Jon Landau (born 1947) is an American music critic, manager and record producer, most known for his association in all three capacities with Bruce Springsteen.

He is currently the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

As a critic, Landau wrote for Rolling Stone from its first issue and for other publications. In vol. 1, number 1 of RS, 1967.11.09,^[1] Landau compared Jimi Hendrix and his debut album, Are You Experienced, to Eric Clapton and Cream's debut album, Fresh Cream (both released months before, and both Jimi and Cream having made huge American splashes as live performers that summer). The next few issues saw Landau staking out more traditional R&B and soul territory with profiles of Aretha Franklin,^[2] and Sam and Dave,^[3] plus a posthumous Otis Redding appreciation.

Landau's prophetic 1974 article in The Real Paper,^[4] wherein he famously claimed "I saw rock and roll's future and its name is Bruce Springsteen", is credited by Nick Hornby ^[5] and others with fostering Springsteen's popularity. Landau was then hired by Springsteen, and is cited as co-producer on Springsteen studio records from 1975's Born to Run, through 1992's Human Touch and Lucky Town. He is considered to have influenced Springsteen artistically^[6] as well as professionally.

Other artists that Landau has managed and/or produced include MC5, Livingston Taylor, Jackson Browne, Natalie Merchant, Alejandro Escovedo,^[7] and Shania Twain, among others.

References[link]

Annie Duke
Annie Duke at the 2010 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship
Nickname(s)	Annie Legend, The Duke, The Duchess of Poker
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Born	(1965-09-13) September 13, 1965 (age 46)
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s)	1
Money finish(es)	38
Highest ITM Main Event finish	10th, 2000
World Poker Tour
Title(s)	None
Final table(s)	None
Money finish(es)	4
Information accurate as of 07-21-2010.

Annie Duke (born Anne LaBarr Lederer;^[1] September 13, 1965) is a professional poker player and author who won a bracelet in the 2004 World Series of Poker $2,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Event and was the winner of the 2004 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, where she earned the Winner-Take-All prize of $2,000,000. In 2010, she won the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, earning a cash prize of $500,000 in addition to the title.

Personal life[link]

Duke was born Anne LaBarr Lederer in Concord, New Hampshire, the daughter of Rhoda S. (née Spagenberg) and Richard Lederer, a writer and linguist who taught at St. Paul's School.^[1][2] Her brother, Howard Lederer, is also a professional poker player. Her sister, Katy Lederer, is an author and poet who wrote a book about the Lederer family, titled Poker Face: A Girlhood Among Gamblers. She has four children: Maud (1995), Leo (1998), Lucy (2000), and Nell (2002).^[2] Duke is Jewish on her father's side.^[3]

Annie attended Columbia University where she double-majored in English and psychology. Subsequent to her undergraduate years, Duke was awarded an NSF Fellowship to attend graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania to study psycholinguistics, a field within cognitive psychology. Although originally intending to continue her studies, she decided to leave school in 1992, after five years of graduate school and one month before defending her Ph.D. work.^[2] She married Ben Duke, a close friend from the same university, and moved to his home in Columbus, Montana. It was at this time that, with the support of her brother, she began playing poker in nearby Billings, Montana.

In 2002, she moved to Portland, Oregon to work for ieLogic, a company that produces software for online real time casino gaming, which eventually came to life as UltimateBet.^[4] She and Ben were divorced in 2004, but she did win a $500 wager made with fellow pro Steve Zolotow, who bet her that her marriage wouldn't last five years.^[5] In 2005 she and her children moved to the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Duke and her then new, Mediterranean-style home — with fiance Joe Reitman — were featured in The New York Times article "At Home With Annie Duke" on January 19, 2006.^[6]

Poker[link]

After leaving her academic work, Duke began playing poker in the legal card rooms in Billings, Montana.^[2]

In early 2004, Duke received considerable publicity for tutoring actor Ben Affleck, who then went on to win the 2004 California State Poker Championship. In the 2004 World Series of Poker, she eliminated her brother, Howard Lederer, from four separate events, including the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, where she took first place and her brother took third. During this same World Series, she won her first gold bracelet, in an Omaha Hi-Lo tournament. She was one of three women (Kathy Liebert and Cyndy Violette being the other two) to win an open event in that year's WSOP.

