James Cameron's childhood
One of the most successful directors on the planet was born into the family of an engineer. James went to school in the Canadian city of Chippew, but received his primary education in the USA. The Cameron family moved to California in the early 60s. Here he entered the University of California to study physics. But James did not graduate from university.
James Cameron in his youth
He began to seek participation in the process of creating films. In 1978, Cameron, with friends Jason Fessenden and William Wisher, shot the fantastic short film “Xenogenesis,” which attracted the interest of Roger Corman, a master of low-budget films. The future celebrity began working with him at the New World Pictures film studio.
Early life: 1922–1945
Marjorie Cameron was born on April 23, 1922 in Belle Plaine (Benton County, Iowa, USA) in the family of a railroad worker.
Her father, Hill Leslie Cameron, was the adopted son of a family of mixed Scots-Irish descent. Mother, Kerry Cameron (née Ridenour), was of Dutch descent. Marjorie was the first child in the family, she had two younger brothers and a sister: James (b.1923), Mary (b.1927) and Robert (b.1929). Marjorie Cameron
The Cameron family lived in the more prosperous northern part of the city, although they struggled during the Great Depression. In elementary school, Marjorie excelled in art, English, and acting, but did poorly in algebra, Latin, and civics. In addition to school, she played sports, went to a singing club and sang in a choir. Cameron considered herself a rebel, claiming that in her hometown she was a pariah and adults did not allow their children to hang out with her. She had many sexual partners, and when she became pregnant, with the help of her mother, she had an illegal abortion at home.
Marjorie graduated from high school in Davenport, where the family moved in 1940, at the height of World War II, where her father went to work at the Rock Island Arsenal munitions plant. After school, she found a job as a designer at a local department store.
When the United States entered World War II, Cameron enlisted as a U.S. Navy reservist in February 1943. After training, she was sent to Washington, where she copied maps and processed photographs for the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (Cameron later claimed that because of this work she developed a “karmic connection” with the victims of the war). Here in May 1943 she had a chance to see British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. She was later transferred to the Naval Photographic Division located in Washington's historic Anacostia neighborhood. Here she served as a costume designer on the set of propaganda documentaries, which gave her the opportunity to meet many Hollywood stars.
After learning that her brother James, who served in the Air Force, had been wounded in action and returned to the United States, she traveled to Iowa to see him. For this unauthorized absence, Cameron was tried by a military court and was transferred to barracks until the end of the war. For reasons unknown to her, Cameron received an honorable discharge in 1945 and went to Pasadena, California, where her father and brothers worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
Terminator
Cameron came to fame in 1984. And all thanks to the movie "Terminator". By the way, the director saw the image of the film’s main character in a dream when he was sick with the flu. He saw a woman fleeing from a nightmarish creature that could change shape depending on the circumstances.
Cameron on the set of "Terminator"
Representatives of film companies liked the subsequent script, but no one wanted to deal with the novice director. As a result, the script was sold - Cameron's future wife, producer Gale Anne Hurd, became its owner. Moreover, the fee was symbolic - one dollar. But it was additionally agreed that the producer would shoot the film exclusively with Cameron.
The role of the Terminator became iconic for Schwarzenegger
By the standards of the 80s, the film had a small budget. Only 6 million dollars. But Cameron created a picture that remains the standard of the genre today.
Later life: 1969–1995
In the late 60s, while visiting Santa Fe with her daughter, Cameron was hospitalized with pneumothorax. She was already in poor health, suffering from chronic bronchitis and emphysema, aggravated by chain smoking. Due to hand tremors, she could not draw for four years.
By 1969, Cameron and her daughter returned to their house in West Hollywood, where they spent the last decades of their life.
