Do you think James Cameron is over-rated?

[Jumpin' Jack]

Cameron himself? he's very over-rated, also when he's being interviewed he's very c*cky and thinks he the king of the world.

 

[spider-neil]

Cameron himself? he's very over-rated, also when he's being interviewed he's very c*cky and thinks he the king of the world.

in interviews cameron 'mostly' comes across as humble and grounded.
the only exception I saw was on a panel of his peers (other directors up for oscars) he said 'I make every actor cast for the role, I want to be sure of the actor when I cast him in a 200 million dollar movie' which got a giggle and a rolleyes from the other directors. ha ha

 

[GhostPoet]

The Abyss was fantastic. This thread is over-rated.

 

[:eek:]

Cameron himself? he's very over-rated, also when he's being interviewed he's very c*cky and thinks he the king of the world.

I'm pretty sure a lot of people would behave a lot worse than Cameron if they were able to make the two biggest moneymaking movies of all time.

 

[Jumpin' Jack]

True. True.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Cameron is a smart man. If you look at him in interviews, yes, he is humble in terms of not being a *****ebag. But he acknowledges his success but isn't a jerk about it, waving his success in people's faces. The man made two of the highest grossing films ever, how could you be modest about that? It's better to be honest. In interviews, he's self assured and confident. That's because his films are successful. He is the reason for this. People have doubted him many times, yet he always proves them wrong.

 

[GhostPoet]

From everything i've heard about him professionally from other actors...many say he's a little hard to work with because he's a perfectionist, BUT those same people will go on to say they have respect for him because he takes the work serious and gives them an opportunity to do something big.

 

[Kurosawa]

Cameron has made several great movies, but the level of his success compared to the quality of his work is WAY out of whack. That said, I find myself ending up at the theater for every movie he makes.

 

[MaceB]

Just because his movies get a lot of commercial backing as tentpole type films for the summer... and just because his films hit ridiculously high box office numbers as a result.. does not mean he's the best director out there.

In my opinion, he is entirely over rated. He had an immense budget for Titanic. The studio's backing of the film was beyond anything seen before... the film was out for something like 9 months for god's sakes. At the end of the day, Titanic had a huge, immediate, emotional impact.. but upon multiple viewings.. the story is cheesy, the dialogue can be cringeworthy, the acting is horrible at times, and some of the scenes are nearly unwatchable for me. There's nothing in this movie that makes it worth of it's box office success... ie, better than Gone With the Wind, or Lawrence or Arabia, or similarly epic films.

Avatar is another film that had ridiculous backing - the widest release ever, a huge advertising campaign, and the big draw gimmick of 3D. Watch it without 3D, and it becomes insanely obvious that it's mostly just a boring rip off of Pocohontus - nothing more. The voice over narration feels totally distant, and unneccessary to the main plot. Also, the formulaic narrative at times clashes with film's larger moral narrative. On the one hand, Cameron wants to convay that even though we look different than the "aliens," we're all essentially the same; on the other hand, he asserts that the only real way for the two characters to be with each other is for one of them to forsake their identity and become like the other.

It's all formulaic hollywood hogwash... which is what is marketable... which is what is most enjoyed the common audience.... but it's still crummy storytelling. Give him a small budget, and make him tell a small, personal story without a big spectacle, and then we'll see what he's made of as an artist.

 

[Jumpin' Jack]

Cameron himself? he's very over-rated, also when he's being interviewed he's very c*cky and thinks he the king of the world.

After re-listening to some interviews I take this back.

 

[Alchemyst]

I sure would have liked to see what Cameron would have done if he directed Spider-Man back in the 90's

 

[redfirebird2008]

I sure would have liked to see what Cameron would have done if he directed Spider-Man back in the 90's

Same here.

 

[Alchemyst]

Same here.

Judging from the script, it didn't sound bad.

 

[Jumpin' Jack]

Didn't have a lot of swearing or something like that?

 

[Doctor Jones]

My God, are you people serious?? Cameron's script was awful. All his ideas sucked. I love the guy but thank God he didn't put those ideas on film.

 

[Spider-Vader]

A gritty Spider-Man with lots of cussing would of been a bigger disrespect to the character than Spidey 3.

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

Cameron? Overrated? Hell no.

This guy made classics like Aliens and the first 2 Terminator films. It doesn't matter what you think of Avatar, he still played a huge helping hand in a new generation of cinematic technology with 3D cameras.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Agreed. People just seem to be talking about Avatar.

Terminator, Aliens, T2, The Abyss? Christ man. Alot of filmmaker wish they made these movies.

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

This thread was made before Avatar though.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Oh, I didn't know that. I just don't see how he can be overrated though. His filmography is solid. You have to love at least one Cameron film.

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

This thread is ridiculous and from the results of the poll most people agree.

 

[redfirebird2008]

Oh, I didn't know that. I just don't see how he can be overrated though. His filmography is solid. You have to love at least one Cameron film.

The fact that his filmography is solid won't keep some people from calling him overrated. It actually has the opposite effect. Any time something receives a lot of praise, there will be backlash. Just the way it goes.

 

[Passdom]

No. Hes created some of the most iconic films of all time, the greatest action film of all time (T2) and he's one of the most intelligent directors working in the mainstream. He always pushes himself to the limit and never backs down from what he wants. He's a consumate filmmaker all the way through.

Avatar proved he still has it and that he's still hundreds of cuts above Mickey Mouse directors like Micheal Bay or JJ Abrams

 

[The Executioner]

I actually like to see the dark, grity Spiderman Cameron had for us. If its PG-13 dark then no problem anyways right....especially if Spiderman is still at the end Spiderman.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Spider-Man isn't dark and gritty. Those words shouldn't even be in the same sentence as the character. There are darker elements, but Spider-Man is not Batman. Spider-Man is light and fun and just as endearing in his own way. A character being dark doesn't mean he's automatically interesting.