Talk:James Cameron

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I'd love to see a source on the notion that Cameron had anything to do with Terminator 3. As far as I know he was completely uninvolved.--67.177.28.209 01:18, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Mars Society

James Cameron is apparently a member of the Mars Society. I do not think it is a relevant enough fact to be included in the opening paragraph, so I'm shifting it further into the article. M0rt 12:17, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Disambiguation?

Shouldn't there be a disambiguation page, since there are 3 other James Camerons? Bruxism 08:13, 13 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Film details

I removed some details from the film sections that didn't relate to Cameron specifically. Each film has its own article, so I think only details that help illuminate the character/interests/life of Cameron himself should be in this article. Ashmoo 03:52, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Jaws Remake

There is a trailer here for a Jaws remake. It says it is directed by James Cameron. Is this true?

Wow - that's ambitious. Might settle the question of who's the more talented: Spielberg or Cameron?--Shtove 17:08, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
It's a fan film. All the scenes are taken from other movies. There are shots from The Perfect Storm, Poseidon, etc. Also, official trailers rarely misspell the word Legend. IrishGuy talk 23:36, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
Ah, the spelling mistake. I need a bigger head.--Shtove 04:28, 12 September 2006 (UTC)
LOL. It's easy enough to overlook a spelling mistake. I'm sure many people who have watched that trailer completely missed it. IrishGuy talk 20:39, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Titanic

The article says it is the highest grossing movie of all time without adjusting for inflation. You always have to adjust for inflation and there's hardly ever a reason not to.

Not true. Box office gross are never adjusted for inflation. Helltopay27 15:18, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Spider-Man involvement

On this page, and on Ted Newsom, information about Spider-Man script drafts was added by the user Ted Newsom. Presumably that's the writer in question adding information from his own knowledge of the process, but is there a verifiable online source for this info we can link to? On the Cameron page it says:

A screenplay dated 1989 exists with Cameron's name appended to it... but the script was identical to one presented to Columbia Pictures by Golan in 1988

Whereas the Newsom page has:

A 1993 draft... available on line, also credits James Cameron, although the text itself is identical to a 1987 draft without Cameron's name

Are both of these correct? Online, I can only find the 1993 draft and a 1985 draft by Newsom and Brancato. The history of this script is a fascinating mess, but we really need some solid, reliable sources.--Nalvage 16:54, 19 January 2007 (UTC)

Note to Nalvage: yes, it's pretty much ALL correct, and it is a fascinating mess. There might be a way to express it simply, but I doubt it. I think there's a link on my page, and probably the "Spider-Man (film)" page, to Michael Hiltzik's LA TIMES article, which is about as comprehensive as any legitimate publication got, but even there, he had to simplify things to make them digestible. The detailed history of the project is on assorted comic sites (Superhereos.com, I think; used to be Spider-Man.com, I think again), but after so much time, it may be archived away.

