of The Abyss as a high school student. According to a 4 Nov 1988 NYT article, seventeen-year-old Cameron wrote a short story, also titled “The Abyss,” after seeing a science lecture about a “liquid-oxygenated saline solution” that would allow animals to breath liquid. According to a 6 Aug 1989 NYT article, the liquid flourocarbon used in the film had been tested on one scientist, who almost died, and on numerous animals to greater success. In the film, when “Ensign Monk” immerses the pet rat “Beany” in a vat of pink liquid, the substance shown is actually liquid flourocarbon, and the rat playing Beany lived.
       According to production notes in AMPAS library files, actors received extensive diver training in the Cayman Islands and were certified as open water divers prior to production. Underwater filming took place “at depths up to 55 feet and under 24 pounds per square inch of pressure.”
       Principal photography began 15 Aug 1988, as reported by 30 Aug 1988 HR production charts and an 18 Aug 1988 HR news item. Forty-percent of filming was done underwater, in a 7.5 million-gallon water tank and a smaller, 2.5 million-gallon tank, at Earl Owensby’s Cherokee Studios in Gaffney, SC. The studio space was originally built as a nuclear power plant, but the project was abandoned and Owensby purchased the unfinished structure, converting it into a filming location. Shooting inside the tanks began around noon and ended at midnight, as stated in the 17 Oct 1988 HR. Some crew members did not leave the water until 2:30 a.m. However, producer Gale Ann Hurd stated that the level of enthusiasm remained high, with everyone on the crew showing up to view dailies as late as 3 a.m.
       Seven weeks of underwater filming was followed by ten weeks of “dry lensing,” as stated in the 18 Aug 1988 HR. Principal photography was expected to end mid-Dec 1988. Some visual effects were scheduled to be done in SC, and “some on location in various parts of the world,” with a small amount to be completed in Los Angeles, CA. The delivery date for the completed film was set for late May/early Jun 1989.
       Production notes stated that the submersible oil drilling platform known as Deepcore was constructed inside Cherokee’s 7.5 million-gallon tank and consisted of “six partial and complete modules” around twenty-five feet tall and sixteen feet in diameter. With the help of a structural engineer, the platform took eight months to design and build. Two working submersibles, Flatbed and Cab One, were built for the shoot by Can-Dive Services, Ltd., a Canadian commercial diving firm. A 16 Aug 1989 LAT article stated that black plastic beads were placed on the surface of the water in the tanks to block out light, creating the illusion that the actors were thousands of feet below sea level. The diving helmets worn by the cast were designed by Western Space and Marine Inc., a Santa Barbara, CA-based company headed by marine engineer Scott Millard, as stated in a 16 Aug 1989 LAT article. The helmets were made of fiberglass and plastic, designed to remain fogless, and fitted with aircraft-quality microphones used to record dialogue. Communications designer and sound mixer Lee Orloff worked with Peter Kurland to create an audio system that allowed Cameron to communicate with cast members through their helmets and in the submersibles. A remote headset, known as Clearcom, allowed Cameron to communicate with the assistant directors and roughly twenty other crew members. According to production notes, The Abyss was “the first motion picture to record scripted dialogue directly onto tape during underwater filming.”
       According to the 6 Aug 1989 NYT, actor Ed Harris threatened not to take part in promoting The Abyss after enduring “physical torment” and Cameron’s “autocratic” directing style throughout the shoot. When asked how he was treated on set, Harris responded that the question was “like asking a soldier how he was treated in Vietnam.” Actors Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Michael Biehn elaborated on the hardships of filming underwater, including claustrophobia and loss of hair due to over-chlorinated water. Although a safety diver was assigned to each of the cast members, Harris and actor Leo Burmester were not met by the divers quickly enough after one scene involving a “helmetless ‘free swim’” in which they were forced to hold their breaths. Although the actors performed at a depth of thirty-three feet, they were not deep enough to need decompression upon their return to land, while Cameron and several crewmembers operated at a depth of fifty feet and needed to “hang from hoses halfway up the tank” for up to two hours after shooting to avoid decompression sickness.
       During principal photography, Earl Owensby, owner of Cherokee Studios, tried to evict the production, claiming that one of the water tanks had been damaged and certain unapproved materials were being used, as noted in a 4 Nov 1988 LAT brief. A federal judge ruled in the filmmakers’ favor and enacted a restraining order against Owensby, who later filed a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox Film Corp. and GJP Inc. for $2.088 million. According to an 18 Jan 1989 Var brief, an out-of-court settlement was reached. One month later, in Feb 1989, a divorce settlement was reached between producer Gale Ann Hurd and James Cameron, who had separated during pre-production but maintained a good working relationship throughout the shoot.
