James Cameron is one of the most celebrated directors of the current generation. The maverick director’s filmography has been short but powerful enough to stir a conversation about the changing techniques of filmmaking.
James Cameron – Koimoi.com
With Avatar 2, the 68-year-old marks his return as a director. Here are a few interesting facts about the star director which you might now have any idea about –
A college dropout
Cameron’s family had emigrated from Balquhidder, Scotland in around 1825. He was born in 1954 in Ontario, where he grew up, but later moved to Brea in California.
He was fascinated by movies from a very young age. Even as a child he was a huge science fiction buff and wanted to make movies in Hollywood. Cameron did his schooling in Ontario and later got enrolled at Fullerton College in 1973. However, after a year of college, James Cameron dropped out.
Fought his way up
The sailing was never smooth for Cameron. Before setting Hollywood on fire with his epics, Cameron did several odd jobs. He was a truck driver and a writer for several jobs.
A Picture From The Archives. Credits : Blockbuster
The major shift happened in 1977 when he watched ‘Star Wars and decided to hang his boots as a truck driver. There is a book named James Cameron: From Tuck Driver to Director by Kim Etingoff, which was published in 2013.
The Story Of His First Directorial
In 1981, Cameron was taken on board to serve as a Special Effect Director for the sequel to Piranha. However, when the first choice director, Miller Drake left the project, Cameron was made the director of the movie.
First Major Break
It is said that during the shooting of Piranha II: The Spawning, James Cameron fell ill. While he was ill, he had a nightmare of a robot, and that served to be an inspiration behind the iconic Terminator movie.
James Cameron wrote and directed the movie in 1984. The movie had Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the lead. It was a commercial and critical success.
Academy Winner in 1986
James Cameron was at the helm of the 1979 film sequel, named Alien. The process of shooting the film was not very fruitful as the cast and crew were reportedly hostile against the director. Even after several differences, the movie went on to win an Academy Award in the category of Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Visual Effects.
The Titanic Tale
Titanic, which was released in 1997, is one of the highest-earning Hollywood movies of all time. The movie also has a record of winning over 11 Academy Awards.
A Still From Titanic
To make the movie look more realistic, James Cameron dived deep into the Atlantic Ocean to shoot the footage of the actual Titanic, which was later attached to the movie. It is also said that he finalised the dialogues while he would be in the water.
A Taskmaster on the sets
James Cameron is considered to be one of the toughest directors to work with. He is infamous amongst his crew members for his authoritative nature of filmmaking, which seems very uncompromising to many.
Many actors who have worked with the director have complained about his temper issues and erratic nature of filmmaking. Actress Kate Winslet decided not to work with the director after they collaborated on Titanic.
