James Cameron

Disambiguation: see also James Cameron (journalist)

James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian-born American film director noted for his action/science fiction films, which are often late and overbudget but compensate by being extremely financially successful. Thematically, James Cameron's films generally explore the relationship between man and technology.

He was born in Kapuskasing[?], Ontario, Canada but his family moved to California in 1971. There he studied physics at California State University but was only ever interested in movie work. He started as a screenwriter and went on to do art direction and effects work (on e.g. Battle Beyond the Stars and Escape from New York, working with producer Roger Corman) before landing his first directorial job in 1981.

Cameron is known for the remarkable results he gets from his special effects (FX) crews, beginning with The Terminator (whose special effects, while somewhat dated today, were quite advanced upon the film's release in 1984). The special effects in Terminator 2: Judgement Day made extensive use of computer generated imaging (CGI) and won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects; Cameron's Titanic made use of both CGI and a variety of sets of different scales, and also won an Academy Award for FX, among other things.

He has been married five times, including to Kathryn Bigelow (1989-91) and Linda Hamilton (1997-99). His current wife is Suzy Amis, whom he married in June 2000.

Filmography

Piranha II: The Spawning[?] (1981)

The Terminator (1984)

Aliens (1986)

The Abyss (1989)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

True Lies (1994)

Titanic (1997)

Dark Angel (2000-02) (television series)