James Cameron's Incredible Luck

[vedek]

James Cameron must of sold his soul to Satan in exchange for hit movies. Both Titanic and Avatar, top grossing movies of all time. I guess we will have to wait another 13 years until his next top grossing movie. The way he is going, he could do a film on taking a dump and Fox would not only back it, but promote it and distribute it in wide release.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

James Cameron must of sold his soul to Satan in exchange for hit movies.

Actually, the man just makes movies that a lot of people really, really like and want to watch. There's no more or less than the customary amount of "luck" involved.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

James Cameron must have sold his soul to Satan in exchange for hit movies.

He sold his soul to US, and we were more than willing to buy it, again and again.

 

[vedek]

No, no...he definitely sold his soul. No one is that lucky.

 

[crookeddy]

No, no...he definitely sold his soul. No one is that lucky.

What luck? The first movie helped sell the second movie, and the first movie had a whole lot of things going for it...

Titanic was advertised as the most expensive movie of all time, everyone talked about the realistic recreations, and said that watching this movie will be the closest thing we will ever experience to being there. Since the sinking of the Titanic was a legendary event, many many people wanted to "be there".

Then there was the fact that the movie was actually 2 movies. Pretty crappy romantic comedy that the females seemed to really love, and the visually striking disaster part - probably the most visually striking of all time.

And then came the lucky part - teenage girls going to the theaters to see it upwards of 20 times, mostly because of Leo.

Then comes Avatar. Again, advertised as one of the most expensive movies of all time. This time its the closest we will ever be to being on a alien planet. And in 3-D. Everyone has to go see it of course. We all want to visit an alien planet, don't we?

Plus the movie is in 3-D. So tickets are more expensive - easier to make money.

So really what's so shocking? The guy just makes movies that everyone wants to see. Good for him. I am looking forward to seeing how he can possibly top this one.

 

[Hyperspace05]

Cameron's career shows it is anything but luck.

He just knows how to make movies that a lot of people like.

 

[T'Baio]

I think what you meant to say was "James Cameron's Incredible Talent."

 

[Pilot Ace]

I think what you meant to say was "James Cameron's Incredible Talent."

QTF.

 

[Alpha_Geek]

Thankfully, there are no "Spread the talent around" programs.

 

[CommanderRaytas]

When I was 14 years old, I watched Titanic on the day it premiered, and loved it to death, drove people crazy with it (and I'm not afraid to admit it until this very day). The Abyss is one of my favourite films of all time. Avatar rocks. So....yeah. James Cameron is a good filmmaker. That's what "he's lucky" means.

 

[Lindley]

Luck always plays a part. There are plenty of filmmakers who are just as good and don't get half the recognition.

 

[CommanderRaytas]

Naturally. And I still like Peter Jackson better. Way to go showing the world the ugliest side of Joburg.

 

[TremblingBluStar]

Not a huge fan of Cameron's work (Titanic, other than the visual aspects, was atrocious), but you have to admit that waiting so long between films has worked in his favor. If he was as active as someone like Spielberg, and directed a major film every few years, he'd have his share of lower quality films that we could all bitch about.

 

[T'Baio]

That's like saying if a cook cooked more his food would suck.

 

[Kegg]

That's like saying if a cook cooked more his food would suck.

No, it's like saying if a cook came up with new recipes more often they'd be more likely to suck.

 

[Hyperspace05]

That's like saying if a cook cooked more his food would suck.

No, it's like saying if a cook came up with new recipes more often they'd be more likely to suck.

So once again, is that luck or a realization of his limits? To take that analogy, I guess he only releases recipes he is happy with.

No, I don't buy the luck argument.

 

[Harvey]

Luck? No, Cameron's success hinges on knowing how to package popular entertainment in a way that is appealing to multiple sections of the audiences--'all four quadrants,' in marketing lingo.

There was some worry that Avatar wouldn't do that in the same way that Titanic did, but those worries have been proven wrong. Of course, Avatar has the benefit of twelve years of ticket price inflation, in addition to 3-D and IMAX ticket sales, which are well above the price of a normal ticket.

And, also, how quickly we forget how much of a dud the Cameron-scripted Strange Days was in 1995, or the short life of the Cameron co-created (and sometimes directed) television series Dark Angel from 2000-2002. Luckily, neither of those were as expensive as either Titanic or Avatar, so the studios allow themselves to forget, too.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Luck? No, Cameron's success hinges on knowing how to package popular entertainment in a way that is appealing to multiple sections of the audiences--'all four quadrants,' in marketing lingo.

Agreed.

Cameron is both smart and capable. Avatar is far from a perfect (or even an exceptional) film. But its success has nothing to do with luck and everything to do with Cameron's abilities to produce a movie that is accessible to a *lot* of people.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Cameron excels at producing middlebrow entertainment for the masses. No luck involved. He happens to be good at something that is immensely financially rewarding.

 

[FordSVT]

I paid $7 to see Titanic, I paid $13 to see Avatar.