#6 | The Tyrant

And cut. Cut back to one. Can we try that again? Zigourney, maybe a little more boss in your attitude here, sort of uh sort of taking charge of the room with the guys, you know? I can do that. That's ten AM. Pinewood Studios, London. Unlike in Hollywood, studios here came with the crew attached. This group in particular had worked on James Bond films, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, and of course Ridley Scott's.

Alien a few years ago. This 30-year-old James Cameron, now sporting a full grisly beard, seemed to the crew a cheap imitation of a much better director like Ridley. And further, James was protected by his wife, the producer. Hey. We're losing our fog. What's going on? The hatch is open tea time. James turned to see the giant elephant door to the soundstage open, their haze from the fog machine pouring out of the room, and just outside a little old lady pushing a tea trolley. Oh, what the fuck?

James had never heard of such a thing, but in London, in addition to lunch, the crews would get regular tea and snack breaks at ten and two. Something that had tormented George Lucas and so many American filmmakers when they'd filmed here.

For fifteen minutes and only fifteen minutes, twice a day, the crew would leave the stage completely abandoned to visit the tea trolley. It left James alone, annoyed, and falling behind his shooting schedule as they wasted time to refill the stage with fog every time. This is ridiculous. It's how they do it here. Are we supposed to finish on time? The crew actually seemed to take pleasure in James' increasing frustration and a rift was forming. Look at Grizzly Adams.

They would scoff at James on tea breaks, comfortable that he couldn't do anything about it. The Terminator hadn't yet come out in the UK, and they blew off James' invitations to watch the film so they'd be familiar with his work, and as a result, James was hardening into a tyrant. Hey, we need less light here. God damn it. We talked about this. I just So that's my job. You're supposed to be executing.

James was demanding and clashing with their production style and culture. Members of the crew started wearing t-shirts to set that said, you can't scare me, I work for James Cameron. What could James do about it but laugh, they thought. But as days started slipping away from his production schedule and the tea breaks added up, James was reaching a breaking point. Stop Stop. Wha what did I just tell you? I don't want the alien nest lit up like a Christmas tree. It's supposed to be dark.

You can't see it. Yeah, that's the point. Things were getting especially heated with director of photography Dick Bush, resulting in a very public altercation on set. Listen, Jim, that's my job. This is my profession. It's my move. Let's just calm down. Hey Derek, you stay out of this.

It was the first A.D. Derek Kracknell, who many on this crew saw as the veteran and their crew leader. Derek had been close with Kubrick on the Shining. Now he was running interference, getting in the way of James' work. That's my fucking alien nest. I think I know how it's supposed to look. Damn it, Jim. I'm responsible for how it looks, not you! No, I'm responsible. It's my fucking name on the movie. You're on the payroll. Jim, that's enough. Just calm down. Will not be spoken to like other!

You're fired. I want you out. Collidly! Jim! You can't! Shit! What Derek? You wanna go too? That's inappropriate, Jim. Huh? I won't have it. Derek, I accept your two week notice. I want you gone after that. Alright let's uh Let's take a break, everyone. James could replace his cinematographer easily, but Derek was this crew's leader. In the middle of the day, in solidarity with Derek, the entire crew walked out, refusing to come back unless Derek did too.

This would not make the executives happy. Gail, I wanna move this out of London. We've already shot so much. It's a sound state. They're not going to let us move this back to the States, Jim. Then we get another crew. They're all shooting. There are no filmmakers in the first time. Cruise. have to be with the studios, and they're all in use. Shit. So Yes, Jim. Okay. The story of James Cameron. 6.

All right, everyone, thanks for coming in. Uh I'll keep this short because I'll be honest, this is an embarrassing situation. I know we all don't see eye to eye. This is a really important movie to me. is my first studio movie. We have an almost impossible shooting schedule. Yeah. And and I need everyone's help. I can't do this on my own. But I also can't have a situation where it seems like the crew is working to prove that the endeavor is going to be a failure.

The town hall meeting on the aliens soundstage would go two hours as different crew members aired their grievances. Finally, Derek Cracknell spoke. Jim, I just wanna say That's right. I don't think this production is running as smoothly as it could, but I appreciate you stepping up to say this today. And I can speak for the crew to say we accept your apology. And we will try to be more supportive of your vision going forward. James knew that was the best he would get.

Okay, well thank you all again. back here tomorrow refreshed. We'll get to it. James had diffused a mutiny. The remainder of the film would be the most unpleasant experience of his life. He felt as though he was sacrificing parts of what it could be. But at least it was getting made. James and Gail had rented a flat in London, and inside their living room was a fair light synthesizer.

James had flown in Randy Frakes and their mutual friend Bob Garrett, who'd worked with them on the sound effects for xenogenesis. Yeah, I'm gonna try this. Yeah, yeah, that's interesting. That's interesting. The sounds from James' living room would become the foundation for all of the digital technology in the film, and even Randy's voice for the Alien Queen. Alright, so.

There was never much warmth between James and the crew, but on the final day of two and a half months of filming, James again huddled everyone in for a town hall meeting on the soundstage. Thanks everyone. This has been a long and difficult shoot, uh fraught with many problems. As you know, uh we worked through them. The one thing that kept me going through it all was the knowledge that one day I'd drive out of the gate of Pinewood Studios and never come back.

James smirked and looked over at Derek. He was laughing. And that you sorry bastards would still be here. Ha feelings meeting. Yeah. Thank you all. James was only half joking. He would never film at Pinewood Studios again. While he was still stuck in London for post-production, he was grateful this part was over.

James was getting positive feedback from studio executives who'd seen cuts of some of the scenes, but he'd fallen behind and the seven weeks he'd promised his composer, Jamie Horner, had shrunk to two. They were meeting today with Gail to review music from the latest cut of the film, now under a serious time crunch before recording with the London Symphony Orchestra. Hey Jamie. Hello, Jim. Gail. Listen, I got a new cut of the film and nothing's in sync. Yeah, we rearranged some shop.

We really can't do that at such a late stage. I'd already written the music for that, and we're recording in a few days. It was a nightmare for a composer. In two weeks Jamie had written music perfectly timed to scenes, but now his music played at weird times through the film, and James and Gale hadn't bothered to tell him it would need to be rewritten. I don't know if I have time to make it do everything you want. I can get it maybe 75% 80% of the way, but there's a lot of work.

Why can't we do what we talked about? I could, but I'd need Four weeks at least. Four. No, that's out of the question. That's what it would take to have everything perfectly sync up. I'm just speaking from my own experience. Jim, we're down to five or six days. I can't change anything once it's written. It's never gonna make it to the stands for the musicians. If I had more time, I could make it 100%, but we don't. Well, we'll just get somebody who can. Kale, are you kidding?

The pressure was getting to everyone here in the final days. Look, if you can find somebody better able to produce this than me, I'd like to meet them. Because I'm sure I'll learn something. No, that's not what I meant. Jamie, I just about killed myself shooting this thing. Writing a melody takes two seconds. The hard part is weaving a carpet to the explosions, to the sound of the I need a hundred percent from you.

I'll do my best, Jim. Jamie would be writing music up until the final recording day, including the music for the film's big climactic ending, which James had again shifted around in editing. Jamie worked through the night, recording the music the next morning. A miserable experience. And Jamie vowed he'd never again work with James Cameron. Jamie's music would go on to become an iconic part of Aliens and one of the most beloved and memorable scores of all time.

The film would be a smash hit. Scott's original. Turn back. budget in the opening week. James felt he finally had his first big hit. Fox held a friends and family screening. Invited his parents, hoping to impress his father, as well as his old pals Randy Frakes and Bill Wisher. After the screening, they had a small reception where everyone sensed a rising star in James, likely to earn his first Academy Award nomination for the film. Oh, Jenny, I'm just so proud of you.

Shirley Cameron was always the expressive parent. His father Philip rarely showed any emotion, and today seemed disinterested in an event celebrating his son's success. What'd you think, Dad? Huh? Oh it was it was very scary, yes. Your father liked the part about the Marines. Well, thank you guys for coming. I still can't believe we were building Roger those knockoff alien sets five years ago. Yeah, spray painting McDonald's Big Mac box. Well, hey you fake it till you make it.

Look at you now. You've made it. James was the center of attention and several people were waiting for a chance to talk to him. Gail was already talking with Oh, I think I'm being summoned. Uh excuse me one minute. Yeah. Alright. Philip were left standing next to each other, each with a bottle of beer in hand, watching James and Gail. Talking to a group of executives, Randy gave Philip a little nudge. You know, Philip, you really gotta be more supportive of Jim. He's doing great.

Hard work pays off. Philip was into his late fifties, rigid and stubborn as ever, resolute that James was turning his back on his natural talents to make gaudy, empty He's already done things that people take twenty-five years to get. He could have been an incredible engineer with a head like his I'm just saying you really gotta give him some praise. Just give him a pat on the shoulder. Philip looked out at the swarm of Hollywood types, lined up to talk to his son. It mean a lot? His face.

James, that was awesome. I think he's got enough praise already.

