| birth date | August 16, 1954 |
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| birth place | Kapuskasing, Ontario |
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| birth name | James Francis Cameron |
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| nationality | Canadian |
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| citizenship | Canadian |
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| networth | $650 million (est.) |
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| education | Brea Olinda High School |
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| alma mater | Fullerton College |
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| home town | Chippawa, Ontario |
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| residence | Permanent Los Angeles, California secondary Permanent New Zealand |
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| years active | 1978–present |
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| spouse(s) | Sharon Williams (1978–1984)Gale Anne Hurd (1985–1989)Kathryn Bigelow (1989–1991)Linda Hamilton (1997–1999)Suzy Amis (2000–present) |
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| occupation | Film director, producer, editor, screenwriter, environmentalist, explorer |
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| Notable works | ''The Terminator'', ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'', ''Avatar'', ''Titanic'', ''Aliens'', ''True Lies'', ''The Abyss'' |
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| influences | Stanley Kubrick, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ridley Scott, George Lucas, Roger Corman, Steven Spielberg |
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| influenced | David Fincher, Jonathan Mostow, Kathryn Bigelow, Rupert Wyatt, McG, Sam Raimi, Robert Rodriguez, Steven Spielberg, Joss Whedon, Alister Grierson, Duncan Jones |
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| website | }} |
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James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a
Canadian film director,
film producer,
deep-sea explorer,
screenwriter,
visual artist,
editor,
environmentalist and
inventor. His writing and directing work includes ''
Piranha II: The Spawning'' (1981), ''
The Terminator'' (1984), ''
Aliens'' (1986), ''
The Abyss'' (1989), ''
Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991), ''
True Lies'' (1994), ''
Titanic'' (1997), and ''
Dark Angel'' (2000–2002). In the time between making ''Titanic'' and his return to feature films with ''
Avatar'' (2009), Cameron spent several years creating many documentary films (specifically underwater documentaries), and also co-developed the digital 3D Fusion Camera System. Described by a biographer as part-scientist and part-artist, Cameron has also contributed to
underwater filming and
remote vehicle technologies.
He has been nominated for six Academy Awards overall, and received half of them, three Oscars for ''Titanic''. In total, Cameron's directorial efforts have grossed approximately US$2 billion in North America and US$6 billion worldwide. Without adjusting for inflation, Cameron's ''Titanic'' and ''Avatar'' are the two highest-grossing films of all time at $1.84 billion and $2.78 billion respectively. In March 2011 he was named Hollywood's top earner by ''Vanity Fair'', with estimated 2010 earnings of $257 million.
Background
Cameron was born in
Kapuskasing,
Ontario,
Canada, 1954, the son of Shirley (Lowe), an artist and nurse, and Phillip Cameron. His paternal great-great-great-grandfather emigrated from
Balquhidder, Scotland in 1825; thus, he descends from
Clan Cameron.
Cameron grew up in Chippawa, Ontario with his brother Davie Cameron and attended Stamford Collegiate School in Niagara Falls; his family moved to Brea, California in 1971 when he was 17. Cameron enrolled at Fullerton College, a 2-year community college, in 1973 to study physics. He switched to English, then dropped out before the start of the fall 1974 semester.
After dropping out of Sonora High School, he went to further his secondary education at Brea Olinda High School. After graduating, he worked several jobs such as truck driving and wrote when he had time. During this period he taught himself about special effects: "I'd go down to the USC library and pull any thesis that graduate students had written about optical printing, or front screen projection, or dye transfers, anything that related to film technology. That way I could sit down and read it, and if they'd let me photocopy it, I would. If not, I'd make notes."
After seeing the original ''Star Wars'' film in 1977, Cameron quit his job as a truck driver to enter the film industry. When Cameron read Syd Field's book ''Screenplay'', it occurred to him that integrating science and art was possible, and he wrote a ten-minute science fiction script with two friends, entitled ''Xenogenesis''. They raised money and rented camera, lenses, film stock, and studio, and shot it in 35mm. To understand how to operate the camera, they dismantled it and spent the first half-day of the shoot trying to figure out how to get it running.
Early career
While continuing to educate himself in film-making techniques, Cameron started working as a miniature-model maker at
Roger Corman Studios. Making rapidly produced, low-budget productions taught Cameron to work efficiently and effectively. He soon found employment as an art director in the sci-fi movie ''
Battle Beyond the Stars'' (1980). He did special effects work design and direction on John Carpenter's ''
Escape from New York'' (1981), acted as production designer on ''
Galaxy of Terror'' (1981), and consulted on the design of ''
Android'' (1982).
Cameron was hired as the special effects director for the sequel of ''Piranha'', entitled ''Piranha II: The Spawning'' in 1981. The original director, Miller Drake, left the project due to creative differences with Ovidio Assonitis. Cameron was hired by Assonitis to take over, giving him his first directorial job. (He had worked previously with producer Roger Corman.) The interior scenes were filmed in Italy while the underwater diving sequences were shot at Grand Cayman Island.
The movie was to be produced in Jamaica. On location, production slowed down due to numerous problems and adverse weather conditions. James Cameron was fired after failing to get a close up of Carole Davis in her opening scene. Ovidio ordered Cameron to do the close-up the next day before he started on that day’s shooting. Cameron spent the entire day sailing around the resort to reproduce the lighting but still failed to get the close-up. After he was fired, Ovidio invited Cameron to stay on location and assist in the shooting. Once in Rome, Ovidio took over the editing and Cameron was struck down by food poisoning. Suffering from his illness, one night he had a nightmare about an invincible robot hitman sent from the future to kill him, giving him the idea for ''The Terminator'', which would later catapult his filming career.
Major films
''The Terminator'' (1984)
After completing a screenplay for ''
The Terminator'', Cameron 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 largely inexperienced feature film director make the movie. Finally, Cameron found a company called
Hemdale Pictures, which was willing to let him direct.
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 distributed 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 title 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. It was a low-budget film which cost $6.5 million to make, cutting expenses in such ways as recording the audio track in mono. However, ''The Terminator'' eventually earned over $78 million worldwide.
''Rambo: First Blood Part II'' (1985)
During the early 1980s, Cameron wrote three screenplays simultaneously: ''The Terminator'', ''Aliens'', and the first draft of ''Rambo: First Blood Part II''. While Cameron continued with ''The Terminator'' and ''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.
''Aliens'' (1986)
Cameron next began the sequel to ''
Alien'', the 1979 film by
Ridley Scott. Cameron named the sequel ''Aliens'', and again cast
Sigourney Weaver in the iconic role of
Ellen Ripley. 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 to watch it 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 received
Academy Award nominations for
Best Actress in a Leading Role for Weaver,
Best Art Direction,
Best Film Editing,
Best Original Score,
Best Sound, and won awards for
Best Sound Effects Editing and
Best Visual Effects. In addition, the film and its lead actress made the cover of ''TIME'' magazine as a result of its numerous and extensive scenes of women in combat - these were almost without precedent and expressed the
feminist theme of the film very strongly.
''The Abyss'' (1989)
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. Initially budgeted at $41 million U.S. (though the production ran considerably over budget), 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 . For creation of the sets, the containment building of an unfinished nuclear power plant was converted, and two huge tanks were used. The main tank was filled with of water, and the second with . The cast and crew resided there for much of the shooting.
''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991)
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 late-1980s, 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. In addition, Schwarzenegger also returned in his role as The Terminator, but this time as a protector. Unlike the T-800, 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 T-800. For the role, Cameron cast Robert Patrick, 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 the special effects at the time were not advanced enough. The ground-breaking effects used in ''The Abyss'' to digitally depict the water tentacle convinced Cameron that his liquid metal villain was now possible.
TriStar Pictures agreed to distribute the film, but under a locked release date only about one year after the start of shooting. The movie, 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 in the United States and Canada, and over $300 million in other territories, and became the highest-grossing film of that year. It won four Academy Awards: Best Makeup, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Visual Effects. It was also nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing, but lost both Awards to ''JFK''.
James Cameron announced a third Terminator film many times during the 1990s, but without coming out with any finished scripts. Kassar and Vajna purchased the rights to the Terminator franchise from a bankruptcy sale of Carolco's assets. ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' was eventually made and released in July 2003 without Cameron's involvement. Jonathan Mostow directed the film and Schwarzenegger returned as the Terminator.
Cameron reunited with the main cast of ''Terminator 2'' to film ''T2 3-D: Battle Across Time'', an attraction at Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan. It was released in 1996 and was a mini-sequel to ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day''. The show is in two parts: a prequel segment in which a spokesperson talks about Cyberdyne, and a main feature, in which the performers interact with a 3-D movie.
''True Lies'' (1994)
Before the release of ''T2'', Schwarzenegger came to Cameron with the idea of making a remake of the French comedy ''La Totale!'' Titled ''True Lies'', with filming beginning 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 was cast as Harry Tasker, a spy charged with stopping a plan by a terrorist to use nuclear weapons against the United States. Jamie Lee Curtis and Eliza Dushku played the character's family, and Tom Arnold the 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. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects.
''Titanic'' (1997)
Cameron expressed interest in the famous sinking of the ship . 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 on board. Before production began, he took dives to the bottom of the Atlantic and shot actual footage of the ship underwater, which he inserted into the final film. Much of the film's dialogue was also written during these dives.
Subsequently, Cameron cast Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Gloria Stuart, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde, Victor Garber, Danny Nucci, David Warner, Suzy Amis and Bill Paxton as the film's principal cast. Cameron's budget for the film reached about $200 million, making it the most expensive movie ever made at the time. Before its release, the film was widely ridiculed for its expense and protracted production schedule.
Released to theaters on December 19, 1997, ''Titanic'' grossed less in its first weekend ($28.6 million) than in its second, ($35.4 million), an increase of 23.8%. This is unheard of for a widely released film, which is a testament to the movie's appeal. 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 No. 1 spot on the box-office charts for months, eventually grossing a total of over $600 million in the United States and Canada and more than $1.8 billion worldwide. ''Titanic'' became the highest-grossing film ever made, until Cameron's 2009 film ''Avatar''. The CG visuals surrounding the sinking and destruction of the ship were considered spectacular. Despite criticism during production of the film, it received a record-tying 14 Oscar nominations (tied with ''All About Eve'') at the 1998 Academy Awards. It won 11 Oscars (also record-tying with ''Ben-Hur'' and later ''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''), including Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Original Song, Best Original Dramatic Score, and the Best Director award for Cameron. Upon receiving the award, Cameron exclaimed, "I'm king of the world!", in reference to one of the main characters' lines from the film. In March 2010, Cameron revealed that ''Titanic'' will be re-released in 3D in April 2012, in order to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the actual ship.
''Spider-Man'' and ''Dark Angel'' (2000–2002)
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. 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, and Alvin Sargent. 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, East 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 credited solely to Koepp.
Unable to make ''Spider-Man'', Cameron moved to television and created ''Dark Angel'', a superheroine-centered series influenced by cyberpunk, biopunk, contemporary superhero franchises, and third-wave feminism. Co-produced with Charles H. Eglee, ''Dark Angel'' starred Jessica Alba as Max Guevara, a genetically enhanced transgenic super-soldier created by a secretive organization. Cameron's work was said to "bring empowered female warriors back to television screens[...] by mixing the sober feminism of his ''The Terminator'' and ''Aliens'' characters with the sexed-up Girl Power of a Britney Spears concert." 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.
Documentaries (2002–2009)
In 1998 James and
John David Cameron formed a digital media company, earthship.tv which became Earthship Productions. The company produced live multimedia documentaries from the depths of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. With Earthship Productions, John Cameron's recent projects have included undersea documentaries on the (''
Expedition: Bismarck'', 2002) and the ''
Titanic'' (''
Ghosts of the Abyss'' (2003, in IMAX 3D) and ''
Tony Robinson's Titanic Adventure'' (2005)). 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. In a 2003 interview about his IMAX 2D documentary ''Ghosts of the Abyss'', he mentioned that he is "going to do everything in 3D now". He has made similar statements in other interviews. ''Ghosts of the Abyss'' and ''Aliens of the Deep'' (also an IMAX documentary) were both shot in 3-D and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, and Cameron did the same for his new project, ''Avatar'' for 20th Century Fox & Sony Pictures' Columbia Pictures. He intends to use the same technology for ''The Dive'', ''Sanctum'' and an adaptation of the manga series ''Battle Angel Alita''.
