The Futurist: The Life and Films of James Cameron
by Rebecca Keegan
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Book Summary Information
Author: Rebecca KeeganEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-12-15
ISBN: 0307460312
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Crown Archetype
Book Reviews of The Futurist: The Life and Films of James Cameron
Book Review: Inspirational
Summary: 5 Stars
I suspect that ten different people reading this book will come away with ten different opinions of who Cameron is, and that's exactly what makes this book so intriguing. The writer is top notch and really gets into who this man is and what makes him tick in a most interesting way. For me, I found Cameron to be completely inspirational. He doesn't let any obstacle stand in his way of becoming who he wants to be or block what he wants to create. He was a school lunch truck driver with a waitress wife, but manages to access the USC library to research how to film a movie. He had no money and yet fired his agent who didn't share his vision when most unemployed writers would be thrilled to just have an agent. It was impossible to film Avatar because the technology didn't exist, so he helps invent it. It doesn't phase him that it takes ten years to get Avatar right even though most directors would have been exploiting their Titanic success immediately. During his leave of absence Cameron disappears into several areas of interest beyond film, but all bring him back to make his work even better. Nothing seems to stop him, only slow him down until he figures out the equation to unlock the answer. He took one dollar for a script he wrote because that's what it took to let him direct it. I walked away from this book thinking, if you really want something bad enough you'll figure out a way to make it happen. I know some will see him as arrogant, and he is, but he's a lot of other things as well, and one of those things is interesting. I enjoyed everything about this book. I can't see how someone doesn't like this book and in particular, his story.
Summary of The Futurist: The Life and Films of James Cameron
With the release of Avatar, 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 resolves to make his own space blockbuster?starting by building a futuristic cityscape with cardboard and X-Acto knives. 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-equipped 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 $3 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.
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