James Cameron Guest Edits Wired Magazine

colonist writes "Terminator and Titanic director James Cameron is guest editor of the December issue of WIRED Magazine: 'This special issue of Wired is about honest-to-God, two-fisted, hairy-knuckled exploration.' Cameron worked for nearly a year on this issue, developing stories on the future of exploration in the oceans, on earth and in space. Contributors include Buzz Aldrin, Sean O'Keefe, Burt Rutan, Robert Ballard, Sylvia Earle and Kim Stanley Robinson. (The issue is not online yet.) Apart from making blockbuster films, Cameron explores the depths of the oceans and is a member of the NASA Advisory Council and the Mars Society."

Comments

James Cameron!

[Anonymous Coward]

Didn't he make that movie with those chumps?

Re:James Cameron!

[Anonymous Coward]

Didn't he make that movie with those chumps?

Hmm I think so.. didn't you have the lead role?

James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[tezza]

I think you should mention a Director's most accomplished work, rather than his biggest grossing.

Terminator is good though.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[bsartist]

Aliens? You mean the lame blood-n-guts sequel to Ridley Scott's outstanding suspense/horror flick? Well, I suppose it was better than Titanic, but that sure as hell ain't saying much.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[blowdart]

Imagine the satisfaction if he'd got confused. De Caprio is at the front of the boat, arms outstretched, "I'm King of the World ma!" then Winslett opens her mouth, the alien mouth shoots out into the back of his head ....

Sorry. Won't happen again.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[tezza]

Aliens? You mean the lame blood-n-guts sequel to Ridley Scott's outstanding suspense/horror flick?

Yes. Aliens.

Alien was good as well.

Geez, you express an opinion here and all you get is Nay Sayers screaming you down.

I hope the people who marked my first post as flaimbait feel happy in their usage of their Mod points. You people are just reinforcing GroupThink. My post may not have been Shakespeare but it was on topic.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[Anonymous Coward]

PS - Aliens kicked ass. Not as good as the first, but still a great flick. Can't say the same about Aliens 3.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[grumpygrodyguy]

Aliens? You mean the lame blood-n-guts sequel to Ridley Scott's outstanding suspense/horror flick? Well, I suppose it was better than Titanic, but that sure as hell ain't saying much.

Bwahahaha, nice troll. You're talking about one of the greatest action film directors of all time. I would give my left nut to see more film-makers like him around today. Terminator, Terminator II, and Aliens are the giants of modern sci-fi/action films. He's also probably one of the best 'hard' sci-fi directors ever, and one of the very few directors who actually understand technology. He's a master, and he deserves respect.

Oh and yes, Ridley Scott is great also, no argument here.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[bsartist]

Geez, you express an opinion here and all you get is Nay Sayers screaming you down.

Well, it's not a very popular opinion. The original was a creepy, atmospheric, suspense/horror movie. The audience never even gets to see the alien through most of the movie, just quick flashes that leave the impression or something horrible lurking just slightly out of sight.

By comparison, the sequels - all of 'em - were run-of-the-mill action flicks. The suspense that made the original so great was gone, and in its place was buckets of gore. They wouldn't have done too badly on their own, but as sequels they were disappointing. I suppose it was inevitable - the original was a *very* tough act to follow, and splatter flicks were making big bank at the time.

Still, I don't think the "flamebait" mod was warranted, and I hope your comment gets modded back up. Lots of folks might disagree with your opinion of Aliens, but I don't think you intended to pick a fight by posting it. And, you made a very good point - we should recognize a director for his best work, which is not necessarily the same as his most profitable work.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[Wolfbone]

Well it could've been a lame blood-n-guts sequel - and superficially it even looks like one - but I don't think it was. I watched all four in a row recently and "Aliens" came across as an alternatively styled work, complementary to the original: a beautifully detailed and fast-paced sequel to Alien done in the 'action' style of sci-fi films, not an inferior movie at all.

The third one was where the deterioration began, though it's not really that bad and compared to "Resurrection"... well - all I can say is that Jeunet should be burnt at the stake for having made a complete mockery of the Alien series: The pantomime General, stereotypically drawn scientists, arty-farty, technologically empty sets and a time-serving support cast of art house cinema poseurs (Winona excepted).

When the alien hybrid made those sickeningly twee babyface expressions I felt like crying.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[bsartist]

You're talking about one of the greatest action film directors of all time. ... Terminator, Terminator II, and Aliens are the giants of modern sci-fi/action films.

Exactly my point, thank you. Aliens wasn't all that bad a movie on its own - but it was an action movie, and that was precisely the problem. As a sequel to a classic suspense/horror movie, it was a major disappointment.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, in the case of Cameron, we generally steer conversation towards his blockbusters, his money makers, rather than his "artistic accomplishments". However, since you have the temerity to bring it up, I'd much rather see Aliens than either have my eye poked out or watch Waterworld.

At any rate, I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that he is currently in post production on Aliens of the Deep.

I can't speak for the moderators, who are generally pretty retarded, but I know when someone claims some piece of nonsense as great Art, I feel almost as if they just admitted to eating their own turds. You didn't go so far as claiming that Aliens (which certainly wasn't terrible) is Art, but if you had, I might have reacted as if you just declared that you eat your boogers.

Over time, I've come to think that the majority of slashdotters are coprophagous, at least in matters of cinematic taste. I have nothing against wasting a few hours and a few bucks being mindlessly entertained by whatever swill is being dished out. But the movies some hold in high admiration often leaves me shaking my head.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[eclectro]

I think we can all agree here.

