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

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.