MeleeMonk
Cartoon Pony Wrangler
Part-time gamer, full-time environmentalist, and member of PAPO (People Against Palm Oil)
Posts: 3,651 
|
Post by MeleeMonk on May 21, 2018 8:03:26 GMT
As the first thread of a new series where we talk about individual film directors, I'd like to know what you guys think of James Cameron? What do you think of his films? His scripts? His political views? Other aspects about him/his work? Discuss. |
|
Balder
Supreme Overlord
Trying to cut down the amount of movies I watch
Posts: 6,827
|
Post by Balder on May 21, 2018 8:55:17 GMT
The most ambitious film director ever? Maybe. Nobody thought that Titanic or Avatar would make money, but both broke new records. Fuck, at this point he could say he wants a budget of 800M and the movie would revolve around his left kneecap, and somehow it would still make money. Also, this guy brought us Aliens and The Terminator. Great director, no doubt.
|
|
Cervantes
Off-Brand Transformable Robot
A former Incompetent Evil Commander (XP: 2423)
Posts: 2,821
|
Post by Cervantes on May 21, 2018 9:45:23 GMT
He was great, then he made Titanic and seems to be forever stuck in Avatar (that shit is supposed to get a million sequels).
I'm kinda worried that he wrote and is producing the GUNNM/Battle Angel Alita adaptation. If it was the 80s/90s Cameron, I would have much more faith in it.
|
|
scipioafricanus
Cartoon Pony Wrangler
Sega Does What Nintendon't... except the 32X
Posts: 3,574
|
Post by scipioafricanus on May 21, 2018 10:42:54 GMT
He was great, then he made Titanic and seems to be forever stuck in Avatar (that shit is supposed to get a million sequels). I'm kinda worried that he wrote and is producing the GUNNM/Battle Angel Alita adaptation. If it was the 80s/90s Cameron, I would have much more faith in it.   |
|
Cervantes
Off-Brand Transformable Robot
A former Incompetent Evil Commander (XP: 2423)
Posts: 2,821
|
Post by Cervantes on May 21, 2018 12:00:44 GMT
Just to be clear, I still voted on "A great filmmaker" out of respect for his old self. On a side note, are his political views controversial or something, MeleeMonk? I've never heard anything about it (except that he was getting along with environmentalists during his Avatar campaign, but I thought that was just marketing for the movie). |
|
centipede
CGR Undertow Groupie
It was just one soy latte, I swear!
Posts: 2,700 
|
Post by centipede on May 21, 2018 12:37:43 GMT
Titanic was a snob hit: you were OBLIGED to like it. Same with Avatar. He just has millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions and millions put into marketing.
He also stabbed H R Giger in the back and stole his designs for the xenomorphs.
|
|
stratogustav
Supreme Overlord
Warrior with Bandana
Posts: 7,460
|
Post by stratogustav on May 21, 2018 17:06:06 GMT
That is a good point. Avatar and Titanic felt like a must watch, with all that publicity.
That said, he wrote Piranha II The Spawning, Rambo First Blood Part II, Terminator, Terminator 2 Judgement Day, Aliens, and True Lies. It is just hard to not like his work.