Less James Cameron and more Ripley

I feel hair growing on my palms-err knuckles already.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[Anonymous Coward]

He's a master, and he deserves respect.

Oh and yes, Ridley Scott is great also, no argument here.

You are one of the shit eaters I was talking about. Ridley Scott has a few talented bones in his body, and might qualify for Master status, but Cameron is an incredibly successful hack, not a genius. The man wrote Rambo for chrissakes.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[CrackedButter]

It wasn't all Jeunet's fault, he didn't have his favoured producer who he had worked with on nearly all his films (can't remember his name), Fox didn't see the sense in hiring them both. Plus Weaver had more input as a producer and she shouldn't of had so much influence on the film. However for all the negativity, in France and Japan, the film was a box office success...

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[Anonymous Coward]

With the current political climate in the USA I doubt saying the French liked Alien 3 will do it any favors.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[samael]

Didn't disappoint me. I didn't see why the sequel to a film had to be in the same genre.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[Anonymous Coward]

It's completely intentional, and you would have been disappointed anyway. Many people weren't.

The rationale goes like this: Classic suspense/ horror sequels suck. Why? Because you already know the monster (in this case the Alien) and you know too much about it (in this case you've seen half of the breeding cycle, and in some cuts much more of it).

You can ignore this, and make a movie which will be described as "formulaic and disappointing". Ripley arrives at a space station, the Alien has tagged along (or eggs have arrived in some other way). People get killed, Ripley or a new heroine escape and station self-destructs. Decent box office sales, review guides say "Watch the original again instead".

You can tweak the horror, and make a movie which will be described as "not an improvement ... disappointing". Fresh cast, Young hero saves reluctant love interest from Alien which can now fly. Again decent sales (choose pin-up for male lead to increase date audience) and probably a bad review (especially if lead can't act).

Or you can do something _radical_. You can take the things that would make Alien 2 a bad horror flick, and use them to your advantage to leap straight into an action adventure without the usual "Lack of backstory leaves us wondering why, and how..." reviews. Most of your audience already knows that there are aliens, that they're very nasty indeed, but they can be hurt. Audience members who saw "Alien" can follow along with Ripley, while those who haven't can follow the baffled and scared Space Marines until they catch up.

What went wrong was Alien 3 and 4. Alien 3 should never have been made at all (it's a poor blend of Alien and Aliens) and Alien 4 would work much better as a straight action sequel to Aliens, call it "Alien 3" or "Aliens - RandomHollywoodWord" at your option. Strip out the resurrection (unnecessary with Alien 3 gone) and the stupid humanoid alien (no amount of special FX budget could fix that). Lengthen the Alien escape sequence (more safeguards exist, but they're all overwhelmed by Aliens). We see Aliens swimming (not bad), but let's add Aliens simply hacking their way out of the vessel and walking around the outside. They're tough enough.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[krymsin01]

Sorry, but Ron Pearlman is NOT an art house cinema poseur. The guy has been in 90 flicks to date (check his credits)

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[mordors9]

Wasn't it in Aliens where Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) shaved her head.... that was unusual back then, making her extremely hot looking.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[Blymie]

So, you claim that "A woman doing something unusual to herself, makes her hot looking"?

So, blowing her head off with a gun makes her hot looking? Shoving a 2 foot piece of wood into her nipple and leaving it there, makes her hot looking?

Covering her body with maggots and manure, makes her hot looking?!

Frankly, bald women are less attractive. That's personal preference, but I'm a little confused that you equate unusual == good hot??

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[NanoGator]

"I think you should mention a Director's most accomplished work, rather than his biggest grossing."

Are we going to split hairs about what 'most accomplished' means? Wouldn't biggest grossing imply most people seen/enjoyed? What about the great deal of effort that went into making that movie? Isn't that quite an accomplishment compared to Aliens or Terminator(s)?

Titanic isn't my favorite of his movies, but I have no issue with calling it "most accomplished" on several levels. This is especially true considering that Titanic is probably the one he's the most proud of. He really loves that ship.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[mordors9]

Actually I was only talking about shaving her head and the fact that that was not typically seen back then. But hey, if you find those other things erotic.... well good luck out there ;-)

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[Anonymous Coward]

Your logic fails when you consider that Glitter grossed more than Citizen Kane.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[Dogtanian]

The rationale goes like this: Classic suspense/ horror sequels suck. Why? Because you already know the monster (in this case the Alien) and you know too much about it (in this case you've seen half of the breeding cycle, and in some cuts much more of it).

Yep... I saw Aliens first (this was when my parents *finally* got a VCR, long after everyone else)... a couple of years later I saw the original Alien and didn't get anything out of it. Still don't, and that's almost certainly because there was no suspense or horror if you'd seen Aliens first.

Alien 4 would work much better as a straight action sequel to Aliens

Alien 4 was a decent film, better than 3 IMHO, but... my biggest criticism is the whole style of the thing. It shares that French "Comic Book" feel with The Fifth Element; the characters are far more stylised than the first two films.

Now, this wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing in a standalone film, or where its predecessors shared this style. But they don't- Alien and Aliens (and Alien3, although who cares?) were more "realistic", and this discontinuity in style- although lessened by the fact that A4 is set quite a bit further on in time- kind of grates.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[DarkMantle]

Damn!! what movie is that? I'll pay double if it's not special effects?

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[mav[LAG]]

I have points but I'd rather reply here.

Well, it's not a very popular opinion.

It is a very popular opinion and with good reason.