       As noted in a 10 Feb 1989 Backstage item, Dreamquest Images produced eighty shots in the film, including those of a seventy-foot miniature of the USS Montana submarine, which was shot with an “overhead motion control gantry system.” Dreamquest also completed underwater blue screen photography, other miniatures, and composites.
       A 9 Aug 1989 Var item estimated that budget overruns on the $45 million picture may have pushed costs to $60 million, with an additional $20-25 million expected to be spent on marketing. However, a 21 Mar 1995 DV news item stated that Cameron, who reportedly forfeited half his salary due to overruns, claimed the budget was originally $36 million and only climbed to $42 million after a visual effects supplier went “100% over” budget and the set was unioized by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). Various contemporary sources provided conflicting information about the budget, including a 6 Aug 1989 LAT article that claimed the film was originally budgeted at $33 million but climbed to $43 million, and a 16 Jul 1989 LAT “Outtakes” column that estimated the production costs at $47 million, with an additional $15 million for prints and advertising. According to the 6 Aug 1989 LAT, although Fox’s market research team found that the title of the film was problematic, as “most Americans” were not familiar with the word “abyss” and could not pronounce it, the title was not changed.
       According to the 9 Aug 1989 Var, an “’all media’ preview screening” was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on 8 Aug 1989, the day before general release. On its opening day, the film grossed $2,103,340 for a per-screen average of $1406 on 1496 screens, according to an 11 Aug 1989 DV item. A 29 Oct 1989 LAT noted that, after twelve weeks in theaters, the film had taken in $53.9 million in box-office grosses. According to a 22 Feb 1993 LAT article, The Abyss ultimately grossed $60 million.
       Critical reception was mixed. Technical aspects, including the cinematography and sound design, received high praise, while several reviews, including the 7 Aug 1989 HR, 7 Aug 1989 DV, and 9 Aug 1989 LAT, criticized the ending as abrupt and implausible. The Abyss won an Academy Award for Visual Effects and received the following nominations: Art Direction, Cinematography, and Sound.
       A special edition of the film, including twenty-seven minutes of omitted scenes, was released 26 Feb 1993 in Los Angeles and New York City, as reported by a 5 Feb 1993 LAT news item. Among the restored scenes in The Abyss Special Edition was a five-minute-long tidal wave sequence, and three minutes of credits were added, according to a 7 May 1993 LAT article. The restoration cost $300,000, as stated in the 22 Feb 1993 LAT. 20th Century Fox and Image Entertainment released a home video version of the 171-minute film that sold for $100. Although Cameron stated that he had had “final cut” in 1989 and believed in the original theatrical release version, he later realized the edits that were made to shorten The Abyss altered its tone and original intent. Cameron was quoted in the 7 May 1993 LAT as saying, “The original goal of the film was to tell a story of a kind of apocalypse in which we are all judged by a superior race and found to be worthy of salvation because of a single average man.”

      Super Sea Rover and Mini Rover Mk II, two remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV's) used in the film, are credited as cast members "Big Geek" and "Little Geek," respectively. End credits include “Special Thanks” to the following organizations and individuals: American Sterilizer Corp.; Atlantic Diving; Peter B. Bennett, PhD. DSc.; Danny Blanton; Dean Brown; Burle Industries; C. M. R. Services, Inc.; Chicago Pneumatic Tool, Co.; City of Los Angeles; Dacor Corp.; Dozier Equipment Co.; E-Mu Systems, Inc.; Gai-Tronics Corp.; Henschel; Interface Marketing, Jeff Denker; Jasmine Technologies, Inc.; Paul Karnes, M.D.; Walter Kidd; Johannes A. Kylstra, M.D.; Lifestar International; O’Neill, Inc.; Piedmont Airlines; Raytheon Marine Co.; Reebok; Sanders Brothers Construction; Ronnie McDaniel; David A. Smith; Silicon Beach Software; The South Carolina Film Commission; Supermac Technology; Tektronix; Truevision, Inc. “Special Thanks” are followed by the statement: “Filmed on location at the Earl Owensby Studios in Gaffney, South Carolina and at Harbor Star Stage, San Pedro, California.”