Electro Pulse
JAMES CAMERON - Creator/Executive Producer
Born in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada, James Cameron grew up in Niagara Falls. He moved to Brea, CA in 1971 and studied physics at Fullerton College, while working as a machinist and, later, a truck driver. Setting his sights on a career in film, Cameron quit his trucking job in 1978 and raised money from a consortium of dentists to produce a short film in 35mm. He served as producer, director, co-writer, editor, miniature builder, cinematographer and special effects supervisor on the production.
His work on the short film led to a position at Roger Corman's New World Pictures in 1980 on Battle Beyond the Stars. Determined to direct, Cameron parlayed his production designer job on a subsequent Corman film, Galaxy of Terror, into a stint as second unit director. When the production fell behind schedule, Corman asked him to shoot some dialogue scenes with the principal cast. Cameron, finding the work with actors exciting, began preparing a script for himself to direct.
In 1982, Cameron wrote The Terminator, hoping to couple his effects and design experience with a low budget, high-impact vehicle that could find independent financing. After two years of starvation, Cameron brought the film before cameras as a Hemdale/HBO co-production released by Orion. Though costing only $6 million, the film received worldwide acclaim, appeared on numerous 10-best lists, including Time magazine's, and grossed over $80 million.
While waiting for financing for "The Terminator," Cameron wrote two scripts to keep busy: Rambo: First Blood Part II with Sylvester Stallone and a first draft of Aliens, the sequel to the 1979 science fiction classic "Alien." "Rambo II" later became a global mega-hit, grossing over $250 million.
After the success of "The Terminator," Cameron agreed to direct "Aliens" and plunged into production in 1985. The film went on to receive seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Actress for Sigourney Weaver, and won for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Effects. "Aliens" grossed over $180 million worldwide and ranks as one of the highest-grossing R rated films of all time. As a result, NATO, the National Association of Theater Owners, named Cameron Director of the Year in 1986. This also featured the film on its cover.
Cameron wrote and directed his next project, the underwater epic The Abyss, in 1988-89. The film took 18 months to complete and required the creation of two fresh-water filming tanks, which contained over 11 million gallons. The film received four Academy Award nominations. "The Abyss" won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects and grossed $110 million worldwide. The production blazed a new trail for visual effects with the creation of photo-realistic computer animation unlike anything seen before.
Next, James Cameron and director Kathryn Bigelow co-wrote Point Break on which he served as executive producer. The film made close to $100 million worldwide and topped the video rental charts for five weeks. Concurrently with pre-production on "Point Break," he completed the script for Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which began filming in 1990 with Cameron as writer, producer, and director.
"T2," as it came to be known globally, was completed in less than 12 months and became a new high-water mark for action and visual effects photography. Building on techniques pioneered in "The Abyss," Cameron worked with Industrial Light & Magic to create computer-animated images far beyond anything previously seen or imagined. The visual tour-de-force, coupled with star Arnold Schwarzenegger, propelled the film to over $500 million worldwide. Ancillary revenues, including video, television, and merchandising, brought the total revenues of the film close to $1 billion.
In addition to its box office success, "T2" received six Oscar nominations, of which it won four - Best Make-Up, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Effects Editing. It also received six MTV Movie Awards, the Ray Bradbury Award for Dramatic Screenwriting and five Saturn Awards from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. "T2" also won the People's Choice Award as Favorite Motion Picture and took honors at the Video Software Dealers Association Awards and the first annual Laser Disc Awards.
Cameron's production company, Lightstorm Entertainment, then entered into a domestic distribution relationship with 20th Century Fox. The arrangement was soon expanded to allow for Fox's worldwide distribution of Lightstorm's films.
In 1993, Cameron formed Digital Domain, a visual effects and digital production studio, with Academy Award-winning character-creator Stan Winston, renowned special visual effects executive Scott Ross and IBM.
Cameron's next film, True Lies, which he wrote, produced and directed, went on to gross over $360 million globally. With this production, he had created an impressive body of work in the short span of five films. In 1995, NATO again honored him with an award - Producer of the Year. In addition, the Laser Disc Association presented him with the Laser Beam Award for selling 500,000 units of his critically acclaimed laser discs.
On December 19, 1997, Titanic was released. Cameron wrote, directed, and produced the picture, which has grossed a record setting $1.8 billion at the worldwide box office. The film received a record-tying 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, and Golden Globes along with numerous other nominations and awards.