Duke is one of many poker players who disagree with the restrictions placed on players during televised tournaments. Although the players pay mandatory fees to enter tournaments, some venues do not allow players to wear sponsorship logos. Duke raised some controversy when she made a statement in a news article regarding this issue: "We [poker players] are not even slaves. We're people paying to pick the cotton."^[7]

In 2006, Duke won the second annual World Series of Rock Paper Scissors (WSORPS). The WSORPS is an annual charity tournament hosted by Phil Gordon at the World Series of Poker. The winner receives free entry into the WSOP Main Event and the proceeds are donated to Gordon's charity Bad Beat on Cancer.

Live poker[link]

Tournaments[link]

As of 2010, her total live tournament winnings exceeded $4,270,000.^[8] Her 38 cashes at the WSOP account for $1,128,951 of those winnings.^[9]

World Series of Poker[link]

As of 2010, Annie holds the women's record for most "in the money" finishes at the WSOP, ranking 32nd overall with 38 cashes.^[10] In September 2004, Duke won $2,000,000 in the inaugural World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, a 10-player, winner-take-all invitational event. At the time, this victory was the most money paid in a single event to a female poker player. That record was broken by Annette Obrestad as a result of her victory in the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe Main Event.

Duke has won one World Series of Poker bracelet, in Omaha HiLo, and more than three million dollars in tournament play. Nowadays she refuses to play in women's only tournaments, saying that "Poker is one of the few sports where a woman can compete on a totally equal footing with a man, so I don't understand why there's a ladies only tournament."^[11]

In the Main Event of the 2006 World Series of Poker, she finished in 88th place (out of 8,773 entrants) for $51,129 in winnings. She was one of two women left in the field when she was eliminated. (The remaining woman, Sabyl Cohen, later finished in 56th place for $123,699.)

Other notable tournaments[link]

In 2010, Duke won the National Heads-Up Poker Championship.^[12] In a field of 64 top-ranked players, Duke defeated in order: Andy Bloch, Darvin Moon, Paul Wasicka, Jerry Yang, Dennis Phillips and Erik Seidel.

Online poker[link]

Until December 30, 2010, when she and Phil Hellmuth announced their departure, Duke was an UltimateBet Cardroom Consultant and a member of Team UB.^[13]

Other poker activities[link]

As well as competing, Duke writes and speaks on poker-related subjects, and promotes poker-related organizations. Since 2000, she has been a spokesperson for UltimateBet and has written many articles for the online poker website, mainly on Omaha HiLo. In 2005, Duke penned her autobiography, How I Raised, Folded, Bluffed, Flirted, Cursed, and Won Millions at The World Series of Poker.^[14]

On January 30, 2006, Duke became the first poker personality to appear on The Colbert Report.^[15] During the show, she talked about her book and what it's like to be a woman in a male-dominated event. In 2006, The Game Show Network (GSN) premiered a television special titled Annie Duke Takes on the World, which features Duke playing against amateur poker players. Duke has also made appearances on the Ultimate Blackjack Tour playing Elimination Blackjack.

Annie Duke has appeared on NBC's Poker After Dark three times but has not won.

Along with Phil Hellmuth Jr., Duke is a coach on Fox Sports Network’s Best Damn Poker Show, which is sponsored by the poker site UltimateBet.

