James Francis Cameron was born on August 16, 1954 in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada. He is a film director noted for his action/science fiction films, which are often late and overbudget but compensate by being extremely financially successful.
His family moved to California in 1971 where he studied physics at California State University but was only ever interested in movie work. He started as a screenwriter and went on to do art direction and effects work (on e.g. Battle Beyond the Stars and Escape from New York, working with producer Roger Corman) before landing his first directorial job in 1981.
Cameron is known for the remarkable results he gets from his special effects (FX) crews, beginning with The Terminator (whose special effects, while somewhat dated today, were quite advanced on the film's release in 1984). The special effects in Terminator 2: Judgement Day made extensive use of computer generated imaging (CGI) and won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects; Cameron's Titanic made use of both CGI and a variety of sets of different scales, and also won an Academy Award for FX, among other things.
He has been married five times, including to Kathryn Bigelow (1989-91) and Linda Hamilton (1997-99). He current wife is Suzy Amis, whom he married in June 2000.
Famous films:
- The Terminator (1984)
- Aliens (1986)
- The Abyss (1989)
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
- True Lies (1994)
- Titanic (1997)
Not so famous film:
- Piranha II: The Spawning (1981)
Television:
- Dark Angel (2000-02)