FROM "Terminator" to "Titanic" to "Avatar", director James Cameron has pushed Hollywood's technical wizardry to new limits, but human emotion must always come first, he told AFP.
In an era when special effects are much more accessible to filmmakers, and studios are willing to regularly spend hundreds of millions of dollars on blockbusters, it is the artistic talent that makes the difference, Cameron said during a visit to Paris.
Whether he can still strike the balance will be tested as the world finally gets to see "Avatar: The Way of Water" next week -- a sequel to his groundbreaking extraterrestrial epic that has been 13 years in the making.
"Anybody could buy a paintbrush. Not everybody can paint a picture," the Canadian director said. "The technology doesn't create art. Artists create art -- that's important."
It was originally hoped that a first sequel would be out in 2014, but Cameron's gargantuan ambitions led to repeated delays.
He does not come across like the sort of megalomaniac director of Hollywood lore -- describing his sets as "a big hippie commune with a bunch of really great artists."
But these hippies are armed with some powerful computers.
"We had over 3,200 shots, which is a lot to maintain high quality, high quality control," Cameron said.
"We brought in machine deep learning and plugged AI into various stages of the process to assist us... not to take the place of the actors at all but actually to be more truthful to what they had done," he said.
- 'Connection to nature' -
The challenge was managing to draw emotion out of performances that were largely shot in front of green screens, and where most of the scenery and props would only appear later in the effects booths.
"The heart, the soul, the emotion, the conflict, creativity... all that happens first, and then all the technical work begins," he said.
Cameron has always justified the vast sums he has asked of studios -- "Titanic" was both the most expensive and most profitable film of all time following its release in 1997, only to be topped by "Avatar" in 2009 -- and he feels that responsibility "every day".
"I can't be whimsical or impulsive, I have to be very focused and dedicated to creating something that's both pleasing to me artistically, and that I think will be pleasing to the public and commercial enough to make some money," he said.
"It can't be too intellectual, but I can make it satisfying to me by putting in secondary and tertiary levels of meaning that I know are there."
Clearly, much of the impulse of the Avatar series is drawing attention to humanity's impact on nature, but the sequel also focuses on Cameron's aquatic interests.
Long fascinated by the sea, from 1989's "The Abyss" to "Titanic", Cameron became a deep ocean explorer for National Geographic in the 2000s and was the first solo human to visit the deepest underwater trench, the Mariana Trough, in a purpose-built submarine.
He sees "Avatar" as "awakening that thing in all of us, that connection to nature.
"The movie asks you to feel something for nature... It's about maybe feeling a sense of outrage," Cameron said.
"These Navi characters... they don't look like us, they're blue, they've got the ears and tails. But they represent the better angels of our nature.
"Maybe for 10 minutes after the movie's over, you see the world a little differently," he added.
ETX Studio
Thu Dec 08 2022
The cast of "Avatar: The Way of Water" with James Cameron. - ETX Studio
[KRONOLOGI] Serangan Balai Polis Ulu Tiram
[KRONOLOGI] Serangan Balai Polis Ulu Tiram
Mangsa banjir di Perak meningkat kepada 537 orang
Mangsa banjir di tiga daerah di Perak meningkat kepada 537 orang daripada 152 keluarga pada jam 4 petang Jumaat.
Serangan Balai Polis Ulu Tiram: Anggap polis 'musuh', 'layak dibunuh' dipercayai antara motif - Pakar
Mohd Mizan berkata kumpulan terbabit menyasarkan balai polis kerana dipercayai bagi tujuan pemilikan senjata api.
AWANI Borneo [17/05/2024] - Tempoh 14 hari | Hak Sabah | Sihat Xpress
AWANI Borneo Jumaat, 17 Mei 2024 bersama Jasmine Abu Bakar.
Semua MP dan ADUN terima surat arahan bertulis, perlu beri respon kepada MKT Bersatu.
Tiada kompromi isu tuntutan 40 peratus hasil negeri - Hajiji.
Perkhidmatan kiosk telekesihatan percuma 'Sihat Xpress' dilancar.
