James Cameron

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August 16, 1954

James Francis Cameron

Spouses:

Suzy Amis (4 June 2000 - present) 3 children

Linda Hamilton (26 July 1997 - 16 December 1999) (divorced) 1 child

Kathryn Bigelow (17 August 1989 - 10 November 1991) (divorced)

Gale Anne Hurd (1985 - 1989) (divorced)

Sharon Williams (14 February 1978 - 14 July 1984) (divorced)

Did We Miss Any?

Writer

Battle Angel (2011) (writer, director)

Avatar (2009) (writer, director)

"Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" (31 episodes, 2008-2009)

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) (characters)

Dark Angel (42 episodes, 2000-2002)(director, 1 episode,2002

Titanic (1997) (writer, director, actor)

T2 3-D: Battle Across Time (1996) (writer, director)

Strange Days (1995) (screenplay) (story)

True Lies (1994) (screenplay, director)

Alien IV? (1994) (certain original characters)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) (writer, director)

The Abyss (1989) (writer, director)

Aliens (1986) (screenplay) (story, director)

Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) (screenplay)

The Terminator (1984) (writer, director)

Xenogenesis (1978) (writer, director)

Producer

Sanctum (executive producer) (2011)

Avatar (producer) (2009)

The Lost Tomb of Jesus (TV documentary) (executive producer) (2007)

The Exodus Decoded (TV documentary) (executive producer) (2006)

Titanic Adventure (TV documentary) (producer) (2005)

Last Mysteries of the Titanic (TV documentary) (producer) (2005)

Aliens of the Deep (documentary) (producer) (2005)

Volcanoes of the Deep Sea (documentary short) (executive producer) (2003)

Ghosts of the Abyss (documentary short) (producer) (2003)

Expedition: Bismarck (TV documentary) (producer) (2002)

Solaris (producer) (2002)

Dark Angel (TV series) (executive producer) (42 episodes, 2002)

Titanic (producer) (1997)

Strange Days (producer) (1995)

True Lies (producer) (1994)

Point Break (executive producer) (1991)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (producer) (1991)

Xenogenesis (short) (producer) (1978)

Director

Titanic: The Final Word with James Cameron (TV documentary) (2012)

Avatar (2009)

Aliens of the Deep (documentary) (2005)

Ghosts of the Abyss (documentary short) (2003)

Expedition: Bismarck (TV documentary) (2002)

Dark Angel (TV series) (1 episode, 2002)

Earthship.TV (TV movie) (2001)

Titanic (1997)

T2 3-D: Battle Across Time (short) (1996)

True Lies (1994)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

The Abyss (1989)

Reach (TV short) (1988)

Aliens (1986)

This Time It's War (video documentary short) (1985)

The Terminator (1984)

Piranha Part Two: The Spawning (1981)

Xenogenesis (short) (1978)

Actor

Saturday Night Live (TV series) (2 episodes, 1999-2010)

Entourage (TV series) (4 episodes, 2005-2006)

Duets (uncredited) (2000)

Titanic (uncredited) (1997)

Appearances

IC Places Hollywood (TV series) (1 episode, 2012)

CBS This Morning (TV series) (1 episode, 2012)

The Colbert Report (TV series) (1 episode, 2012)

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (TV series) (1 episode, 2012)

Titanic: The Final Word with James Cameron (TV documentary) (2012)

Made in Hollywood: Teen Edition (TV series) (2 episodes, 2011-2012)

Sky News: Live at Five (TV series) (1 episode, 2012)

Side by Side (documentary) (2012)

Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan (documentary) (2011)

Visionaries: Inside the Creative Mind (TV series documentary) (1 episode, 2011)

Brian May's Brief History of 3D (documentary) (2011)

Hollywood between Paranoia and Sci-Fi. The Power of Myth (documentary) (2011)

Twice Bombed: The Legacy of Yamaguchi Tsutomu (documentary short) (2011)

Janela Indiscreta (TV series) (1 episode, 2011)

Attack Of The Show (TV series) (1 episode, 2011)

