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| James Cameron |
James Cameron is a legendary director who’s created hits like “The Terminator,” “Aliens,” “Avatar,” and “Titanic,” which have grossed billions. He’s also known as a tyrannical director who almost drowned Ed Harris and traumatized Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio while filming “The Abyss”.
Here are some of the most egotistical and clueless things James Cameron has said over the years.
1. “Wait a minute, I’m going to call up William Shakespeare and ask why Romeo and Juliet had to die!”
When James Cameron was asked (for the umpteenth time) why Jack didn’t just climb on the door to save himself at the end of “Titanic” he gave this snappy retort to The Guardian interviewer. Cameron considers himself a skilled filmmaker. He considers himself an expert writer. Apparently, he considers himself equal to the greatest writer in British history.
2. “[Wonder Woman’s] an objectified icon…it’s a step backward.”
While bragging about how great his character Sarah Conners is he decided to throw shade at Wonder Woman. “All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood’s been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided,” he told The Guardian. “She’s an objectified icon, and it’s just male Hollywood doing the same old thing! I’m not saying I didn’t like the movie but, to me, it’s a step backwards. Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit. And to me, [the benefit of characters like Sarah] is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female!”
This is the biggest one and everyone on the planet condemned it. From star Gal Gadot to director Patty Smith and everyone in between. But she won the Internet with her response saying “James Cameron’s inability to understand what Wonder Woman is, or stands for, to women all over the world is unsurprising as, though he is a great film-maker, he is not a woman.”
3. “At this point, I’m less interested in making money for the movie and more interested in saving the world that my children are going to inhabit.”
This quote came at an infamous press junket for the “Avatar” DVD. Thank goodness the world has James Cameron to save it from itself.
4. “I don’t look at scripts. I just write them.”
James Cameron has been a screenwriter for years and considers himself a master. So he doesn’t feel a need to direct anyone else’s script. The irony is that he’s been sued for plagiarism over a dozen times. That includes the six for “Avatar” alone.
5. “I haven’t paid for lunch in two weeks.”
It was 1983 and he’d just sold the scripts for the hit films “Terminator”, “Rambo”, and “Aliens”. He was a hot young screenwriter in the 1980s and he said this to show what a hot young screenwriter he was. Apparently, the success of a screenwriter is how many lunches he pays for.
6. “As much as I love ‘[Star Wars]’…it went off the rails”
Cameron has had some success in science-fiction and is promoting a new film “Alita: Battle Angel” (2018). A per usual he decided to attack a competiting science-fiction franchise.
“As much as I love Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) and as much as it’s really revolutionized the imaging business, it went off the rails in the sense that science fiction, historically, was a science fiction of ideas,” he said. “It was thematic fiction. It stopped being that and became just pure eye candy and pure entertainment. And I miss that. With Alita: Battle Angel (2018). I’m going to flirt with that darker, dystopian message as much as I can, without making it an art film.”
7. “Real women are complicated.”
When James Cameron was asked by Playboy about the strong female characters he created for “Avatar” he chimed in with this back-handed compliment. “A big recalibration happens when [men are] forced to deal with real women,” he said. “Let’s face it: real women are complicated.”
People, in general, are complicated, but singling out a gender is just misogynistic. James Cameron’s former wife, Linda Hamilton, described her marriage to the director as “terrible on every level”.
One can only imagine why.
8. “She’s got to have t*ts”
After saying that feminist gem he followed up with another. When asked how he gauged his movie heroine’s hotness he said, “Right from the beginning I said, ‘She’s got to have t*ts’,”
It’s hard to believe he’s on his fifth marriage.
9. “I’m the king of the world…whooooo!”
When accepting his Academy Award for “Titanic” he didn’t bother to start by thanking the cast and crew. He started by praising himself and his success. Yes, it was a quote from his movie, but it was a pretty lame joke.
10. “I don’t owe you a f*cking signature.”
When a fan at LAX asked James Cameron to sign his “Avatar” poster he ignored him. When the fan asked again he snapped “I don’t owe you a f*cking signature. Just get out of my f*cking personal space.”
The guy yelled “I’m an a**hole because I ask someone I admire for their autograph that makes me an a**hole? I make $15-an-hour at work to go see your film and I’m an a**hole?”
Cameron just walked away.
Thankfully it was captured on video and shared for the world to see.
11. “I’m hoping we’re going to start getting Avenger fatigue”
At a press event promoting his new documentary show, “AMC Visionaries: James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction” he expressed his frustration with the modern blockbusters. “I’m hoping we’re going to start getting Avenger fatigue,” Cameron complained. “Not that I don’t love the movies. It’s just, come on, guys, there are other stories to tell besides, you know, hypogonadal males without families doing death-defying things for two hours and wrecking cities in the process.” Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige had the perfect response when asked about it.
After hearing the quote Feige had a surprising reaction. “Uh, he loves the movies!” Feige said, a knowing grin spreading on his face. He stood up, pumping his arm. “That’s awesome! Wow, James Cameron loves our movies! That’s exciting!”
Incidentally, Merriam-Webster defines hypogonadal as “marked by or exhibiting deficient development of secondary sex characteristics”. Not sure what he means there.
What’s your favorite/least favorite thing Cameron has said?
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