James Cameron - "The Romantic"
James Cameron is one of the top action directors of his generation, as well as one of the most demanding, according to some. He has made his mark on Hollywood with a number of big-budget, big-moneymaking films known for their technical wizardry and sentiment as well. 1997's Titanic was Cameron's most successful demonstration of this, becoming the highest-grossing film of that time and earning many awards.
Cameron, the son of an electrical engineer, was born in Ontario, Canada on August 16, 1954. From an early age, he was fascinated with movies and cites Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, as an early influence. Thanks to his father's job, his family moved to Southern California in the early 70's and Cameron went to study physics at university. However, he later switched to an english major and then dropped out, knowing that it was film-making he really wanted to pursue. For the next while, he took various jobs to support himself and his film career efforts. Cameron got his first big break from Roger Corman, who hired him to work at his studios as an art director for Battle Beyond the Stars in 1980. Cameron, due to his skill and dedication quickly moved up the ranks and made his directorial debut the same year with Piranha 2: The Spawning. Rumour has it that Cameron had such a bad time filming the movie, shot in Italy, that he got nightmares, which happened to inspire his breakthrough film, The Terminator in 1984. A story about a futuristic war between humans and man-made machines, the movie was a huge success. In 1989, he again explored the same theme with The Abyss. More interesting though, than the films reception were the rumours and stories about the process of making it. Tales of emotionally traumatized actors, an extremely demanding director and unbearable filming conditions (it was filmed underwater) were plenty. However, his reputation suffered a bit, the film won an Oscar for Best Special Effects. Over the years, Cameron directed many high-budget, money-making films like Terminator 2 - Judgement Day, that was praised for its ashtonishing special effects. In 1997, Cameron made Titanic, which cost $200 million to make. Although there were many problems that were encountered, the finished product was highly successful. Since it was a love story combined with remarkable special effects, Titanic drew a variety of viewers, mainly teenage girls.