When we were talking about Matt the other day, you made, I think it was mostly a joke in passing, but you were like, “If Scorsese or Spielberg had called, I would’ve taken those calls.”
I would’ve taken Saving Private Ryan. If Martin Scorsese called me and told me to play a waiter, I would take it. Steven Spielberg is one of the great filmmaking architects to ever live. I feel that way about Chris Nolan. I may go visit Matt on the set just to watch Nolan direct. I’m not even kidding at all.
DEADLINE: You say this could be your lowest-grossing film because of the subject matter. How surprised were you that Christopher Nolan’s movie Oppenheimer grossed almost $1 billion and won seven Oscars? Clearly people are interested in that whole splitting of the atom.
CAMERON: Yeah…it’s interesting what he stayed away from. Look, I love the filmmaking, but I did feel that it was a bit of a moral cop out.
Because it’s not like Oppenheimer didn’t know the effects. He’s got one brief scene in the film where we see — and I don’t like to criticize another filmmaker’s film – but there’s only one brief moment where he sees some charred bodies in the audience and then the film goes on to show how it deeply moved him. But I felt that it dodged the subject. I don’t know whether the studio or Chris felt that that was a third rail that they didn’t want to touch, but I want to go straight at the third rail. I’m just stupid that way.
DEADLINE: Nolan answered that criticism by basically saying, “I hope somebody tells that story, but to me, this wasn’t that story.” It might take another heavyweight like James Cameron to do that…
CAMERON: Okay, I’ll put up my hand. I’ll do it, Chris. No problem. You come to my premiere and say nice things…I can’t tell you today what’s going to be in the movie. I’ve been making notes for 15 years and I haven’t written a word of the script yet because there’s a point where it’s all there and then you start to write. That’s how I always work. I explore around, I remember the things that impact me. I start to assemble ’em into a narrative. And then there’s a moment where you’re ready to write. And I’m not in that head space right now.
DEADLINE: You say this could be your lowest-grossing film because of the subject matter. How surprised were you that Christopher Nolan’s movie Oppenheimer grossed almost $1 billion and won seven Oscars? Clearly people are interested in that whole splitting of the atom.
CAMERON: Yeah…it’s interesting what he stayed away from. Look, I love the filmmaking, but I did feel that it was a bit of a moral cop out.
Because it’s not like Oppenheimer didn’t know the effects. He’s got one brief scene in the film where we see — and I don’t like to criticize another filmmaker’s film – but there’s only one brief moment where he sees some charred bodies in the audience and then the film goes on to show how it deeply moved him. But I felt that it dodged the subject. I don’t know whether the studio or Chris felt that that was a third rail that they didn’t want to touch, but I want to go straight at the third rail. I’m just stupid that way.
DEADLINE: Nolan answered that criticism by basically saying, “I hope somebody tells that story, but to me, this wasn’t that story.” It might take another heavyweight like James Cameron to do that…
CAMERON: Okay, I’ll put up my hand. I’ll do it, Chris. No problem. You come to my premiere and say nice things…I can’t tell you today what’s going to be in the movie. I’ve been making notes for 15 years and I haven’t written a word of the script yet because there’s a point where it’s all there and then you start to write. That’s how I always work. I explore around, I remember the things that impact me. I start to assemble ’em into a narrative. And then there’s a moment where you’re ready to write. And I’m not in that head space right now.
Not surprising...I love alot of Cameron's films (not so much Avatar stuff), but the man is always about the big spectacle and not so much interested in being nuanced or subtle about plots or characters in his films. He's also a grade A jerk from stories you hear from actors and crew who have worked with him.