Cameron was the founder and CEO of Digital Domain, a visual effects production and technology company.
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.") He is on the science team for the 2011 Mars Science Laboratory.
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 1981 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. The documentary, named ''The Lost Tomb of Jesus'', was broadcast on the Discovery Channel on March 4, 2006.
''Avatar'' (2009)
In June 2005, Cameron was announced to be working on a project tentatively titled "Project 880" (now known to be ''
Avatar'') in parallel with another project, ''
Battle Angel'' (an adaptation of the manga series
Battle Angel Alita). Both movies were to be shot in 3D. By December, Cameron stated that he wanted to film ''Battle Angel'' first, followed by ''Avatar''. However in February 2006, he switched goals for the two film projects and decided to film ''Avatar'' first. He mentioned that if both films are successful, he would be interested in seeing a trilogy being made for both.
''Avatar'' had an estimated budget of over $300 million and was released on December 18, 2009. This marked his first feature film since 1997's ''Titanic''. It is composed almost entirely of computer-generated animation, using a more advanced version of the "performance capture" technique used by director Robert Zemeckis in ''The Polar Express''. James Cameron wrote an 80 page scriptment for ''Avatar'' in 1995 and announced in 1996 that he would make the film after completing ''Titanic''. In December 2006, Cameron explained that the delay in producing the film since the 1990s had been to wait until the technology necessary to create his project was advanced enough. The film was originally scheduled to be released in May 2009 but was pushed back to December 2009 to allow more time for post production on the complex CGI and to give more time for theatres worldwide to install 3D projectors. Cameron originally intended ''Avatar'' to be 3D-only. The film went on to break the record for highest-grossing film ever, beating Cameron's previous film ''Titanic''. ''Avatar'' also became the first movie to ever earn more than $2 billion worldwide. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won three for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and Best Art Direction. Cameron lost the award for Best Director to his ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow, who also took Best Picture with her film ''The Hurt Locker''.
Cameron was declared as the highest earner in Hollywood for 2010 earning $257 million for his blockbuster hit, in a survey listing the top 40 earners by Vanity Fair.
Critics of "Avatar" have said that it continues to perpetrate the "White Messiah" myth. Film-maker Neil Diamond described it in an interview as "Dances with Pocahontas in Space."
Planned films
In October 2010, Cameron signed an agreement with Fox to direct two sequels to ''Avatar'', which are scheduled to be released in December 2014 and December 2015. Another project Cameron has announced a personal commitment to shoot is a film on the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as told through the story of
Tsutomu Yamaguchi, a man who survived both attacks. Cameron met with Yamaguchi just days before he died in 2010.
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 Academy Awards for Best Film Editing (shared with Conrad Buff and Richard A. Harris), Best Picture (shared with Jon Landau), and Best Director. He also won a Golden Globe Award for best director for the film.
In recognition of "a distinguished career as a Canadian filmmaker", Carleton University, Ottawa, awarded Cameron the honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts on June 13, 1998. Cameron accepted the degree in person and gave the Convocation Address.
He also received an honorary doctorate in October 1998 from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, for his accomplishments in the international film industry.
In 1998, Cameron attended convocation to receive an honorary doctorate of Laws from Ryerson University, Toronto. The university awards its highest honor to those who have made extraordinary contributions in Canada, or internationally.
In 1999, Cameron received the honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from California State University, Fullerton, where he had been a student in the 1970s. He received the degree at the university's annual Commencement exercises that year, where he gave the keynote speech.
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.
On June 3, 2008, it was announced that he would be inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. On December 18, 2009, the same day ''Avatar'' was released worldwide, Cameron received the 2,396th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
On February 28, 2010 James Cameron was honored with a Visual Effects Society (VES) Lifetime Achievement Award.
With ''Avatar'', Cameron has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Picture (shared with Jon Landau), Best Director and Best Film Editing (shared with John Refoua and Stephen E. Rivkin) and received the Golden Globe for Best Picture and Best Director. Cameron and ''Avatar'' lost the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture to Cameron's former wife Kathryn Bigelow for her film, ''The Hurt Locker''.
On September 24, 2010 James Cameron was named Number 1 in The 2010 Guardian Film Power 100 list. In a list compiled by the British magazine New Statesman in September 2010, he was listed 30th in the list of "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures 2010".
Awards
Casting
Cameron often casts certain actors more than once in his films. Cameron has consistently worked with
Bill Paxton,
Michael Biehn,
Lance Henriksen,
Jenette Goldstein and
Arnold Schwarzenegger.
1 His reprised role of Reese was cut from the theatrical release, but restored in the DVD's Special Edition Version.
2 Although Wisher Jr. has written some of Cameron's works, he is listed in the above table as an actor.
Recurring themes
Cameron's films have recurring themes and subtexts. These include the prospects of nuclear holocaust (the Skynet takeover scenario from both Terminator films), attempts to reconcile humanity with technology (as seen in ''Aliens'' and ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day''), humanity repeating the same mistakes, the dangers of corporate greed (''Aliens'', ''Avatar''), strong female characters (Sarah Connor, Neytiri, and Ellen Ripley being the most famous), and a strong romance subplot.
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. Cameron will return to this theme with ''The Dive'', shooting from a minisub.
So important is technology in Cameron's films that he waited years for the technical tools of the craft to advance sufficiently to realize his vision for ''Avatar'', for which he had special 3-D cameras developed.
Filmography
Cameron has contributed to many projects as either a writer, director, producer, or as a combination of the three.
Cameron's first film was the 1978 science fiction short film ''Xenogenesis'', which he directed, wrote and produced. Cameron's films have grossed a total of over $7 billion worldwide.
In addition to works of fiction, Cameron has directed and appeared in several documentaries including ''Ghosts of the Abyss'' and ''Aliens of the Deep''. He also contributed to a number of television series including ''Dark Angel'' and ''Entourage''. He plans to shoot a small drama film after the Avatar trilogy, just to prove that 3D works even for domestic dramas. His next movie is called Myth.
Personal life
Cameron has been married five times: to Sharon Williams (1978–1984),
Gale Anne Hurd (1985–1989), director
Kathryn Bigelow (1989–1991), and
Linda Hamilton (1997–1999, daughter Josephine born in 1993). Cameron dated Hamilton since 1991, but the two didn't marry until 1997. Eight months after the marriage, however, they separated, and within days of Cameron's Oscar victory with ''
Titanic,'' the couple announced their divorce. As part of the divorce settlement, Cameron was forced to pay Hamilton $50 million. Hamilton later revealed that the reason for their divorce was not only Cameron's blind devotion to his work to the exclusion of almost everything else, but also that he had been having an affair with
Suzy Amis, an actress he cast in ''Titanic.''. He married
Amis in 2000, and they have one son and two daughters. Cameron lives in
Malibu, California with his wife.
On February 2 the Associated Press said Cameron will be moving to New Zealand to film Avatar.
Hurd was the producer of Cameron's ''The Terminator'', ''Aliens'', and ''The Abyss'', and the executive producer of ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day''. Hamilton played the role of Sarah Connor in both ''Terminator'' films. Amis played the part of Lizzy Calvert, Rose's granddaughter, in ''Titanic''. Both Cameron (''Avatar'') and Bigelow (''The Hurt Locker'') were nominated for the Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA Award for Best Director for films released in 2009. Cameron won the Golden Globe, whilst Bigelow won the Oscar and the BAFTA for Best Director, becoming the first woman to win either.
Cameron is a member of the NASA Advisory Council and is working on the project to put cameras on an upcoming manned Mars mission. Cameron has also given speeches and raised money for the Mars Society, a non-profit organization lobbying for the colonization of Mars.
In June 2010, Cameron met in Washington with the EPA to discuss possible solutions to the 2010 BP oil spill. Later that week at the All Things Digital Conference, he attracted some notoriety when he stated, "Over the last few weeks I've watched...and [been] thinking, 'Those morons don't know what they're doing'." Reportedly, Cameron had offered BP help to plug the oil well, but they declined. The oil spill was eventually stopped using techniques similar to what Cameron recommended.
Although Cameron has lived his entire adult life in the United States, he remains a Canadian citizen. Cameron applied for American citizenship but withdrew his application after George W. Bush won the presidential election in 2004.
