I mean, this guy gave us some incredible films, the first 2 Terminators,
Aliens, Abyss, etc, and he hasn't done squat, really, in 7 years. Geez, at
this rate he'll be like Lucas, try making a movie again in a few years and
have
lost the "touch".
Apparently after making the 3D Imax movie "Ghosts of the Abyss", he now is
ready
to do a feature-length 3D sci-fi movie:
http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,13325,00.html
James Cameron Back and in 3-D
by Josh Grossberg
Jan 22, 2004, 2:15 PM PT
As if Titanic wasn't big enough for James Cameron.
Six years since making his disaster epic, which went on to become the
top-grossing
film of all time and won the Oscar for Best Picture, the erstwhile King of
the
World has announced plans to return to the director's chair and begin work
later
this year on a new 3-D sci-fi feature for 20th Century Fox.
Cameron broke the news during a Q&A at a special screening of Terminator 2:
Judgment Day at the ArcLight Hollywood theater in Los Angeles Tuesday night,
describing the project as a "big-budget science-fiction film with a pile of
special effects," per to a report in Variety.
"When I see a movie like The Lord of the Rings films and I see what's
possible
with digital effects now, I can't resist," Cameron told the assembled film
buffs.
"I've got to come and play because there are some really cool images that I
was
never able to do before that I want to do now."
No word on what the movie's about or who'll be in it, but Cameron will
capture the
action on a new high-definition 3-D camera rig that he developed with
underwater
filmmaker and cinematographer Vince Pace. The duo first used the technology
while
shooting last year's 3-D Imax documentary about the real Titanic, Ghosts of
the
Abyss.
As for the reason behind Cameron's long hiatus from feature filmmaking? The
mastermind behind Aliens and The Terminator said he first needed to
experiment
with his new video equipment, shooting under a variety of conditions,
including
underwater, hence Ghosts.
It was only after "three years of pretty intensive R&D image analysis" and a
dry-run on that doc, the Canadian-born filmmaker says, that he finally felt
ready
to apply the technology to Hollywood flicks. And in his mind, what he can do
visually now is far beyond what he ever dreamed of back in the days when he
was
filming T2.
"Even though [T2] is known for computer graphics, the effects were just
arrows in
the quiver," said Cameron. "In Terminator 2, there were 47 CG shots. In
Return of
the King, there were more than 1,400."
Despite being MIA from the multiplex, Cameron hasn't exactly been slacking.
Aside
from Ghosts and producing the short-lived TV series Dark Angel, he directed
Expedition Bismark, a documentary on the sunken German battleship, and
produced
the Imax feature Volcanoes of the Deep Sea. He's currently wrapping up a
Disney-produced Imax doc called Extreme Life.
Cameron is also planning to helm The Dive, an aquatic-themed love story about
ill-fated free-diving couple Francisco "Pipin" Ferraras and Audrey Mestre and
their race for the world record in that extreme sport. Cameron has already
shot
some second-unit footage for that film.
Meanwhile, the Producers Guild of America honored Cameron on Saturday with
its
Vanguard Award for outstanding technical achievement throughout his career.
Said Cameron upon accepting his prize: "I didn't realize anyone would notice
what
I was up to when I wasn't directing."
