James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is an
Academy Award winning Canadian director, producer and screenwriter. He is noted for his action/science fiction films, which are often highly successful financially and innovatively.
Thematically, James Cameron's films generally explore the relationship between man and
technology. Cameron directed the film Titanic, which went on to become the top-grossing film of all time, with a worldwide gross of
over US$1.8 billion. He also created the Terminator franchise.
Background
James Cameron was born in Kapuskasing, Ontario,
Canada, to Phillip, an electrical engineer, and
Shirley Cameron, an artist. He grew up in Chippawa,
Ontario, and in 1971 his family moved to Brea, California. There he studied
physics at Cal State-Fullerton,
but his passion for filmmaking would draw him to the film archive of UCLA at every opportunity. After seeing the film Star Wars, Cameron quit his job as a truck driver to enter the film industry.[1]
Early career
He started in the film industry as a screenwriter, then moved into art direction and effects for films such as
Battle Beyond the Stars and Escape from New York. Working with producer Roger Corman,
Cameron landed his first directorial job in 1981 for the film Piranha II: The Spawning, shot at Grand Cayman Island for the underwater diving sequences,
and in Rome, Italy for most of the interior scenes. He was
originally hired as the special effects director (and his hand in story-writing can be suspected under the H. A. Milton pseudonym
on the original script), and took over the direction when the original director left.
Major films
During his stay in Rome, he fell ill and had a nightmare about a machine emerging from a fire to kill him. While recovering,
Cameron materialized the idea for The Terminator. He finally completed a
screenplay, and decided to sell it so that he could direct the movie. However, the production companies he contacted, while
expressing interest in the project, were unwilling to let a first-time director make the movie. Finally, Cameron found a company
called Hemdale Pictures, which was willing to let him direct. His soon-to-be-then-wife, Gale
Anne Hurd, who had started her own production company, Pacific Western Productions, had
previously worked with Cameron in Roger Corman's company and agreed to buy Cameron's screenplay for one dollar, on the condition
that Cameron direct the film. Hurd was signed on as producer, and Cameron finally got his first break as director.
Orion Pictures would distribute the film.
Initially, for the role of the Terminator, Cameron wanted someone who wasn't exceptionally muscular, and who could "blend
into" a normal crowd. Lance Henriksen, who had starred in Piranha II: The
Spawning, was considered for the titular role, but when Arnold Schwarzenegger
and Cameron first met over lunch to discuss Schwarzenegger playing the role of Kyle Reese,
both came to the conclusion that the cyborg villain would be the more compelling role for the Austrian bodybuilder; Henriksen got
the smaller part of LAPD detective Hal Vukovich and the role of Kyle Reese
went to Michael Biehn. In addition, Linda Hamilton
first appeared in this film in her iconic role of Sarah Connor, and later
married Cameron.
The Terminator was a box office hit, breaking expectations by Orion Pictures
executives that the film would be regarded as no more than a sci-fi film, and only last a week in theaters. The film was
low-budget ($6.5 million), but it earned over $38 million domestically.
During the early 1980s, Cameron wrote three screenplays simultaneously: The Terminator, Aliens, and the first draft of
Rambo: First Blood Part II. While Cameron would continue with The
Terminator and with Aliens, Sylvester Stallone eventually took over the
script of Rambo: First Blood Part II, creating a final draft which
differed radically from Cameron's initial version. Cameron was credited for his screenplay in the films final credits.[2]
Cameron next began the sequel to Alien, the 1979 film by Ridley Scott. Cameron would name the sequel Aliens, and would
again cast Sigourney Weaver in the iconic role of Ellen
Ripley (the sole survivor from the first film). According to Cameron, the crew on Aliens was hostile to him,
regarding him as a poor substitute for Ridley Scott. Cameron sought to show them The Terminator but the majority of the
crew refused and remained skeptical of his direction throughout production. Despite this and other off screen problems (such as
clashing with an uncooperative camera man and having to replace one of the lead actors - Michael
Biehn of Terminator took James Remar's place as Corporal Hicks), Aliens
became a box office success, and Sigourney Weaver received a nomination for Best Actress during the 1986 Academy Awards. In addition, the film and its lead actress made the cover of Time Magazine as a result of its breakthrough feminist themes about women in combat. Following the
phenomenal hit of the film, Cameron now had more freedom to make whatever project he wanted.
