James Cameron, the director of the Avatar series, The Terminator, and Aliens, has criticized the Academy Awards because of their disdain for sci-fi. Although he won the Best Director Oscar for the blockbuster Titanic in 1997, it seems that Cameron has fallen out of love with the Academy — and not just because of the way they’ve responded to some of his own films.
Out promoting his new release Avatar: Fire and Ash, Cameron talked to Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail. In the course of their conversation, Cameron argued that the Academy tends to ignore science fiction, and mentioned Dune director Denis Villeneuve as a clear example of this bias in action:
“I don’t think about the Academy Awards that much – I think, intentionally. I don’t think about that at this point. Just because I don’t try to make a movie to appeal to that sensibility, I guess. They don’t tend to honor films like Avatar, films that are science fiction, for example — they’re almost never properly recognized.
“You know, Denis Villeneuve, another Canadian filmmaker, made these two magnificent Dune films. Apparently, these films made themselves, because he wasn’t considered as a director, not even by the Director’s Guild. It’s like, ‘Okay, you can play the awards games, or you can play the game that I like to play, which is to make movies people actually go to. Sorry.'”
The first Dune, released in 2021, received ten nominations at the Oscars, yet Villeneuve didn’t receive a Best Director nod. The same happened with Dune: Part Two, which was nominated in five categories — but again, no Best Director nomination for Villeneuve.
Could ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Get Some Recognition at the Next Year’s Oscars?
Cameron’s latest project, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is in theaters now. The third installment in the Avatar series arrives amid concerns about the franchise losing steam for various reasons. Some question Cameron’s “inability” to make a film under three hours, while others claim it’s just a copycat of its 2022 predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water. The blockbuster franchise clearly has its fans, but there are those who claim that its story isn’t impactful enough to warrant an entire universe of five feature films, with each one costing over $400 million. As always, the box office will speak and determine whether Cameron can continue his journey to make the fourth and fifth Avatar chapters.
Despite his ambivalence toward the Oscars, Cameron’s films often find a way onto the ballot. Most of his movies have earned some form of recognition at the Academy Awards, even if it’s just in the technical categories. In the case of Avatar, the 2009 original received nine nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, and came away with three Oscars. Avatar: The Way of Water, on the other hand, received four nominations, winning for Best Visual Effects, and also earned a Best Picture nod. Will Avatar 3 follow tradition, and get some love at the next year’s Oscars? Or has the ship sailed for the ambitious sci-fi action series?
- Birthname
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James Francis Cameron
- Birthdate
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August 16, 1954
- Birthplace
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Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada
