Strange Days

by James Cameron

The original text for James Cameron's Strange Days, a major motion picture from 20th Century Fox, starring Ralph Finnes, Angela Bassett, and Juliette Lewis.

1999: the recently perfected technology of virtual reality has spawned a large black market specializing in the buying and selling of other people's experiences.
With color photos.

Genres: Cyberpunk, Science Fiction, Fiction, Film, Thriller, Media Tie In

186 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1995

About the author

Librarian Note: James^^^^^^^Cameron. There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

James Francis Cameron is an Academy Award-winning Canadian-American director, producer and screenwriter. He is noted for his action/science fiction films, which are often highly innovative and financially successful. Thematically, James Cameron's films generally explore the relationship between humanity and technology. Cameron created the Terminator franchise, serving as co-writer and director for The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Later, he wrote and directed the film Titanic, which earned 11 Academy Awards and grossed over US$1.8 billion worldwide. To date, his directorial efforts have grossed approximately US$3 billion, unadjusted for inflation. After a string of landmark feature films including The Terminator, Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, True Lies, The Abyss, and Titanic, Cameron turned his focus to documentary filmmaking and the co-development of the digital 3-D Fusion Camera System. He is currently working on a return to feature filmmaking with the science fiction film Avatar, which will make use of the Fusion Camera System technology. Avatar is scheduled for release in December of 2009.

Reviews

[Serdar · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, if you're taking a screenwriting class or otherwise looking to this book as any kind of model for how to write a screenplay, don't. Not because this is a bad script or a bad movie; this is easily one of my favorite films of all time. It's because Cameron's script is not written in anything remotely like a standard screenplay format. It's far more freeform, more like a cross between a treatment and a screenplay (put gold stars up next to your names if you grok the difference between those terms). But that also makes it a little easier for people who don't know the format to dive in and read it without worrying too much about all the technical terms scripts tend to be littered with. It also provides some great insights into how the film evolved from its original, and somewhat messier, drafts into the finished product, both by way of Cameron's introduction and the notes directly inline. I wish more of these types of artifacts were available, because anyone who wants to know how to write in "proper" screenplay format has no end of examples to draw on, and most of the published screenplays out there for major films aren't in fact the original screenplays but merely transcripts. They don't provide a peek into the process the way this one does.

[Julie Bozza · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved this film so much. Haven't rewatched it for a while now, but it was Ralph Fiennes at his most shabbily beautiful and Angela Bassett at her most awesomely fierce. This tome is an early version of the script / treatment by James Cameron (which was then developed, written and directed by others). It's been on my TBR pile for... decades.

It was an interesting insight into the process of creating a script, and how that translates (or not) into the final film. What I was looking for was missing, though...

The thing is, I love those two main characters, Lenny and Mace. They are each so wonderful, and I love that they love each other as friends. I loved that they finally got together at the end of the film. About fucken time! Amen. However, I cannot imagine their future together. I cannot imagine Lenny going entirely legit again, nor Mace putting up with any ongoing illegalities (especially given that she is responsible for a younger sister and a young son). I mean... I write fanfic, and I've wanted to write a "what happens next" story for them for the aforementioned decades. But I just can't imagine their shared future.

I was hoping that this "scriptment" would give me some insight on that. But other than Lenny needing to get over his love for / obsession with Faith (ho hum), all he does is finally recognise that Mace "is a girl". Fantastic, she says sarcastically.

But seriously... What happens next for these two...?

[Matthew Kresal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange Days was an overlooked gem in its original cinema release, having found a cult following with its mix of neo-noir and cyberpunk elements. James Cameron's original take on what became the film is in a literary form as unique as the film itself. Dubbed a "scriptment" by Cameron, it's a cross between the traditional film treatment (essentially an outline) and a full script. It's the ideas that became the film in their simplest, roughest form that offers up descriptions of actions and paragraphs that describe plot elements or visual scenes in some cases. At other times, Cameron writes out entire scenes worth of dialogue. What's incredible, having seen the film recently (which inspired me to get the book off my shelf, having gotten it at a bargain a while ago), is how much of the finished film is present even here. Not everything, as there are sequences and characters condensed or re-arranged, not to mention a plot point or two added, but a lot of the DNA of the film that Strange Days became is present in these pages.

And the experience is every bit a rush as the film itself. Not a perfect one, but an intriguing piece of work. One which is well worth seeking out for fans of the film and Cameron's work.

[Caz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange Days has quickly become one of my favourite movies and to find out that there's even a book, my heart made a huge leap. It's not a typical novelization, but also not your typical screenplay; it's a nice mix of both.
Some differences from the movie, some better, some worse, but overall I fell in love with the main characters as much as I did with them in the movie. Lenny is just the best damsel in distress there is.

[Maya Muller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only watched it. It's a sci fi with not much sci fi world building. It's more like a thriller mystery with a kind of futuristic tech-drug that works on brain. When I watched it, it gave me some deep thoughtful moments. I liked the ending twists. It's not a movie that you will absolutely love, but it's a good time pass. There are two or three things that will leave an impression.

[Shelby]

loved it

[Ellie K · Rating 3 out of 5]

The film was overdone, too melodramatic, yet it was emotionally moving to me. I really liked it. This, not so much.