James Cameron - afraid of failure?

Richard Dower

I have wondered about Cameron's output over the years, compared to other directors he dosen't seem to release that many movies, the last movie he directed was 1996 Titanic.

Sure Avatar is due in December, but does anyone suspect Cameron is afraid of crtics and public reception?....it's like if he can't make a movie that is as big as Titanic's box office he gets scared away.

Neo#

He said recently in the Empire magazine interview that he was missing out on life while he was puting everything into films. Said he had to give it a break for a while.

speedboatchase

Considering he was fired from Piranha's his career output so far has been Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, True Lies, T2 and Titanic. Depending on your preferences there's at least 3-4 classics in there out of 6. He can take as long as he likes and I'm sure Avatar will rock balls. Of course it might be another bewildering Phantom Menace-style return to directing but I have faith we won't see any Jar Jar shenanigans

krudler

Its James Cameron, with a sci-fi movie starring Sigourney Weaver, set in space, with a €250 million budget, failure isnt even a possibility. He has been making documentaries and other things since Titanic, pioneering new cgi techniques and 3D cameras, and the odd appearance in Entourage His presence in cinema has been sorely missed since Titanic as hes one of the few directors who's name alone can sell a movie

nyarlothothep

Aliens and Terminator 2, that is all.

Wish he'd make another Terminator film.

Richard Dower

That could be a big reason for his lack of output, waiting for technology to advance and catch up with what he has conceived in his mind. I do agree he likes to employ pioneering new technology in his movies, as such perhaps Avatar needed 13 years for the technology to advance wherby it could could finally been made.

$250 million...for one movie?, is that a world record?

niallon

Richard Dower wrote: »

$250 million...for one movie?, is that a world record?

Think Spidey 3 was somewhere close to that figure if I'm not mistaken

Cameron is an odd one, as mentioned, his output, though small enough, has mostly just produced classic films. Gotta say I'm skeptical about Avatar but at least he is a more competent director than old greybeard so can be trusted a bit better when he tells us that Avatar required technological advances which he spent his time developing.

Brimmy

The man can take as much time as he wants because he truly places quality over quantity. I defy you to name one single bad James Cameron project that had his direct involvement.

And before you start Dark Angel was awesome

BlitzKrieg

I have wondered about Cameron's output over the years, compared to other directors he dosen't seem to release that many movies, the last movie he directed was 1996 Titanic.

Yes but when you pop over to imdb:

#


# Aliens of the Deep (2005)
# Ghosts of the Abyss (2003)
... aka Titanic3D: Ghosts of the Abyss (Australia: IMAX version)
# Expedition: Bismarck (2002) (TV)
... aka James Cameron's Expedition: Bismarck (USA: DVD title)
# "Dark Angel" (1 episode, 2002)
... aka "James Cameron's Dark Angel" (USA: complete title)
- Freak Nation (2002) TV episode
# Earthship.TV (2001) (TV)

He went on a marine exploration bender for a few years after he did titanic (he had the money for it) that sort of stuff takes alot of time. Also there were a number of projects he had briefly and not so briefly become involved in and then dropped out of, his wiki page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_cameron) mentions the Spiderman one which I understand lasted quite a while.

Sure Avatar is due in December, but does anyone suspect Cameron is afraid of crtics and public reception?....it's like if he can't make a movie that is as big as Titanic's box office he ge

He is a well known perfectionist when it comes to his films, hence why he tends to constantly get the *most expensive movie ever made title* numerous times (Terminator, Titanic) but in both cases he has made back the insane investment. Not to mention most of his films get a sort of george lucas special edition treatment 3 or so years after their release where he puts out his directors cut (Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2 and Titanic have all got the treatment) I dont think though he has fears or concerns over box office or critic responses to his work, In his interviews he tends to show more concern over if the technology has matched the vision he wants to create. Its the argument he has for any questions on Battle Angel Alita (for which he bought the rights to YEARS AGO) and Avatar, simple tht the technology was not ready for what he wanted.

His films are made usually with him as director/producer/writer so the turnover time is naturally alot longer then average.
Also he does alot of technical work itself, alot of 3d work including a 3d camera he has designed himself.

speedboatchase

niallon wrote: »

Think Spidey 3 was somewhere close to that figure if I'm not mistaken

Spidey 3 is 2nd, Pirates 3 was $300m and holds the record. Adjusted for inflation it's probably Titanic as that was $200m in 1997 money. Avatar's budget is around $200m, although there was rumours of $300m from Time Magazine but they later clarified themselves http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/03/19/avatars-budget-exceeds-300-million-most-expensive-movie-of-all-time/

Also I'm very excited about this Avatar too http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(2004_film)

iMax

Ghosts of the Abys (in 3D Imax) is incredible, really recommend seeing it if you can. It's available on DVD.

Camerona has turned into somewhat of a marine explored & inventor after titanic. He owns patents on loads of camera equip that he had to make to film underwater.

I REALLY would love to see "Aquaman" though (with Vinnie Chace in the lead) ... that trailer looked fantastic. There's real potential of a big screen spin off of Entourage of two movies there, one the making of (with them all in character) & two, the actual Aquaman movie

Chumpski

I REALLY would love to see "Aquaman" though (with Vinnie Chace in the lead) ... that trailer looked fantastic. There's real potential of a big screen spin off of Entourage of two movies there, one the making of (with them all in character) & two, the actual Aquaman movie

You beat me too it! Aquamans opening beat Spiderman didn't it? Theres another classic for ye.