James Cameron, the visionary director behind Avatar: Fire & Ash, has recently taken offense to a joke that Amy Poehler cracked at the 2013 Golden Globes, in reference to his ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow. "When it comes to torture," Poehler quipped about Bigelow, who directed Zero Dark Thirty, "I trust the lady who spent three years married to James Cameron." The jibe has since been labeled by Cameron as an "ignorant dig," and he told The New York Times that the humor was "inappropriate for an event that is supposed to be a celebration of cinema and filmmakers, not a roast."
Cameron, known for his rigorous approach to filmmaking, added, "I'm pretty thick-skinned and happy to be the butt of a good-natured joke, but that went too far. The fact that people found it funny shows exactly what they think of me, even though they have no idea who I am or how I work."
Years ago, Cameron earned a reputation for being tough on his crew and actors. As Kate Winslet recalled in The New York Times, "Being really honest, there were moments when he would yell, and there were moments that were difficult for people." However, things have changed. Two decades after Titanic, Cameron reached out to Winslet for feedback on Avatar: Fire & Ash, and she noted that "Now that’s a different Jim."
Winslet is not the only one who has noticed a transformation in the 71-year-old director. Even Sigourney Weaver, who warned Cameron decades ago to be more gentle with young actors while working on Alien, has come to know a different side of him. "I sort of trundled up to him," Weaver recalled, "and I said, 'You know, when you yell at an actor, you yell at all of us, so understand that what she was doing actually was very hard. Maybe shoot something else while she gets used to doing this stuff the way you want it.'"
"He’s a good guy," Weaver continued. "I really do think Jim has mellowed." Indeed, Cameron's approach to directing Avatar has changed dramatically. "I just looked at everything differently," he explained. "It's like, 'OK, the movie's not the most important thing. The way you are with people and the creative process is the most important thing.'" He added, "Chances are, a better movie will come out of that because you're not yelling at people; you're encouraging them to bring their best."
