James Cameron biography

Synopsis

Early Career

Director, producer, and writer. Born on August 16, 1954, in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada. A science fiction fan as a child, James Cameron grew up to become one of the most visionary filmmakers in Hollywood. He initially pursued physics as a student at California State University at Fullerton, but he left to follow his cinematic dreams. Working as a truck driver, Cameron would pull off the road to work on screenplays.

In 1978, Cameron made his first film, a science fiction short called Xenogenesis. The film helped him get a job with New World Pictures, a company run by famed B-movie director Roger Corman. At New World, Cameron worked in number of different roles, from art director on Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) to director on Piranha II: The Spawning (1981).

Major Films

Cameron's fortunes changed in 1984, when he wrote and directed the film The Terminator (1984). The movie told the gripping science fiction tale of a robot from the future (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) who travels to the present day to hunt down the leader of the resistance in a yet-to-occur battle between humans and machines. The film became a critical and commercial hit, and helped Cameron land his next project, the sequel to Ridley Scott's Alien (1979), which featured Sigourney Weaver as a female action hero in space. Aliens (1986) received several Academy Award nominations, including one for Weaver as Best Actress.

With The Abyss (1989), however, Cameron experienced a number of disappointments. The shoot for the film was grueling. Much of it was filmed in a huge underwater set, which took its toll on the cast and crew. After its release, critics and move-goers were not impressed with the story of scuba divers who encounter aliens while recovering a U.S. Navy submarine. The film's visual effects, however, were stunning and earned an Academy Award.

Working with his third wife, Kathryn Bigelow, Cameron helped produce her 1991 action flick, Point Break (1991). The couple's two-year relationship ended around this same time. Cameron returned to form that same year with another box-office hit, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). The film earned more than $200 million, and broke new ground with its impressive visual effects. He later married one of the film's stars, Linda Hamilton.

Titanic

Mixing martial issues with undercover spies, Cameron wrote and directed True Lies (1994), starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film made it to No. 1 at the box office, grossed more than $378 million worldwide, and received an Oscar nod for its visual effects. Cameron then began a massive undertaking with his story Titanic, a movie about star-crossed lovers (played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet) trapped aboard the doomed Titanic ocean liner. To recreate one of the greatest disasters at sea, Cameron had a special studio built in Mexico, which featured a 17-million-gallon water tank and 775-foot replica of the Titanic.

The film cost nearly $200 million to make, and was plagued with problems and delays. Many in the industry expected the film to tank just like its namesake, but Cameron proved the skeptics wrong. Opening in December 1997, the film received critical raves and strong ticket sales. Titanic became the first film to earn more than $1 billion and landed 14 Academy Award nominations. For his work on the film, Cameron took home three Oscars—for Best Director, Best Best Film