Cameron's next project stemmed from an idea that had come up during a high school biology class. The story of oil-rig workers
who discover otherworldly underwater creatures became the basis of Cameron's screenplay for The
Abyss, which cast Ed Harris, Mary
Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Michael Biehn. Made on a budget of about $41 million
U.S.,[3] it was considered to be one of the most expensive
films of its time, and required cutting-edge effects technology. Because much of the film takes place underwater and the
technology wasn't advanced enough to digitally create an underwater environment, Cameron chose to shoot much of the movie
"reel-for-real," at depths of up to 40 feet. For creation of the sets, the containment building of an unfinished nuclear power
plant was converted, and two huge tanks were utilized. The main tank was filled with 7.5 million gallons of water, and the second
2.5 million gallons. There, the cast and crew would reside for much of the shooting.
The Abyss opened on August 9, 1989 with $9.3 million in
2nd place at the boxoffice behind Parenthood.[4] It
ultimately earned $54.5 million domestically, $46 million in foreign markets[5] and a mostly lukewarm response from critics. Cameron would later release a special edition version of
the film in spring of 1993, restoring deleted scenes, including the film's climax as it had been originally conceived. The film
was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Visual Effects, Best Art
Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Sound. It won for Best Visual Effects. After the release of The Abyss,
Cameron founded his own production company called Lightstorm Entertainment, which produced all of his subsequent
films.
After the success of The Terminator, there had always been talks about a sequel to continue the story of Sarah Connor
and her struggle against machines from the future. Although Cameron had come up with a core idea for the sequel, and
Schwarzenegger expressed interest in continuing the story, there were still problems regarding who had the rights to the story,
as well as the logistics of the special effects needed to make the sequel. Finally, in mid-1990, Mario Kassar of Carolco Pictures secured the rights to the
sequel, allowing Cameron to greenlight production of the film, now called Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
For the film, Linda Hamilton reprised her iconic role of Sarah Connor.[6] In
addition, Arnold Schwarzenegger also returned in his role as The Terminator,
called the Cyberdyne Systems Model 101, but this time as a protector. Unlike the
Model 101, who is made of a metal endoskeleton, the new villain of the sequel, called the T-1000,
was a more advanced Terminator made of liquid metal, and with polymorphic abilities. The T-1000 would also be much less bulky
than the Model 101. For the role, Cameron cast Robert Patrick, who was a sharp contrast
to Schwarzenegger. Cameron explained, "I wanted someone who was extremely fast and agile. If the T-800 is a human Panzer tank,
then the T-1000 is a Porsche."
Cameron had originally wanted to incorporate this advanced-model Terminator into the first film, but unfortunately the special
effects at the time were not advanced enough. The ground-breaking effects used in The Abyss to digitally realize the water
tentacle convinced Cameron that his liquid metal villain was now possible.
TriStar Pictures would distribute the film under a locked release date that was only
about one year away from when shooting would begin. The movie, which was co-written by Cameron and his longtime friend,
William Wisher, Jr., had to go from screenplay to finished film in just that amount
of time. Like Cameron's previous film, it was one of the most expensive films of its era, with a budget of about $100 million.
The biggest challenge of the movie was the special effects used in creating the T-1000. Nevertheless, the film was finished on
time, and released to theaters on July 3, 1991.
Terminator 2, or T2, as it was abbreviated, broke box-office records (including the opening weekend record for
an R-rated film), earning over $200 million domestically, and over $300 million overseas, and became the highest-grossing film of
that year. It won four Academy Awards: Best Makeup, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects, and
Best Visual Effects.
Before the release of T2, Schwarzenegger came to Cameron with the idea of making a remake of the French comedy titled
La Totale. Titled True Lies, with filming begun
after T2's release, the story revolves around a secret-agent spy who leads a double
life as a married man, whose wife believes he is a computer salesman. Schwarzenegger would be cast as the secret spy, named Harry
Tasker, whose mission in the movie is to investigate and stop a plan by Arab terrorists to use
nuclear weapons against the United States. Jamie Lee
Curtis would play Schwarzenegger's onscreen wife, with Tom Arnold cast as the
secret agent's sidekick.
Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment signed on with Twentieth Century Fox for production of True Lies. Made on a budget of $115 million and released in 1994, the film earned $146 million in North
America, and $232 million abroad.
Cameron expressed interest in the famous sinking of the ship Titanic. He decided
to script and film his next project based on this event. The picture revolved around a fictional romance story between two young
lovers from different social classes who meet onboard the ship's maiden, and final, voyage. Before production began, he took
dives to the bottom of the Atlantic and shot actual footage of the ship underwater, which he would insert into the final
film.
For the film Titanic, Cameron cast Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, and Billy Zane. Cameron's budget for the film reached about $200 million, and it became the most expensive movie
ever made. Before its release, the film was widely ridiculed for its expense and protracted production schedule.
Released to theaters on December 19, 1997, Titanic
opened with $28 million on its first weekend. The film's grosses escalated in the next several weeks. Titanic was one of
very few modern movies to gross more in their second weekend than their first. Its gross increased from $28.6 million to $35.4
million from week 1 to week 2, an increase of 23.8%, unheard of for a wide release, and a testament to the appeal of the movie.
This was especially noteworthy, considering that the film's running time of more than three hours limited the number of showings
each theater could schedule. It held the #1 spot on the box-office charts for months, eventually grossing a total of over $600
million domestically and more than $1.8 billion worldwide. Titanic became the
highest grossing film of all time. (Adjusting for inflation, the film brought in the sixth-highest domestic (U.S. only) gross of
all time.) [7] The CG visuals surrounding the sinking and
destruction of the ship were considered spectacular. During the 1998 Academy Awards, the film won a record-tying 11 Oscars. Among
them were Best Picture and Best Director.
Cameron had initially next planned to do a film of the comic book character Spider-Man, a
project developed by Menahem Golan of Cannon Films.
Disputes arose focusing on Golan's role in the Carolco project. A screenplay dating back to 1989 exists with Cameron's name
appended to it, indicating erroneously he worked with a series of writers on the project (John Brancato, Barry [sic: Barney]
Cohen, Joseph Goldmari [sic: "Joseph Goldman," Menahem Golan's pen name] and Ted Newsom), but
the script was identical to one presented to Columbia Pictures by Golan in 1988, where the project had been in development
(Cameron never worked with these writers at all.) Subsequent to the delivery of this script to Carolco, Cameron presented a
45-page Spider-Man screen story to Carolco, which bore substantive similarities to a number of earlier screenplay drafts,
particularly one written by Ethan Wiley (writer House and writer/director of
House 2). When Carolco went into bankruptcy, all previous "Spider-Man"
scripts were acquired by MGM-UA, including the "Cameron material," i.e., both the multi-author screenplay and the later
treatment credited solely to Cameron. MGM in turn sold the material to Columbia Pictures in exchange for Columbia dropping their
plans to do an alternative James Bond series based on the Kevin McClory Bond material. Columbia hired David Koepp to adapt
Cameron's treatment into a screenplay, and Koepp's first draft is taken often word-for-word from Cameron's story, though later
drafts were heavily rewritten by Koepp himself, Scott Rosenberg, Alvin Sargent (husband of
producer Laura Ziskin), and (allegedly) Ivan Raimi,
brother of director Sam Raimi. Columbia preferred to credit David Koepp solely, and none of
the scripts before or after his were ever examined by the Writers Guild of
America to determine proper credit attribution. Cameron and other writers objected, but Columbia and the WGA prevailed. In
its release in 2002, Spider-Man had its screenplay was credited solely to
Koepp.[8]
Unable to make Spiderman, Cameron moved to television and created the story of Max
Guevara, a new superheroine. Dark Angel, was influenced by cyberpunk, biopunk, current superhero genres, and third-wave feminism:
- After the Sarah Connors and Ellen
Ripleys of the eighties, the nineties weren't so kind to the superwoman format --Xena: Warrior Princess excepted. But it's a new millennium now, and while Charlie's Angels and Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon are kicking up a storm on movie screens, it's been down to James Cameron to bring empowered female
warriors back to television screens. And tellingly, Cameron has done it by mixing the sober feminism of his The Terminator and Aliens characters with the sexed-up
Girl Power of a Britney Spears concert. The result is
Dark Angel, a weekly action series that's burning up the ratings on America's Fox Network and has recently premiered in
the UK. [9]
Co-produced with Charles H. Eglee, Dark
Angel starred Jessica Alba as Max Guevara,
a genetically enhanced transgenic super-soldier created by the super-secretive Manticore organization. It also
starred Michael Weatherly as Logan Cale, and noted actor John Savage (of The Deer Hunter) as Colonel Donald
Michael Lydecker. While a success in its first season, low ratings in the second led to its cancellation. Cameron himself
directed the series finale, a two-hour episode wrapping up many of the series' loose ends.
Current projects
Cameron's recent projects have included undersea documentaries on the Bismarck (Expedition: Bismarck,
2002) and the Titanic (Ghosts of the
Abyss (2003, in IMAX 3D), and Tony Robinson's Titanic
Adventure (2005)[10]). He was a producer on the 2002
film Solaris, and narrated The Exodus
Decoded.
