I’m told this will be the biggest financial haul ever for a movie director from a single pic because James Cameron had a significant gross percentage of the Twentieth Century Fox megahit as helmer, writer, and producer. Though Hollywood pay experts tell me that the $350M all-in figure is largely attributable to his directing deal structured as “first dollar” gross or more likely “at cash break” gross. It’s certainly bigger than either he or the studio — or anyone — thought he’d make from Avatar which, after its December 2009 release date, has grossed a best-ever $2.7 billion worldwide at the box office. 
“But Cameron is making $350 million because the DVD did beyond expectation,” an insider tells me. Indeed, its 2D DVD and Blu-Ray worldwide sales smashed records in all categories. And still to come is the release of its 3D DVD in November. Meanwhile, yesterday, Twentieth Century Fox and Cameron announced that a “Special Edition” Avatar will be released in theaters August 27th as a limited engagement and exclusively in Digital 3D and IMAX 3D. This version will include more than 8 minutes of new footage. “With Cameron making $350 million, can you imagine what Fox and Dune Entertainment and Ingenious Media are making?” one of my insiders wondered, referring to the three companies that together bankrolled Avatar. And let’s not forget there’ll be an Avatar sequel… and maybe a threequel as part of what Cameron has been calling a “trilogy-scaled arc of story”. And the production costs on the subsequent films should be far less because they’ve honed the 3D filmmaking technology process.
Forbes magazine about a week ago placed Cameron only #2 on its Celebrity 100 money ranking this year of the richest and most powerful actors, actresses, musicians and other well known showbiz figures. In fact, based on my insiders, Cameron should have been #1 because his $350M far exceeds the $315M which the magazine said top-ranked Oprah Winfrey earned. Forbes underestimated the director’s pay at only $210M. UPDATE: Forbes responds – No, Nikki, James Cameron Is Not Quite No. 1 Yet. Here’s Why.
My sources tell me that Cameron’s $350M take from Avatar also eclipses his reported $97M haul from the previous #1 biggest movie worldwide, Titanic. But that figure will go higher, too. Earlier this year, Cameron revealed that Titanic will be re-released in 3D in April 2012, in order to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the actual ship. In total, Cameron’s directorial efforts have grossed approximately $5.75 billion worldwide.
It’s now the stuff of Hollywood legend that Cameron wrote the script for Avatar back in the mid-1990s when he and Stan Winston co-founded Digital Domain. He took the screenplay to their special effects lab only to be told it was just not possible to make the film with the current technology. So he sat on the project for more than a decade. To make Avatar, Cameron created the Fusion Camera System technology for photo-realistic computer-generated characters through motion capture animation. So the director has an ever brighter financial future because he now can sell that technology to 3D filmmakers all over the world. And he’ll get top dollar for it, to be sure.
Deserves every cent (if not more).
I think Cameron is a greedy corporate movie fat-cat who takes advantage of weak-willed entertainment starved people, by tricking them into paying a whopping $30 a ticket to watch a movie about greedy corporate fat-cats who take advantage of strong-willed cartoon characters.
$30 a ticket ?!?! WTF ??? Where the heck did you watch the movie ? I guess a sucker IS born every minute… Top ticket prices were $13-15….
NYC ticket prices for 3D were $25-30. Get your facts straight.
Then it is the theaters that are charging $25-30 per tickets that are the problem.
lol $25-$30 for a movie ticket??? NYC sucks. I paid $12
umm…no, I see 3D movies in Manhattan all the time for around $15.00
You are an idiot. Paid $16 at The Regal in Battery Park.
I don’t know who these people pretending to be New Yorkers are, but I can attest to the fact that, at the time, the most expensive ticket for “Avatar” at the IMAX-3D theater at Lincoln Center was $18.50. Prices have gone up a dollar in the meantime so it costs $19.50 today. Pricey, but not $30 dollars.
$25-30, are you crazy??? I paid $13 to see Avatar on Imax 3-D on opening night in NYC. Stop lying to people.
Man; I thought we were getting ripped paying $9 a ticket for the 3D version of Avatar. Maybe I’m a Cheesehead from Wisconsin, but I guess it pays off in a lot of areas.
Personally, I think you all got owned! We saw it for $7.50 in a theater with reclining leater seats… For $30, you could’ve waited for the Blu-Ray! d(O_<)b
we pay $3.5 here
ha ha ha sucker… I saw at 42nd street and it was 15 bucks…..
your an idiot.
Ok, if you are going to call someone an idiot….how about learning how to spell first. You are = you’re
In future, when calling someone an idiot, you should probably proofread your response before posting (or learn proper grammar).
Not that I disagree with you.
Do you mean “You’re an idiot”?
