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James Cameron
Biography:
 James Francis Cameron was born on August 16th, 1954 in Kapuskasing, Canada. He grew up with a natural curiosity which led to good grades in school and a lot of time reading independently in the library. His favorite genre was science fiction and he spent hours reading the works of authors like Arthur C. Clark and A.E. Van Vogt.
In his early teens he displayed a talent in drawing by illustrating his own comic books; a skill that helped him later in his filmmaking career with storyboards. He also shot 16mm home movies for fun. At the age of seventeen he became dive certified and has since spent much of his personal and professional time in or underwater.
In his later teens his family moved to Fullerton,California where he enrolled in FullertonCollege. Without direction he decided to drop out and took a job as a truck driver. After seeing Star Wars his interest in filmmaking was rejuvenated and he hit the libraries again to study the craft. With money borrowed from friends and family, he shot “Xenogenesis” and sent it to Roger Corman as a resume of sorts.
Corman hired Cameron and he was put to work doing various tasks on Battle Beyond the Stars and Galaxy of Terror. His skill and work ethic was immediately noticed and he was soon given the opportunity to direct Piranha II: The Spawning. The film was a flop but it gave Cameron the confidence he needed to put his career into gear. Shortly thereafter he wrote The Terminator which was a huge low budget hit and enabled Cameron to direct other science fiction classics such as Aliens, The Abyss, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. He has since expanded his prowess to include projects like True Lies, Titanic, and Ghosts of the Abyss.
Films:
Piranha II: The Spawning (1981)
The Terminator (1984)
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
Aliens (1986)
Alien Nation (1988)
The Abyss (1989)
Point Break (1991)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
True Lies (1994)
Strange Days (1995)
Titanic (1997)
Solaris (2002)
Ghosts of the Abyss (2003)
Upcoming Projects:
Godspeed (2007)
Other Film Credits:
Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) (additional photographer; miniature designer; art director)
Galaxy of Terror (1981) (unit director; production designer)
Escape from New York (1981) (matte artist; special effects director of photography)
Andriod (1982) (design consultant)
Apollo 13 (1995) (uncredited visual effects consultant)
Short Films:
Volcanoes of the DeepSea (2003) (executive producer)
T2 3-D: Battle Across Time (1996) (writer and director)
Xenogenesis (1978) (writer and director)
Music Video Projects:
“Reach” by Martini Ranch
Television Projects:
Dark Angel (series 2000-2002) (creator, director, writer, and executive producer)
Expedition: Bismarck (2002) (director and producer)
Non Film Projects:
none
Production and Other Companies:
Digital Domain
Lightstorm Entertainment
Earthship Productions
Film Award Ratios (wins/nominations):
Academy Awards – 18/33 (54.5%)
Golden Globes – 5/10 (50.0%)
Sundance Film Festival – 0/0 (0.0%)
Cannes Film Festival – 0/0 (0.0%)
Writers Guild of America – 0/1 (0.0%)
Directors Guild of America –1/1 (100%)
AFI Top One Hundred Films of All Time – 0
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