30 Lesser Known Interesting Things You Probably Didn’t Know About James Cameron

James Francis Cameron, world renowned for his work "Avatar," is till date considered the most successful 3D film-maker in terms of box-office revenue. He is one of the Hollywood's top earners, who has, three Academy Awards to his name. Here are 30 interesting facts about the Canadian director:

1. He is the first director in the history to have filmed both a $100 million and $200 million movie - "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," and "Titanic," respectively.
2. It was reported that during the entire editing of the most popular movie "Titanic," he taped a razor blade to the side of the computer, with a very specific instruction written "Use only if film sucks!."
3. He often jokingly refers to his Oscar winning movie "Titanic," as his 190 Million Dollar "Chick Flick."
4. In the year 2002, he wrote a screenplay for “Spider-Man,” but his version was turned down by the studios, due to the fact that his Spider-Man was "too violent,” in comparison to Sam Raimi's version which got the green light.
5. Before filming “Titanic,” he went on the dives to the real Titanic himself, and found it to be an overwhelming emotional experience to actually see it. He ended up spending more time with the real Titanic than its living passengers did.
6. Cameron is a huge Japanese anime fan. He is often consulted by the releasing studios to use his opinion about the film on the DVD and VHS covers.
7. In the 1980s, a magazine article described how Cameron had three desks set up in his house, in which he was working on three of his most popular movies.At one desk, he was writing the script for “The Terminator,” on another, he was finishing the script of “Rambo: First Blood Part II,” and on the third, he was writing “Aliens.”
8. In his most popular movie “Titanic,” he was the one who drew the picture of Rose played by Kate Winslet. Once in an interview, Winslet also claimed that it was his hand that is shown in the close-ups.
9. He is a lefty. In the movie “Titanic,” he drew the picture of Kate Winslet, which was then flipped for it to appear as if Jack, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, drew it.
10. Initially, Cameron was interested in remaking the 1968 movie “Planet of the Apes,” but his script was turned down.
11. His 1997 movie “Titanic,” which grossed over $1 billion worldwide, remained to be the highest grossing movie of all time for a period of 12 years till 2009.
12. He merited a place in Time magazine's “The 100 Most Influential People in the World,” in the “Artists" category, with an homage penned by Sigourney Weaver, on May 10, 2010.
13. He is the first director in the history, to have made two films which grossed over $1 billion - “Titanic,” and “Avatar.” He currently holds the billion-dollar film record with fellow directors Christopher Nolan and Peter Jackson.
14. His 2009 movie “Avatar,” is the first movie in the film history to have crossed the $2 billion mark at the box office.
15. It was reported that Cameron himself personally spoke to each of the at least 150 extras in his movie “Titanic,” and provided them with names and back stories of Titanic passengers.
16. In the year 2010, his movie “Avatar” became the highest grossing movie of all time grossing over $1 billion worldwide.
17. During the production of the movie “Titanic,” he forfeited his $8 million director's salary and his percentage of the gross when the studio became concerned when the movie went over the budget.
18. He reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest known point on Earth, at 11 km (6.8 miles) below the ocean surface, on March 25, 2012, becoming the first person to do so in a one-man craft.
19. Following her work experience on the movie “Titanic,” the lead actress Kate Winslet, talking about the rigorous filming schedule as well as many hardships, she said, "You'd have to pay me an awful lot of money to work with James Cameron again." The lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio also acknowledged that it was a tough shoot.
20. He is also the first person to have spent some significant time at Mariana Trench, having explored the area for three hours after arrival. Later, in an interview he famously commented "Hitting rock bottom never felt so good".
21. In the year 1995, Cameron shot footage of the real wreck of the Titanic, with which he persuaded 20th Century Fox to invest in the film “Titanic,” by convincing them that the publicity surrounding a real-life dive to the wreck would be really beneficial to the production. He pitched the film to 20th Century Fox with the single line of "Romeo and Juliet on the Titanic."
22. During the production of “Aliens,” he had to win the confidence and respect of the British crew, who having worked on the 1979 “Alien,” were fiercely loyal to Ridley Scott. In an effort to convince them he had the talent, skills and the abilities to do the job he arranged a screening of “The Terminator,” for the crew on the set. However, most of the crew ignored the invite and didn't even turn up.
23. Initially, he wanted to have the movie “Avatar,” complete for release in 1999. But, he had to shelve it for eight years; the special effects he wanted would have increased the budget to $400 million at that time.
24. While writing the screenplay for the 1986 movie “Aliens,” he had to leave the production to direct his 1984 movie “The Terminator.” However, 20th Century Fox decided to wait for Cameron to finish the screenplay, as they were very much impressed with the 90 pages, he had written at that stage.
25. Cameron received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on December 18, 2009. The previous year he was honored with a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.
26. In the sets of “Avatar,” he allegedly kept a nail-gun to nail cellphones to a wall above the exit sign, if it rang during filming.
27. All of his movies except the 1981 “Piranha Part Two: The Spawning,” and the 1984 “The Terminator,” have been nominated for or won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
28. On “The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien,” Cameron admitted that he began working on preliminary drafts of the “Avatar,” as early as the mid-'90s. He claimed that the technology required to consummate his vision was not then available, and that not until 2005, was he able to proceed with viable script scenarios.
29. Before starting a career in film industry, he was working as a truck driver. It is reported that he quit driving and ventured into directing, after watching “Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.”
30. Before the filming of “Avatar,” began, he took the entire movie's cast and crew to Hawaii, in an effort to help the actors prepare for their roles. The cast and crew spent their daytimes trekking through the forests, building campfires, eating fish, and living like tribes, to get a better feel of how it will be to live and move around in the jungle on Pandora.
31. James Cameron Net Worth: $700 Million