Mark at the Movies (TV series) (1 episode, 2011)

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight (TV series) (2 episodes, 2008-2011)

Solartaxi: Around the World with the Sun (documentary) (2010)

A Message from Pandora (video documentary short) (2010)

Capturing Avatar (video documentary) (2010)

Scream Awards 2010 (TV special) (2010)

Up Close with Carrie Keagan (TV series) (4 episodes, 2009-2010)

Entertainment Tonight (TV series) (7 episodes, 2009-2010)

Larry King Live (TV series) (2 episodes, 2010)

Tavis Smiley (TV series) (1 episode, 2010)

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards (TV special) (2010)

The Oprah Winfrey Oscar Special (TV special) (2010)

Inside the Actors Studio (TV series) (1 episode, 2010)

Live from Studio Five (TV series) (3 episodes, 2009-2010)

The Orange British Academy Film Awards: Red Carpet (TV special) (2010)

Beyond Words (video documentary) (2010)

The Charlie Rose Show (TV series) (3 episodes, 1997-2010)

The View (TV series) (2 episodes, 2005-2010)

Avatar: Creating the World of Pandora (TV documentary) (2010)

Canada for Haiti (TV special) (2010)

The Jay Leno Show (TV series) (3 episodes, 2009-2010)

The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards (TV special) (2010)

The Oprah Winfrey Show (TV series) (1 episode, 2010)

"The 7PM Project" (1 episode, 2009)

"The Hour" (1 episode, 2008)

"Odyssey: Driving Around the World" (1 episode, 2007)

"Mars Rising" (2007) TV series

"In the Mix" (1 episode, 2006)

"Beyond Tomorrow" (1 episode, 2006)

Entourage (4 episodes, 2005-2006)

"Hollywood Science" (2006) TV series

The Exodus Decoded (2006) (TV) .... Narrator

Explorers: From the Titanic to the Moon (2006)

Titanic Adventure (2005) (TV)

Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, the 1950s and Us (2005) (TV

AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to George Lucas (2005) (TV)

Aliens of the Deep (2005)

Ray Harryhausen: The Early Years Collection (2005)

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004)

The Force Is with Them: The Legacy of 'Star Wars' (2004)

Superior Firepower: The Making of 'Aliens' (2003)

'Solaris': Behind the Planet (2003)

No Fate But What We Make: 'Terminator 2' and the Rise of Digital Effects (2003)

"The Buzz" (1 episode, 2003)

Ghosts of the Abyss (2003)

Expedition: Bismarck (2002) (TV)

"HBO First Look" (3 episodes, 1997-2002)

Iron and Beyond (2002)

From Morf to Morphing: The Dawn of Digital Filmmaking (2001)

Alien Evolution (2001) (TV)

Other Voices: Creating 'The Terminator' (2001)

2001 ABC World Stunt Awards (2001) (TV)

2001: The Making of a Myth (2001) (TV) Narrator

Heroes for the Planet: A Tribute to National Geographic (2001) (TV)

The Ultimate Auction (2000) (TV) (segment "Titanic")

The Making of 'Terminator 2: 3-D' (2000) (TV)

Auto Motives (2000)

Ray Harryhausen: Working with Dinosaurs (1999) (TV)

The Muse (1999)

From Star Wars to Star Wars: The Story of Industrial Light & Magic (1999) (TV)

"The Directors" (2 episodes, 1999)

Saturday Night Live (1 episode, 1999)

Virus: Ghost in the Machine (1999)

Martian Mania: The True Story of The War of the Worlds (1998) (TV)

"Mad About You" (1 episode, 1998)

The 70th Annual The Academy Awards (1998) (TV)

Titanic: Breaking New Ground (1998) (TV)

The 55th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1998) (TV)

"Howard Stern" (1 episode, 1998)

Hollywood Salutes Arnold Schwarzenegger: An American Cinematheque Tribute (1998) (TV)

"Nyhetsmorgon" (1 episode, 1997)

Directors: James Cameron (1997)

"Movie Magic" (10 episodes, 1994-1997)

Your Studio and You (1995)

The Making of 'True Lies' (1994) (TV)

Under Pressure: Making 'The Abyss' (1993)

T2: More Than Meets the Eye (1993)

The Making of 'Alien 3' (1992) (TV)

The Making of 'The Terminator': A Retrospective (1992)

1992 MTV Movie Awards (1992) (TV)

The Making of 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' (1991) (TV)

"Cinema tres" (1 episode, 1989)

The Making of 'Terminator' (1984) (TV)

The Academy Awards

2010 Nominated Oscar Best Achievement in Directing for: Avatar (2009)

2010 Nominated Oscar Best Achievement in Film Editing for: Avatar (2009). Shared with: Stephen E. Rivkin & John Refoua

2010 Nominated Oscar Best Motion Picture of the Year for: Avatar (2009). Shared with: Jon Landau

1998 Won Oscar Best Director for: Titanic (1997)

1998 Won Oscar Best Film Editing for: Titanic (1997). Shared with: Conrad Buff IV & Richard A. Harris

1998 Won Oscar Best Picture for: Titanic (1997). Shared with: Jon Landau

Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA

2010 Won Saturn Award Best Director for: Avatar (2009)

2010 Won Saturn Award Best Writing for: Avatar (2009)

2003 President's Award

1998 President's Award

1996 Nominated Saturn Award Best Writing for: Strange Days (1995) Shared with: Jay Cocks

1995 Won Saturn Award Best Director for: True Lies (1994)

1992 Won Saturn Award Best Director for: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

1992 Nominated Saturn Award Best Writing for: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Shared with: William Wisher Jr.

1991 Won Saturn Award Best Director for: The Abyss (1989)

1991 Nominated Saturn Award Best Writing for: The Abyss (1989)

1987 Won Saturn Award Best Director for: Aliens (1986)

1987 Won Saturn Award Best Writing for: Aliens (1986)

1985 Won Saturn Award Best Writing for: The Terminator (1984). Shared with :Gale Anne Hurd

1985 Nominated Saturn Award Best Director for: The Terminator (1984)

Amanda Awards, Norway

1998 Won Amanda Best Foreign Feature Film (Årets utenlandske spillefilm) for: Titanic (1997)

American Cinema Editors

2010 Nominated Eddie Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic) for: Avatar (2009). Shared with: Stephen E. Rivkin & John Refoua

2000 Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award

1998 Won Eddie Best Edited Feature Film for: Titanic (1997). Shared with: Conrad Buff IV & Richard A. Harris

Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival

1985 Won Grand Prize for: The Terminator (1984)

BAFTA Awards

2010 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Director for: Avatar (2009)

2010 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Editing for: Avatar (2009). Shared with:
Stephen E. Rivkin & John Refoua

2010 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Film for: Avatar (2009). Shared with: Jon Landau

1998 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Editing for: Titanic (1997). Shared with: Conrad Buff IV & Richard A. Harris

1998 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Film for: Titanic (1997). Shared with: Jon Landau

1998 Nominated David Lean Award for Direction for: Titanic (1997)

Blue Ribbon Awards

1998 Won Blue Ribbon Award Best Foreign Language Film for: Titanic (1997)

Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards

2010 Nominated Critics Choice Award Best Director for: Avatar (2009)

2010 Nominated Critics Choice Award Best Director for: Avatar (2009)

1998 Won Critics Choice Award Best Director for: Titanic (1997)

Chicago Film Critics Association Awards

1998 Nominated CFCA Award Best Director for: Titanic (1997)

César Awards, France

2010 Nominated César Best Foreign Film (Meilleur film étranger) for: Avatar 2009) USA

1999 Nominated César Best Foreign Film (Meilleur film étranger) for: Titanic (1997) USA

Cinema Brazil Grand Prize

2010 Won Audience Award Best Foreign-Language Film (Melhor Filme Estrangeiro) for: Avatar (2009) USA/UK

2010 Nominated Cinema Brazil Grand Prize Best Foreign-Language Film (Melhor Filme Estrangeiro) for: Avatar (2009) USA/UK

DVD Exclusive Awards

2003 Nominated DVDX Award Best Audio Commentary (New for DVD) for: Aliens (1986). Shared with: Michael Biehn, Jenette Goldstein, Carrie Henn, Christopher Henn, Lance Henriksen, Gale Anne Hurd, Pat McClung, Bill Paxton, Dennis Skotak, Robert Skotak & Stan Winston (Alien Quadrilogy)

Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards

1998 Won DFWFCA Award Best Director for: Titanic (1997)

David di Donatello Awards

2010 Nominated David Best Foreign Film (Miglior Film Straniero) for: Avatar (2009)

Directors Guild of America

2010 Nominated DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for: Avatar (2009)

1998 Won DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for: Titanic (1997). Shared with: Grant Hill, Anna Roth, Sharon Mann & Jon Landau (unit production managers (plaque); Josh McLaglen (first assistant director (plaque); Sebastián Silva & Kathleen 'Bo' Bobak (second assistant directors) (plaque)

Emmy Awards

2003 Nominated Emmy Outstanding Directing for Non-Fiction Programming for: Expedition: Bismarck (2002) (TV). Shared with: Gary Johnstone (director)

Empire Awards, UK

2010 Won Empire Award Best Director for: Avatar (2009)

Fantasporto

1983 Nominated International Fantasy Film Award Best Film for: Piranha Part Two: The Spawning (1981)

Golden Globe Awards

2010 Won Golden Globe Best Director - Motion Picture for: Avatar (2009)

2010 Nominated Golden Globe Best Director - Motion Picture for: Avatar (2009)

1998 Won Golden Globe Best Director - Motion Picture for: Titanic (1997)

1998 Nominated Golden Globe Best Screenplay - Motion Picture for: Titanic (1997)

Hochi Film Awards

1998 Won Hochi Film Award Best Foreign Language Film for: Titanic (1997)

International Monitor Awards

1999 Won Monitor Theatrical Releases - Color Correction for: Titanic (1997). Shared with: David Bernstein

Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists

2010 Won Silver Ribbon Best 3D Film Director (Regista del Miglior Film in 3D) for: Avatar (2009)

Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards

1998 Won KCFCC Award Best Director for: Titanic (1997)

Kinema Junpo Awards

1987 Won Readers' Choice Award Best Foreign Language Film for: Aliens (1986)

Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards

1998 Won Sierra Award Best Director for: Titanic (1997)

London Critics Circle Film Awards


2010 Nominated ALFS Award Director of the Year for: Avatar (2009)

1999 Nominated ALFS Award Director of the Year for: Titanic (1997)

Mainichi Film Concours

1999 Won Readers' Choice Award Best Foreign Language Film for: Titanic (1997)

1992 Won Readers' Choice Award Best Foreign Language Film for: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Malibu Film Festival

1999 Lifetime Achievement Award

National Board of Review, USA

1997 Won Special Citation for: Titanic (1997) for the use of special effects technology

Online Film Critics Society Awards

2010 Nominated OFCS Award Best Director for: Avatar (2009)

1998 Won OFCS Award Best Director for: Titanic (1997)

PGA Awards

2010 Nominated Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award Theatrical Motion Pictures for: Avatar (2009). Shared with: Jon Landau

2004 Vanguard Award

1998 Won Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award for: Titanic (1997). Shared with: Jon Landau

Satellite Awards

2004 Nicola Tesla Award

1998 Won Golden Satellite Award Best Director of a Motion Picture for: Titanic (1997)

1998 Won Golden Satellite Award Best Motion Picture - Drama for: Titanic (1997). Shared with: Jon Landau

1998 Nominated Golden Satellite Award Best Motion Picture Screenplay - Original for: Titanic (1997)


Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

1992 Won Bradbury Award for: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

SFX Awards, UK

2011 Nominated SFX Award Best Film for: Avatar (2009)

2011 Nominated SFX Award Best Film Director for: Avatar (2009)

ShoWest Convention, USA

1995 ShoWest Award Producer of the Year

Visual Effects Society Awards

2010 Won Lifetime Achievement Award

Writers Guild of America, USA

2010 Nominated WGA Award (Screen) Best Original Screenplay for: Avatar (2009)

1998 Nominated WGA Award (Screen) Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for: Titanic (1997)

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"People call me a perfectionist, but I'm not. I'm a rightist. I do something until it's right, and then I move on to the next thing."