Aliens would receive universal praise from film critics, including the great Roger Ebert, who praised James' superb filmmaking craft. There was hype building for the Academy Awards. Typically, science fiction films were ignored for major awards, but this was a weak year in the best director category, and many felt James was about to receive his first nomination. He was watching the announcement on his TV at home.

The Academy announced the nominees for each category, and James Crewe on Aliens earned nominations in six different categories, and Sigourney Weaver became the first woman in a sci-fi movie to be nominated for Best Lead Actress, a Breakthrough. In the next category, the nominees for achievement in direction. James leaned forward on his living room couch, anxious, as the five nominees were unsealed from the envelope and read on live television. Gail walked into the room. This best director.

She sat down and put her arm around James. Woody Allen for Hannah and her sisters. Woody every year. Uh is it alphabetical? I think it's random order. Oliver Stone for Platoon. Of course, of course. James Ivory for A Room with a View. Come on There were only two nominees left. Roland Yoffee for the mission. Oh my god, come on, don't snub me. Come on. Gail felt a bit of dread creep in. And David Lynch for Blue Velvet. And those are the nominees for achievement in direction.

झाल झाल झाल They snubbed me. It's because I'm not one of them. We beat all of them at the box office. Well not platoon, but fucking the mission? Nobody saw the mission. In our final category for the 59th Annual Academy Awards, here are the nominees for Best Picture. Best Picture was a producer's award. Aliens had already earned seven nominations, so this was one they were sure they'd get. Platoon, platoon, we know. Of course, that's a given. Children of a lesser god, Bert Sugarman and Pat.

Palmer. Alien scale herd. Hannah and her sister's Robert Greenhunt. Fucking what he always. Jim. Yeah. Oh for fuck's sake. Come on. And the mission. You have got to be kidding me. How was that possible? I don't know. They were both shocked. They'd each come so close to the most prestigious award in entertainment that would transform their lives. and ended up with nothing. At least it felt like it. Hello. You see this shit? You know how they hate something. Well they love Sigourney.

Yeah. This was gonna be the breakthrough, man.

James felt like a leaky cup with a hole in the bottom. Every time he'd fill it up, it would spill out again. All his hard work would vanish. What do I do now? What's the point? My dad still thinks I'm being an idiot. Doesn't your dad realize that you can affect more people this way? He doesn't believe that. He's wrong. Look at Star Trek. Join the space races. Education required to do that. You can inspire changes. If you do it right.

I don't know if you can really ever change the world with a single movie. Are you kidding? Sure you can't. And look, even if you can't it's just one brick in the wall You create some. she will buy into this. Now I became the way I was. It wasn't just one movie. It was 15 or 20 movies that had a critical mass effect. But I don't know if you can ever really change anybody with a movie. My dad's never going to get it. Then why are you doing that?

Why do you bother to do everything to perfection if you don't believe it? I don't know. Find your passion, man. Find the heart.

He was burned out, trapped by his own desire to prove himself. He and Gail began to drift apart. She began to produce other films on her own, and James isolated himself in his office at their Hollywood Hills home, working on his next film titled The Abyss. Days passed where they would barely speak at all. James was married to his career first, and his longing to prove himself professionally would always be king. They both knew this marriage couldn't go on like this. Jim, do you have a minute?

I I'm in the middle of a Jim. What's wrong? I think we should get a divorce. What? What do you mean? We don't spend time together like we used to. What are we doing? Yeah. We live together. Don't act like that. You know what I mean. I've put a lot of thought into this. Okay. We're each focused on our careers. I'm producing these movies, which I love. You're making the Abyss, which is going to be just incredible, I already know.

And we're making it. This is what we always wanted. But we're Roommates. isn't a home, it's an office. It's become a burden for us. I know you feel that too. James could always hide his emotions. He learned that from his dad. But now he was having trouble. He buried his face in his hands. There's never going to be a good time for this. So I think we really owe it to each other to be honest about this. I don't want us to feel stuck in this and resent each other.

Yeah. It's fine, Jim. Sometimes things don't work out. I'm sorry too. I'd really like to stay friends. I'd like that too. Then you're still going to produce my movie. The Abyss is my movie. I'm the producer. But of course. I wouldn't have it any other way. The Abyss would be their final film working together as a married couple.

James began working even longer hours, days on end without sleep, just like his days at Roger Corman's studio. The Abyss would have to push harder, do more, be bigger and better. It would be the ultimate test of whether James' unparalleled work ethic, his trademark superpower, was enough to give his life meaning.

Hey, I'm Ross Marquand. I play the role of James Cameron and Blockbuster. Thanks so much for listening and be sure to leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks.