James Cameron

James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor. 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 also 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.
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.
== Background ==
James Cameron was born in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada, to Phillip, an electrical engineer, and Shirley Cameron, an artist. He grew up in Chippawa, 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. The Force Is With Them: The Legacy of Star Wars, 2004 
== 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.
== Accolades ==
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.
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 over $2 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.
== 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.
== 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 	 	$ 6,400,000 USD
1986 	Aliens 	Sci-Fi / Action 	 	$ 18,500,000 USD
1989 	The Abyss 	Sci-Fi 	 	$ 41,000,000 USD
1991 	Terminator 2: Judgment Day 	Sci-Fi / Action 	 	$ 100,000,000 USD
1994 	True Lies 	Action 	 	$ 100,000,000 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	 	$ 200,000,000 USD
2000–2002	Dark Angel 	Television drama 	 	
2002 	Expedition: Bismarck 	Documentarie 	 	
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 	pre-production with Marilyn Manson 	
2009 	Avatar 	Sci-Fi / 3-D 	pre-productionhttp://www.aintitcoolnews.com/display.cgi?id=22599	$237,000,000 USD
2022 	Avatar: The Way of Water 	Sci-Fi / 3-D 	post-production 	$250,000,000 USD
2024 	Avatar 3 	Sci-Fi 	post-production 	
2026 	Avatar 4 	Sci-Fi 	pre-production 	
2028 	Avatar 5 	Sci-Fi 	pre-production 	
== Filmography (Screenwriter) ==
Year 	Title 	Genre 	Other notes
1978 	Xenogenesis 	Sci-Fi 	with Randall Frakes (co-writer)
1984 	The Terminator 	Sci-Fi 	with Gale Anne Hurd (co-writer)
1985 	Rambo: First Blood Part II	Action 	with Sylvester Stallone (co-writer)
1986 	Aliens 	Sci-Fi 	
1989 	The Abyss 	Sci-Fi 	
1991 	Point Break 	Action / Drama 	with Kathryn Bigelow (co-writer)
1992 	Terminator 2: Judgment Day	Sci-Fi 	with William Wisher Jr. (co-writer)
1994 	True Lies 	Action / Comedy 	
1995 	Strange Days 	Sci-Fi / Drama 	with Jay Cocks (co-writer)
1996 	T2 3-D: Battle Across Time	Sci-Fi / Action 	with Gary Goddard & Adam J. Bezark (co-writers)
1997 	Titanic 	Disaster / Drama / Romance	
2000–2002	Dark Angel 	Television drama 	(pilots)
2009 	Avatar 	Sci-Fi / 3-D 	
2019 	Alita: Battle Angel 	Sci-Fi / 3-D 	with Laeta Kalogridis (co-writer)
2019 	Terminator: Dark Fate 	Sci-Fi / Action 	story co-developer with Charles Eglee, Josh Friedman, David Goyer & Justin Rhodes
2022 	Avatar: The Way of Water 	Sci-Fi / 3-D 	with Josh Friedman (co-writer)
2024 	Avatar 3 	Sci-Fi 	with Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (co-writers)
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 ended up canceling all dierections forward for this paticilar film because they had a gas leek in the studio.
He is also a member of the Mars Society.
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."Author Chat Transcript, Barnes and Noble, August 31, 1999, 
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." Andrew Gumbel, "The Return of James Cameron," The (London) Independent, Jan 11, 2007 
== Cameron Appearances ==
* Entourage
* The Muse
* Saturday Night Live
== 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."
* "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" 
== References ==
== External links ==
* 
* The Exodus Decoded
* Life's Abyss and Then You Die (Interview with James Cameron from the L.A. Weekly) by Michael Dare
* Bones of Jesus found, Canadian documentary claims
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Category:American film directors
Category:Canadian directors
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