Culture news One of the most ambitious films of James Cameron and his generation… but it will never see the light of day!
Sometimes, some of the most ambitious projects aren’t the ones that make it to fruition. Known for his globally successful films, James Cameron also had plans to make a film that could have revolutionized cinema… but which was ultimately never made.
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James Cameron, this cinema juggernaut
If you ask a few movie fans the name of their favorite director, it’s fair to say that many different answers could well emerge. Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg… Depending on individual tastes, many names can reach the top of the podium for the best director of our generation. Among them, there is no doubt that James Cameron would have pride of place. If we have talked a lot about him recently for his saga Avatar, it must be remembered that this was not his first success, far from it. Starting with Terminator in 1984, the Canadian director already announced the color: he was there to revolutionize the blockbuster genreand he did not stop at this first success.
Aliens Return, Titanicand finally Avatar, James Cameron has achieved many successes in the cinema, and that’s without counting his career as a producer. To celebrate his career and learn a little more about the genesis of the Canadian director’s projects, an exhibition is currently dedicated to James Cameron. The latter is available at French Cinematheque in Paris and should remain there until January 5, 2025. Those who are lucky enough to go there will be able to learn some anecdotes and other filming secrets, and even discover some images of a very ambitious project which unfortunately never saw the light of day.
His most ambitious film will never really exist
Among the many pieces of information that can be learned by visiting the exhibition The Art of James Cameron at the Cinémathèque Française in Paris, we find in particular some elements concerning the project Xenogenesis. This concept, which could very well have been an ambitious science fiction film and a potential global success, ultimately did not never been made into a real feature film. Imagined between 1977 and 1979 by James Cameron and Randy Frakes, Xenogenesis never found the financing necessary for its production, despite the few images and scraps of script that the duo had already created.
Xenogenesis (whose name means “of extra-terrestrial origin”) was supposed to be a love story between a man and an alien, which would explore several planets while facing their multiple dangers. Ultimately, this synopsis is somewhat reminiscent of that of Avatar, even if everything takes place on the same planet in this saga. Besides, James Cameron himself says he has “no regrets” about Xenogenesis. It must be said that many elements of this project ended up seeing the light of day in a different form in several of his films, such as Alien or of course Avatar. For example, the aerial sharks of the aborted concept could have given rise to the Banshees of Pandora, not to mention the blue-skinned aliens. If you want to learn more about Xenogenesis, we recommend that you come to the exhibition in question if possible, hoping that it will subsequently be exported elsewhere in France. In the meantime, you can still rewatch the first Avatar on Disney+.
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