Cameron calls himself "Converted Agnostic", and says "I've sworn off agnosticism, which I now call cowardly atheism". As a child he described the Lord's Prayer as being a 'tribal chant'.
On March 7, 2012, Cameron took the Deepsea Challenger submersible to the bottom of the New Britain Trench in a five-mile-deep solo dive; he plans to visit the deepest part of the Mariana Trench ''Challenger Deep'' later in the year.
Reputation
Cameron has been labeled 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."
After working with Cameron on ''Titanic'', Kate Winslet decided she would not work with Cameron again unless she earned "a lot of money." She said that Cameron was a nice man, but she found his temper difficult to deal with. In an editorial, the British newspaper ''The Independent'' said that Cameron "is 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."
Sam Worthington, the latest lead actor to work with Cameron, stated on the ''Jay Leno Show'' that Cameron had very high expectations from everyone, and would often use a nail gun to nail the film crew's cell phones to a wall above an exit door in retaliation for unwanted ringing during production. Other actors, such as Bill Paxton and Sigourney Weaver, have praised Cameron's perfectionism. Weaver said of Cameron: "He really does want us to risk our lives and limbs for the shot, but he doesn't mind risking his own."
Additionally, composer James Horner refused to work with Cameron for ten years following their strained working relationship on 1986's ''Aliens,'' but they would eventually settle their differences, and Horner would go on to score both ''Titanic'' and ''Avatar'' for Cameron.
References
Further reading
Matthew Wilhelm Kapell and Stephen McVeigh, eds., The Films of James Cameron: Critical Essays. McFarland & Company, 2011.
External links
Category:1954 births
Category:Best Director Academy Award winners
Category:Best Director Empire Award winners
Category:Best Director Golden Globe winners
Category:Best Film Editing Academy Award winners
Category:Canadian expatriate film directors in the United States
Category:Canadian film directors
Category:Canadian emigrants to the United States
Category:Canadian people of Scottish descent
Category:Canadian screenwriters
Category:English-language film directors
Category:Living people
Category:People from Kapuskasing
Category:People from Niagara Falls, Ontario
Category:People from Orange County, California
Category:Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award
Category:Saturn Award winners
Category:Special effects people
Category:Canadian atheists
Category:Canadian film producers
Category:Canadian film editors
Category:Canadian inventors
ar:جيمس كاميرون
an:James Cameron
bn:জেমস ক্যামেরন
zh-min-nan:James Cameron
be:Джэймс Кэмеран
be-x-old:Джэймз Кэмэран
bs:James Cameron
br:James Cameron
bg:Джеймс Камерън
ca:James Cameron
cs:James Cameron
co:James Cameron
cy:James Cameron
da:James Cameron
de:James Cameron
et:James Cameron
el:Τζέιμς Κάμερον
es:James Cameron
eo:James Cameron
eu:James Cameron
fa:جیمز کامرون
fr:James Cameron
ko:제임스 카메론
hy:Ջեյմս Քեմերոն
hi:जेम्स कैमरून
hr:James Cameron
id:James Cameron
is:James Cameron
it:James Cameron
he:ג'יימס קמרון
jv:James Cameron
ka:ჯეიმზ კამერონი
la:Iacobus Cameron
lv:Džeimss Kemerons
li:James Cameron
hu:James Cameron
ml:ജെയിംസ് കാമറൂണ്
mr:जेम्स कॅमेरोन (क्रिकेट खेळाडू)
ms:James Cameron
mn:Жэймс Камерон
nl:James Cameron
ja:ジェームズ・キャメロン
no:James Cameron
nn:James Cameron
nds:James Cameron
pl:James Cameron
pt:James Cameron
ro:James Cameron
qu:James Cameron
ru:Кэмерон, Джеймс
sq:James Cameron
simple:James Cameron
sk:James Cameron
sr:Џејмс Камерон
sh:James Cameron
fi:James Cameron
sv:James Cameron
ta:ஜேம்ஸ் கேமரூன்
tt:Джеймс Кэмерон
th:เจมส์ แคเมรอน
tr:James Cameron
uk:Джеймс Камерон
vi:James Cameron
zh:詹姆斯·卡梅隆