The original was a creepy, atmospheric, suspense/horror movie. The audience never even gets to see the alien through most of the movie, just quick flashes that leave the impression or something horrible lurking just slightly out of sight.

Agreed 100%.

By comparison, the sequels - all of 'em - were run-of-the-mill action flicks.

I disagree about Aliens. Aliens not only is a worthy sequel precisely because it didn't try to remake the original, but is probably one of the finest action films ever made. Here are some of my reasons:

• The pacing is perfect. Act I sets up the story, pulling quite a few disparate elements together successfully, Act II is mainly action combined with suspense and Act III is the race against time. And Act IV is a genuine shock when the mother is revealed to be still alive. There's good sub-plots too - Burke's real motivation for one.
  
• Cameron manages to resolve Ripley's fate from the last film, and incorporate the Alien species into the new one in a believable way while giving his audience more of a look.
  
• The Marines are real characters who engage you and you can care about. I can't name any prisoners from Alien 3 but I can reel off all the characters from Aliens (and Alien).
  
• For 1986 the effects are stunning (and almost all physical). Even the best CGI films of today can't compare with that fight between Ripley and the queen.
  
• It's well-acted and well-directed.
  
• It's genuinely scary.
  
• The score is at least the equal of Alien's.
  

It's no accident that its rating is so high on IMDB nor that its technology and memorable quotes have had such a lasting influence on fans.

The suspense that made the original so great was gone, and in its place was buckets of gore.

Aliens has far less gore than the two that followed it. Also remember the first Alien has two of the most gory scenes of all.

I suppose it was inevitable - the original was a *very* tough act to follow, and splatter flicks were making big bank at the time.

I don't know where you get this from. And anyway, Cameron's intent was most certainly not to make a splatter flick and he succeeded.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[Noginbump]

"Your logic fails when you consider that Glitter grossed more than Citizen Kane."

Personally, I never saw the supreme greatness of Citizan Kane. But then, I only sat through it once. I generally chalk that movie up to "Emperor's New Clothes" phenomenon. That is, enough critics say it's the best, so anyone who doen't say it's the best must be a buffoon who should never watch movies again.

In terms of best movies every, I rank Godfather higher than Citizen Kane. Camerons films don't make top 20 list, but Aliens almost makes it if only for the memorable Bill Paxton lines.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[Anonymous Coward]

"The suspense that made the original so great was gone, and in its place was buckets of gore"

Sorry, but first of all by the end of the first film, we'd seen what the Alien looks like, so ergo, there's no point in re-creating that suspense in the next film, since everyone already knows about them. (duh). Secondly, the sequel ALIENS was in fact suspenseful in many parts. i remember nearly peeing my pants in the scene where they are in the lab and this face-sucker suddnely jumps within one of these big glass tubes...

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[Badfysh]

What you're missing is that Cameron rightly knew he couldn't compete with Ridley Scott in terms of style and atmosphere (see Bladerunner), so he directed in his own way and style, and managed to pull off a difficult sequel without tarnishing the original, by making a different movie. I can understand how you wanted 'more of the same' but that never works. Just be grateful you didn't get "Alien 2: Electric Boogaloo".

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[Reducer2001]

Game over, man! Game over!

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah I love Aliens! But I'm proud of you for disliking Cameron so much. Perhaps you could teach him a thing or two since you are so much smarter than he is.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[Blakey Rat]

I always enjoyed how the human dropship pilots in Starcraft said the same lines, in a very similar voice, to the pilot in Aliens.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[Anonymous Coward]

He directed Alien 4 numbnuts. Plus the French are bound to like anything Jeunet churns out because he is one of France's best exports.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[Anonymous Coward]

He is also the creator of the Dark Angel tv series starring jessica alba and the guy from NCIS

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[k98sven]

I disagree.

The directing, especially the camera work, is pretty bad. For instance, far too much time is spent in the beginning showing off those mechanical cargo-moving whatevers.

The first time I saw the dang thing, I was saying to myself why are they showing me this? Oh, that must be what she kills the last alien with. The point gets over-established.

The acting is pretty bad. 'Game-over man!' The Marines are, to me, complete stereotypes. Comic book figures driven completely by machismo. You know immediately the one with the toughest mouth is going to die first, screaming. Another example of overestablishing the point.

Personally I didn't relate to the Marines at all. I frankly didn't give a s-t about them, because it was obvious from the outset that they were only really there to serve as Alien fodder. Perhaps if they showed some emotions other than 'being tough' and 'being scared' I could have.

Memorable quotes? Sure, I guess so. So are advertising slogans.
It's not any kind of measure of a film in my book.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[mav[LAG]]

The directing, especially the camera work, is pretty bad. For instance, far too much time is spent in the beginning showing off those mechanical cargo-moving whatevers.
The first time I saw the dang thing, I was saying to myself why are they showing me this? Oh, that must be what she kills the last alien with. The point gets over-established.

Mmm, yeah all 30 seconds of a scene which establishes a) Ripley did in fact have a job as a loader in the docks b) she's as strong and independent as ever c) she's going to play more than just an adviser later on d) Hicks and Apone have a good working relationship and e) yeah this beastie might come in handy somewhere near the end. All without bringing the movie to a screeching halt in the process. So how would you have done it Mr Director?

The acting is pretty bad. 'Game-over man!' The Marines are, to me, complete stereotypes. Comic book figures driven completely by machismo.

Just like all those other space marine movies before! Er, except this was the first really...

You know immediately the one with the toughest mouth is going to die first, screaming. Another example of overestablishing the point.

She doesn't :)

Memorable quotes? Sure, I guess so. So are advertising slogans.
It's not any kind of measure of a film in my book.