The first writer hired was Leslie Stevens, who did a treatment to Menachem Golan's specifications, unfortunately. To Golan, Spider-Man was a hairy teenage mutant ninja with (literally) eight arms. And understandably suicidal. Stan Lee and Marvel vetoed te treatment in its entirety and it was shelved. My partner John Brancato and I had done a script for Marvel on Sgt. Fury, and we pushed Stan to get us a chance at Spider-Man, then at Cannon. Through him and our agent, we got the chance and wrote the script, in September, 1985. This draft was then assigned to Barney Cohen to rewrite; his rewrite and polish were turned in in early 1986. Menachem Golan himself made some minor alterations, using his pen-name "Joseph Goldman." The film went into pre-production for several months and a lot of money (and great storyboards.) Cannon began to have financial difficulties, overextending itself (and basically spending the $20 million earmarked for Spider-Man on Superman IV instead), and planned a much smaller version of the film. Between 1988 and 1989, three writers in succession were hired, each rewriting the previous script(s): Shepard Goldman, Don Michael Paul, and Ethan Wiley. At this point Golan and Globus split. Golan established 21st Century" (later, "New Cannon") and kept the rights to Spider-Man. In the fall of 1989, seeking funding for a big-budget version of the film, he tossed the three low-budget rewrites aside and reverted to the 1986 "Newsom/Brancato/Cohen/Goldman" draft, submitting it to Columbia Pictures. This draft was, I believe, dated 1989 to make Columbia assume it was the "last" of the successive rewrites, rather than the source of the rewrites. Columbia OK'd the project in principle but insisted on (again) another rewrite, which was done by Frank LaLoggia. LaLoggia submitted his lengthy treatment in Novemeber of 1989, and then walked away from the project. Another writer was hired, Neil Rittenberg, who submitted his draft in January or early February of 1990. A contract was signed by Columbia and Golan. Then Carolco (which had continuing distribution agreement with Columbia at any rate) outbid Columbia, and bought the scripts, the rights, and Golan as producer; James Cameron wanted to direct the film. Assorted lititagtion followed, which had nothing to do with the script(s).
According to VARIETY (Sept. 1, 1993) James Cameron delivered a screenplay to Carolco the previous week, presumably the last week of August. Probably not coincidentally, a draft began circulating at the time with Cameron's name and others, with misspellings, typos, and juggled name-positions. This is the so-called 1993 "Cameron script," whose cover page says: “Spider-Man written by Barry Cohen[sic] and Ted Newson[sic] and James Cameron; 2nd Revision by Joseph Goldmari[sic] and James Cameron and John Brancato.” There are two dates on the screenplay, July 24, 1993 and "Third Revision August 4, 1993." The juxtaposition of the names would indicate to the casual reader that there had been two teams of writers working with Cameron, one on the first draft, another pair on the second. However, this was not the case. In point of fact, this draft is identical to the draft submitted to Columbia in 1989, and to Carlco in 1990, with the addition of Cameron's name to the title page. (There is a Xerox flaw on the cover page of the 1989 script, which made Golan's pen name "Goldman" appear to be "Goldmari," which was obviously typed on the "Cameron" script typed after the fact; John and I worked together as a team, not separately as indicated on this 1993 cover page, and neither of us ever even met Mr. Cameron.)
Subsequently there appeared a 40-some page treatment, also available on line in various places, which is represented solely as Cameron's work. The manuscript itself is undated, but its registration certificate at the Copyright Office gives the "year of creation" as 1994. When Columbia re-entered the picture and acquired the existing material from MGM, they only requested the "Cameron material," that is, the multi-author 1986/1989/1993 screenplay, and the subsequent 1994 treatment. All this information is part of public record and has appeared in various sites and publications over the years, but the saga is so complex, it has confused any number of people.--Ted Newsom 71.109.239.61 00:11, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] {{current}}

I marked this article {{current}} due to the significant press release that Cameron will give tomorrow and the storm of controversy that it is sure to generate.--Sludge 01:36, 26 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Freemasonry membership.

Why is there no mention of his widely reported membership in freemasonry? Yet he is listed in the category "canadian freemasons", which is non existent or deleted. 195.134.69.125 13:44, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

It is currently mentioned, with a link to a ridiculous article as reference. I'm going to delete it. Loafing 22:52, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Stamford Collegiate

James Cameron attended Stamford Collegiate Secondary School, a highschool here in my hometown of Niagara Falls, Ontario. The school has named it's Theatre after him, the James Cameron Theatre. This should be included in the article. 69.156.176.17 (talk) 04:20, 25 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Biased?

The "Personal Life" section of this article features a few quotes that put Cameron in a bad light... perhaps some quotes that praise him are necessary in order to make the section a bit more balanced? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.168.215.233 (talk) 05:23, 21 February 2008 (UTC)

if nobody minds i might rewrite the Personal Life section to see if it can be make more neutral pov and check some of those references Apple-I-mage (talk) 05:28, 21 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Ethnicity

Who is James Cameron ethnically? 217.132.88.212 (talk) 13:56, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

He's Canadian, probably of Scottish ancestry based on his last name. Serendipodous 07:06, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] This article is atrocious

If we were to strictly adhere to WP:BLP rules, about two thirds of this article would have to be deleted. Much of it is unsourced, and quite a bit of it is pure rumour or legend. Serendipodous 07:05, 17 May 2008 (UTC)