The area in which she lived had a reputation as an impoverished crime area with a concentration of sex shops and adult cinemas. Illustration by Marjorie Cameron for the poems of J. Parsons
By the mid-80s, Cameron was almost entirely focused on her family and grandchildren. Neighbors recalled how she played a Celtic harp in the garden and leisurely strolled around the block with her dog, smoking a rolled-up marijuana cigarette. Once she was even arrested for growing cannabis at home. Cameron regularly practiced Tai Chi Chuan and was certified to teach this discipline. She was inspired by New Age writer and artist Jose Argueiles's prophetic book The Mayan Factor and the shamanic teachings The Lion's Path by Charles Muses, engaging in neo-shamanic practices based on his teachings. Cameron was greatly impressed by the work of A.S. Reilly's "Woman and Superwoman" - she reprinted it and sent copies to friends, sending one copy to local radio. Despite her varied interests, Cameron always remained faithful to the teachings of Thelema and the ideas of Aleister Crowley.
Cameron hosted old friends at her home and eagerly met young occultists. This is how she met the Thelemite William Breeze, who led the O.T.O., and the musician Genesis P-Orridge. Having met Chick Strand, a representative of avant-garde experimental cinema, in 1979 Cameron appeared in her project “Understatement”, where she shared a story about exorcism.
In 1989, in collaboration with the head of the O.T.O. Hymen Beta Cameron prepared for publication a collection of Parsons' occult writings. That same year, Cameron's artwork was included in an exhibition entitled "Pearls of Vengeance" held at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery under the direction of Edward Leffingwell. This exhibition featured her watercolors and drawings from the series Anatomy of Madness (1956) and Pluto Enters the Twelfth House (1978–1986), as well as the films Inauguration of the Temple of Pleasures and The Wormwood Star. Cameron herself read her poems by candlelight.
Abyss
Next, the director took up the film “The Abyss”.
The script was based on the story of submarine workers who found unknown creatures of unearthly origin underwater. This time the film's budget was estimated at $70 million. It turned out that the tape became one of the most expensive at that time. A lot of money went into filming underwater because special effects weren't that advanced at the time. Into the depths of the sea, the filmmakers shut down a giant reservoir in an unfinished power plant. The film brought in $54.2 million and received rather unflattering reviews from critics. But as a bonus, the film was awarded an Oscar for special effects.
Terminator 2
The film "Terminator" was so successful that they immediately began to talk about its sequel. However, Cameron was in no hurry; he waited until the special effects were perfected to create the liquid metal robot. The release of Terminator 2 was also delayed by copyright confusion. They eventually went to Mario Cassar of Carolco Pictures and Cameron got to work.
James Cameron reaches the deepest point of the ocean
In this picture he was able to turn around to the fullest. The film was budgeted for an incredible $70 million, but the final budget was $30 million more. And “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” was able to pay for itself many times over at the box office; the film collected $205 million in the United States alone, and even more, $315 million, abroad. The film also received four Oscars.
Biography[ | ]
James Cameron in 1986
Born in Kapuskasing (English)Russian. (Canada, Ontario) in the family of an electrical engineer and an artist. James was the eldest of five children. There in the city of Chippew he went to school. He completed his primary education in the USA, in California, where his family moved in the early 1960s. There, James entered the physics department of the University of California. Without finishing his studies, Cameron, in 1978, together with two school friends, William Wisher and Jason Fessenden, made a short science fiction film “Xenogenesis” and, having interested the master of low-budget films Roger Corman, began working at his film studio “New World Pictures”.
His first feature film was Piranha 2: The Spawning, a sequel to the horror film Piranha.
"Terminator"[ | ]
Cameron came to fame in 1984 thanks to the film “Terminator”. The image of the Terminator came to Cameron in a dream while he was sick with the flu. In his delirium, he saw a woman fleeing from a nightmarish creature that changed its shape depending on the circumstances and had glowing red eyes. The script attracted the attention of many film companies, but no one wanted to get involved with the aspiring director. It was eventually sold to Cameron's future wife, producer Gale Anne Hurd, for a nominal fee of $1 on the condition that she would not make the film with another director.
With a small budget of $6 million by the standards of the 1980s, Cameron managed to create a film that remains a standard of the genre to this day[7].
"Aliens"[ | ]
Next, Cameron filmed a sequel to Ridley Scott's sci-fi thriller Alien. The second series turned out to be an action movie, the film was a great success, and the leading actress Sigourney Weaver received an Oscar nomination.
