Brent Dunham

James Cameron

James Camerondirector of such films as The Terminator, Aliens, Titanic, and Avataris lauded as one of the most successful and innovative filmmakers of the last 30years. James Cameron: Interviews chronicles the writer-director's rise through Hollywood, highlighted by his "can-do" attitude and his insatiable drive to make the best film possible.

Interviews

Jeffrey Jacob “J. J.” Abrams (b. 1966) decided to be a filmmaker at the age of eight after his grandfather took him on the back-lot tour of Universal Studios. Throughout his career, Abrams has dedicated his life to storytelling and worked tirelessly to become one of the best-known and most successful creators in Hollywood. The thirty interviews collected in this volume span Abrams’s entire career, covering his many projects from television and film to video games and theater. The volume also includes a 1982 article about Abrams as a teen sensation whose short film High Voltage won the Audience Award at a local film festival and garnered the attention of Steven Spielberg. Beginning his career as a screenwriter on films like Regarding Henry and Armageddon, Abrams transitioned into a TV mogul with hit shows like Alias and Lost. Known for his imaginative work across several genres, from science fiction and horror to action and drama, Abrams’s most successful films include Mission: Impossible III; Star Trek; and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time in the United States. His production company, Bad Robot, has produced innovative genre projects like Cloverfield and Westworld. Abrams also cowrote a novel with Doug Dorst called S., and, most recently, he produced the Broadway run of The Play That Went Wrong. In conversations with major publications and independent blogs, Abrams discusses his long-standing collaborations with others in the field, explains his affinity for mystery, and describes his approach to creating films like those he gravitated to as a child, revealing that the award-winning director-writer-producer is a fan before he is a filmmaker.

J. J. Abrams

James Cameron (b. 1954) is lauded as one of the most successful and innovative filmmakers of the last thirty years. His films often break records, both in their massive budgets and in their box-office earnings. They include such hits as The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Titanic, and Avatar. Part scientist, part dramatist, Cameron combines these two qualities into inventive and captivating films that often push the boundaries of special effects to accommodate his imagination. James Cameron: Interviews chronicles the writer-director’s rise through the Hollywood system, highlighted by his “can-do” attitude and his insatiable drive to make the best film possible. As a young boy growing up in Canada, Cameron imagined himself an astronaut, a deep-sea explorer, a science fiction writer, or a filmmaker. Transplanted to southern California, he would go on to realize many of those boyhood fantasies. This collection of interviews provides glimpses of the filmmaker as he advances from Roger Corman's underling to “king of the world.” The interviews are drawn from a number of sources including TV appearances and conversations on blogs, which have never been published in print. Spanning more than twenty years, this collection constructs a concise and thorough examination of Cameron, a filmmaker who has almost single-handedly ushered Hollywood into the twenty-first century.

James Cameron (b. 1954) is lauded as one of the most successful and innovative filmmakers of the last thirty years. His films often break records, both in their massive budgets and in their box-office earnings. They include such hits as The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Titanic, and Avatar. Part scientist, part dramatist, Cameron combines these two qualities into inventive and captivating films that often push the boundaries of special effects to accommodate his imagination. James Cameron: Interviews chronicles the writer-director's rise through the Hollywood system, highlighted by his “can-do” attitude and his insatiable drive to make the best film possible. As a young boy growing up in Canada, Cameron imagined himself an astronaut, a deep-sea explorer, a science fiction writer, or a filmmaker. Transplanted to southern California, he would go on to realize many of those boyhood fantasies. This collection of interviews provides glimpses of the filmmaker as he advances from Roger Corman's underling to “king of the world.” The interviews are drawn from a number of sources including TV appearances and conversations on blogs, which have never been published in print. Spanning more than twenty years, this collection constructs a concise and thorough examination of Cameron, a filmmaker who has almost single-handedly ushered Hollywood into the twenty-first century.

A humble man from humble beginnings, Danny Boyle (b. 1956) became a popular cinema darling when Slumdog Millionaire won big at the 2009 Academy Awards. Prior to this achievement, this former theater and television director helped the British film industry pull itself out of a decades-long slump. With Trainspotting, he proved British films could be more than stuffy, period dramas; they could be vivacious and thrilling with dynamic characters and an infectious soundtrack. This collection of interviews traces Boyle’s relatively short fifteen-year film career, from his outstanding low-budget debut Shallow Grave, to his Hollywood studio films, his brief return to television, and his decade-in-the-making renaissance. Taken from a variety of sources including academic journals, mainstream newspapers, and independent bloggers, Danny Boyle: Interviews is one of the first books available on this emerging director. As an interviewee, Boyle displays an engaging honesty and openness. He talks about his films 28 Days Later, Millions, and others. His success proves that classical storytelling artists still resonate with audiences.

Brent Dunham

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