Everyone is entitled to their opinion and there is certainly no shortage of Cameron-haters out there. I don’t think that it can be disputed that James Cameron is a loud-mouthed egomaniac HOWEVER…it can also not be disputed that there would be no TWO POINT SEVEN BILLION DOLLAR take if it were not for the writer, director, producer and all around creator of AVATAR.
The man, likable or not, is reaping what he has sewn.
This is the same clown who is denouncing free market capitalism. Go figure. Maybe the Obama should put a cap on what he can earn….
You are a douchebag and i denounce you! Seriously- like or hate the film, it wasn’t a denunciation of free market capitalism- it was a denunciation of a military-industrial complex that exploits natural resources. Think we don’t/haven’t done that? Read your history, caligirl. Or read the papers- just as we are about to have a discussion about ending a ten year war in Afghanistan, reports come out about vast mineral deposits that might be worth a trillion dollars. They knew about these minerals going back to the Soviet occupation, but the military releases a report (completed last year no less) to try to influence policy and perpetuate a losing war effort. So, in conclusion, take your neo-con hyperbole about our president and shove it. Fact- when the unfunded Bush tax cuts expire at the end of the year, tax rates for those in the highest tax bracket will return to 39% from their current rate of 36%. At 39%, rates will be exactly the same as they were under the forgetful, but not forgotten president- aka Ronnie Reagan. So next time you spout off some BS about Obama or Cameron, be sure you have your facts straight.
Yes and let’s hope he spreads the wealth. How about giving half of your earnings to the Government Mr. Cameron? Help feed those who don’t want to work, you know, the druggies, some the happy homeless who enjoy the streets, the ones who voted for your guy!
@ Anon: First of all who the hell are you? Relax! You pompously expressed your not so correct comment and so called fax! 2 term President Reagan came in a recession and on his 2nd term, the economy was on the upswing! Then your President Bill Clinton, the lord of the misled democrats like you benefited a surplus in arms that built up during the Cold War that ended just prior in his first term! Thanks to President Reagan and then USSR Prime Min. Mikhail Gorbachev and his “Perestroika”! “Perestroika” was the axe that chopped Communism in Russia! After around handful decades, the U.S. at the time will be spending lesser on Arms budget that did helped the economy out of recession in the 80s-90s!! If without President Reagans ability to lead and help the country like what he did for the economy it will be a different world! I think you are a misinformed liberal and think you got the info! I bet!!! So before you open your really big I mean really big mouth of nonsense, you need to double check yourself before you try to check somebody else!
“Ah Diggidy-CHECK yourself before you WRECK your self!” – Das EFX
Anon,(yeah I know anonymous), “forgets” that Reagan cut the top tax rate from about 79%. I suppose the economic mess we are in is still Bush’s fault. The owner of my company can’t give me a raise if his taxes go up.
Hi:
Lets have the boy wonder Obama and the democrats sieze on the fact that $350,000,000 is more than a million times what the min. wage of a lightening worker makes on the movie. We need to get the pay czar involved in this and have wage restraints by Obama just like on the fat cats of Wall Street. The money of the fat cats of Hollywood is no different, except that they in Hollywood are all liberal so that they are the beneficiaries of the winners and losers picked by the ilk of Obama.
You mean “sown.” He didn’t get out his sewing machine to make Avatar.
$30 a ticket? Where the fuck do you watch movies?
$30 tickets exist in a land they call “Los Angeles”. To the inhabitants of this exotic local, $30 for a pick-your-seat 3-D ticket makes perfect sense when the same theater charges $5 for a small bottle of water.
Where in Los Angeles is this so called $30 a seat theater? I went to Arclight Hollywood(Cinerama Dome) and only paid about $17 for a seat.
Then people are idiots for paying $30 to see a movie.
I just saw Avatar this afternoon at home, via Netflix Blu-ray and a 52″ Sony TV. The picture was absolutely stunning and the 5.1 surround sound was glorious. The floor wasn’t sticky, the seat wasn’t damp and the refreshments (delivery pizza, fridge soda and a Marie Callender lemon pie) were all economical and delicious.
The four of us had a few phone calls during the movie but these were handled via the button. Try that at your Cineplex 15!
Sure, I’ve gone to theaters to see first-run movies in their opening weeks, but these occasions are getting to be fewer and farther between.
Although we have no idea at which theater he watches movies, their $30 ticket price might explain why he sees the public as “entertainment starved.”
Neil Postman, take note.
Thank you for being the only sane person on here who is educated enough to have read ‘Amusing Ourselves to Death.’ Oh what I would give if Neil was alive today and able to see just how accurate his predictions were.
Thirty bucks a ticket!?!?!?!
Would you be interested in some ocean front property in Arizona?
