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The Futurist: The Life and Films of James Cameron
With the release of Avatar in December 2009, James Cameron cements his reputation as king of sci-fi and blockbuster filmmaking. It’s a distinction he’s long been building, through a directing career that includes such cinematic landmarks as The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss , and the highest grossing movie of all time, Titanic . The Futurist is the first in-depth look at every aspect of this audacious creative genius—culminating in an exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpse of the making of Avatar , the movie that promises to utterly transform the way motion pictures are created and perceived. As decisive a break with the past as the transition from silents to talkies, Avatar pushes 3-D, live action, and photo-realistic CGI to a new level. It rips through the emotional barrier of the screen to transport the audience to a fabulous new virtual world.
With cooperation from the often reclusive Cameron, author Rebecca Keegan has crafted a singularly revealing portrait of the director’s life and work. We meet the young truck driver who sees Star Wars and sets out to learn how to make even better movies himself—starting by taking apart the first 35mm camera he rented to see how it works. We observe the neophyte director deciding over lunch with Arnold Schwarzenegger that the ex-body builder turned actor is wrong in every way for the Terminator role as written, but perfect regardless. After the success of The Terminator , Cameron refines his special-effects wizardry with a big-time Hollywood budget in the creation of the relentlessly exciting Aliens . He builds an immense underwater set for The Abyss in the massive containment vessel of an abandoned nuclear power plant—where he pushes his scuba-breathing cast to and sometimes past their physical and emotional breaking points (including a white rat that Cameron saved from drowning by performing CPR). And on the set of Titanic , the director struggles to stay in charge when someone maliciously spikes craft services’ mussel chowder with a massive dose of PCP, rendering most of the cast and crew temporarily psychotic.
Now, after his movies have earned over $5 billion at the box office, James Cameron is astounding the world with the most expensive, innovative, and ambitious movie of his career. For decades the moviemaker has been ready to tell the Avatar story but was forced to hold off his ambitions until technology caught up with his vision. Going beyond the technical ingenuity and narrative power that Cameron has long demonstrated, Avatar shatters old cinematic paradigms and ushers in a new era of storytelling.
The Futurist is the story of the man who finally brought movies into the twenty-first century.
With cooperation from the often reclusive Cameron, author Rebecca Keegan has crafted a singularly revealing portrait of the director’s life and work. We meet the young truck driver who sees Star Wars and sets out to learn how to make even better movies himself—starting by taking apart the first 35mm camera he rented to see how it works. We observe the neophyte director deciding over lunch with Arnold Schwarzenegger that the ex-body builder turned actor is wrong in every way for the Terminator role as written, but perfect regardless. After the success of The Terminator , Cameron refines his special-effects wizardry with a big-time Hollywood budget in the creation of the relentlessly exciting Aliens . He builds an immense underwater set for The Abyss in the massive containment vessel of an abandoned nuclear power plant—where he pushes his scuba-breathing cast to and sometimes past their physical and emotional breaking points (including a white rat that Cameron saved from drowning by performing CPR). And on the set of Titanic , the director struggles to stay in charge when someone maliciously spikes craft services’ mussel chowder with a massive dose of PCP, rendering most of the cast and crew temporarily psychotic.
Now, after his movies have earned over $5 billion at the box office, James Cameron is astounding the world with the most expensive, innovative, and ambitious movie of his career. For decades the moviemaker has been ready to tell the Avatar story but was forced to hold off his ambitions until technology caught up with his vision. Going beyond the technical ingenuity and narrative power that Cameron has long demonstrated, Avatar shatters old cinematic paradigms and ushers in a new era of storytelling.
The Futurist is the story of the man who finally brought movies into the twenty-first century.
283 pages, Paperback
First published December 15, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 25, 2012
Im a freshman, and I had to choose a biography for my english class cause i had to read 8 different type of books in a year so that i didnt get held back. So when it came time for me to choose a boigrapy, I looke d upon my favorite director. I luv Cameron he is my idol, im obsessed wth his movie Avatar. I can replay every word and every scene (even the delete scenes) in my head. So i read this book, it made me laugh so hard in some parts. Like when he had the nerve to say what he said to that lady who then stabbed him. It was really interesting to me. I cant wait for Avatar 2 and 3!!!!!!
I would recomend this book to anyone and everyone who is interested in movies and familar with his work, (freshman and up).
I would recomend this book to anyone and everyone who is interested in movies and familar with his work, (freshman and up).
August 29, 2014
Miluju Titanic a celého Jamese Camerona a toto je vážně zajímavá a skvělá kniha. Pokud se o Jamesi chcete dozvědět něco nového, určitě si ji přečtěte! Nejvíc mě bavily pasáže o Terminátorovi (na filmy jsem se koukla, když jsem knížku četla, úplně mě na ně nalákala :) ) a o Titanicu :-)
Má videorecenze: http://knihankov.blogspot.cz/2014/06/...
Má videorecenze: http://knihankov.blogspot.cz/2014/06/...
August 29, 2019
The part where the movies were discussed was interesting, but I genuinely didn't care about Cameron's personal life and the technical elements behind each of his films.
November 17, 2010
I really like this book. My husband brought it for me the week it came out and I read it in less than a week. I was captivated on page one.
Rebecca Keegan brings James Cameron's stories to life from how he got into filmmaking, his love of storytelling and his determination to make the impossible possible as well as his personal life, which weren’t all roses. There is no mistaken that James Cameron has achieved so much because he has put so much into reaching his dreams, his goals. This book is truly the journey of James Cameron's filmmaking career.
My favorite quote form the book is: It is sometimes necessary in life to do something extraordinary – Sagalevitch
Rebecca Keegan brings James Cameron's stories to life from how he got into filmmaking, his love of storytelling and his determination to make the impossible possible as well as his personal life, which weren’t all roses. There is no mistaken that James Cameron has achieved so much because he has put so much into reaching his dreams, his goals. This book is truly the journey of James Cameron's filmmaking career.
My favorite quote form the book is: It is sometimes necessary in life to do something extraordinary – Sagalevitch
June 5, 2021
James Cameron is my favorite director ("Titanic" is and forever will be my favorite movie) so I greatly enjoyed this fast paced and interesting book. Learning about his life and details about each of his movies was such a treat to read and I have even more respect and admiration for him as a director. He may not always be the nicest guy in the universe lol but he absolutely dedicates himself to his craft.
March 28, 2012
Pretty fascinating. Could have been twice as long!
March 1, 2012
Just an okay book ... but an endlessly fascinating subject, hence my rating.
March 6, 2015
The story of the man who finally brought movies into the twenty-first century
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews