James Cameron Highlights

  • 2005: Appeared as himself in several episodes of the hit HBO comedy "Entourage," directing a big screen version of the comic book hero Aquaman starring Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier)
  • 2000: Executive produced and co-wrote the Fox fall drama series "Dark Angel"; helmed the finale of the 2001-2002 season
  • 1998: Signed exclusive deal with 20th Century Fox TV to develop programming; co-wrote five-hour miniseries on the colonization of Mars to air in the spring of 2001
  • 1998: With Stan Winston, resigned from board of Digital Domain
  • 1997: Co-edited, co-produced, wrote and directed the lavish spectacle "Titanic," reported to be the most expensive film made to date (budgeted at $200 million); went on to become the top grossing film in history; film received 14 Academy Award nominations (matching the record set by 1950's "All About Eve"), including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Editing; awarded 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, tying the record set by 1959's "Ben-Hur"
  • 1995: Provided the story for and served as a producer on "Strange Days"; also reportedly assited in the editing for which he did not receive onscreen credit
  • 1995: Became the first feature film director to shoot underwater footage of the wreck of the Titanic; used a specially-designed, state-of-the-art camera encased in titanium; footage was incorporated into the feature "Titanic"
  • 1994: Wrote, produced, and directed the action-comedy "True Lies", the first release under Lightstorm's deal with 20th Century Fox
  • 1993: Released a "restored" print of "The Abyss" including approximately 27 minutes of scenes omitted from the original
  • 1993: With Stan Winston and Scott Ross and substantial financing from IBM, started the special effects company Digital Domain to further develop the field of digital FX
  • 1992: Lightstorm signed an exclusive five-year, 12-picture distribution deal with 20th Century Fox valued at $500,000,000; Lightstorm Entertainment was given total creative control and a large share of the profits
  • 1991: Produced, directed and scripted the sequel "Terminator 2: Judgment Day"
  • 1990: Formed production company Lightstorm Entertainment Inc.
  • 1989: Wrote and directed "The Abyss"
  • 1986: Became a hot writer-director after the success of "Aliens"
  • 1985: Co-wrote (with Sylvester Stallone) the hugely successful "Rambo: First Blood II"
  • 1984: Gained recognition with feature screenwriting debut, "The Terminator" (co-written with producer and future wife Gale Anne Hurd); also directed
  • 1981: Feature debut as production designer and second unit director, "Galaxy of Terror"
  • 1981: Feature directing debut, "Piranha II: The Spawning/Piranha II: Flying Killers"
  • 1980: First film as art director, "Battle Beyond the Stars"
  • 1980: Credited as set dresser assistant on "Happy Birthday, Gemini"
  • 1977: Inspired to become a filmmaker after seeing "Star Wars"
  • 1971: Moved with family to Brea, California
  • 1968: Saw Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" ten times (dates approximate)
  • 1966: At age 12, wrote a sci-fi short story that was reportedly a precursor for "The Abyss" (date approximate)
  • Wrote first draft of screenplay for what would become "The Terminator"; sold rights to producer Gale Anne Hurd for $1 on the condition that he would direct
  • Moved with family to Niagara Falls, New York, as a child
  • Dropped out, married a waitress, and worked as a truck driver for the local school district
  • Joined Roger Corman's New World Pictures as a special effects person, and later became art director and production designer
  • Production costs on "True Lies" exceeded Fox's mandated limit of $60 million
  • Made first film "Niagara: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Falls"
  • Hemdale and Orion gave veteran fantasy writer Harlan Ellison an 'acknowledgement to the works of' credit on "The Terminator" and a cash settlement lest he sue for plagiarism of two episodes he wrote for "The Outer Limits" in the 1960s and a Hugo award winning sci-fi story
  • Renegotiated deal with Fox so as to get them to increase their funding of "True Lies" while Cameron retained creative control; new deal involved three films and worked on a film-by-film basis
  • Started building models and experimenting with 16mm film
  • Enrolled in college to study physics
  • Raised private financing, directed, shot, edited and built miniatures for first short film
  • Co-produced (with Jean-Michel Cousteau) a series of undersea specials for ABC under the umbrella title of "Ocean Challenge"

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