Semua MP dan ADUN terima surat arahan bertulis, perlu beri respon kepada MKT Bersatu.
Tiada kompromi isu tuntutan 40 peratus hasil negeri - Hajiji.
Perkhidmatan kiosk telekesihatan percuma 'Sihat Xpress' dilancar.
Komuniti perniagaan perlu teroka pelaburan baharu di Kazakhstan - PM Anwar
Komuniti perniagaan perlu terus meneroka peluang perniagaan dan pelaburan baharu di Kazakhstan, negara terbesar di Asia Tengah, kata Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Rakyat Malaysia digesa patuhi peraturan visa haji - Konsulat Jeneral
Konsulat Jeneral Malaysia di Jeddah mengingatkan semua rakyat Malaysia yang berhasrat menunaikan ibadah haji pada tahun ini agar memastikan mereka memiliki visa atau permit haji yang sah.
Peruntukan RM320 juta diperoleh Julai
Peruntukan RM320 juta yang diluluskan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim bagi tujuan penyelesaian jangka pendek isu masalah bekalan air di Sabah dijangka akan diperoleh pada Julai tahun ini.
Tiada kompromi isu tuntutan 40 peratus hasil negeri
Kerajaan negeri menegaskan untuk tidak akan berkompromi terhadap isu tuntutan 40 peratus hasil yang dikutip Kerajaan Persekutuan di negeri ini, seperti terkandung dalam Perkara 112C dan 112D Perlembagaan Persekutuan.
Pengasingan kuasa AG, Pendakwa Raya harap selesai tahun ini
Semua pihak mempunyai hak untuk mendapatkan pengadilan di mahkamah.
Keuntungan bersih Maxis meningkat kepada RM353 juta pada suku pertama 2024
Keuntungan bersih Maxis Bhd meningkat kepada RM353 juta bagi suku pertama berakhir 31 Mac 2024.
Pengarah filem Titanic, nafi akan hasilkan filem insiden OceanGate
Cameron menafikan spekulasi bahawa beliau sedang mempertimbangkan untuk menghasilkan filem mengenai malapetaka kapal selam itu.
James Cameron terkesan tragedi kapal selam Titan
Pengarah filem Titanic berkata, kehilangan Titan dirasakan sehingga ke tulangnya.
'Avatar 2' ungguli carta 4 minggu berturut-turut di Korea Selatan
Filem pecah panggung "Avatar: The Way of Water" kekal mengungguli carta Korea Selatan untuk minggu keempat berturut-turut.
Minggu pertama 'Terminator: Dark Fate' hanya kutip AS$29 juta
Angka yang dikeluarkan Paramount tersebut dilihat sangat membimbangkan buat filem keenam sekuel itu, yang menelan bajet lebih AS$180 juta.
Tayangan semula Avengers: Endgame masih gagal tandingi Avatars
Avengers: Endgame masih kekurangan AS$27 juta untuk menyamai rekod yang dipegang Avatar.
Michelle Yeoh sah bintangi sekuel Avatar
Pelakon hebat kelahiran tanah air, Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh dilaporkan bakal menyertai barisan pelakon untuk francais filem Avatar.
20 Tahun Titanic: Pelakon 'extra' dibayar RM100 ribu, dan enam lagi fakta menarik
Reece Thompson III, yang membawakan watak penumpang kanak-kanak tanpa nama, mengakui menerima bayaran royalti £20,000 (RM109,223).
Bosan diaju soalan 'mengapa Jack mati', pengarah Titanic akhirnya beri jawapan
Cameron memberikan jawapan ringkas mengapa watak Jack lakonan Leonardo Dicaprio itu tidak diselamatkan untuk hidup bahagia bersama Rose.
Didakwa curi nama karakter, pengarah filem Titanic disaman
Seorang individu bernama Stephen Cummings, telah menfailkan tuntutan sama terhadap pengarah filem Titanic iaitu James Cameron.
James Cameron umum empat lagi sekuel filem Avatar
Avatar 2 dijangka menemui peminat pada tahun 2018 diikuti tiga lagi sekuel yang bakal ditayangkan pada tahun 2020, 2022, dan 2023.