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Origins: What Influences James Cameron

By Gilbert Cruz | @gilbertcruz | August 30, 2010 | +

Each film he directs is more epic than the last. Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Titanic…and, of course, Avatar. That last film, a 3-D extravaganza that quickly became the highest-grossing movie of all time, was re-released August 27 with nine additional minutes of footage. Cameron spoke to TIME’s Rebecca Keegan — author of The Futurist: The Life and Films of James Cameron — about the films that have most influenced his work.The Wizard of Oz, 2001, Jason and the Argonauts – he definitely has a love for the fantastical. (More on Techland: See a review of the new Avatar footage.)

Want more Origins? See more from the video series here.

More on Techland:

Avatar Heads Back To Theaters Aug. 27: Watch The New Trailer

12 Disaster Movies Better Than Titanic

James Cameron, Annoyed: Hollywood Doesn’t Get Avatar’s Success
Related Topics: avatar, avatar re-release, culture, james cameron, movies, movies, origins, Terminator, they abyss, titanic, Gaming & Culture, Web Video

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  • steveflack

    I’m pretty sure “Dances With Wolves” was a big influence.

  • richardsrussell

    In 1978, respected SF writer Poul Anderson wrote a novel entitled The Avatar. It was a terrific example of space opera. It did not form the basis of this movie. However, another of Anderson’s works, the novella “Call Me Joe”, first appearing in the 1957 April issue of Astounding, most certainly did, regardless of Cameron’s reluctance to acknowledge it. Perhaps royalties are involved.

  • tereglith

    I was under the impression that the biggest influence on Avatar was Disney’s Pocahontas. What do you think the odds are that “Eywa” means “Grandmother Willow” in Na’vi?

  • http://mycreativevinyl.wordpress.com mycreativevinyl

    POCAHONTAS!! and thats it … one of the most over rated movies ever

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