It too bad that some folks begrudge someone who makes money honestly and successfully. Cameron is a winner. Those who hate winners can easily chalk it all up to greed. It must be like eating chocolates or something. What a sad attitude – maybe socialism is the answer. Then we can ignore the reality of exceptionalism in America (yes historically superior) and in talented individuals like Mr. Cameron.
I agree. What is it with people that attack someone personally when they have no attachment to them at all. How many of you people hang out with the guy? So you think he’s a jerk. So jerks in the US can’t make gobs of money? Cameron has made his own success and has been rewarded for it. Stop making it complicated and see it as just that.
Let me get this straight… he does the job (writes, directs, produces and even creates the technology) on spec… meaning he makes money if the movie makes money… and he’s being accused of being greedy? That’s just good old fashioned business. If the movie bombed, he wouldn’t be sitting pretty. I haven’t (and won’t) see the movie. I don’t care for James Cameron nor the message of the movie… but how can I criticize the guy who bets on his own skills and wins?
You’ve got to appreciate the irony of this. Here’s a man who makes a movie bashing corporations as imperialists (sorry Cameron, but it’s governments, not businesses that invade and imperialize: i.e. British Empire, French Empire, Roman Empire, America in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.), yet he’s set to make nearly half a billion dollars as a corporate entity himself! Will he feel guilty for taking advantage of people’s weakness to watch blue cat-like people in 3D, and do the right thing by donating all his money away to build schools or save the environment?
No, i bet he won’t be giving any of his money to anyone but himself. They only want to tax your money. He is above paying taxes. I am sure he will invest in some new business and make more money doing the exact thing he was complaining about in his laughable movie. Dumb Asses. When are you people going to wake up and see the big picture? Obama and his buddies are taking over and we are going to be left holding the bag. Vote them all out in november.
James Cameron is very Eco friendly and has already devoted much of him time and money into campaigns to improve the environment
Similar to many other Leftists who have done the same …
See: Ralph Nader; Michael Moore; Dozens of “hollywood” actors, producers and others…
It seems getting over compensated off the backs of the overcharged public, there are a lot of mind numb liberals who fall victim to the heartbreaking stories the left radicals use to educate their wealthy targets.
Might want to check your facts…
Jamestown, the “first settlement” in what is now the United States was NOT founded by Great Britain. No, it was founded by the “London Company” later renamed the “Virginia Company”
Why did they do this? It was a drive for profits, and they make the world go round! Also see Hudson Bay Colony, East India Tea Company and many many more!
To Mr. Cameron, I absolutely LOVED your movie and spent the $15 multiple times taking my friends to go see it. What an epic! A new release with 8 more minutes? count me in! It was like something NEVER seen on the big screen before. So, while I may hate your politics, and you’ll be taxed very highly on your profits- God Bless you for taking a risk and making the movie of a lifetime.
Sequs, did you watch this movie? This movie ‘bashed’ genocide for the sake of profits. Genocide does not equal Capitalism. Unfortunately for America we did commit genocide for the sake of expanding our land/profit.
Are you saying you hate Cameron’s politics of opposing genocide? Because those are the politics he explores in this film. Not that capitalism is bad but that genocide is bad.
Serious question. Do you think it’s okay to commit genocide if it financially it benefits us?
If the answer to that question is ‘no’ it seems you don’t hate his politics. If it is ‘yes’ you’re an awful human being.
what idiots, I only paid $4, that’s all I pay for any movie
You got tricked into watching the movie?..Really?
James Cameron is reaping the benefits of creativity, the fuel of our free markets..He has started a new wave of movies which will bring benefits to a lot of businesses. Get off your High Horse.
Will Jim Cameron adopt me?
Who paid $30/ticket? Did you buy yours from a scalper? In IMAX 3D in Los Angeles tix were around $17 if I’m not mistaken (still expensive, but not close to $30). I wasn’t the biggest fan of Avatar by any means, but this kind of hyperbole is unnecessary. Furthermore, what is wrong with a filmmaker, who happens to be the principal creative force behind the film in question, profiting from his film? No one “forced” people to go to the movies to see Avatar – they went because they wanted to.
I don’t know where you went to watch the movie. I paid $13.00 for the 3D immersion and enjoyed the heck out of it as did millions more. If calling me weak willed makes you feel good about yourself than have at it.
Mmmmm, I love capitalism.
Hear, hear!
I agree 100%… lets vote for a 50% hollywood and professional sports tax. These actors and directors and athletes make way to much money for playing sports all day and standing in front of cameras pretending to laugh and cry.
Actually, he is losing almost 50% of that in taxes…top federal tax bracket (350k+) is 35%, so $122 million of that goes straight to Obama. Top tax bracket (1mil+) in Cali is 10%, so the Governator gets $35 million.