|
|
MeleeMonk
Cartoon Pony Wrangler
Part-time gamer, full-time environmentalist, and member of PAPO (People Against Palm Oil)
Posts: 3,651
|
Post by MeleeMonk on May 21, 2018 18:54:35 GMT
On a side note, are his political views controversial or something, MeleeMonk ? I've never heard anything about it (except that he was getting along with environmentalists during his Avatar campaign, but I thought that was just marketing for the movie). No, I never said that. Actually I think his political views are absolutely brilliant. The problem lies with some of his life choices, like having nearly half a dozen kids, despite being a self proclaimed environmentalist. Not sure about you, but that strikes me as hypocritical. I mean, even if your diet is sustainable, there's no way that you as a human cannot contribute significant greenhouse gases (through showering, transportation, etc.), especially if you're living the life of a multi-millionare like Mr. Cameron. He's a lot like Ted Turner in that respect. A lot of celebrities (like these two) are actually just hypocrites. I've also heard that he supports the idea of colonizing other planets, which if true would directly go against the entire message of Avatar, which was to leave well enough alone. |
|
stratogustav
Supreme Overlord
Warrior with Bandana
Posts: 7,460
|
Post by stratogustav on May 21, 2018 23:03:36 GMT
No, I never said that. Actually I think his political views are absolutely brilliant. The problem lies with some of his life choices, like having nearly half a dozen kids, despite being a self proclaimed environmentalist. Not sure about you, but that strikes me as hypocritical. I mean, even if your diet is sustainable, there's no way that you as a human cannot contribute significant greenhouse gases (through showering, transportation, etc.), especially if you're living the life of a multi-millionare like Mr. Cameron. He's a lot like Ted Turner in that respect. A lot of celebrities (like these two) are actually just hypocrites. I've also heard that he supports the idea of colonizing other planets, which if true would directly go against the entire message of Avatar, which was to leave well enough alone. I don't think we are 8 billion yet, and our planet can easily hold 12 billion. No worries in that. Plus the way culture is now we will only see population to stop increasing and even getting reduced. This is paranoia. Stop worrying about that stuff. The powers that be will always have a way to keep population size in check. |
|
MeleeMonk
Cartoon Pony Wrangler
Part-time gamer, full-time environmentalist, and member of PAPO (People Against Palm Oil)
Posts: 3,651
|
Post by MeleeMonk on May 21, 2018 23:30:20 GMT
No, I never said that. Actually I think his political views are absolutely brilliant. The problem lies with some of his life choices, like having nearly half a dozen kids, despite being a self proclaimed environmentalist. Not sure about you, but that strikes me as hypocritical. I mean, even if your diet is sustainable, there's no way that you as a human cannot contribute significant greenhouse gases (through showering, transportation, etc.), especially if you're living the life of a multi-millionare like Mr. Cameron. He's a lot like Ted Turner in that respect. A lot of celebrities (like these two) are actually just hypocrites. I've also heard that he supports the idea of colonizing other planets, which if true would directly go against the entire message of Avatar, which was to leave well enough alone. ...our planet can easily hold 12 billion. Says who? |
|
Balder
Supreme Overlord
Trying to cut down the amount of movies I watch
Posts: 6,827
|
Post by Balder on May 22, 2018 5:32:10 GMT
No, I never said that. Actually I think his political views are absolutely brilliant. The problem lies with some of his life choices, like having nearly half a dozen kids, despite being a self proclaimed environmentalist. Not sure about you, but that strikes me as hypocritical. I mean, even if your diet is sustainable, there's no way that you as a human cannot contribute significant greenhouse gases (through showering, transportation, etc.), especially if you're living the life of a multi-millionare like Mr. Cameron. He's a lot like Ted Turner in that respect. A lot of celebrities (like these two) are actually just hypocrites. I've also heard that he supports the idea of colonizing other planets, which if true would directly go against the entire message of Avatar, which was to leave well enough alone. I don't think we are 8 billion yet, and our planet can easily hold 12 billion. No worries in that. Plus the way culture is now we will only see population to stop increasing and even getting reduced. This is paranoia. Stop worrying about that stuff. The powers that be will always have a way to keep population size in check. I think that is the current maximum with the current technology, not easily. And you shouldn't worry MeleeMonk, the US have entered the fifth stage of demographic development. Its population will decrease very soon. |
|
MeleeMonk
Cartoon Pony Wrangler
Part-time gamer, full-time environmentalist, and member of PAPO (People Against Palm Oil)
Posts: 3,651
|
Post by MeleeMonk on May 23, 2018 4:42:19 GMT
