The Story Behind James Cameron: How He Became the Brightest Light in Hollywood
The Early Career of James Cameron
James Cameron was born in 1954 in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada. He showed an early interest in film; he created 8mm films of model airplanes he crafted from cardboard boxes in his early teens, as well as wrote science fiction stories for his own amusement. After graduating from high school in 1971, Cameron moved to Brea, California, and started working as a truck driver in order to pay for college, but his creative drive and his interest in film led him to study English at Fullerton College, from where he eventually transferred to California State University and majored in physics.
The Terminator Revolution
In 1978, Cameron wrote a script for his first feature film, Xenogenesis, which wasn’t successful. But this early setback failed to dissuade Cameron, who worked (and re-worked) the script until it was finally chosen by Gale Anne Hurd to become The Terminator.
The Terminator, released in 1984, made Cameron a worldwide sensation. The film featured Arnold Schwarzenegger as a robotic assassin from the future, a role that made Schwarzenegger a household name and catapulted Cameron to stardom.
The Cameron Renaissance
Cameron quickly follow up with Aliens in 1986; the sequel to the original Alien film became yet another critical and box office success, and in 1989 Cameron directed The Abyss, which earned four Academy Award nominations.
Cameron's Most Legendary Films
Titanic, released in 1997, became the most decorated and commercially successful movie of all time, and earned Cameron two Academy Awards for directing and best picture.
Avatar, released in 2009, was Cameron’s largest and most expensive production. It grossed over $2.7 billion, earned nine Academy Award nominations, and was hailed by critics as a breakthrough in computer-generated effects and animation.
In 2019, he released his long-awaited Avatar sequels, Avatar 2 and Avatar 3. It is expected the sequels will continue to build on the legacy of the original blockbuster film.
James Cameron's Legacy
Over the course of his remarkable and successful career, James Cameron has become one of the most celebrated filmmakers of all time. His films have grossed over $6.2 billion worldwide, and his directing skills have been compared to the likes of Orson Welles, Steven Spielberg, and Francis Ford Coppola.
Cameron is also credited with helping to usher in a new era of filmmaking, thanks to his pioneering use of 3D technology and computer-generated effects. Despite his unparalleled level of success, Cameron is still considered one of the most humble and down-to-earth filmmakers in Hollywood, constantly showing appreciation for the art of film and his fans.
This blog post was originally written by Ellen Higgs.