James Cameron: Lasting Impact

Q: Were you surprised by the bad reviews?

A: No. Because I kind of knew what was going on. The Abyss was always dangerous. It doesn't have a monster. It was basically about love. Love and hydrogen bombs [laughs].

Q: Any regrets?

A: The only thing I regret about The Abyss is that I let myself get talked out of telling the movie I wanted to tell and at the last second going, "Let's release a movie we think will make money." It's still a good movie. So, ultimately, we went back and put in what we'd taken out for our laser disc release.

Q: The longer version makes more sense.

A: The complete cut of the movie is three hours long. And you know what? Nobody's got any business making a three-hour movie. People don't want to see a three-hour movie. So if that's the movie I was trying to make--it probably shouldn't have been made.

Q: You could argue that, in trying to meld human drama and a love story into sci-fi action, there was, on one level at least, a lot more going on in The Abyss than in Jurassic Park.

A: But how do you trash a movie that's so much fun? Criticizing Jurassic Park is like criticizing a roller coaster for not being Proust. The visual perfection in some of those scenes is really exciting to me.

Q: Did you ever want to do a dino flick?

A: You know, it's funny, because I was sitting in Tom Pollock's office about a year earlier and I said, "The first person who does a dinosaur movie with the technology that now exists, between animatronic puppetry and CG animation, will make all the money." Quote, unquote. "All the money"--as in, there won't be any money left to feed the children. Which is exactly what happened.

Q: In terms of the kind of films you make--mega sci-fiaction/adventures--do you see it as you and Spielberg up here and everyone else somewhere else?

A: No, I think Spielberg is up here, and everyone else is down here. Which is okay. It's okay to have someone who is beyond reproach.

Q: "Beyond reproach" is high praise. Do you have a relationship with Spielberg? Is there any competition between you?

A: I know him. We've handed people back and forth, like DP's. He and I had a conversation about visual effects--how they cost too much; we have to try to force the digital technology to the next stage to bring the cost down and he said, "Well, why don't we start a visual effects company? And I said to myself, "Good idea. Think I will!" [Laughs] I'm a big fan. His movies inspired me to want to be a filmmaker. He'd already made Close Encounters before I'd gotten my first job as a model builder.

Q: Schindler's List was an important movie with a message. You called T2 "a violent movie about world peace." On some level, you were thinking of it as a movie with a message. But it didn't make $500 million because of its message of peace.

A: The message was insidious. It was kind of the spoonful-of-sugar concept.

Q: Yet you obviously have ideas you want to convey. Ever think of doing a message movie that's really about the message? Your Schindler's List?

A: Look, Steven--I know he comes from a family which had a number of members die in the Holocaust. I don't think you can be Jewish, even if you weren't directly touched by it, without it being a big burden that you carry around with you. And when a guy gets to his position of influence and ability to convey concepts visually to the world, it would almost be a shame if he didn't do a film like Schindler's. So in a way it's good that he bided his time and made it something in and of itself. It could have just been his guilt movie, and it's a brilliant film.

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