James Cameron is an Asshole

In the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly there's an interview with James Cameron. And here's what he had to say about The Hurt Locker (the film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, his ex-wife, that beat out Avatar for Best Picture and Best Director, among others):

Entertainment Weekly: Would The Hurt Locker have been better in 3-D?

James Cameron: It would have been better in 3-D.

EW: You think so?

JC: Absolutely. It wouldn't have been hugely better in 3-D, but...[and then he rambles on about 3-D being the future of film].

Oh man, if only Kathryn would have had that foresight and wisdom, maybe then The Hurt Locker could have won Best Picture...oh....

EW: Were you surprised that The Hurt Locker beat Avatar for Best Picture and Director?

JC: [...] It was David and Goliath. The Goliath had made more than a couple of billion dollars and Hurt Locker had made about what it cost to shoot, about $15 million. The Academy always likes to be the great equalizer. But I don't begrudge her any of that. I couldn't think of a better outcome for our two lives. I got my Oscar. She got her Oscar.

Spoken like the modest, gracious man he is. It's like "I don't begrudge her. And why should I? If I laid out all my money on the ground, forming a path, it would stretch all the way around the world. Her money would only stretch to the Applebee's across the parking lot from the Best Western Inn that she and her Hurt Locker film crew stayed at. It would be downright criminal for me to begrudge that. People like to cheer for the underdog, the loser, the handicapped kid with no legs. And I'm not going to step in and say 'You know what, not only do I have both my legs, but they're also really fast legs. And we all know I would win in a race.' But I'll play along and smile uncomfortably when you give the handicapped kids with no legs the medal out of pity. That's just the kind of person I am. Plus, I have way more medals anyway."

I actually wrote the "I'm the king of the world" line into Titanic just so I could say it now and have it be even more poignant. You know, I have the same initials as Jesus Christ.

The interview also showed what a great activist he is. He talked about his work in helping the Achuar (an Amazonian tribe that is trying to keep oil companies from drilling on their land). I think he helped with a fundraiser. But definitely the greatest thing he could have ever done for them was he bussed a bunch of Achuar to watch Avatar at an IMAX theatre. It was their first time in a movie theatre. I'm sure that helped them a ton... And then he gets pissed when they don't agree with him:

JC: And when they came out [of the theatre], the BBC interviewed them. This one woman, a tribal elder, says, "In this movie, they solved their problems by fighting. We are not afraid to fight, but we have decided to try to solve our problems through dialogue. So this movie needs a better message."

EW: Ouch

JC: I felt like I'd been punk'd. But it made me think.

So, James Cameron feels punk'd when people disagree with the message of his movie?! That anytime someone disagrees with him, he's waiting for Ashton Kutcher and a film crew to bust out of the bushes and say this was orchestrated?! "Just kidding, dude! You know no one actually disagrees with you!" exclaims Ashton. Also, I'm not entirely sure that James realizes his film is a fictional movie...and that not all native people have to fight their battles physically because the Na'vi did...