It's actually a very subtle and effective measure of a film if you think about it. When people talk about Scent of a Woman they always refer back to the great speech at the end. Similarly Aliens and its fistful of good lines. Or hundreds of other great films.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[tommyboyprime]

Damn, that was a pisser. Wish I'd thought of it.

Re:James Cameron is the director of Aliens

[gnomeproject]

I won't read Wired because of their tobacco advertising, and James Cameron.

huh?

[ebilhoax]

This special issue of Wired is about honest-to-God, two-fisted, hairy-knuckled exploration.

ok.. I know what gives you hairy palms.. but wtf gives you hairy knuckles?!

Re:huh?

[bsartist]

I don't know - and if it involves "two-fisted" "exploration" I sure as hell don't want to find out.

Re:huh?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll bet that's what gives you hairy knuckles...

Re:huh?

[Anonymous Coward]

ok.. I know what gives you hairy palms.. but wtf gives you hairy knuckles?!

Why, James Cameron of course.

Either that or Wired.
I'm not quite sure which.

Re:huh?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't know - and if it involves "two-fisted" "exploration" I sure as hell don't want to find out.

Maybe something like this.

Re:huh?

[Feztaa]

Not to ruin your fun, but knuckle-cracking causes hairy knuckles. *crunch* and my knuckles are pretty hairy ;)

Obligtaury Terminator Joke..

[rf0]

He'll be back [as guest editor one day]

Rus

Dark Angel?

[chrysrobyn]

That's great! Will he tell us why Dark Angel jumped the shark late in the first season?

The premise was good SciFi fare. Genetically enhanced superhumans using today's ultra-hip-lingo as if it would never go out of style. One of these, Max, is determined to find her brothers and sisters and not have a relationship to the handicapped guy to whom she is desperately attracted. Then Cameron had to introduce mutants that messed up all the "almost believable" part.

Re:Dark Angel?

[tloh]

...why Dark Angel jumped the shark late in the first season?

Because the man is a plagerizing hack who's work can never compare to the original

Re:Dark Angel?

[Anonymous Coward]

That's a pretty vile site you linked to. I wish I had mod points to mode you down. Why don't you try to explain what you tried (and failed miserably) to communicate with that sorry excuse for a site. Right now I'm thinking Cameron deserves double credit for finding anything useful there.

Re:Dark Angel?

[fenix down]

Yeah, but he bought the movie rights to the original about halfway through the first season of Dark Angel. I think they've gotten as far as doing some effects test reels.

Re:Dark Angel?

[pkhuong]

He means this http://jajatom.moo.jp/E-top/Egunnm/Egunnm%20top.ht ml
(That's the artist's page, expect some engrish).

I love both series, and I don't believe a lot of ripping off happened, if at all. The "baddies" are diametrically different and DA's storyline had potentially (grr) more depth. Still, kudos to the DA team for giving us tridimensional antagonists. I loved Lydecker in so many ways ;)

Re:Dark Angel?

[tloh]

Dude! *I* am not the webmaster of said site! But I'll gladly tell you what appreciation *I* have for the guy's effort. I chose to link this particular sight because it was more visual than many of the other fan sites that are on the web. (As least it would have been if it was maintained as well as it was in the past.) I thought it might give /.ers a chance to compare and contrast thed "look" of the characters and settings of Gunnm (aka "Battle Angel" or "Battle Angel Alita" and "Dark Angel". For a little more substantiave treatment of the Manga, go here .

But before I go any further, let me say that I think I've been misunderstood. I spoke in jest of Mr. Cameron. "Dark Angel" had it's own appeal (Anyone who doesn't think Jessica Alba is a cutie has no balls.), but it is easy to poke fun of it when compared to Gunnm. For example, DA and BA both take place in a futuristic version of the United States. But whereas DA seems to be in the not too distant future when everything is more or less recognizable to people of today, BA has an alien, otherworldly feel that I think is much more sci fi. As such, the plot and theme of BA is more focused on basic ideas that are more universally identified - things like what it means to be human, what one is willing to fight for. DA on the other hand is wrapped up in pop culture baggage that will only be recognizable to someone with a late 20th century upbringing weaned on the likes of Cameron's previous cinamatic bash-fests.

Despite Cameron's reputation for glorious action, the stunts and effects on DA are mediocre at best. I liked BA because beyond the violence and gore (often creative at times) that gives it edge, there are tender introspective mements in the plot that dramatically extends the characters multidemensionally. Cameron had a chance to do the same in DA series but it isn't executed as well.

But enough raving from a fanboy. Check out Gunnm for yourself if you are interested and do your own comparison.

Re:Dark Angel?

[tloh]

Ya know, this was widely speculated for a time. But even with conformation by the original manga artist, there hasn't been much of a splash splash. There has been rumors of a Gunnm movie for years. The regulars at alt.comics.gunnm are so jaded by this kind of news now everyone is taking a what-else-is-new attitude. Some worry that Gunnm will be dumbed down and americanized by Cameron's hands. But even though there is some trepidation, it's not quite as adverse a reaction as the announcement of the live action Evangelion movie.

Aliens...underwater

[slumpy]

He was on NPR today talking about this and how he's applying the underwater technology to his new hollywood style movie which'll feature an all CG main character....I'm hoping it's better than Jar Jar.

He also mentioned this underwater movie is in 3D, and I hope it comes to my town.

Re:Aliens...underwater

[Maavin]

Damn it !