And in November, he’ll vote Republican :D A taxpayer voting Democrat is like a chicken voting Colonel Sanders
No, he won’t. Anyone who has been around as long as Cameron has and who also previously made huge gobs of money (Titanic payday) has plenty of tax lawyers and accountants making sure that his payout(s) are structured to minimize taxes, likely well below what YOU pay (percentage). YOU and all the rest of us ‘middle class’ are the ones paying max rates. It was the Republican Congress of GWBush who cut taxes for the wealthy but left the rest of us to foot the bill. I can’t begrudge Cameron for profiting from his own talent, but I sincerely hope (although I sincerely doubt) that he is sharing his windfall with all those ‘regular’ people who contributed to his success. He didn’t do it alone …
NYC imax is 11.50 for slots before noon (including weekends) and 18 standard times.
Of course Cameron is a capitalist.
However, there’s a certain segment of the population that feels disenfranchised by capitalism, mainly bored, lazy and unproductive workers with mundane jobs in large multinational corporations who, in between bringing up colorful, childish gangsta rap loving children with bad cases of hemmorhoids, and taking vacations in Vegas where they sit bored, lazy and unproductive pumping quarters into slot machines and watching gay circus performers wreak havoc with albino lions, spend the rest of their meagre entertainment allowances on colorful, childish movies, after which they can be seen stuffing their fat, bloated anemic faces with Big Macs, fries and chocolate milkshakes made from edible oil products.
I’m in complete agreement with your comments. I purposefully avoided seeing Avitar in the theaters due to all the hype and cost of ticket. I rented the DVD and found that I couldn’t watch the entire movie. It reminded me of an inferior version of an animated Disney picture without a memorable song one could come away with humming or wanting to hear again! I wonder if Hollywood is made up of young males who have grown-up playing video games, and now is transferring their video ideas onto film? There is no character development or any depth to plot development; forget about stellar directing of people! Shame. Where has all the dynamic creativity gone? Probably in the same direction as where all the adults have gone to?
30 dollars, where did you watch it? I paid 7.50 and that was through COSTCO.
Jealous are we? He managed to make a ton of money legally..so what’s the big deal? If you want to make boatloads of cash find something people want and make/produce it and rake in the bucks. Otherwise quit your bitching.
As a capitalist, sure. As a film lover…good God, absolutely not.
Well I cant comment on a film lover, but good for him. He tore a page right out of Lucas’s book and wrapped up the chance to earn a crap load of money for bank rolling this idea and maxing it out. The story may not be original but he, and marketers, pitched the story and no one forced people to drop $15 to see the film. I love the United States of America!
You got to be kidding me. No one is worth 350M. All you leftists should be pining for the government to take it all, and give it to the poor. Cameron is a good socialist, I’m sure he’ll give it all on his own—righhhhhht!
You same guys whining about avatar making so much just sounds like sour grapes to me .. heh. hypocrites all…
Basic financial question in more worldly terms: Would you, Joe, pay an employee $3,500.00 if it yielded you, the employer, $27,000 (and more)? I realize that this is totally bastardizing the complex nature of film budgets and grosses, but “No one is worth 350M”???? Tell that to Tiger Woods. LeBron James. Cristiano Renaldo’s deal makes this look cheat!!
Cold, I know you can’t realize this, but my comment is being totally sarcastic! Just trying to put the leftist argument out there.
“at what point did you made enough money”? I want pay czar to investigate this. agrhhh, that greedy capitalist! getting rich on the back of poor american taxpayer. lets organize protest on his front lawn and demand justice!!
“On the back of the poor American taxpayer?” No one pointed a gun at anyone’s head and told them to go see Avatar. I dislike Cameron as much as the next guy, and think his movies are far from art, but no one can deny that he has a truly unique ability to make enormously successful movies. No one can do what he has done with his consistency, so he deserves every penny.
Yo Jimmy boy – let’s SPREAD THE WEALTH!!! Where’s a Lib when you need one? Confiscate this man’s money and donate it to the illegal immigrant support groups so they can further drive our country closer to bankruptcy.
Good luck with all of that.
You are an ass. and it’s people like you that are driving this country closer to bankruptcy- in your case, a bankrupt mind.
Where is the pay czar for Hollywood!!
you are joking right?! For the love of god please tell me that this talk of pay czars is a joke.
Jim baby, as a fellow Obama Socialist, I demand you give 90 percent of that money to help register illegal immigrants to vote for Lord Obama and the Socialist Democrats. Do it for that Hopey Changey thing, blah, blah, blah.
what is this- troll city today? On behalf of everyone who voted for President Obama, and stealing from John Stewart- Go fuck yourself!
I think Obama needs to attack Cameron’s profits.
our local theater charges $7 for 3D, $6 for 2D and $4 for a matinee…I suspect I wouldn’t see too many films if I had to pay $30 per flick…no wonder it grossed so high! BTW a large popcorn is $4 and a large drink is $2 :)
What? For ripping off Pocahontas. Great visual effect, yeah, but it’s a shame it wasn’t better purposed for some originality.
