James Cameron screenplays

[Prospero]

This may be an invitation to get flamed, but: I've just started going through the mountain of extras on the Terminator 2 Ultimate DVD, and I've noticed something. I've always thought Cameron screenplays, while always brilliantly structured (I'm thinking especially of Titanic here), had awful dialogue. But it's not just his dialogue that's poorly written--it's the directions as well. Even his essay on the torturous process of writing the screenplay has a couple of howlers ("I felt like a wounded, pregnant wolverine"). He's a better director than some give him credit for, but he just doesn't have much of an ear for language, period.

Are there any lines in Cameron movies that make you flinch every time you hear them? One for me is Ah-nold in T2 saying, "I know now why you cry. But it is something I can never do." But then again, maybe I'm just coldhearted, and not in touch with my feelings.

One more thing: I'd bet none of the examples anyone comes up with are from Aliens. The dialogue in that is far better than the dialogue in any other Cameron screenplay.

[Lo Pan]

I hate the line in the director's cut of Aliens where Hudson is showing off on the Dropship.

"Hey Ripley, don't worry about it. Me and my squad of ultimate badasses will protect you..." "...we got nukes, knives, sharp sticks..."

Bleeerrggh!

(There's plenty more from his other flicks except, oddly, Strange Days. The dialog in that seems fine to me. Maybe that's Bigalow's influence.)

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"Who are these...friends of yours? Now, this really pisses me off to no end!"

[Adjuster]

Actually, one of my favorite quotable lines comes from Cameron's The Terminator. It's good fun to change the context of the quote to fit your situation, but the original quote is when Reese is talking to Sarah about the terminator's mission to kill her:

"It's what he does. That's ALL HE DOES! and he absolutely will not stop........EVER!, until you are dead."

Now apply this quote to say, a friend of yours who drinks a little too much:

"It's what he does. That's ALL HE DOES! and he absolutely will not stop........EVER!, until he is drunk."

Why am I the only one who thinks this stuff is funny.


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"No touchie, Nooooooo touchie......No touch."
I AM JEFF'S DVD LIST

[DrDetroit]

Although on the whole they're generally good films, I cringe at least a good five times when I watch "The Abyss", "Titanic", or "True Lies." Mr. Cameron should call in Robert Towne or William Goldman to do a polish every now and then.

[Prospero]

The year Titanic was up for Oscars, I rooted for Kate Winslet to win the Best Actress award, even though my friends disagreed. Reason being that she delivers each and every one of her lines as if they're from the best of Shakespeare, no matter how bad they actually are. "I'd rather be his whore than your wife!" looks terrible on paper. But when Winslet screams it? And then she spits in Billy Zane's eye? She's doing a great job with poor material. DiCaprio's performance is another story, though.

[Lo Pan]

Originally posted by Adjuster:
"It's what he does. That's ALL HE DOES! and he absolutely will not stop........EVER!, until he is drunk."

Why am I the only one who thinks this stuff is funny.

No, you're not the only one who thinks it's funny. Check out the 'Other Voices' making of doco on the Terminator sp ed disc. They use this dialog to describe Cameron's approach to film making.

"He can't be reasoned with. He doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear. And he absolutely will not stop...ever! Until you are dead."


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"Who are these...friends of yours? Now, this really pisses me off to no end!"

[This message has been edited by Lo Pan (edited 05-09-2001).]