"...you can read all the books about film-making, all the articles in American Cinematographer and that sort of thing, but you have to really see how it works on a day-to-day basis, and how to pace your energy so that you can survive the film, which was a lesson that took me a long time to learn."

"I was petrified at the start of Terminator. First of all, I was working with a star, at least I thought of him as a star at the time. Arnold came out of it even more a star.

"A director's job is to make something happen and it doesn't happen by itself. So you wheedle, you cajole, you flatter people, you tell them what needs to be done. And if you don't bring a passion and an intensity to it, you shouldn't be doing it."

"I don't look at scripts. I just write them."

[When he was the new hot screenwriter in the mid-1980s] "I haven't paid for lunch in two weeks."

[on how he came up with the idea of "The Terminator"] "I would see these images of a metallic death figure rising Phoenix-like out of fire, I woke up and grabbed a pencil and paper and started writing. When I originally got the idea for Terminator, I was sick, I was broke, I was in Rome, I had no way to get home and I could barely speak the language. I was surrounded by people I could not get help from. I felt very alienated and so it was very easy for me to imagine a machine with a gun. At the point of the greatest alienation in my life, it was easy to create the character."

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He is the son of Shirley (Lowe), an artist and nurse, and Phillip Cameron an engineer . His paternal great-great-great-grandfather emigrated from Balquhidder, Scotland in 1825; thus, he descends from Clan Cameron.

After seeing the film Star Wars in 1977, Cameron quit his job as a truck driver to enter the film industry.

He landed his first professional film job as art director, miniature-set builder, and process-projection supervisor on Roger Corman's Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) and debuted as a director with Piranha Part Two: The Spawning (1981) the following year. In 1984, he wrote and directed The Terminator (1984).

Cameron’s well-documented ego is rumored to be the cause of few of his major cast or crew members ever having working for him more than once, with the notable exception of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

His production company is Lightstorm Entertainment.

He is one of the founders of visual effects company Digital Domain.

He jokingly refers to Titanic (1997) as his 190 Million Dollar "Chick Flick".

He is the first director to film both a $100 million (Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)) and a $200 million (Titanic (1997)) movie.

He lost a copyright lawsuit brought by Harlan Ellison involving the movie The Terminator (1984). Newer prints of the film acknowledge Ellison.

He developed a new generation stereo imaging camera called "The Fusion Camera"

He is a member of the American Cinema Editors (ACE).

He is left-handed.

He received a star at Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto, and says he's too cheap to pay for a star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Wizard of Oz (1939) is his favorite movie.

He was an avid reader of Arthur C. Clarke, 'A.E. Van Vogt', Harlan Ellison and Larry Niven novels as a child.

Cameron reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench on 25 March 2012, becoming the first person to do so in a one-man craft. The Mariana Trench is the deepest known point on Earth, at 11 km (6.8 miles) below the ocean surface. The vehicle in which he achieved this feat is the Deepsea Challenger (DCV 1), designed built in Sydney, Australia by research and design company Acheron Project Pty Ltd. Cameron is the first person to spend significant time at that depth, having explored the area for three hours after arrival.

He got the nickname “Iron Jim” because of his stern, stubborn ways as a director.

Wrote a screenplay for Spider-Man (2002) movie, but was turned down by the studios, due to the fact that his version of Spider-Man was “too violent”. Sam Raimi’s version got the green light instead.

He spent his 56th birthday on the bottom of Baykal lake (Russia) on board of a underwater bathyscaphe Mir 1.

Salary

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) $6,000,000

Titanic (1997) $115,000,000 ($600k for screenplay + $8m salary + back-end participation)

Avatar (2009) $350,000,000

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