Wake up. This is America and capitalism at it’s best. Cameron may have single-handidly solidified 3D for “real people movies”.
Last I noticed, no one was forced to pay any amount of money to watch Avatar. It is still a free country. You didn’t have to watch the movie. It was Cameron’s movie and he can charge anything he wants.
This obscene profit should immediately be confiscated to help fight global warming/ world hunger/ deforestation/ discrimination/oil spill/ big oil/big pharma/ anti-abortionists/republicans/ truthers/hummers/ NRAers/religion/etc……
he sooooo cares about the environment….
good for you jack
The same guy who laughs at the $30 suckers happily pays twice that to see a two-hour NBA game. Who’s the real sap?
It’s America and it’s the land of opportunity. He did a great job entertaining me and I don’t regret a cent I spent at the theater. I had a nice time with friends and it got my mind off of things for a few hours. Good on James for pursuing his dreams and reaching far into his imaginations and inventiveness. The saddest thing is that we as Americans are less productive these days. Hence we are overtaken by countries like China which are all about production and less about consuming and debt. Here’s a guy that actually produced a product that yields revenue. If you don’t like him being rich, just don’t pay into his films. Apparently many out there don’t agree with this notion hence he’s successful. Between Titanic and Avatar James did some amazing documentaries which had nothing to do with sublime entertainment. He’s a masterful artist and likely a good businessman. Thank you James for inspiring us all.
So, under the Obama’s administration does this mean that Mr. Cameron will “share the wealth”?
This movie was awful I walked out on it. The plot was retarded, the acting was corny. So what that it looked pretty, it was boring as hell.
James Cameron stole his ideas for this over-rated movie from two classic Sci-Fi stories; “Call Me Joe” and “Balanced Ecology”. Both stories were better than the kid movie he made them into. I’ve lost all respect for James Cameron for stealing somone else’s ideas and taking credit, not to mention a fortune in profit. He should be ashamed of himself.
funny how he makes so much profit, but is against capitalism…..he is the machine…the gross polluter, the capitalist, yet, wants everyone to buy into the capitalism is evil doctrine….sell, sell, sell the fairy tale….
I think it’s great.
Highest grossing film, #1 in all categories & it was beat out by a lame ‘foot locker’ that was # 60 in all it’s categories…. Who says the Academy’s were not political. I guess they can give Al Gore and Obama the Nobel Peace prize for doing nothing…
Congrats to Cameron for a great film.
You hit the nail on the head perfectly.
Fully agree about the ‘foot.’ It was OK but didn’t hold 1/10 of the emotion that Avatar did.
AND you are totally right about the Noble as well. Guess what people want to think always beats actual fact.
What??? Avatar was a ridiculous movie. It wasn’t even original. The plot borrowed heavily from matrix and pocahontas. Emotion?? How can one feel emotional about an utterly ridiculous and fantastical scenario. It tapped into some primal myths, sure..but Matrix was far more effective at tapping into those same myths.
Yes, both stories were stollen from other writers. Cameron has done this before. He had to pay the two writers of a Twilight episode becuase that is were he stole the idea for Terminator. A least Avitar had a pro-bestiality subplot. The main character is told not to play with it or he will go blind and then everyone is sticking their braid fiberoptic thingy into every creature on the planet.
Agree 100%
only a fool would pay to see and see it again…
The Hurt Locker was brilliant and deserved what it won. Avatar has nice special effects, but the story was trite, rehashed, poorly written, obvious-message garbage. A 12 year old could write a better plot. Avatar didn’t even deserve to be nominated.
If you’re going to argue that how much money a movie makes determines whether or not it is Oscar-worthy, then I suppose Transformers 2 and Twilight were “Oscar-worthy”.
Avatar was MEDIOCRE. It was brutally anti-military, its characters were cliches, its ending was an abysmal Deus Ex Machina, there is absolutely nothing “great” about this film except the visuals.
Of course Transformers was Oscar worthy! Who would even question that?
I love Avatar and I always love The Hurt Locker … that’s best movie for this year.. I love them, they always make fantastic thing for us..
Thanks..Jame Cameron
Wow, his next ex-wife is going to make a killing.
Why didn’t Ferngully make that much money? It’s the same story as avatar.
2 words why Ferngully didn’t make as much: Robin Williams
It wasn’t 3D.
how will he redistribute his obscene earnings?
Oh, don’t worry…he has no problem voting for all those lib politicians who will gladly do it for him!
Obscene earnings? Let’s see…the man puts out a product (good or not, it’s all opinions) that people obviously want and makes money. Sounds pretty supply and demand to me. Who are any of you to say that he doesn’t deserve this money?