WSOP Poker Academy[link]

Annie Duke is a teacher at the WSOP Poker Academy poker school. She appeared on The Ellen Degeneres Show and donated a WSOP Academy Experience Package which was auctioned off to benefit the Humane Society.^[16][17]

Other ventures[link]

In addition to poker, Duke is involved with various other ventures. On December 1, 2006, Duke appeared as a member of the Mob on the NBC program, 1 vs. 100.^[18] She correctly answered every question and was the only celebrity who wasn't eliminated. She returned for the next few weeks, answering her questions correctly. She reappeared on the Christmas Day episode on December 25, answering a total of 35 consecutive questions correctly during her time on 1 vs. 100, making her the longest running mob member in the history of the show to that point.^{[citation needed]} Duke returned on February 9, 2007 under special "Last Man Standing" rules where the game continued until only one person remained. She survived to reach the final five of 100 contestants, before she, along with three of the other four mob members including Ken Jennings, were eliminated.^[19]

On March 24, 2008, Duke appeared on the NBC show Deal Or No Deal to support a contestant named Mary Beth Holtzheimer who, after taking a $341,000 deal from the bank with only two cases left, found her case #13 had the $1,000,000. Annie gave Mary Beth an offer earlier that included a dinner with herself, Mary Beth, and her fiance John Salmieri; private lessons; and an invitation to attend an All Ladies Poker league if the bank's offer was accepted, but it was not.

In 2009, she appeared on the reality television show, Celebrity Apprentice.^[20] on which contestants raise money for charities of their choice. Duke raised more money for her charity, Refugees International,^[21] than any other contestant. Of the field of 16 competitors, Duke survived to compete in the finale against her primary rival throughout the show, Joan Rivers. Duke's fund-raising donations were more than triple those of Rivers'. However, total donations were only one of five criteria adjudged in the final task, and Rivers was ranked superior in three out of the five, placing Duke in second place overall.

Bibliography[link]

• Annie Duke: How I Raised, Folded, Bluffed, Flirted, Cursed, and Won Millions at the World Series of Poker (2005) ISBN 1-59463-012-7

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Annie Duke

• Official site
• July 2004 Columbia College article
• Poker Source Online interview
• PokerLizard.com interview
• Hossli.com interview
• July 2009 USA Today Q&A

Jim Cooper
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 5th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Bob Clement
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 4th district
In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Al Gore
Succeeded by	Van Hilleary
Personal details
Born	(1954-07-19) July 19, 1954 (age 57) Nashville, Tennessee
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Martha Hayes
Children	Mary, Jamie, Hayes
Residence	Shelbyville, Tennessee (1983-c. 1995) Nashville, Tennessee (c. 1995-present)
Alma mater	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Oxford University Harvard Law School
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	Episcopalian

Cooper with his wife Martha

James Hayes Shofner "Jim" Cooper (born July 19, 1954) is the U.S. Representative for Tennessee's 5th congressional district (based in Nashville), serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party and the Blue Dog Coalition. He previously represented Tennessee's 4th congressional district from 1983 to 1995.

Early life, education, and law career[link]

Cooper was born in Nashville and raised in Shelbyville, Tennessee.^[1] He is the son of former governor Prentice Cooper and his wife Hortense.^[2] He is an Eagle Scout. Jim Cooper attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was a member of the Alpha Sigma Chapter of the Chi Psi fraternity, a recipient of the Morehead-Cain Scholarship, and earned a B.A. in history and economics. Cooper won a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford, where he earned a B.A./M.A. in politics and economics in 1977. In 1980, he received a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

After getting his law degree, he spent two years working for the law firm Waller, Lansden, Dortch and Davis in Nashville, then ran for Congress in 1982.^[3]

U.S. House of Representatives (1982-1995)[link]

Elections[link]

Earlier photo of Cooper

In 1982, Cooper won the Democratic primary for the 4th District, which had been created when Tennessee gained a district after the 1980 census. The new 4th ran diagonally across the state, from heavily Republican areas near Tri-Cities, Knoxville and Chattanooga to the fringes of the Nashville suburbs. The district stretched across five media markets - the Tri-Cities (Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol), Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville and Huntsville, Alabama - so the 1982 race had much of the feel of a statewide race. Owing to the district's demographics, many felt that whoever won the election would almost instantly become a statewide figure with a high potential for election to statewide office in the future. Cooper defeated Cissy Baker, an editor in Washington for the Cable News Network and the daughter of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker^[4] with 66 percent of the vote. He was reelected five more times with little substantive opposition, running unopposed in 1986 and 1988. This was somewhat surprising, given the district's volatile demographics. The district, then as now, was split between areas with strong Democratic and Republican voting histories. Indeed, prior to Cooper's election, much of the eastern portion of the 4th hadn't been represented by a Democrat since the Civil War. However, the size of the district makes it extremely difficult to unseat an incumbent.

Tenure[link]

Cooper has always been a staunch supporter of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the movement to loosen federal gun laws, and during his 1984 election campaign, the NRA donated a sum to his campaign that approached the legal limit of $10,000.^[5]

In 1992 Cooper was co-author of a bipartisan health-care reform plan, that did not include employer mandates compelling universal coverage. This initiative met with strong opposition from Hillary Clinton.^[6]

In 1990, Cooper was one of only three House Democrats who voted against the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.^[7] On several occasions, however, he found himself having to explain his votes to his somewhat conservative constituents.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009 the Wall Street Journal wrote about Cooper's concerns about the national deficit. “It's even worse than most people think, he says, because of dodgy accounting used by the federal government...'The U.S. government uses cash accounting,' he says. 'That is illegal for any enterprise of any size in America except for the U.S. government.'”^[8] He made similar remarks on PBS, saying that 'The real deficit in America is at least twice as large as any politician will tell you. And it may be ten times larger.'”^[9]

Committee assignments[link]

During his first period in Congress, he served on the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce^[10][11][12]

1994 U.S. Senate election[link]

In 1994, Cooper ran for the Senate seat vacated by Al Gore's election to the Vice Presidency, but was soundly defeated by Republican attorney and actor Fred Thompson. Cooper received just under 40 percent of the vote. It was a bad year overall for Democrats in Tennessee, as Republican Bill Frist captured Tennessee's other Senate seat and Don Sundquist was elected governor. The 4th district seat was also won by a Republican, Van Hilleary, as the GOP gained a majority of the state's congressional delegation for only the second time since Reconstruction.

Inter-congressional years (1995-2002)[link]

After losing his Senate bid, Cooper moved to Nashville and went into private business, also serving as a professor at Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management.

U.S. House of Representatives (2002-Present)[link]

Elections[link]

2002

When Thompson opted not to run for a second full Senate term in 2002, 5th District U.S. Congressman Bob Clement ran for Thompson's seat, resulting in the first open-seat race in the 5th District since a 1987 special election. Cooper entered the Democratic primary along with several other prominent local Democrats. Having not won the district since 1874, Republicans had long since given up on it; the last serious GOP bid for the 5th had been in 1972. It was generally understood that whoever won the Democratic primary was all but assured of victory in November. Cooper won the primary with 44 percent of the vote, all but assuring his return to Congress after an eight-year absence. Cooper defeated opponent Craig Schelske in the general election by an overwhelming margin.

2004

Cooper was re-elected in 2004 against a Republican who disavowed his party's national ticket.

2006

In the 2006 election, Cooper faced Tom Kovach, the state public relations coordinator for the Constitution Party, who ran as a Republican since the Constitution Party did not have ballot access in Tennessee at the time. No one opposed Kovach for the Republican nomination. Cooper defeated Kovach by 41 points.

2008

On Election Day 2008, Cooper easily won re-election with 66 percent of the vote, defeating Republican John Gerard Donovan and Independent Jon "Trailerpark" Jackson, who garnered 31 percent and 2 percent respectively.^[13]

2010

Cooper defeated Republican David Hall on November 2, 2010, with 57 percent of the vote to Hall's 42 percent.^[14]

Tenure[link]

Cooper is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition and the New Democrat Coalition and generally has a moderate voting record. Cooper is the only Tennessean on the Armed Services Committee. He also serves on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Despite the different policy affiliation, he became one of Barack Obama's earliest Congressional endorsers.^[15] Cooper opposed an $819 billion economic stimulus plan that passed the House in 2009,^[16] but ended up voting for the revised $787 billion final package.^[17] He is one of only a few Blue Dog members that don't seek earmarks.^[18][19] Cooper voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in March 2010.^[20]

In July 2011, Cooper was one of five Democrats to vote for the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act.^[21]