Cameron is a leading advocate for stereoscopic digital
3-D films. Ghosts of the Abyss was shot in 3-D, as will his next projects,
Avatar, The Dive and an adaptation of the
manga series Battle Angel Alita. Cameron sees
Battle Angel Alita as a "three film cycle".[11]
Avatar, previously known as Project 880, has an estimated budget of $200 million, is currently in pre-production
for a mid-2009 release, and will mark his first feature film since 1997's Titanic.[12] It will be
almost entirely composed of computer-generated animation, using a more advanced version of the "performance capture" technique used by director Robert Zemeckis
in The Polar Express.[13]
He is also co-rewriting the screenplay for a high-definition 3-D live-action deep-sea-diving drama entitled James Cameron's Sanctum, to be produced by himself and directed by Gary
Johnstone. Sanctum will have a relatively-low starting budget of about $20 million.
In addition, he plans to create a 3-D project about the first trip to Mars. ("I've been very
interested in the Humans to Mars movement — the 'Mars Underground' — and I've done a tremendous amount of personal research for a
novel, a miniseries, and a 3-D film.")[14] He is on the
science team for the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory.[15]
Cameron announced on February 26, 2007, that he, along with
his director, Simcha Jacobovici, have documented the unearthing of the
Talpiot Tomb, which is alleged to be the tomb of Jesus.
Unearthed in 1980 by Israeli construction workers, the names on the tomb are claimed, by Cameron, to correlate with the names of
Jesus and several individuals closely associated with him. Cameron further claims to have DNA tests, archaeological evidence, and
Biblical studies to back up his claim. [16] The
documentary, named The Lost Tomb of Jesus, was broadcast on the
Discovery Channel on March 4, 2007
Marilyn Manson made a 3D video for the first single from his new album
"Eat Me, Drink Me", "Heart-Shaped Glasses", which is an extract from a 3D horror movie
which Manson will continue filming at the beginning of 2008 with James Cameron.
Awards
Cameron received the Bradbury Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 1991 — but, being
primarily thought of as a genre filmmaker, he did not receive any major mainstream filmmaking awards prior to Titanic. With Titanic, Cameron received the Academy
Awards for Best Editing (shared with Conrad Buff IV and Richard A. Harris), Best Picture (shared with John Landau), and Best
Director.
In recognition of his contributions to underwater filming and remote vehicle technology, the University of Southampton awarded Cameron the honorary
degree of Doctor of the University. Cameron received his degree in person at the graduation ceremony in July, 2004.
Recurring cast members
Cameron often casts certain actors more than once in his films. Cameron has mostly worked with Bill Paxton in The Terminator, Aliens, True Lies, Titanic and Ghosts of the Abyss.
Michael Biehn was also in The Terminator,
Aliens, The Abyss and a deleted scene
from Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Lance Henriksen appeared in Piranha II: The
Spawning, The Terminator, Aliens, and narrated Expedition: Bismarck.
Jenette Goldstein appeared in Aliens,
Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Titanic. In addition to starring in the Terminator films, Arnold Schwarzenegger also starred in True Lies. In
February 2007 Sigourney Weaver was cast for Cameron's upcoming film Avatar after having worked with him on Aliens as lead
actress.
Recurring themes
Cameron has been concerned by the prospects of nuclear holocaust, a theme in each
of his movies from 1986 through 1994.
While The Abyss dealt with deep sea exploration (shot on a studio set), Cameron
himself became an expert in the field of deep sea wreckage exploration exploring the wreckage of Titanic and Bismarck.
