The Futurist

The Life and Films of James Cameron

Rebecca Keegan

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English

Three Rivers Press
05 October 2010

Individual actors & performers; Film theory & criticism; Individual film directors, film-makers; Film movie production: technical skills; Biography: arts & entertainment; Fiction-related items; Filmography

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.

By: Rebecca Keegan
Imprint: Three Rivers Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 203mm, Width: 131mm, Spine: 17mm
Weight: 245g
ISBN: 9780307460325
ISBN 10: 0307460320
Pages: 283
Publication Date: 05 October 2010
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Reviews for The Futurist: The Life and Films of James Cameron

A fascinating journey into the mind of the master, as meticulously detailed and entertaining as Cameron's greatest works. A humanizing and warm look into the man behind the machinery. Rebecca Keegan reveals sides of Cameron never before seen by his public and gives us an intimate, warm portrait of a mysterious genius. A must read for fans and filmmakers alike. This biography will become one of the bibles for all aspiring filmmakers. --ELI ROTH, director and actor An empathetic and incisive portrait of the most authentic visionary - and genuine renaissance man - in the movie business. --MARK FROST, co-creator of Twin Peaks What a pleasure -- a writer who can really write and a subject we really need, as well as want, to know more about. --JOE MORGENSTERN, film critic, Wall Street Journal