I really hoped, that he'd make a "Gunnm" aka. "Battle Angel Alita" Movie :(

Re:Aliens...underwater

[fenix down]

Alita is one of the movies he was going to do that with. If he can pull off a really good CG character, you could have Alita moving different when she switches bodies, and having her kick and her foot breaks the sound barrier and shit would work great.

Re:Aliens...underwater

[The-Bus]

He also mentioned this underwater movie is in 3D, and I hope it comes to my town.

3D!?! Excellent. I had grown tired of the 2D cardboard characters in Titanic and was hoping he would end that streak.

Not what I expected...

[Anonymous Coward]

...when I typed "honest-to-God, two-fisted, hairy-knuckled exploration." into my search engine of choice.

Oh well, the search continues...

Uhoh...

[Anonymous Coward]

I've got a sinking feeling...

laying low

[hthb]

I think James Cameron has been laying low since he made an ass of himself with the "I'm the king of the world" comment on the Oscar nominations. That's why he hasn't been making movies lately ;)

Re:laying low

[sgant]

I don't know...but this guy seems a bit too much into himself really.

I mean, watching the making of Titanic they showed that the underside of the dinner plates had the same stamp as the ones on the real Titanic. Um...ok...but you never saw this in the movie, so why even do it? Attention to detail is one thing, detail that's not even seen is another. An wow, they wonder why this movie cost over 200 million to make. Granted they made a huge profit, but still could have cost less to make.

Another little thing that bugs me is that Cameron had to go down to the real Titanic to get shots for the movie...again, why? Ego, pure and simple. They could have used exisiting shots (as there were already high res Imax footage he could have used) or special effects. Just filming at the site for this movie showed nothing that hadn't already been shown at before. Again...ego.

And, what has he done since? Where's the follow up to this? Is he paralized that he can't do it again? Notice how someone like Peter Jackson jumps right back out there and starts making another movie?

Cameron has the biggest ego going in Hollywood. Ask anyone that's ever worked with him.

Re:laying low

[Anonymous Coward]

Funny how you mention Peter Jackson as I was planning to from the first paragraph I read of yours.

Peter Jackson did the exact same thing with LotR - he and Richard Taylor made sure loads of extra detail was put into everything, in the exact same way.

(If you're interested just go watch the extras sometime)

The point they made was that it wasn't going to turn up on screen, but it gave everything a sense of realism that helped the actors in their roles, and helped the crew in theirs. Though it wasn't literally seen by the audience, these things were hoped to raise spirit, and the overall level of the film.
(Who knows if it worked or not - but no-one who was a part of the trilogy thought it was a bad thing, so I guess it must have ;)

Re:laying low

[f00zbll]

I thought his excuse was that it was cheaper to film it than to use CG. I don't know if that is true, but it sounds likely.

Re:laying low

[sgant]

while this is true that Jackson did a lot of detail, but it's all on the screen. As I said, there is a difference to "attention to detail" and detail that's not even seen. The dinner plates is an example of this or having the same company that did the carpeting for the real Titanic do it for the movie. And I doubt it being there helped the actors at all, unlike having a real suit of mail would do to the actors in LotR.

Re:laying low

[mfg]

I think James Cameron has been laying low since he made an ass of himself with the "I'm the king of the world"

Considering what he'd been through over the previous couple of years, I think he was fairly restrained. After a long, hard shoot with nearly constant rumours that the movie was going to be one of the most expensive disasters in history, he's standing there in front of the entire entertainment industry with a couple of Oscars and a box office take heading for a billion dollars. In his place I'd probably have gone for "Fuck you, assholes!"

Re:laying low

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess you didn't watch any of the special features(hard to belive for this crowd). There was a tremendous amount of detail that no-one will ever see - beautiful undergarments that aren't visible, markings on parts of armor that aren't visible. The actors said that knowing that all the detail was there made it easier to transport themselves into that time and place and give more realistic performances. Not to defend JC(though I don't think he's particularly bad compared with other a-list hollywood types), but, at least come up with a real complaint instead of this ridiculous one. I, for one, appreciate that level of detail. I loved it in LOTR and appreciated it in Titanic(sappy, sickeningly sweet that it was).

Re:laying low

[FleaPlus]

Another little thing that bugs me is that Cameron had to go down to the real Titanic to get shots for the movie...again, why?

Actually, reading through the piece he wrote for Wired, it seems that he actually came up with the idea for making a Titanic movie so that he'd have an excuse to have someone pay for him to go down in a submersible to the actual Titanic. ;)

Interesting time to be subscribed to wired

[Jason1729]

Last month the WiredCD and this month another novel idea.

(do I get bonus points for an on-topic link to a site I host? :) )

Jason
ProfQuotes

Re:Interesting time to be subscribed to wired

[Altima(BoB)]

"(do I get bonus points for an on-topic link to a site I host? :) )"

Giving bonus points to someone for self-slashdotting, even on topic, is like giving bonus points to a cow getting squished in a stampede, even if it's running in the same direction. :)

Re:Interesting time to be subscribed to wired

[Jason1729]

My extra bandwidth usage for the 12 hours since I posted it was only about 1 gig, hardly getting squished in a stampede :). I think the only sites that have a problem with slashdotting are people running it at home on their cable modem or university connection.

I'm just curious why someone modded me off topic, especially since it's an ad-free site to what I think is a generous service.

Just editing???

