During a recent interview with The New York Times, renowned filmmaker James Cameron revealed that he overruled Fox Executives when they attempted to give him notes on 2009’s Avatar, which went on to become the most financially successful film of all time. Cameron rejected the notes and told the executives that he directed Titanic, so he could do what he wanted:
"I think I felt, at the time, that we clashed over certain things. For example, the studio felt that the film should be shorter and there was too much flying around on the ikran – what the humans call banshees. Well, it turns out that’s what the audience loved the most, in terms of our exit polling and data gathering. And that’s the place where I just drew a line in the sand and said, ‘You know what? I made Titanic. This building that we’re meeting in right now, this new half-billion dollar complex on your lot? Titanic paid for that, so I get to do this."
It must have been hard to argue with the guy, especially after the movie went on to gross $2.8 billion at the worldwide box office. Cameron said afterward they thanked him. “I feel that my job is to protect their investment, often against their own judgement,” Cameron continued. “But as long as I protect their investment, all is forgiven.”
The original Avatar is getting rereleased into theaters this Friday on September 23. The long-awaited sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, will hit theaters on December 16, almost 13 years after the first movie. And there are several more sequels coming after that.
Is the world ready to fall in love with Avatar again? Something tells us that James Cameron will make more of them whatever our opinions. After all, he did make Titanic.
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