Below is a compiled list of the most interesting facts about James Cameron. Check it out!
James Francis Cameron was born on August 16, 1954 in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada. He moved to the United States in 1971. The son of an engineer, he majored in physics at California State University before switching to English, and eventually dropping out. He then drove a truck to support his screenwriting ambition. 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 had his first experience as a director with a two week stint on Piranha Part Two: The Spawning (1981) before being fired.
Interesting Facts about James Cameron
- He is the first director to have two unrelated films make over a billion dollars at the box office. The only other director to accomplish such a feat is James Wan who achieved it with Fast & Furious 7 (2015) and Aquaman (2018).
- On the 14 March 2004 episode of Inside the Actors Studio (1994), Kate Winslet claimed her nude portrait for Leonardo DiCaprio in the film Titanic (1997) was drawn by Cameron. She also said the artist’s hand shown in a close-up was Cameron’s.
- Close friends with Guillermo del Toro.
- When he set out to write and direct Teminator he was a nobody on a small budget having to cast up and coming actors. He wanted to cast Lance Henrikson as the cyborg but then along came Arnold Schwarzenegger fresh from playing Conan the Barbarian and who was the obvious choice for the Terminator. James didn’t forget Lance and cast him as a detective.
- He’s a big fan of Zack Snyder, whose films he has praised as an inspiration for some of his own work.
- Cameron gave his friend Guillermo del Toro more than one million in cash to pay a ransom and have his father released after he was kidnapped in 1998.
- The mandibles of the Predator from Predator (1987) were his idea.
- He worked various odd jobs after dropping out of college, including janitor and truck driver.
- Has frequently worked with the cast of the Star Trek films. Paul Winfield appeared in The Terminator (1984) and Star Trek II – The Wrath of Khan (1982). Jenette Goldstein, who appeared in Aliens (1986), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), and Titanic (1997), also appears briefly in Star Trek: Generations (1994). Goldstein’s Aliens (1986) character was also the inspiration for Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby), and she was the original choice for the role. Mark Rolston, who appeared in Aliens (1986), also appeared on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). Edward Furlong appeared in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and Star Trek: Renegades (2015). Zoe Saldana appeared in Star Trek (2009), Star Trek into Darkness (2013) and Avatar (2009). David Warner appeared in Titanic (1997), Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). In addition, Thomas Dekker appeared in Star Trek: Generations (1994) and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008) as John Connor, while the character’s father, Kyle Reese, was played in Terminator Salvation (2009) by Anton Yelchin. Bryce Dallas Howard, who also appeared in Terminator Salvation (2009), is the niece of Clint Howard, who appeared on an early episode of the original series. Bill Paxton’s Aliens character, Hudson, inspired the Sam Rockwell character in the Star Trek spoof, Galaxy Quest (1999).
- Was an avid reader of Arthur C. Clarke, A.E. van Vogt, Harlan Ellison and Larry Niven novels as a child.
- First wife Sharon Williams got just $1,200 from Cameron in their divorce settlement.
- While editing Titanic (1997), Cameron had a razor blade taped to the side of the editing computer with the instructions written underneath: “Use only if film sucks!”.
Personal Quotes by James Cameron
I don’t use film cameras. I don’t do visual effects the same way. We don’t use miniature models; it’s all CG now, creating worlds in CG. It’s a completely different toolset. But the rules of storytelling are the same.
- James Cameron
It took me a long time to realize that you have to have a bit of an interlanguage with actors. You have to give them something that they can act with.
- James Cameron
The film industry is about saying ‘no’ to people, and inherently you cannot take ‘no’ for an answer.
- James Cameron
I’ve tried not to get sucked into the Hollywood hierarchy system. Personally, I don’t like it when people are deferential to me because I’m an established filmmaker. It’s a blue-collar sensibility.
- James Cameron
Every time you dive, you hope you’ll see something new – some new species. Sometimes the ocean gives you a gift, sometimes it doesn’t.
- James Cameron