In 2011, Rep. Cooper became a co-sponsor of Bill H.R.3261 otherwise known as the Stop Online Piracy Act. ^[22]

Criticism of Congress

Cooper spoke with Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig about the subject of reforming Congress.^[23] According to Lessig, Cooper explained that members of Congress were were so preoccupied with the question of what they would do after leaving Congress – the most obvious career path being lobbying – that they fell into the habit of thinking about how to serve special interests rather than how to serve the public.^[23] According to Lessig, Cooper described Congress as a "Farm League for K Street".^[24][23]

In 2011, Cooper said: “Working in this Congress is deeply frustrating; in fact, it's enraging. My colleagues are misbehaving. They're posturing for voters back home. They're taking the cheap political hit instead of studying the problem that's before us.”^[25] In the same year, Cooper “called the partisan posturing over the debt ceiling 'an extremely dangerous game of chicken,' and said he’d 'never seen politicians act more irresponsibly than they have been recently,' over the nation’s debt.”^[26]

Committee assignments[link]

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Ranking Member)
• Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
  • Subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency and Financial Management
  • Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending
  • Subcommittee on TARP, Financial Services and Bailouts of Public and Private Programs

Caucus memberships

• Congressional Arts Caucus

Personal life[link]

In 1985 Cooper married Martha Bryan Hays.^[27] They have three children.^[28] Cooper's daughter Mary is the sitting Student Body President at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ^[29] Cooper's son Hayes attends Groton School.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jim Cooper

• U.S. Representative Jim Cooper official House site
• Jim Cooper for Congress official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Liberadio(!) audio Interview
• "Jim Cooper Gets the Treatment: A Blue Dog Barks Back" Interview with Jonathan Cohn, The New Republic, April 2, 2009
• The Last Moderate, Joe Nocera, The New York Times, September 5, 2011

James Cameron
James Cameron in February 2010
Born	James Francis Cameron (1954-08-16) August 16, 1954 (age 57) Kapuskasing, Ontario
Residence	Permanent Los Angeles, California, secondary Permanent New Zealand
Nationality	Canadian
Citizenship	Canada
Education	Brea Olinda High School
Alma mater	Fullerton College
Occupation	Film director, producer, editor, screenwriter, environmentalist, explorer
Years active	1978–present
Notable work(s)	The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Avatar, Titanic, Aliens, True Lies, The Abyss
Influenced by	Stanley Kubrick, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ridley Scott, George Lucas, Roger Corman, Steven Spielberg
Influenced	Joss Whedon, Kathryn Bigelow, Rupert Wyatt, Sam Raimi, Robert Rodriguez
Home town	Chippawa, Ontario
Net worth	$650 million (est.)[1]

James Francis Cameron^[2] (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian film director, film producer, deep-sea explorer, screenwriter, visual artist and editor.^[3][4][5][6] His writing and directing work includes Piranha II: The Spawning (1981), The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), True Lies (1994), Titanic (1997), Dark Angel (2000–02), and Avatar (2009). In the time between making Titanic and Avatar, Cameron spent several years creating many documentary films (specifically underwater documentaries) and co-developed the digital 3D Fusion Camera System. Described by a biographer as part-scientist and part-artist,^[7] Cameron has also contributed to underwater filming and remote vehicle technologies.^[5][6][8] On March 26, 2012, Cameron reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean, in the Deepsea Challenger submersible.^[9][10][11]

He has been nominated for six Academy Awards overall and won three for Titanic. In total, Cameron's directorial efforts have grossed approximately US$2 billion in North America and US$6 billion worldwide.^[12] Without adjusting for inflation, Cameron's Titanic and Avatar are the two highest-grossing films of all time at $2.16 billion and $2.78 billion respectively.^[13] In March 2011 he was named Hollywood's top earner by Vanity Fair, with estimated 2010 earnings of $257 million.^[14]

Background[link]

Cameron was born in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada, 1954, the son of Shirley (Lowe), an artist and nurse, and Phillip Cameron.^[15][16] His paternal great-great-great-grandfather emigrated from Balquhidder, Scotland in 1825;^[15] thus, he descends from Clan Cameron.