Filmography (Director)
| Year |
Title |
Genre |
Other notes |
Estimated Budget |
| 1978 |
Xenogenesis |
Sci-Fi |
with Randall Frakes (co-director) |
|
| 1981 |
Piranha II: The Spawning |
Horror |
|
|
| 1984 |
The Terminator |
Sci-Fi / Action / Horror |
|
$ 6,400,000 USD |
| 1986 |
Aliens |
Sci-Fi / Action / Horror |
|
$ 18,500,000 USD |
| 1989 |
The Abyss |
Sci-Fi |
|
$ 41,000,000 USD |
| 1991 |
Terminator 2: Judgment Day |
Sci-Fi / Action |
|
$ 92,000,000 USD |
| 1994 |
True Lies |
Action / Comedy |
|
$ 120,000,000 USD |
| 1996 |
T2 3-D: Battle Across Time |
Sci-Fi / Action |
with John Bruno & Stan Winston
(co-directors) |
$ 60,000,000 USD |
| 1997 |
Titanic |
Disaster / Drama / Romance |
|
$ 195,000,000 USD |
| 2000–2002 |
Dark Angel |
Television drama |
|
|
| 2002 |
Expedition: Bismarck |
Documentary |
|
|
| 2003 |
Ghosts of the Abyss |
Documentary / 3-D |
|
|
| 2005 |
Aliens of the Deep |
Documentary / 3-D |
|
|
| 2007 |
Heart-Shaped Glasses (When the Heart Guides the
Hand) |
Music video / 3-D |
directed with Marilyn Manson |
|
| 2009 |
Avatar |
Sci-Fi / 3-D |
filming |
$200,000,000 USD |
| TBA |
Battle Angel |
Sci-Fi / 3-D |
pre-production |
|
| TBA |
The Dive |
Drama |
|
|
Filmography (Screenwriter)
He also wrote early drafts of Spider-Man and X-Men and had input into Alien Nation. He is also
credited with giving the Predator character the dreadlock-look, after sharing ideas
with Stan Winston. His screenplay for A Crowded Room, a thriller about a person suffering from DID, eventually became a casualty of the long pre-production nightmare. A
heavily-rewritten screenplay to The Crowded Room is currently being produced
under the direction of Joel Schumacher.
Personal life
Cameron has been married five times: Sharon Williams (1978-1984), Gale Anne Hurd
(1985-1989), Kathryn Bigelow (1989-1991), Linda
Hamilton (1997-1999, one daughter), Suzy Amis (2000-, one son, two daughters).
He has been described by one collaborator, author Orson Scott Card, as selfish and
cruel. When asked about working with Cameron on the novelization of The Abyss, Card said the experience was "Hell on
wheels. He was very nice to me, because I could afford to walk away. But he made everyone around him miserable, and his
unkindness did nothing to improve the film in any way. Nor did it motivate people to work faster or better. And unless he changes
his way of working with people, I hope he never directs anything of mine. In fact, now that this is in print, I can fairly
guarantee that he will never direct anything of mine. Life is too short to collaborate with selfish, cruel people."[17]
Cameron has a famously explosive temper. The (London) Independent compares him
with the tyrannical Attila the Hun: "[T]he man is also, by all accounts, a nightmare to
work with. Studios have come to fear his habit of straying way over schedule and over budget. He is notorious on set for his
uncompromising and dictatorial manner, as well as his flaming temper - he's been called the film-making equivalent of Attila the
Hun." [18]
Appearances
Quotes
- "I think the most important thing if you're an aspiring film-maker is to get rid of the 'aspiring'... You shoot it, you put
your name on it, you're a film-maker. Everything after that, you're just negotiating your budget."[19]
- "I love working with 3-D cameras. I don't want to go back to shooting on film. I don't want
to go back to shooting in 2-D" [20]
References
- ^ The Force Is With Them: The Legacy of Star Wars, 2004
- ^ http://www.amazingcameron.com/biography.html
- ^ Paula Parisi, Titanic and the Making of James Cameron, 1998, pg.
19
- ^ Boxofficemojo.com
- ^ Boxofficemojo.com
- ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,314767_7%7C14651%7C%7C0_0_,00.html
- ^ http://www.boxofficereport.com/atbon/adjusted.shtml
- ^ http://www.hollywood.com/news/detail/id/311891
- ^ http://www.darkangelfan.com/news/254.shtml
- ^ Titanic Adventure (2005) (TV) at IMDb
- ^ Harry Knowles. "Harry talks to James Cameron, Cracks PROJECT 880, the BATTLE ANGEL trilogy & Cameron's
live shoot on Mars!!!", Ain't It Cool News, 2006-02-28. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ Cameron To Direct First Movie in 10 Years. IMDb (2007-01-10). Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ Harry Knowles (2007-01-09). Harry interviews James Cameron regarding AVATAR - No,
Not that one, The One You're Dying To See! - Part 1!. Ain't It Cool News.
Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ James Cameron's Mars Reference Design. Astrobiology
Magazine (2004-01-30). Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
- ^ http://www.msss.com/msl/team.html
- ^ Jesus :
Tales From The Crypt. Time Middle East Blog (2007-02-24). Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
- ^ Author Chat Transcript, Barnes and Noble, August 31, 1999, [1]
- ^ Andrew Gumbel, "The Return of James Cameron," The (London)
Independent, Jan 11, 2007 [2]
- ^ James Cameron
Interview. The Guardian (2003-04-13). Retrieved on 2007-01-31.
