Biography of James Cameron
James Cameron was born in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada, on August 16, 1954, is a Canadian film director, producer, screenwriter, editor, and inventor. 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.
In total, Cameron’s directorial efforts have grossed approximately US$1.75 billion in North America and US$4.91 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing directors of all time. Cameron’s Titanic and Avatar are the two highest-grossing films of all time.
He is the executive producer of a 3D cave-dive action drama entitled Sanctum (formerly James Cameron’s Sanctum) being shot in Australia, directed by Alister Grierson (Kokoda), and featuring Ioan Gruffud and Richard Roxburgh. The script, by Andrew Wight and John Garvin, is inspired by a near-death experience of Wight when a cave collapsed while he was leading a diving expedition, trapping 15 divers. Sanctum is using the Fusion Camera System technology, but has a relatively modest budget. Release date is projected to be late 2010.
Cameron has confirmed that at least one Avatar sequel is being planned, including more story lines with Jake and Neytiri, and the exploration of another moon orbiting Polyphemus. The sequels are rumored to be Cameron’s next two projects.