Good for you Mr. Cameron. Good for anyone who succeeds in this great country.
I love the Pace Fusion Camera. While in 2-D mode.
Please: 3D. End now. It’s a gimmick. The best 3D I ever saw was “Marvin The Martian In The Third Dimension” at the Warner Bros store in NY. I’m hoping the Kong ride at Universal will eclipse that. But, for less than 3 minutes, that’s fine.
I want my future viewing in magnificent, director-approved 2D. I’m watching “Treasure Of The Sierra Madre” right now. Screw “Bwana Devil”.
I’m surprised it’s that little.
Good for him. I’ve never seen one of his movies and probably won’t as the images that are in the trailers are not ones I wish to fill my subconscious with or even my less powerful conscious mind.
Maybe he can spawn a new group of film makers that need some funding.
Struggle, succeed and then give back.
can you say Fern Gully.
It seems Mr. Cameron certainly knows how to sell himself. But he has my respect for making public interest in 3D movies technology rise again. It’s not something new, but Avatar did god job on promoting it’s use in Holywood films.
He’s King of the World,
and Master of the Universe!
You know, there should really be an earnings cap for movie directors [no]. Its not fair that he should make that much and others make less [yes it is; there is equal opportunity]. We need to spread the wealth around [that’s called stealing]. How much money does one man really need? [as much as he can earn with the fruit of his labor]
Good question. How will he redistribute his wealth? Will he still love Obama once he finds out how much taxes he has to pay? How much money does one really need? That’s the same thing the liberal Cameron’s savior Obama said. I think Mr. Cameron would have an answer for that. Don’t take a chunk of MY pie.
He made his money while the BUSH TAX CUTS were still in effect. So he eats his cake and has it too …
Of course, par for the Liberal course …
Cameron is just a conduit for channelling taxes to the feds so they can reedistribute via gov’t “workers” payroll.
Earning cap for directors? Are you serious? hahaha
This is an ungodly amount for any one person to make. Considering how little so many of the workers on the movie (grips, etc) this is obscene. He is making 10,000 more than the average non-movie star. People complain about CEOs – they pale in comparison.
Maybe if you whine enough you’ll get a hand out. As opposed to inventing hardware and software that enabled Cameron to make this much money in the first place.
What do you care what he makes? Assuming 40 percent plus goes to taxes, around 140 million he pays the federal & state governments, this helps us all out and he entertained us. When he dies, like most hundred millionaires, he’ll probably leave it to charity. I say make 500 mil with the next movie. I’m not poorer because he raked in a pile. We need more millionaires in this great country.
So he takes huge risks, helps invent new technology and makes a product that people all over the world enjoy but you think he shouldn’t reap the rewards from his efforts?
So what if he makes more than the people who worked on the movie… he payed those people before he knew if the film would work, could be made or would even make a dime!
You’re so busy trying to punish anyone who is successful that you stifle anyone who is a risk taker and creative. Your kind of equality is nothing more than wanting to force everyone to live by the rules you decide at any given moment.
What RISKS did he take?
Would he have gone broke if the movie tanked?
Would he have never again been allowed to make a movie?
Sheesh don’t make it sound like the guy put his entire life on the line and spun the wheel.
I don’t see how anyone can protest the execution of a contract between Cameron and the studio. They both agreed to it. Fox agreed to pay him that much, and he agreed to take it. I’m not sure this is really objectionable.
You know, there’s a lot of ways people make money where you could argue that they don’t deserve it, but there’s only one person on the planet who could have willed Avatar into the world and it’s Jim Cameron. It was his imagination and 4,000 people who helped him realize it. The scope of this movie had to humble even the Spielberg’s and Lucas’s of the world. How on earth does he not deserve this money? The box office was made. Would you rather the 20th Century Fox corporation get it than the guy whose creativity brought it to life? If you don’t think this guy takes risks – he could have bought and island and retired off of Titanic, but didn’t – you don’t understand the meaning of the term. Of course, he didn’t risk his life or career, but since when is that the requirement? I think people like Jim Cameron – or Steve Jobs for that matter – deserve all the money they can get. They’re driven to create and lots of people benefit from that. (As opposed to CEOs who make 10s of millions of dollars when their company is failing.)
thanks for the most sensible post on this whole thread.
Hear, Hear!
Hell Yeah!!
Obama should appoint a movie pay czar to see to it that the Federal Government taxes his earnings at 90% just because you don’t like the fact that he make alot of money!!
Sound stupid?? Of course it does…but Obama already did it to Wall Street….why not Hollywood??
Oh, yeah…..all the Obamabots live in Hollywood.
I would be interested to see if Cameron puts his money where his mouth is. Of course, it wouldn’t really be a true leftist action if he gave a bunch of his money away- the government would have to take it.
