James Cameron Tells Off Critics Who Claim His Scripts Are Cringe: ‘Let Me See Your Highest-Grossing Films — Then We’ll Talk About Dialogue Effectiveness’

https://variety.com/2024/film/news/james-cameron-critics-hate-cringe-dialogue-1236151104/

44 comments

  1. > “I don’t cringe on any of the dialogue, but I have a lower cringe factor than, apparently, a lot of people do around the dialogue that I write,” Cameron added. “You know what? Let me see your three-out-of-the-four-highest-grossing films — then we’ll talk about dialogue effectiveness.”

  3. He’s one of the few people that can talk shit like this and you just have to accept it.

  5. I thoroughly enjoy each of these movies specifically because they are such unique visual experiences. There was nothing like them before, and I can’t really think of anything else since that comes close. For that reason they are, to me, the essence of cinema.

    But I will not pretend that the scripts are more then average at best. And that’s okay. They didn’t need to be in order to be successful. He is being defensive.

  6. What’s he so pissy about?

    The selling points of those films aren’t dialogue, they’re:

    Avatar: see a hollywood budget 3D (brand new technology at the time) action film.

    Titanic: watch a man hit a gigantic propeller and spin 20 times before he hits the water

    Avatar 2: i guess, nostalgia (remember 3d??). Definitely the hype machine

    Dialogue was never the selling point of those films. It was always spectacle.

  7. I’ve said before including just yesterday on another post that my favourite scene by him of all time is the one where Ripley faces off against the Alien Queen for the first time, the Alien Queen gets her Praetorian Guard to back of with a gesture and Ripley uses a show of force with the flamethrower. The truce holds until a facehugger breaks out and Ripley cocks her head with an Oh You Did Mot Look.

    The entire scene has no dialogue at all.

  9. “Your dialogue sucks.”

    Oh yeah? Well they made tons of money.

  11. *meme of the guy standing up in court to speak*

    I don’t think the dialogue is that bad

  12. Whenever I hear about him being kind of a dick I always think of the Tina Fey Amy Poehler golden globes monologue joke. Something along the lines of “Kathryn Bigelow has been nominated for zero dark thirty (some line I don’t remember). I don’t know, when it comes to torture I trust the woman who was married to James Cameron for a few years”

  14. Two things can be true: a lot of his films are all-timers and also some of the dialogue delivered by his male characters especially makes it pretty clear why he’s been divorced 4 times.

    “Hey Vasquez, you ever been mistaken for a man?”

  15. All I remember from Avatar 2 is the amount of “bro” that was used. Once they start, it’s all I hear.

  19. McDonald’s sells a billion burgers every year.

    Doesn’t mean they aren’t still shit anyways.

  20. I hate that shit. He basically said the same thing to a critic who didn’t like the Titanic. Basically, we are obligated to love whatever he put out because our opinions are meaningless.

  21. These films are as successful as they are *in spite of* their dialogue. He knows how to craft something in a visual medium (and in a way most don’t), and how to hire very well across departments in general. The *Avatar* series is amazing, but not because it’s particularly riveting as a story.

  22. You have F you money, why do you care what some keyboard warriors have to say

  23. It beats any of the marvel drivel being released hands down.

  24. Congratulations, James! You’re the McDonald’s of scriptwriting.

    Is that what you want to hear?

  25. “I don’t NEED to be a good writer!” is such a weird flex.

  26. *nods*

    Gimme a bit, gotta go summon Harlan Ellison from hell.

  27. I feel like he is a great world builder but isn’t avatar 1 just the space version of dances with wolves?

  28. Just because a movie makes an insane amount of money at the box office does not make it good, and James Cameron knows it. James Cameron thinks his movies are all amazing because he has the means to shove his movies down peoples’ throats.

    Case in point: James Cameron’s Avatar

  29. Financial success is not a measure of quality. Case in point, there are McDonalds restaurants all over the world and they’re not exactly known for their food quality.

  30. Writes the most generic scenario and lines, still gets millions out of it and still listens to critics?

  31. JC peaked couple decades ago. But those movies still top most things today.

  32. Avatar is style over substance. It’d be forgettable if it wasn’t for the 3D effects.

  33. To turn such a high value and potential film into a family drama was disappointing to watch

  34. I hate when people go to those types of arguments. Someone points a fault on their work and they turn into 12 year olds, another example that comes to mind is Shaquille O Neal whenever they mention how used to be out of shape, he always turns around and brings up the championships he’s won.

  35. There’s just nothing you can say about this guy lol he’s one of the pioneers that’s gotten us to where we are today in cinema. Pretty much anything he’s touched has been gold and this spans 40+years now. Criticizing him honestly is the equivalent of punching a brick wall with your barehand. Maybe you’ll chip it a little but you’re going to break your hand being stupid.

  36. You have to be willing to take criticism, no matter who you are or what you’ve already achieved. Ego is the death knell of an artist

  38. Highest grossing movie ever ✅

    Most winning Oscars by a movie ever ✅

    Dialogue that everyone approves of ❌

    Sorry James, you can’t win em all.

  39. Bollocks argument. I’m not a professional chef, but I’m allowed to complain if a restaurant serves me a plate of sick.

  40. What a dogshit take

    He can be both a hugely successful filmmaker and a guy who has an awful ear for dialogue, and the old “let’s see you do better” falls apart the second you remember he is releasing his movies to the general public. The audience doesn’t have to like what they are seeing. It is open to criticism the second it goes out into the wild.

    If he wants to avoid criticism, he could lock all of his movies up in a vault where no one else can see them.

  41. “People are stupid and I’m not” aah rebuttal

  42. Critic: It’s my job to find fault with movies. JC: But my movie made so much money which in turn equates to people enjoying it, so in essence the critic’s opinion doesn’t matter anymore. Because you are now not the mean.

  44. “People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis. You can’t trust people.”

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