James Cameron filmography

A photograph of Cameron speaking at the Hollywood Walk of Fame awarding ceremony of producer Gale Anne Hurd in 2012
Cameron speaking at the Hollywood Walk of Fame awarding ceremony of producer Gale Anne Hurd in 2012

James Cameron is a Canadian director, screenwriter, and producer who has had an extensive career in film and television. Cameron's debut was the 1978 science fiction short Xenogenesis, which he directed, wrote and produced.[1][2] In his early career, he did various technical jobs such as special visual effects producer, set dresser assistant, matte artist, and photographer. His feature directorial debut was the 1982 release Piranha II: The Spawning.[2][3] The next film he directed was the science fiction action thriller The Terminator (1984) which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as the titular cyborg assassin, and was Cameron's breakthrough feature.[4][5][6] In 1986, he directed and wrote the science fiction action sequel Aliens starring Sigourney Weaver.[7] He followed this by directing another science fiction film The Abyss (1989). In 1991, Cameron directed the sequel to The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (with Schwarzenegger reprising his role),[8] and also executive produced the action crime film Point Break. Three years later he directed a third Schwarzenegger-starring action film True Lies (1994).[9]

A photograph of Cameron (right) with Aliens producer Gale Anne Hurd (left) in 1986
Cameron (right) with his then wife and Aliens producer Gale Anne Hurd (left) in 1986[10]
A photograph of Cameron receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2009
Cameron receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2009

In 1997, Cameron directed, wrote, and produced the epic romantic disaster film Titanic which grossed over $1.8 billion[11][a] at the worldwide box-office and became the highest grossing of all time.[b] He received the Academy Award for Best Director, the Academy Award for Best Film Editing, and shared the Academy Award for Best Picture with the other producers. It had a total of 14 Oscar nominations (tying the record set by the 1950 drama All About Eve) and won 11 (tying the record set by the 1959 epic historical drama Ben-Hur).[16] Cameron also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director and shared the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama with the other producers.[17] He followed this by directing, and producing two underwater documentaries: Ghosts of the Abyss (2003), and Aliens of the Deep (2005). He returned to directing features in 2009 with the 3D science fiction film Avatar. It grossed over $2.9 billion at the worldwide box-office and became the highest grossing of all time surpassing Titanic.[c][15][20] Avatar was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won three in technical categories.[21] Cameron also earned a second Golden Globe Award for Best Director, and Best Motion Picture – Drama.[22] He followed this by executive producing two 3D films, Sanctum (2011) and Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away (2012), as well as the documentary Deepsea Challenge 3D (2014).

Cameron made his television debut in 1998 playing himself in the sitcom Mad About You. Two years later he executive produced the science fiction television series Dark Angel (2000) starring Jessica Alba. In 2005, he appeared in two documentaries about the sinking of the RMS Titanic: Last Mysteries of the Titanic, and Tony Robinson's Titanic Adventure. He also made appearances as himself on the comedy-drama television series Entourage that same year. Cameron followed this by executive producing two biblical documentaries, The Exodus Decoded (2006) and Lost Tomb of Jesus (2007). He executive produced and appeared in a third Titanic related documentary, Titanic: Final Word with James Cameron, in 2012. Two years later, Cameron executive produced the climate change documentary television series Years of Living Dangerously (2014) which received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series.[23]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference pir was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b "2008 entries to National Film Registry Announced". Library of Congress. December 30, 2008. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  3. ^ Clarke, James (May 14, 2014). The Cinema of James Cameron: Bodies in Heroic Motion. Chichester, New York: Columbia University Press. p. 100. ISBN 978-0231169776.
  4. ^ "James Cameron". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  5. ^ Sickel, Robert (December 8, 2010). American Film in the Digital Age. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. p. 115. ISBN 978-0275998622.
  6. ^ Clarke, James (May 14, 2014). The Cinema of James Cameron: Bodies in Heroic Motion. Chichester, New York: Columbia University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0231169776.
  7. ^ Goodman, Walter (July 18, 1986). "Aliens (1986)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  8. ^ Turan, Kenneth (July 3, 1991). "Movie Review: He Said He'd Be Back...: Arnold and 'Terminator 2' Return With a Vengeance". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  9. ^ James, Caryn (July 17, 1994). "True Lies (1994)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  10. ^ Singh, Anita (March 1, 2010). "Linda Hamilton: life with James Cameron was 'terrible on every level'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on February 24, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  11. ^ "The Billion Dollar film club". The Daily Telegraph. August 1, 2011. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  12. ^ "Titanic (1997)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  13. ^ "Titanic 3D (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  14. ^ "Titanic 3D (2012)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  15. ^ a b "Avatar overtakes Titanic as top-grossing film ever". BBC News. January 27, 2010. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  16. ^ Gray, Tim (March 22, 1998). "'Titanic' tally ties Oscar record". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  17. ^ Sterngold, James (January 19, 1998). "'Titanic' Wins Top Golden Globe Award". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  18. ^ "Avengers: Endgame overtakes Avatar as top box office movie of all time". BBC News. July 22, 2019. Archived from the original on December 3, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  19. ^ Davis, Rebecca (March 21, 2021). "China Box Office: 'Avatar' Leads With a Further $14 Million". Variety. Archived from the original on March 23, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  20. ^ "Avatar (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on January 18, 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  21. ^ Duke, Alan (March 9, 2010). "'Hurt Locker' is best picture, wins six Oscars". CNN. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  22. ^ Duke, Alan (January 18, 2010). "'Avatar' wins two Golden Globes". CNN. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  23. ^ "Years of Living Dangerously". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2014.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).