[mikerich]

Don't you mean conduct the interviews, reluctantly agree to be interviewed, write the articles, do the fact-checking, throw out the facts, draw the diagrams, re-draw the diagrams in an incomprehensible but oh-so-hip fashion, take the photos, dick around with the photos in Photoshop until they look like something in a psychology test, fetch the coffee, take the coffee back because it actually tasted of coffee, have the requisite magazine editor nervous breakdown, shout at the printers, go grovelling to the printers so they don't print the whole magazine in mirror image on fluorescent stock - hold on lose the mirror image keep the fluorescent paper, glue on the commemorative CueCat(tm) - then edit the magazine?

And still have time to throw in one ludicrously bad special effect?

Re:Just editing???

[Vollernurd]

I stopped reading Wired when I realised I didn't like Absolut Vodka. Or Gucci underwear. Or indeed anything I might actually be able to afford.

Or something funny.

Re:Just editing???

[cno3]

I think you missed something - if you search hard enough, Wired mag occasionally slips articles in-between the ads (I mean, the ones that aren't blatant ads themselves). I think they start on about p.55 or so.

Re:Just editing???

[Ohreally_factor]

Wired Magazine used to make pretty good toilet reading, and the $12/year subscription price seemed like a no-brainer. However, when I got a wireless card for my laptop, that became a thing of the past.

For Mr. Cameron

[snarkfinder]

Heard you and Dr. Ballard on NPR today. Good show (I directed such for 8 yrs. Taught physics courses too.) How could we /.ers help get more real science into fiction, and less crap ideology? Any plans to make a sci/drama about evolution? How about a real life of Darwin? Let's smack that creationist nonsense down. Good science displayed well and brought to the masses can lead.

Re:For Mr. Cameron

[Timesprout]

How could we /.ers help get more real science into fiction

Well for a start you gan get a dictionary and look up the work fiction. Then ask an adult to explain the difference between fiction and reality to you.

Any plans to make a sci/drama about evolution?

Yeah, make it a trillogy like LOTR Fellowship of the Amino Acids
The Two Amoebas

Return of the Protoplasm

3+ hours of each of those would be gripping cinema. Ans just think of all the arguements it would kick off.

How about a real life of Darwin?

Thats actually a good idea, he was quite an interesting chap although there is still some small debate as to the initial concepts of his most famous theory. Unfortunately though when it comes to creationsists you are trying to discuss facts with people who are idelogues and hold firm beliefs without any examinable foundation.

Re:For Mr. Cameron

[Anonymous Coward]

Unfortunately though when it comes to creationsists you are trying to discuss facts with people who are idelogues and hold firm beliefs without any examinable foundation.

The same can be said about evolution. There is no tangible evidence of evolution. It is unobservable.

Re:For Mr. Cameron

[Dusabre]

The foundations are examinable (i.e. the Bible or what Rev. Loadsacash said last week) - unfortunately they're circular and self-contradictory and mistake axioms for facts. This is what makes them noxious.

And dont forget

[kaos.geo]

"Apart from making blockbuster films, Cameron explores the depths of the oceans and is a member of the NASA Advisory Council and the Mars Society." And dont forget...He's also the self appointed "King of the World" ;-)

James Cameron?

[Anonymous Coward]

The dude from Growing Pains?

Re:James Cameron?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, that's him. I never cared for his work on that show, and then when he made that Left Behind movie with the liquid-metal morphing Satan he solidified his spectacular craptitude for me.

Re:James Cameron?

[wimmi]

No man, you're talking about Kirk.
James Kirk!

Re:James Cameron?

[NanoGator]

"The dude from Growing Pains?"

Well that conjured thoughts of sending somebody down to the Titanic.

Re:James Cameron?

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, they could be related..

Compare father to son..

harry knuckles hey

[Anonymous Coward]

If you're looking for two-fisted Harry Knuckles...

http://ottawa.film-can.com/cgi-bin/main/review.cgi ?FID=HAR-32&RID=1

WOWSA! A real man's man.

[Sai Babu]

Do you think Cameron or Wired might be interested in sponsoring a visit and video interview with a family of head hunters who, now that head hunting is unlawful, have taken to fighting chickens instead. I'm serious. It will only take a few days of trekking through the jungle, once the road ends, to reach their village. We could knock the whole thing out in about three weeks. It might be incorporated into a wider study global interest in chicken fighting.

Yes, I know this is a shameless plug for project funding, but one has to arget every portential source (/.ers maybe?).

Re:WOWSA! A real man's man.

[Anonymous Coward]

... a family of head hunters who, now that head hunting is unlawful, have taken to fighting chickens instead. I'm serious.

I just can't wait to see how this will be modded :)

(Knowing /., probably Insightful)

Re:WOWSA! A real man's man.

[Ohreally_factor]

Why trek through the jungle when you have the world's greatest chicken chokers right here on slashdot? Oh, wait. Trekking through the jungle puts hair on your knuckles.

"Mars"?

[Anonymous Coward]

Interesting that Kim Stanley Robinson is a contributor. I remember reading (shortly post-Titanic) that Cameron had acquired the rights to make a mini-series of Robinson's Red/Green/Blue Mars trilogy - but nothing ever seemed to happen with that. Was he having too much fun making films about diving?

Sci-Fi series

[Anonymous Coward]

As far as I know James Cameron owns the film rights to Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy. I wish he would hurry up and make it into something along the lines of the Sci-Fi channels Dune adaptions, or even better perhaps?

Re:Sci-Fi series

[Anonymous Coward]

As far as I know James Cameron owns the film rights to Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy. I wish he would hurry up and make it into something along the lines of the Sci-Fi channels Dune adaptions, or even better perhaps?

And this was modded insightful? Can I assume you never read Dune, if you actually considered the SciFi channel miniseries^2 to be worthy of emulation?