"Abyss"[ | ]
The script for the next film (“The Abyss”) is based on the story of submarine workers who discover strange creatures of extraterrestrial origin underwater. The film's budget was $70 million, making it one of the most expensive films of its time. A significant part of the money was spent on underwater filming (special effects were not yet so advanced as to simulate the underwater world in a film studio). To do this, the unfinished power plant was turned into a giant reservoir and filled with countless amounts of water. The film grossed only $54.2 million and received less than favorable reviews from critics, but was awarded an Oscar for best special effects. Later, in 1992, Cameron released a special director's cut of the film, containing some deleted scenes that provide insight into the plot.
"Terminator 2: Judgment Day"[ | ]
After the success of The Terminator, conversations immediately began about its sequel. However, Cameron took his time with it, waiting for the special effects to reach a level that would allow him to create a liquid metal robot on the silver screen. The release of the sequel was delayed, in addition, by a confusing copyright situation. They finally went to producer Mario Cassar of Carolco Pictures, and Cameron was able to get to work.
If in the first film the entire budget was $6 million, then in the second approximately the same amount was spent only on special effects. The scenes with morphing elements take up a total of three and a half minutes in the film, but they took eight months of work. Mario Cassar initially allocated $70 million to Cameron, but this was not enough, and the final budget for the film was $100 million. At the same time, Terminator 2: Judgment Day paid for itself many times over at the box office, collecting $205 million in the US and $315 million. - abroad. In addition, he received four Oscars: for best makeup, sound, sound effects editing and visual effects.
"True Lies"[ | ]
In 1994, Cameron began filming the spy action comedy film True Lies. With a budget of $100 million, the film grossed $146 million in the United States and $232 million abroad. The main role in this film was played by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"Titanic"[ | ]
James Cameron at a press conference at the Comic-Con International exhibition in 2009.
A real triumph for Cameron was the film Titanic, filmed in 1997, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet and Billy Zane. Until the beginning of 2010, Titanic was the highest-grossing film in cinema history. At a cost of $200 million (the most expensive project at the time), the film grossed $1.8 billion at the box office worldwide. The film was awarded 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. At the Oscars ceremony for the film Titanic, Cameron came on stage and shouted the phrase that Jack Dawson says in the film: “I am the king of the world!” (“I am the king of the world!”). Titanic's box office record was broken in 2010 by another Cameron film, Avatar.
After Titanic[ | ]
After Titanic, Cameron turned to television series and documentaries.
Of the films that Cameron could have directed [ source not specified 1802 days
], follows about, "Transformers" and "Terminator 3". Cameron stubbornly refused the latter, because he wanted to make an original, independent film, and not “break the bank on the funds of the fans of the franchise,” and believed that he had said everything he wanted in the first two films. However, at one of the press conferences, he stated that he would take on this film under two conditions: one of his ex-wives, actress Linda Hamilton (who plays Sarah Connor), will play in it, and all rights to the Terminator brand will be transferred to him.
Hamilton, in turn, refused to act without Cameron, and was also dissatisfied with the “written without a soul” script and did not want to remain an actress of one role. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was directed by Jonathan Mostow.
"Avatar"[ | ]
For more than ten years, Cameron has been creating the science fiction film Avatar. According to the plot of the film, paralyzed former Marine Jake Sully flies to the planet Pandora, inhabited by the humanoid race Na'Vi, and becomes the operator of the avatar - the remote-controlled body of the Omaticaya. An earthling finds himself at the center of a conflict between his native and local cultures, which marks the beginning of a deadly adventure.
Revolutionary technologies were used in the making of the film. Much of the film was created using computer graphics, with the actors playing the roles of the Na'Vi using motion capture technology. In addition, the film was shot in 3D and revolutionized stereo cinema. After the success of Avatar, cinema experienced a boom in 3D films.
"Avatar" became a new triumph for the director. By September 1, 2010, the film's worldwide box office receipts amounted to $2.8 billion, which was a new box office record in history, leaving Titanic behind (worldwide box office receipts - $1.8 billion).
Diving into the Mariana Trench[ | ]
On March 6, 2012, as part of the Deepsea Challenger project, James Cameron made a record-breaking solo dive to a depth of 8,166 m near Papua New Guinea on board a new single-person deep-sea vehicle. On March 26, as part of the same project, he reached the bottom at a depth of 10,898 m in the Challenger Basin in the Mariana Trench. Earlier, on January 23, 1960, the bathyscaphe Trieste with Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh on board sank to the bottom in the same basin. Thus, Cameron is the third person in the world to have been to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, and the first person to have been there in a solo dive for about three hours[8].
Titanic
Well, the film “Titanic” was a real triumph for the director. The epic film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Billy Zane, and Catherine Elizabeth Winslet was filmed in 1997. And for 13 years the film was the highest-grossing film in history. $200 million was spent on it.
James Cameron, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet on set
The collections amounted to 1.8 billion dollars. The film was awarded 11 Oscars, including in the Best Director and Best Picture categories. It is worth noting that the box office record for this film was broken in 2010 by another Cameron film.
The director and actors discuss the final scene
After the release of Titanic, James Cameron began making documentaries and television series.
Avatar
The film Avatar immerses viewers into the life of the main character, paraplegic former Marine Jake Sully. He was invited to work as an operator for an avatar, a genetic hybrid of a human and a Pandorian. A man arrives on the planet Pandora, where the humanoid race NaVi lives, and finds himself in the midst of a conflict between local and native cultures. Avatar was presented at the end of 2009. And less than a year later, box office receipts left the famous “Titanic” far behind. By September 1, 2010, Avatar had grossed $2.8 billion. Soundtrack from James Cameron's Avatar
Personal life
James Cameron walked his chosen ones down the aisle five times.
The director's first wife was a waitress named Sharon Williams. James met the girl when he had not yet achieved film heights. Family life lasted six years. His career took off and he stopped paying attention to his personal life, so the marriage broke up. In 1985, producer Gale Anne Hurd became Cameron's wife. It was she who gave the director a start in life by taking on the film “Terminator”. After this film, James and Gail worked together on the film “Aliens.” And then the working union turned into a family. Then the couple worked side by side on the film “The Abyss”, but immediately after the end of the filming process they fled. As a result, the director and producer stayed together for five years.
James Cameron. Interview with Posner As soon as the divorce was finalized, James Cameron married again. This happened in 1989. The new chosen one is director Kathryn Bigelow. However, this marriage also turned out to be short-lived. In 1991, James left for actress Linda Hamilton. And only two years later Cameron and Bigelow filed for divorce.
In early 1993, Linda gave birth to James's daughter, Josephine Archer Cameron. And four years later, the director officially became the husband of the mother of his child. However, marriage did not save Cameron from a new affair. While filming Titanic, James met actress Susie Amis, who played Amis's granddaughter. In 1999, Cameron divorced his fourth wife, and in 2000 he married his new lover. In 2001, a daughter, Claire, appeared in the family, and five years later, twins Quinn and Elizabeth Rose.
By the way, Cameron has a stepson, Jasper, who is Susie’s son from her first marriage. Amis's husband was actor Sam Robards.
Jack Parsons: 1946–1952
A decisive change in Marjorie's life occurred when an old colleague brought her to visit Jack Parsons in a large house at 1003 Orange Grove Avenue, known as "Parsons' house."
Parsons was the leader of the Agape Lodge of the O.T.O. and one of the co-founders of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where Cameron's father and brothers worked. Image of Jack Parsons by Marjorie Cameron
Shocked by the luxurious red hair and spectacular appearance of his new acquaintance, Parsons decided that Cameron was his Scarlet Wife, the embodiment of the divine power of Babalon. On the eve of this acquaintance, Parsons and his assistant Ron Hubbard (who later became famous as the founder of Scientology) conducted the “Work of Babalon” - an occult ritual with elements of Enochian magic. This ritual was meant to manifest the power of the goddess in society and throughout humanity. In addition, Parsons hoped in this way to attract an “elemental” to himself - a woman with whom he could practice sexual magic. According to Parsons, returning home after the ritual, he found Cameron in his apartment and believed that she was the entity that he and Hubbard were trying to summon. Cameron identified herself with the Scarlet Woman, and those around her shared her point of view.
Having met on January 18, 1946, Parsons and Cameron immediately secluded themselves in their bedroom and did not leave it for two weeks, but Cameron had no idea that Parsons viewed their seclusion as a form of sex magic in the context of the Babalon Work.
Despite the fact that Cameron had no respect for any religion and at first was not interested in Thelema or other occult practices, Parsons managed to introduce his beloved to the teachings of Thelema. He gave her the nickname "Candida" (or simply "Candy", which means "Candy"). Like many other women interested in magic (such as Ithel Cohun, Vali Myers, Rosaleen Norton, and the surrealist Leonora Carrington), Cameron was an artist. In her works she captured many images of otherworldly nature, perceived in the elemental kingdoms and on the astral plane.
During a short visit to New York to visit friends, Cameron discovered that she was pregnant and decided to have an abortion again. Meanwhile, Parsons established, along with Hubbard and Sarah Northrup, a business in which he invested all his savings. Hubbard and Sarah's cunning plan to deceive and rob Parsons ended their friendship and partnership. Returning to Pasadena, Cameron, as a consolation, drew Parsons a portrait of Sarah Northrup with her legs cut off at the knees. Parsons sold the house and moved to Manhattan Beach with Cameron. On October 19, 1946 they got married.
In the winter of 1947, Cameron made a trip to Paris: there she planned to study art at the Académie de la Grande Chaumiere, counting on a letter of recommendation from the ArtCenter design school in Pasadena. She also wanted to go to England and see Aleister Crowley to tell him about the Babalon Work. Arriving in Paris, she learned that Crowley had died, and the art academy refused to admit her. Post-war Paris seemed to her “huge and open to all winds.” Before returning home, she spent three weeks in Switzerland and became friends with actress Juliette Greco.
When Cameron began having cataleptic attacks, Parsons suggested that she read Sylvan Muldoon's work on astral projection, as well as James Frazer's The Golden Bough, Heinrich Zimmer's The King and the Dead Man, and Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
As a result, Cameron became interested in the occult, especially working with tarot cards. “Songs for a Witch” - poems by Parsons with illustrations by Marjorie Cameron
Gradually, the relationship between Cameron and Parsons began to deteriorate, and they thought about divorce. In 1948, Cameron traveled to Mexico and lived for some time in San Miguel de Allende, communicating with artists Leonora Carrington and David Siqueiros, as well as Los Angeles actors Renata Drax and Paul Matheson. At the same time, she continued to study magic: Parsons sent her letters with instructions in magical practices. At this time, he himself moved to a house on Redondo Beach and started a short affair with an Irish woman named Gladys Gaughan. In 1950, Marjorie returned to her husband, who at that time was developing new fuel samples for the aircraft industry.
By March 1951, the couple moved into an outbuilding at 1071 South Orange Grove. Parsons began working for the Burnite Powder company and making explosives for film production. They hosted parties at their home, which attracted bohemian audiences and members of the Beat Generation. Cameron frequented jazz clubs on Central Avenue, illustrated fashion magazines, and sold her paintings.
Parsons' occult interests soon attracted the attention of the FBI and put an end to his defense work. Parsons and Marjorie planned to go to Mexico for several months, but these plans were not destined to come true: by a tragic accident, on the eve of departure, on June 17, 1952, Parsons received an urgent order from the film company and, while fulfilling it, died in his laboratory from an explosion of mercury fulminate. At the time of the explosion, Cameron was in the store and, upon returning, learned about her husband’s death from reporters who had already gathered at their house. She did not want to see her husband’s mutilated body and, entrusting all the troubles associated with cremation to her friend George Frey, retired to a magical retreat in the Beaumont desert (California), living for some time in an abandoned canyon without water supply or electricity.