As far as I’m concerned, he did a good job taking proper advantage of a somewhat capitalist economy. Working extra hard and taking extra risks SHOULD get you extra rewards. I wonder if he feels similarly now?
Um. Nobody’s earnings were taxed 90%. Nobody’s.
And maybe you should remember Eisenhower, a Republican, who had the top tax rate at 90%.
The current tax rate is at 35%, what it was under Clinton.
Educate yourself. Stop embarrassing yourself.
Obama did what to Wall St.? Taxed their earnings at 90%? Maybe you are referring to the largely failed attempts to cap executive pay FOR THOSE COMPANIES WE BAILED OUT! You know, we give them money to stay in business, and they whine because their salary is limited at $500k?! Poor Wall St. fucks- if they didn’t like the deal, let them walk and try to get a better deal somewhere else.
You are so full of shit it’s running out of your face, onto your keyboard and now I guess it is smearing your screen. Poor Wall St.- they gambled with other peoples money, lost big, turned to the taxpayer for a bailout, are borrowing money from the Fed for nothing, get to keep generating obscene profits and what do we get? nothing except a pack of ungrateful Wall St. whores- except that isn’t really fair to whores since at least you get what you pay for. Anyway, if you want to spout bullshit, and you aren’t prepared to back it up with facts, then do us all a favor and go fuck yourself first.
Quit crying about how much someone makes… You all sound like a bunch of jealous whiny dipchits…
How come no one in this string, which seems to be full of people who are against other people making money, has moaned about Oprah making 315 mil last year? Why is the target just Cameron?
He made a poignant film for the world.
I think I threw up in my mouth a bit…
James Cameron sat across from me at Patrick’s Road House on the PCH and Etrada in Santa Monica on Tuesday morning and was very much an ordinary customer discussing business over coffee and tea. Now, I wonder how much of a tip he left. I is good to see he still patronises quaint places. Free market capitalism still works wonders in the States.
The film’s garbage but Cameron took a risk making it and it paid off, big time. So this figure is not undeserved.
Exactly!
I hate people who ignore his risks, see only the reward and think that they deserve a piece in the name of “equality”.
A great movie!!! Technology at it finest. A great stories. I wonder it the current regime in power has thought it is too much money and it needs to be redistributed so we can have a “level playing field”. I cannot wait to see what Mr Cameron does next. Congratulations.
Okay…am I the only one in the world that thought the movie was cr@p?
I also thought it was crap with bad acting. Some great visual effects, but boring. If people like it & he took a risk, he deserves his pay.
I also hated Titanic & thought the acting was horrible.
No, you are not alone…
But you are in the minority.
The success of his movies proves that he knows all about deep sea oil well blowouts……0’bama shudda listened!
This is an example of capitalism working the way it should. James Cameron created something of real value and was duly rewarded for his efforts. Our society is better off for having experienced Avatar.
By contrast, when the Wall Street bankers get their huge bonuses for doing nothing but shuffling paper around…well that is an example of capitalism not functioning properly. It’s called corporatism.
Moron…as if CEOs do less than a director of a movie. Most CEOs or executives are where they are because they have been successful at making a business profitable. Profitability makes for happy stockholders who reward CEOs with bonuses. How does that hurt you? How is that any different than paying stupid actors millions of dollars to read lines and play dressup? Class envy will be the downfall of this nation. If you want to make the salary of a “Wall Street Banker”, get a degree in finance and bust your chops working your way up the ladder. With everything, if you want to get to the top…get educated, work hard or be in the entertainment industry and produce stupid films for sheeple that feel society is better off because of a fictional MOVIE…absurd, but typical thinking of those in our dumbed down society.
Personally, i believe that Cameron should be a good little liberal and practice what he preaches…redistribute his immense wealth to others less fortunate.
Well lets see there are about 320 million people in the US, so that comes out to be about a dollar a piece, so your fair share of his wealth from this movie would be about a dollar. Wouldn’t it be simpler to just not spend a dollar than complaining.
“How does that hurt you?”
Open your eyes and take a look around at the rubble of the world economy.
I’m sure that many people on Wall Street work hard. But John is right: too much of their work is in service of moving around piles of money and pocketing a percentage of it. This is completely unproductive in any true sense of the word and is why the country is in its current predicament. Too many people are engaged in a completely empty–and as it turns out, destructive–pursuit.
Cameron actually created something.
Uh…”moving around piles of money and pocketing a percentage of it” is what bankers and investors DO to help businesses create their products and profit. If it wasn’t for your “paper pushers” this movie would NEVER have been made and the whole entertainment industry would shut down! Not to mention the builders and developers who build the theater you sit back and recline so comfortably in!
Yes, Cameron created “something”…but it’s NOT TANGIBLE other than up on the screen with the flickering light…it’s all basically a “make believe” fantasy-land on celluloid.