Re:Sci-Fi series

[Anonymous Coward]

it was certainly better than the 1984 David Lynch effort...

I guess it pays...

[Dagny Taggert]

...to dump your first wife for the star of your movies, then dump her for the star of your NEXT movie. Yeah, he's a great guy. Cock-sucking teabagger.

Re:I guess it pays...

[Reducer2001]

Cock-sucking teabagger.
Pics?

Re:I guess it pays...

[Anonymous Coward]

As that is the manner in which he treats the people he ostensibly loves, you can imagine his reputation amongst film crews. Working on a Cameron movie is about as much fun as a hard attack.

Why is Cameron on the NASA advisory board?

[HuguesT]

This is suspicious. Are they going to pretend to go to Mars then? I suggest they use OJ Simpson on the cast. It would improve ratings.

Re:Why is Cameron on the NASA advisory board?

[hal2814]

You mean like how they faked the moon landing?

That's just a joke (and my favorite part of the movie Sneakers), but I can gaurantee you that once we do land on Mars, conspiracy theorist will be coming out of the woodwork making the same point the parent is making.

Link to the NPR show

[yderf]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story Id=4176616

Wired SUCKS!

[Dogtanian]

Was Wired always such a superficial, up-its-own-arse, US-biased, advert-bloated business magazine?

Yeah, "Business Magazine". The first issue I bought was in 2000, and all of them seem to have focused more on the business aspects than any actual science.

And even though the mainly scientific articles are quite lengthy, somehow when you get to the end, you realise you've learned nothing of substance.

Worse, if you read it in the UK, you can't get a cheap subscription (presumably because the advertising for expensive crap and business services that fill the mag aren't aimed at a UK audience); expect to pay around UKP 3.50, approx US$6.00-6.50.

I heard that it went downhill when it was purchased by Conde Nast, but frankly, I'm sceptical that it was ever that great.

Re:Wired SUCKS!

[-noefordeg-]

I really like Wired. :)

-Well, that was all. Just wanted to say that.

PS.
Absolute, isn't that a Swedish brand?

Re:Wired SUCKS!

[Ohreally_factor]

Absolut Retard. =)

Titanic

[NitsujTPU]

Lets see...

Alien Movies... Cool!
Terminator Movies... Cool!

uhmmm, hmmm.

Titanic... Not so cool man.

Should we let him into our clubhouse?

We'll see I read the Wired mag.

Re:Titanic

[Anonymous Coward]

Titanic... Not so cool man.

Should we let him into our clubhouse?

Cameron: I can get you some stills of Kate Winslet's boobs.

Gang: Awesome.... your in!

Obligatory Star Trek Reference

[Anonymous Coward]

Lt Ilia from ST:TMP was the first beautiful bald woman I rememeber.
I think she died.

http://allyourtrekarebelongto.us/ltilia.htm

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:2fSKgwPwNeYJ: www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/9699/persis.html+ &hl=en

The Abyss

[madrouter]

the Abyss is my favorite James Cameron movie.

Its also very technically accurate aside from the alien things.

Why is he wasting time with this piffle?

[HarveyBirdman]

Didn't he want to do Battle Angel Alita? Where's my James Cameron directed Motorball sequences? Yukito Kishiro has even said he'd dig it someone did an Alita film that focused on those issues.

Get thee to a studio, James!

Re:Why is he wasting time with this piffle?

[payndz]

I interviewed Cameron about a year and a half back, and one of the things I asked him about was Alita and motorball. Bad news for you: he said that if motorball was going to feature, it would have to be in a sequel.

Fascinating guy, though. It was meant to be a 40-minute interview, but it ended up being over an hour and a half!

Ghosts of theDeep

[ivan256]

Cameron's undersea adventures are documented in IMAX. If you want to see an hour and a half of James Cameron looking out the porthole of a submarine in 3D, I highly recommend it. If you don't like looking at James Cameron's face 6 stories tall for such a long period, however, well... not so much.

Hubris

[pkcs11]

LOL!!!! How vain to assume sun OWES slashdotters anything. Or that by suggesting that getting a work out to a board of fat, surly munchkins will actually give Sun a little more geek-cred. The asshammers on this board continue to amaze me.

Re:Hubris

[Anonymous Coward]

Note to mods:

Even though this seems offtopic because it's obviously a post to the Sun-bashing-Linux story, look at the subject line. Fits perfectly.

He also owns Digital Domain

[Vlad_Drak]

..from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Domain:

Digital Domain is a computer graphics company that provides special effects for films. It is owned by director James Cameron and is located in Venice, California.

The company began producing special effects in the early 1990s, its first three films being True Lies, Interview With a Vampire and Color of Night in 1994. It has produced effects for more than 40 films including Apollo 13, Armageddon, The Fifth Element, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, O Brother, Where Art Thou, Titanic, and What Dreams May Come. More recently, other films include The Day After Tomorrow and I, Robot.

In 2002, the company launched a subsidiary, to market and distribute their Academy Award winning compositing software, Nuke. The move was partially motivated by Apple's acquisition of a similar program, Shake.

Re:He also owns Digital Domain

[mav[LAG]]

Yeah - go DD. Titanic was the first small rattling of stones in 1996 that became the avalanche of Linux in movie CGI, and employer of Darryl Strauss, the man who brought 3d hardware acceleration to Linux users. He also wrote relevant rebuttals to NT fanboys. Titanic is quite a nasty thorn in SCO's side since the 100-odd Alpha boxes used for rendering were most certainly an enterprise-class use of Linux before IBM came long.

