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 In a six-part documentary series that debuts on U.S. cable
network AMC on Monday, Cameron explores the B-movies of the
1950s, space and alien films of the 1960s, and post-apocalyptic
thrillers of the 1970s.
While many are now considered classics, including Stanley
Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" from 1968, Cameron said
Hollywood executives at the time showed little interest in a
genre that rarely yielded big box office returns.
"Nobody had ever made any damn money with science fiction,"
Cameron told reporters at the Manhattan Beach, California,
studio where he is in the middle of making two "Avatar" sequels.
Everything changed with 1977's "Star Wars," which became the
highest-grossing domestic film in history at the time and sent
film studios scrambling to imitate it.
"You had a lot of bad science fiction for a while, all trying to
cash in on 'Star Wars,'" Cameron said. "Then the whole genre
elevated and became much more what it is today, which is much
more a part of the mainstream culture."
Today, movies grounded in science fiction are among the biggest
draws at box offices. Cameron's "Avatar" holds the current
record for ticket sales with $2.8 billion worldwide.
This weekend's "Avengers: Infinity War," from Walt Disney Co's
Marvel Studios, is expected to rank among the top U.S. and
Canadian openings of all time.
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In the series called "AMC Visionaries: James Cameron's Story of
Science Fiction," Cameron interviews fellow directors Steven
Spielberg, Guillermo del Toro, George Lucas, Ridley Scott and
Christopher Nolan about filmmaking and their influences.
Cameron traded notes with the directors on their favorite sci-fi
literature from as far back as the 1930s, something he wanted to
highlight as a key part of the genre's origins.
"What was important to me for this series was to trace back the DNA
of these stories," Cameron said. "So if you've got a time travel
story, where did that come from? If you've got a space story, how
did that enter our popular culture? Why did science fiction as a
genre struggle to try and popularize these ideas?"
Cameron argued that science fiction is now more relevant than ever
as humans become more dependent on machines.
"We are co-evolving with our own technology," Cameron said.
"Science fiction is kind of our headlights. It helps us see what's
down the road."
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Tom Brown)
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