The New Yorker has a sprawling piece on James Cameron and the making of “Avatar.” Within, there are quotes from the likes of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, who has this to say regarding Cameron’s ambitious undertaking: “Creating a universe is daunting. I’m glad Jim is doing it—there are only a few people in the world who are nuts enough to. I did it with ‘Star Wars,’ and now he’s trying to challenge that. It’s a lot of work. I do believe Jim will take this further out than anyone’s ever conceived of.”
This is in reference to the complete world James Cameron is creating in regards to Pandora, the setting for most of “Avatar,” with an eco-system and even created a language for Pandora’s natives, the Na’vi. The world building sounds like it could be like “Star Wars,” a new movie universe where we are compelled to learn every minute detail about. Or it could be exaggerated fantasy roleplay on Cameron’s part, as he strives to create what he claims is “a classic guys’ adventure movie, something in the Edgar Rice Burroughs mold, like John Carter of Mars—a soldier goes to Mars.” James, they invented “World of Warcraft” and “Dungeons and Dragons” so you could get your “Star Wars” world-building itch out of your system. This looks like it’s in no way an evolution of your skill.
The article, which is a pretty interesting read, hopscotches through Cameron’s entire career. In addition to every insult Cameron has ever told a studio exec, there’s plenty on his childhood, marriages, and how he appears to be an asshole on set who always seems to know best, even when dealing with specialists. Bonus points for the amusing bits where Cameron cruelly mocks and belittles nerds and critics who overanalyze his films (shades of Michael Bay) and the day when some disgruntled worker slipped PCP into the chowder on the set of “Titanic.”
No, really. Apparently Cameron, “had the presence of mind to stick his finger down his throat, and was one of the few who didn’t spend the night in the emergency room.” Jesus, wonder what Cameron did to piss off the crewmember?