comment #1

Ray DeRousse says ...

The troubling part of that quote is that Cameron probably believes the box office for Titanic and Avatar justifies a comment like that. His ego does not allow him to see how pedestrian and borrowed and diluted most of his films actually are.

comment #2

Kate88 says ...

It's not always limited to big-ego men. That personality type manifests itself in both genders. However, most tend to be less forgiving of it in women.

comment #3

btwnproductions says ...

It's not easy to do the father-and-husband thing well, though.

comment #4

Mcflyboy says ...

Going only by box office for Titanic and Avatar does justify that quote. In fact, he is being modest to say "five." He's shortchanging himself on the husband count. As far as I know, only one man has been married to Kathryn Bigelow. I'm going for that.

comment #5

mccool says ...

Over the course of history, there are a only a few hundred people, give or take,who have contributed to the advancement of mankind or who have shed light on the human condition who might be able to justify prizing their work or drive or ambition or whatever over being a decent (not good, just decent) father/companion. Cameron's not one of them. What's he done besides make heaps of cash and offer a sum total of 10-15 hours of entertainment to the average person's life that justifies being a dick and a bad father?

comment #6

julieW says ...

I wonder who he considers the other four?

comment #7

Edwardo72 says ...

Cameron will always remain a man who makes experience movies - am not complaining for that, as someone has to push the boundaries and he does it better than most. But aside from the Abyss, I never want to re-visit his films.

comment #8

bobbyr says ...

This guy gives himself too much credit, if the man died today, do any of his films really mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things, in the film canon...besides gross at the box office? His best films, Terminator, Aliens, and the Abyss were done 20 + years ago. "Anybody can be a father or a husband"....sure can, but its the good ones that make the greatest impact in this world....not your films Mr. Cameron.

comment #9

Bilge says ...

I love Cameron to death, but if that quote is accurate, that's a fucking stupid thing to say. So was Stanley Kubrick a bad husband and father? Is Steven Spielberg?

This sounds more like a dude just trying to come up with excuses than anything else.

comment #10

Mr. F. says ...

Let's improve his quote:

"Only one man could have made such a ridiculous video for Martini Ranch's 'Reach', and I went for that."

comment #11

markj says ...

Cameron seems to have revised that opinion, as he spends a lot of time with his kids and his wife Suzy Amis. In terms of making big budget sci-fi action adventure films there is him and no-one else.

comment #12

JTag says ...

The "I'm going for that" quote came from the fabulous Dana Goodyear profile in the New Yorker called "Man of Extremes": http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/10/26/091026fa_fact_goodyear

I know she has a film to promote right now, but man, the Linda Hamilton quotes make me sad for her. She admitted in another article that she was pretty bad herself, and that he's changed quite a bit since Titanic days, but of course she knows that's not what headlines will be touting.

Cameron knows how to step in some shit. In addition to Bigelow being in the same category, and Hamilton promoting a movie right at Oscar time, it just so happens Bill Mechanic is one of the Oscar producers and from the Keegan book and Poland's Comic Con interview, I gather there is no love lost between Cameron and Mechanic from the Titanic production days.

comment #13

THE MovieBob says ...

He's probably right.

This is also probably something that about 99% of extremely successful/talented people with... "difficult" relationship histories secretly believe about themselves... you're just not supposed to actually SAY it.

Given this and the (demonstrative) fondness for Dagny Taggart types in women... I wonder if Cameron is something like a closet Objectivist? ("No fate but what we make ourselves," anyone?)

comment #14

Phreaker says ...

Well, she says he's an excellent father. Anyway, newsflash - Cameron is a dick. Tell us something we didn't know. Unfortunately I was around the set of T2 when he was cheating on Kathryn with Linda - everyone kind of knew. Total bummer. A real pig. But we separate the artist from the man, right? Screw it.

comment #15

bluefugue says ...

>The troubling part of that quote is that Cameron probably believes the box office for Titanic and Avatar justifies a comment like that. His ego does not allow him to see how pedestrian and borrowed and diluted most of his films actually are.

Terminator, Aliens, T2, and The Abyss are remarkable works of hollywood spectacle and sci-fi filmmaking. When he's on his game he is pretty much the gold standard in his particular territory. And he is, very specifically, one of the five or so best action directors in the world (Spielberg, Greengrass, and Bigelow probably being three of the other four), so his statement is quite accurate, Avatar's mediocrity notwithstanding.

comment #16

MilkMan says ...

You can be great at what you do and still be a good husband and father. That Cameron doesn't get this reveals him to be the mental midget his movies only hinted at.

comment #17

MilkMan says ...

Oh, and more to the point: helping to create, nuture and develop a healthy human being is a lot harder than clicking a mouse, you fucking nitwit.

comment #18

Travis Crabtree says ...

If it came out that Ronald Reagan had said the same thing Wells would be using it as proof to what an intolerable, narcissistic bastard he was.

comment #19

JTag says ...

You know, I highly recommend you check out the Playboy interview Cameron did. http://www.playboy.com/articles/james-cameron-interview/index.html?page=2 If got pulled to a lot of other sources for the tits comment he made about the Na'vi women. But I found the part about him seeing a therapist (because of his relationships) more fascinating.

He actually matured enough to see a therapist, and you certainly didn't see the same stories about Avatar that we saw about Titanic. At some point, you gotta admit the guy has matured a small part in his personal life. Of course. the next part of the interview talks about how he's a 14-year old and can relate to his 6-year old, but whatever.

comment #20

Noiresque says ...

And on a more shallow note, when I see the 2010 Suzy Amis in a photo, I want to drag her off, give her a good haircut and hand her a tube of mascara. She's almost grey-coloured.

comment #21

CMAC says ...

Noiresque says ...
"And on a more shallow note, when I see the 2010 Suzy Amis in a photo, I want to drag her off, give her a good haircut and hand her a tube of mascara. She's almost grey-coloured."

Darling, I wholeheartedly agree. I mean gods teeth the woman clearly is a dreadful excuse for an actor. But stap me vitals, she's a "Hollywood Wife"! Ever heard of botox or at the very least a good facial? Which begs the question:
"Are there no priests in Boston!?"

comment #22

ZayTonday says ...

"The troubling part of that quote is that Cameron probably believes the box office for Titanic and Avatar justifies a comment like that. His ego does not allow him to see how pedestrian and borrowed and diluted most of his films actually are."

I'm sure he knows EXACTLY how derivative and distilled his films are. He is a filmmaker that appeals to the lowest common denominator between the majority of filmgoers which is something all of his imitators try to do while missing the mark in the process such as a Michael Bay. I would say that he's being modest when he says that there are even 5 others in the world capable of what he does, but this quote may have been from a time where Spielberg, Lucas, Zemeckis and a few others who are now past their prime were capable of the same kind of movie magic.

No one will confuse JC with Fellini, Godard, or even Christopher Nolan as far as creativity goes, but you can't deny that his films touch something primal in those who are not as well versed in the language of film as a typical H-E poster like you or me. It's not just the 3D wow factor because we've had 3D movies before this. JC knows how to CONSISTENTLY please the biggest crowd possible and I don't know if there are even TWO other writer/directors out there working today who can do what he does.

comment #23

dagda says ...

Okay, no one is talking about who the other 4 are... I think Big Jim would agree that he puts himself in the same CATEGORY (not necessarily the greatest that ever lived, just those that are supremely gifted in pushing technology in the medium and generating huge box office returns):
1) Steven Spielberg
2) Peter Jackson
3) Robert Zemeckis
4) George Lucas

comment #24

dagda says ...

I had this page loaded earlier today before ZayTonday responded, and posted without seeing his comment. He got it right.

comment #25

ZayTonday says ...

Crabtree: If Reagan said the same thing and was referring to the ability to get himself re-elected even with worse unemployment numbers and more inflation-adjusted discretionary government spending going on than we have right now then he'd be right too.

comment #26

ZayTonday says ...

Oh and Crabtree, always remember that "deficits don't matter"... unless they're under a Democratic administration of course.

comment #27

DeeZee says ...

bobby: "His best films, Terminator, Aliens, and the Abyss were done 20 + years ago. "

Forty plus, if you count the Terminator plagiarism thing.

markj: "In terms of making big budget sci-fi action adventure films there is him and no-one else."

So the Wachowskis and Proyas don't count for anything?

Phreaker: "But we separate the artist from the man, right?"

Only when their art is genuinely their own and not copied and pasted from another artist.

Zay: It's not that Bay misses the mark. It's that he doesn't care if he misses the mark. The Clonus "remake" aside, he knows whatever he puts his name on is a license to print money. Still, TF3 could end up being his first real disappointment since Pearl Harbor.

dagda: If you mean Zemeckis pre-Contact, I'd agree with you. Everything else he's done since then is awful and one-note.

comment #28

Gordon27 says ...

"So the Wachowskis and Proyas don't count for anything? "

Are you still trying to compare 'Avatar' to 'Speed Racer'? Let it go, man.

comment #29

ZayTonday says ...

DeeZee: As far as someone who can consistently make hit films and not have any flops, Proyas and the Wachowskis don't count. With Proyas, Knowing was a turd and I, Robot was just okay. Wit the Wachowskis, you have the shitty Matrix sequels and Speed Racer, which even if you like it and think it's a great movie like I do, still flopped at the BO.

Jim Cameron is the only director out there that can give you a surefire huge blockbuster hit.