His Reputation: And finally, it's the most dictatorial, mean-spirited director in Hollywood, James Cameron! Though his earlier projects saw him using his sheer ballsiness to blag his way into eventually directing Aliens, once he actually made it to the London set to shoot, he clashed with everyone from the cinematographer to his assistant director, and expressed infuriation at the local crew's laid back attitude to tea breaks and clocking off for beers. At the end of the shoot, Cameron famously said, "This has been a long and difficult shoot, fraught by many problems. But the one thing that kept me going, through it all, was the certain knowledge that one day I would drive out the gate of Pinewood and never come back, and that you sorry bastards would still be here." Cameron's next film, 1989's Abyss, was such a hectic shoot that the crew were given shirts reading, "Lifes Abyss and Then You Dive" and "You Cant Scare Me, I Work For James Cameron". Chlorine-treated water caused some of the cast and crew's hair to fall out, Ed Harris very nearly drowned and broke down in tears, and Cameron himself almost drowned also, resulting in him firing his assistant director and safety diver. While Cameron's next few films were largely incident-free, he did take over the role of camera operator briefly during a particularly dangerous shot during the Terminator 2 helicopter chase, something he also did for a similar scene in True Lies. Things got worse, however, with the $200 blockbuster Titanic, where his over-budget, over-schedule production angered studio heads, and he clashed with Kate Winslet in particular, who felt that the water-based shooting wasn't safe (she ended up chipping a bone in her elbow) and said she'd never work with him again short of earning a lot of cash. Numerous crew members were injured or suffered from flu on set while Cameron was reportedly so tyrannical that a disgruntled employee poisoned some soup with PCP, causing Cameron and others to fall ill (but Cameron, whip-smart as ever, vomited it back up and kept filming). Why He's Worth Working With: Still, he's one of Hollywood's most reliably successful filmmakers, having directed the two highest-grossing movies of all time in Avatar and Titanic, while winning three Oscars (including Best Director) and being nominated for three more. He also directed Sigourney Weaver (Aliens), Kate Winslet, and Gloria Foster (Titanic) to Oscar nominations. Working with Cameron guarantees that a lot of people are going to learn your name, and you're probably going to make a lot of money, so while he's extremely dictatorial on set, he does nothing but get brilliant results. Which infamously stern movie director best justifies their behaviour? Shout it out in the comments!
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
