The Biography of James Cameron

“When Cameron reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench, he became the first person in history to descend the 6.8 mile distance solo.”

“A camera that he helped design served as the model for one that is currently on Mars attached to the Mars rover.”

“And I think it's probably goes back to this idea that there's a lot of smart, really gifted, really talented filmmakers out there that just can't do the difficult stuff. So that gives me a tactical edge to do something nobody else has ever seen, because the re…”

“Terminator Two, True Lies, and Titanic were all among the most expensive films ever made at the time of their release.”

“To date, all of his films have made their money back. Many of them spectacularly.”

“It's a curious fact that Cameron has directed only two feature films in the last 25 years.”

“I said, I think this movie is going to make all the fucking money, and when it does, it's going to be too late for you to love the film.”

“The punchline is, the shuttle mission that I refused? It was the Columbia.”

“Do some interesting science that is all your own, and if it is manifestly important and nearly impossible, it will be fulfilling and maybe even a way to get rich.”

“You can't help, but come away from spending time with Jim feeling that you're a little bit stupid. He's got such a sharp mind. He is formidable.”

“Cameron would then go to the library at the University of Southern California, and he'd photocopy all these graduate student thesis on esoteric filmmaking subjects. He filled two fat binders with technical papers. For the cost of a couple hundred dollars in ph…”

“Terminator, the original Terminator, right, it only cost six million dollars. It winds up making seventy eight million on a six million dollar investment.”

“It would involve pouring thousands of yards of structural concrete, installing enormous filtration systems and a row of 20,000 heaters to warm The 7.5 million gallons to a comfortable temperature. What they were planning wasn't just the largest underwater set …”

“At the end of the day, Cameron had to hang 10 feet under the surface for an hour to adjust to the pressure difference. Never one to waste time, Cameron asked the crew to install a monitor in the control room so he could watch his dailies through the acrylic wi…”

“These guys gave Arnold a twelve million dollar Gulfstream jet to close the deal.”

“Photoshop is actually the first thing they use it for is to solve a technical problem that James Cameron is having on Terminator two.”

“In the spring of 1992, Cameron signed an unusual five hundred million dollar multi-picture domestic distribution deal with Fox. They gave him power. To put any movie he wanted into production without Fox's approval up to a budget of seventy million dollars. An…”

“They raised fifteen million dollars from IBM, which took a 50% stake in the company. And provided much of the hardware to get it started.”

“20th Century Fox president Bill mechanic told Cameron that the film would never see a dime a profit. He suggested that Cameron should not only surrender all his points, meaning his profits on Titanic, but give back half of his points on the next film he did wi…”

“Titanic winds up being number one for 16 straight weeks and makes Almost two billion dollars. Almost makes two billion dollars in the movie.”

“In fact, there was a little, like historical anecdote where James Cameron is actually underwater at the site of the Titanic on nine 11.”

“Cameron had written a digital manifesto, a passionately argued, thirteen-page document laying out where he expected filmmaking to go in the coming years. In his manifesto, he described something called performance capture. What he's calling performance capture…”

“Jim is very generous in the way he shares knowledge and information. He doesn't jealously guard technology and secrets.”