Re:He also owns Digital Domain

[mav[LAG]]

that became the avalanche of Linux in movie CGI, and employer of Darryl Strauss,

Bah - this should say DD was the employer of Daryll Strauss although I'm sure he felt like the film was his employer for a while :)

NASA Advisory Council?

[Pedrito]

Apart from making blockbuster films, Cameron explores the depths of the oceans and is a member of the NASA Advisory Council and the Mars Society

I'm sure James Cameron is a smart guy and everything, but I'm curious what makes him more qualified to be on the NASA Advisory Coucil than say, 50% of Slashdot readers who I'm sure are just as scientifically knowledgeable, if not a few hundred times as knowledgeable on the topics important to NASA. I mean, other than his bucket-loads of money, of course.

I'm not saying NASA should come recruit their Advisory Council on Slashdot, but I would certainly question the quality of the advice when movie directors are providing it. I mean, check out his resume on their site. It's a good resume for a movie director, but for an advisor to NASA?

And don't get me wrong, I don't think someone should be excluded because they're in a profession. I mean, I'm sure Asimov, Clarke and some other Sci-Fi authors would be able to provide valuable advice in the area of space exploration because, if nothing else, they tend to spend a lot of time thinking of the realism of the ideas in their books (something movie directors aren't particularly noted for).

I mean really, go look at all the resumes of the members on the site and then play the Sesame Street game of "Which of these things doesn't belong?"

Re:NASA Advisory Council?

[Ohreally_factor]

I'm sure Asimov, Clarke and some other Sci-Fi authors would be able to provide valuable advice in the area of space exploration because, if nothing else, they tend to spend a lot of time thinking of the realism of the ideas in their books (something movie directors aren't particularly noted for).

Asimov is dead, and it's hard to sit up at advisory council meetings when you're dead. They have to nail you to the chair, and it gets messy.

Clarke is a British citizen, IIRC. He lives in Sri Lanka and is wheelchair bound and in generally poor health. He couldn't even make the trip to England for his knighting ceremony, so I don't think he'd make many advisory council meetings in the U.S.

Also, he is credited with the idea that geostationary satellites would be ideal for telecommunications. This makes your statement something of an understatement.

Cameron is a big shot celebrity with an interest in science. That's his only real qualification, and it's enough for what basically is an honorific post.

Re:NASA Advisory Council?

[Pedrito]

Asimov is dead

Perhaps I should have been more clear. I'm aware that Asimov is dead. I meant to imply authors of their stature.

That's his only real qualification, and it's enough for what basically is an honorific post.

An honorific post? Really? Do you actually know anything about the NASA Advisory Coucil? Are you aware that it's the senior external advisory source to NASA? Senior. That means they trump EVERY outside advisory source. That's a bit more than honorific.

If there were several hundred members, maybe I'd call it honorific, but considering the breadth of the topics they cover and the handful of members, I don't think so.

Re:NASA Advisory Council?

[Ohreally_factor]

An honorific post? Really? Do you actually know anything about the NASA Advisory Coucil? Are you aware that it's the senior external advisory source to NASA? Senior. That means they trump EVERY outside advisory source. That's a bit more than honorific.

There you go, making me look like an ass for making assumptions. =)

Re:NASA Advisory Council?

[chazbot]

I think Cameron's experience as director makes him very valuable to NASA. One of the largest problems that NASA faces is to make their efforts interesting and sexy to a generation of people where space exploration is a de facto part of life. Without popular support, NASA has found itself without the budget to do the things us geeks would like it to do. Cameron has proven with his movies that he knows what appeals to the public.

Re:NASA Advisory Council?

[Deslock]

I'm sure James Cameron is a smart guy and everything, but I'm curious what makes him more qualified to be on the NASA Advisory Coucil than say, 50% of Slashdot readers who I'm sure are just as scientifically knowledgeable, if not a few hundred times as knowledgeable on the topics important to NASA. I mean, other than his bucket-loads of money, of course.

Have you actually seen his non-fiction stuff or any of the "making of" specials about his movies? He's quite intelligent, is both a visionary and detail-oriented, is knowledgeable, and is driven. He's also spent a good part of the last 7 years working on Mars-related projects. You give way too much credit to the /. crowd if you think 50% of us can match those qualifications.

There are probably better people out there than Cameron for this council, but don't dismiss the guy just because he made a lot of money making action flicks (several of which were actually good movies, but that's besides the point).

Yep

[yem]

It's running on reputation alone now.

Not sure when Conde Naste took over. Was it around 2000/2001? I think they switched editor. That's when I cancelled my sub.

It became politicised, military, airhead blather. Maybe it was just reflecting American media at the time (Bush, 9/11).

"tech mag turned fashion rag" as another slashdotter once put it.

From an artistic point of view....

[jotaeleemeese]

.... biggest grossing is meaningles to qualify the importance of an artist.

In the time of Mozart of Beethoven there were many musicians that were more estimated by the public, today musicologists may struggle naming a few of them.

Heck, Stravinky's premiere of Rite of Spring in Paris was an scandal and no popular at all.

Most people seeing or enjoying something means squat since by definition somebody popular has to pander to a minimum commun denominator.

Some filmakers manage to do both, but as I believe Andrei Tarkovsky once put it, the difference between him and Hollywood was that he made films na d Hollywood made movies.

Titanic not cool?

[jotaeleemeese]

Why? Are you a neoconservative Evangelical ayatollah, or a bit of romance in the middle of a very well presented catastrophe movie a bit too much for an impresionable geek like yourself?