I don't think we are 8 billion yet, and our planet can easily hold 12 billion. No worries in that. Plus the way culture is now we will only see population to stop increasing and even getting reduced. This is paranoia. Stop worrying about that stuff. The powers that be will always have a way to keep population size in check. I think that is the current maximum with the current technology, not easily. And you shouldn't worry MeleeMonk , the US have entered the fifth stage of demographic development. Its population will decrease very soon. The amount of housing and resource demand that would be created by such a large rise in population would result in enormous amounts of human encroachment, unless everyone lived with the same population density as Hong Kong. And even if everyone did live that closely together, the resource demand alone would still ravage the environment (just think of all the nature that would have to be converted to agriculture to feed everyone). Heck, even a vegan diet alone isn't the solution to saving the environment, since certain non-meat/dairy food products like palm oil are still highly unsustainable, not that every 1st world citizen would ever agree to go vegan (you couldn't even get a 4th of americans to go vegetarian if you put guns to their heads, let alone vegan. People are that stubborn). If I were you I wouldn't listen to celebrities like James Cameron and Ted Turner on this topic. Read some non-fiction on environmentalism instead (National Geographic is a good place to start). |
|
Balder
Supreme Overlord
Trying to cut down the amount of movies I watch
Posts: 6,827
|
Post by Balder on May 23, 2018 5:26:12 GMT
I think that is the current maximum with the current technology, not easily. And you shouldn't worry MeleeMonk , the US have entered the fifth stage of demographic development. Its population will decrease very soon. The amount of housing and resource demand that would be created by such a large rise in population would result in enormous amounts of human encroachment, unless everyone lived with the same population density as Hong Kong. And even if everyone did live that closely together, the resource demand alone would still ravage the environment (just think of all the nature that would have to be converted to agriculture to feed everyone). Heck, even a vegan diet alone isn't the solution to saving the environment, since certain non-meat/dairy food products like palm oil are still highly unsustainable, not that every 1st world citizen would ever agree to go vegan (you couldn't even get a 4th of americans to go vegetarian if you put guns to their heads, let alone vegan. People are that stubborn). If I were you I wouldn't listen to celebrities like James Cameron and Ted Turner on this topic. Read some non-fiction on environmentalism instead (National Geographic is a good place to start). I don't listen to celebrities dude, but I have an actual education in demographics from university. This isn't just something I think, this is something that I've studied. |
|
MeleeMonk
Cartoon Pony Wrangler
Part-time gamer, full-time environmentalist, and member of PAPO (People Against Palm Oil)
Posts: 3,651
|
Post by MeleeMonk on May 23, 2018 7:48:33 GMT
The amount of housing and resource demand that would be created by such a large rise in population would result in enormous amounts of human encroachment, unless everyone lived with the same population density as Hong Kong. And even if everyone did live that closely together, the resource demand alone would still ravage the environment (just think of all the nature that would have to be converted to agriculture to feed everyone). Heck, even a vegan diet alone isn't the solution to saving the environment, since certain non-meat/dairy food products like palm oil are still highly unsustainable, not that every 1st world citizen would ever agree to go vegan (you couldn't even get a 4th of americans to go vegetarian if you put guns to their heads, let alone vegan. People are that stubborn). If I were you I wouldn't listen to celebrities like James Cameron and Ted Turner on this topic. Read some non-fiction on environmentalism instead (National Geographic is a good place to start). I don't listen to celebrities dude, but I have an actual education in demographics from university. This isn't just something I think, this is something that I've studied. You didn't respond to the points I made. What about the palm oil industry? What about the fact that many people (including yourself, so you claim) still eat meat? How can you expect a population of 12 billion people to sustain life on Earth while consuming these products? |
|
Balder
Supreme Overlord
Trying to cut down the amount of movies I watch
Posts: 6,827
|
Post by Balder on May 23, 2018 8:15:30 GMT
I don't listen to celebrities dude, but I have an actual education in demographics from university. This isn't just something I think, this is something that I've studied. You didn't respond to the points I made. What about the palm oil industry? What about the fact that many people (including yourself, so you claim) still eat meat? How can you expect a population of 12 billion people to sustain life on Earth while consuming these products? First off, palm oil is really bad. Most things over in Norway has stopped using this years ago. Secondly, when did I say I ate meat? I do, but I have cut down my intake of it as it's bad for the environment and not healthy to over-indulge. For 12B people to exist there have to be some compromises though. Most people in China for example don't eat chocolate or cheese as there would not be enough. I'm fairly optimistic about the future as these things work out in the end. |
|