The house you live in, mall you shop in, food you eat, car you drive, etc., etc…THOSE are tangible…and your “paper pushers” make ALL that possible!
You have it exactly backwards.
You mean instead of being a good little right winger and redistributing the wealth to the rich instead of the middle class?
So, you are to be the arbiter of who is worthy of their pay and who is not? Many of those “paper pushers” on Wall Street have multiple degrees and have worked for decades to earn their money. They also employ many hundreds, sometimes thousands of people, and millions earn dividends off of their corporations’ stock.
Stop with the class warfare garbage. It’s all capitalism, and they’re all business people. I guarantee you that Cameron’s pay all goes into HIS corporation!
Shuffling papers??? Is that all that Wall Street guys do??
You, Sir, are a moron.
If Wall Street guys got rich by “shuffling papers”, then Cameron got rich by merely “looking through a lens.”
They both work hard, they both take risks, they both get the rewards. Neither you, nor the Federal Goverment has the right to penalize them just because you don’t like them.
I think Cameron is a giant tool and and all around awful human being, but he earned the money so he keeps the money.
Except, um…one broke the law and caused millions to be unemployed and the financial system to nearly totally collapse, and um…one made a movie.
So what is wrong with capitalism Mr Cameron and others? Congradulations for making all that money you deserve it. Ain’t it great that as of right now we still have the choice in America to make as little or as much money as we are willing to work for. So men like him and others need to stop knocking the system and enjoy what it gives us. We need to keep America free.
Why aren’t you working a $10M a year job then? There is no such choice… Saying that you have a choice to make as much as you want if you work hard enough is bullshit to keep the rats running on the wheel. I (or you can try too) can work every single hour that I’m awake and I guarantee I will never make $350M in my entire life, bar me winning the lotto or making some sort of groundbreaking discovery/luckboxing into some ridiculous position. I wonder if then I’d start speaking like you do that I somewhat earned my outrageous salary. No amount of work or degrees can justify an individual working 40hr/weeks making 350 times what another individual does when he also works 40hr/weeks.
The vast majority of current CEOs and high earners come from rich families. I don’t understand how middle class people can be so brainwashed into accepting their fate. Are you really worth less than the rich? Sick, sick mentality of self-hatred you guys have.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors goods
In your case you are correct. It takes an above average intellect, and an above average work ethic at the very least to truly succeed. A strong resistance to risk aversion usually comes into it at some point. With or without a bunch of degrees this type of person tends to succeed. A strong resistance to instant gratification also helps. The average person has none of these things. And showing up for 40 hours a week is not an above average work ethic. Go actually read some of the Forbes lists of wealthiest people. Most didn’t inherit anything. They made it on their own.
I think Cameron likely worked a lot more than “40hr/weeks” for a long time on this and his other movies. Now, 350X what anyone else makes? More like 3500X, but that’s beside the point …
He likely worked his a$$ off for a long time getting this made, and likely figured he might make good money off it, break even, or even lose. That’s called running a business.
Those that do this, and are successful, deserve what they can make off it. Those that are philanthropic give lots of it away. Do you know how much Cameron has given away? Neither do I …
THE FILM IS EXCELLENT AND ONLY THE NEO-CONS CAN HATE IT
I assume that your screamed “NEO-CONS” means “those who are conservative.” Let me point your attention to something about the messages here: There are several people here who have said that they do not like the film, but they all respect the right that Cameron has to keep his hard-earned money. What a crazy concept! It’s the liberals who want the government to force Cameron to share his money with those who did nothing to earn it.
And only a hypocrite liberal would congratulate this GREEDY liberal all the while talking bad about bank and oil executives making too much money (even tho they made WAY less than Cameron).
I consider myself a NEO-CON of sorts (altho I am quite Liberal in several aspects of my life); I thought the movie was extremely impressive visually and technically, rather good on the acting as well, and sort of sucky in the storyline and concepts, but I really enjoyed it in spite of its ‘Noble nature people vs. the nasty Earth/US Military’ bent.
So, no, we NEO-CONS don’t necessarily HATE IT …
Obama better take it away from him like hes doing
the common serfs. We commoners need equality in
the redistribution. Cameron owes it to us.
Stupid movie but well done. Same old liberal BS plot. Rich Greedy White guys ruin the world. Oh wait, isnt Cameron a rich greedy white guy?
James Cameron made $350 million by way of great visual effects and a dreadful, simpleminded story. He is another “bash America 1st” liberal who who wrote and directed another movie bashing American Marines and free enterprise.
My question for Mr. Cameron on is this – “do you have the guts to write and direct something equally hostile toward radical Islam?”
That’s funny – no one in Hollywood wants to go there..WHY???
You didn’t see “TRUE LIES”?
or Collateral Damage