Date of Birth:

16 August 1954, Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada

Birth Name:

James Francis Cameron

Nickname:

Iron Jim

Height:

6' 2" (1.88 m)

Mini Biography:

James Cameron was born in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada, on August 16, 1954. He moved to the USA in 1971. The son of an engineer, he majored in physics at California State University but, after graduating, drove a truck to support his screen-writing ambition. He landed his first professional film job as art director, miniature-set builder, and process-projection supervisor on Roger Corman's Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) and debuted as a director with Piranha Part Two: The Spawning (1981) the following year.

In 1984, he wrote and directed The Terminator (1984), a futuristic action-thriller starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. It was a huge success. After this came a string of successful science-fiction action films such as Aliens (1986) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Cameron is now one of the most sought-after directors in Hollywood. He was formerly married to producer Gale Anne Hurd, who produced several of his films. He married Kathryn Bigelow in 1989.

Twitter:

JimCameron

Trade Mark:

Strong female characters.
Frequently casts Michael Biehn, Jenette Goldstein, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
His films frequently feature scenes filmed in deep blues.
Plots or events involving nuclear explosions or wars
Likes to make nice/effective cuts
Likes to show close-up shots of feet or wheels, often trampling things
Tight/close-up tracking shots on vehicles, especially during chase scenes.
Brings camera in close during fight scenes, achieving a claustrophobic effect.
Cameron's films tend to include broken, swinging flourescent lights, especially in fight scenes. See: The Abyss (1989), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), True Lies (1994), and Strange Days (1995).
Often includes sequences in which a video monitor is the perspective of the camera. For example, the T-800's viewpoint in infrared in The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), the video log in Avatar (2009),the helmet cameras in Aliens (1986), Little Geek exploring the submarine in The Abyss (1989), television newscasts in The Abyss (1989), the surveilance cameras in True Lies (1994), the SQUID sequences in Strange Days (1995), and Brock's "Geraldo Moment" at the beginning of Titanic (1997). He uses this perspective at least once in every movie he is tied with.
Often features shots of large explosions, crashes, gunshots, etc. in the background with people running away in the foreground. These shots were used heavily in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and True Lies (1994) but also in other films.
[Dreams] Often works dreams or characters sleeping into the plot.
His films tend to have scenes with elevators with something dangerous happening near or in them. In Aliens (1986), Ripley goes up and down acargo elevator several times, exiting the complex and then going backwhile loading weapons to get Newt and then leaving with the Queen Alien following. The Queen Alien rides the elevator to follow Ripley. In Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Sara sees the T-800 for the firsttime exiting an elevator. The T-1000 is shot from outside the elevatorand then attacks Sara, John and the T-800 above it. In another scene,Sara, John and the T-800 crash in an elevator after an explosion on ahigher floor. They are then gassed by the SWAT team at the bottom. In True Lies (1994), Harry enters an elevator on a horse in pursuit of aterrorist in the opposite elevator on a motorcycle. In Titanic (1997), Rose goes up an elevator with Jack to escape her fiancé. In another scene, Rose goes down an elevator to a flooded floor, filling it with water.
Utilizes slow motion in intense scenes or to intensify a scene
Often employs composers Brad Fiedel and James Horner to score his films.
His films frequently depict children in some kind of danger.
Many of his films have water or the ocean as a central theme
The use of machines as an important plot point or weapon: in both Avatar and Aliens the soldiers use a similar machine to fight in the final battle, the Terminators are machines and The Abyss also features a lot of machines important to the plot.
Blockbusters often have one-word titles, which are also the subjects of them: "(The) Terminator", "(The) Abyss", "Titanic" etc.

Spouse:

Suzy Amis (4 June 2000 - present) 3 children
Linda Hamilton (26 July 1997 - 1999) (divorced) 1 child
Kathryn Bigelow (17 August 1989 - 1991) (divorced)
Gale Anne Hurd (1985 - 1989) (divorced)
Sharon Williams (14 February 1978 - 1984) (divorced)

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