10 Screenwriting Tips from James Cameron on how he wrote Titanic and Avatar

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James Cameron is a Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for making science fiction and epic films. Cameron first gained recognition for directing The Terminator (1984). He found further critical and commercial success with Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), and the comedy thriller True Lies (1994). His other big-budget productions include Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009), with Titanic earning him Academy Awards in Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing. Avatar, filmed in 3D technology, also garnered him nominations in the same categories.

Cameron’s films have grossed approximately US$2 billion in North America and US$6 billion worldwide. Avatar and Titanic are the highest and third highest-grossing films of all time, earning $2.85 billion and $2.19 billion, respectively.

1. Directing is a state of mind, so put yourself all in. Do anything you can, no matter how small, to make yourself a director. Then it’s just a matter of scale and dedication.

2. To get the audience over the hump of watching something that might be considered boring (like a period film), make them fall in love with your characters first.

3. Make your film an extension of you. When thinking of ideas, think about your interests, your inner truth. Even to smaller details like dreams, or hobbies, that you can further draw from.

4. Inspiration, and opportunity, can come from anywhere. Take the chance, be brave, follow the idea and see if you can catch lightning in a bottle.

5. When creating a sequel just try to make the stand alone film you envision. While you have basic rules to stick to, characters to use, don’t lose sight of your talent and your unique vision for what the project should be.

6. Cinema is a mixture of transporting your audience into another spectacular world, while also being able to make that story, those emotions, relatable. Create a journey, in every sense.

7. Make your own luck. As a new director, working on other projects is not only more difficult, but ripe for mistakes and issues. So, write your own material and create your own films to more effectively build up your career and name in the industry.

8. It’s never too late to create. You need to have the passion, and dedication to start learning some of the basics of film, and also the passion to truly follow your dream. But it can always be started, or picked back up.

9. Directing requires stamina to power through it. Allow your crew to help you to create great work, don’t think you have to do it all alone. Especially when it gets difficult as a new filmmaker.

10. Rule for pitching: A script or proof of concept is a great way to show not only that you’re serious, but also to get across larger more complex ideas. Pitching without those is a very difficult, often unsuccessful method.

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