Cameron grew up in Chippawa, Ontario with his brother Davie Cameron and attended Stamford Collegiate School in Niagara Falls; his family moved to Brea, California in 1971 when he was 17.^[17] Cameron enrolled at Fullerton College, a 2-year community college, in 1973 to study physics. He switched to English, then dropped out before the start of the fall 1974 semester.^[18]

After dropping out of Sonora High School, he went to further his secondary education at Brea Olinda High School. After graduating, he worked several jobs such as truck driving and wrote when he had time.^[19] During this period he taught himself about special effects: "I'd go down to the USC library and pull any thesis that graduate students had written about optical printing, or front screen projection, or dye transfers, anything that related to film technology. That way I could sit down and read it, and if they'd let me photocopy it, I would. If not, I'd make notes."^[20]

After seeing the original Star Wars film in 1977, Cameron quit his job as a truck driver to enter the film industry.^[21] When Cameron read Syd Field's book Screenplay, it occurred to him that integrating science and art was possible, and he wrote a ten-minute science fiction script with two friends, entitled Xenogenesis. They raised money and rented camera, lenses, film stock, and studio, and shot it in 35mm. To understand how to operate the camera, they dismantled it and spent the first half-day of the shoot trying to figure out how to get it running.

Early career[link]

While continuing to educate himself in film-making techniques, Cameron started working as a miniature-model maker at Roger Corman Studios.^[19] Making rapidly produced, low-budget productions taught Cameron to work efficiently and effectively. He soon found employment as an art director in the sci-fi movie Battle Beyond the Stars (1980). He did special effects work design and direction on John Carpenter's Escape from New York (1981), acted as production designer on Galaxy of Terror (1981), and consulted on the design of Android (1982).^[22]

Cameron was hired as the special effects director for the sequel of Piranha, entitled Piranha II: The Spawning in 1981. The original director, Miller Drake, left the project due to creative differences with Ovidio Assonitis. Cameron was hired by Assonitis to take over, giving him his first directorial job. (He had worked previously with producer Roger Corman.) The interior scenes were filmed in Italy while the underwater diving sequences were shot at Grand Cayman Island.^[23]

The movie was to be produced in Jamaica. On location, production slowed down due to numerous problems and adverse weather conditions. James Cameron was fired after failing to get a close up of Carole Davis in her opening scene. Ovidio ordered Cameron to do the close-up the next day before he started on that day’s shooting. Cameron spent the entire day sailing around the resort to reproduce the lighting but still failed to get the close-up. After he was fired, Ovidio invited Cameron to stay on location and assist in the shooting. Once in Rome, Ovidio took over the editing when Cameron was stricken with food poisoning. Suffering from his illness, one night he had a nightmare about an invincible robot hitman sent from the future to kill him, giving him the idea for The Terminator, which would later catapult his filming career.^[23]

Major films[link]

[edit] The Terminator (1984)

Cameron in September 1986

After completing a screenplay for The Terminator, Cameron decided to sell it so that he could direct the movie. However, the production companies he contacted, while expressing interest in the project, were unwilling to let a largely inexperienced feature film director make the movie. Finally, Cameron found a company called Hemdale Pictures, which was willing to let him direct. Gale Anne Hurd, who had started her own production company, Pacific Western Productions, had previously worked with Cameron in Roger Corman's company and agreed to buy Cameron's screenplay for one dollar, on the condition that Cameron direct the film. Hurd was signed on as producer, and Cameron finally got his first break as director. Orion Pictures distributed the film.^[24]

Initially, for the role of the Terminator, Cameron wanted someone who wasn't exceptionally muscular, and who could "blend into" a normal crowd. Lance Henriksen, who had starred in Piranha II: The Spawning, was considered for the title role, but when Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cameron first met over lunch to discuss Schwarzenegger playing the role of Kyle Reese, both came to the conclusion that the cyborg villain would be the more compelling role for the Austrian bodybuilder; Henriksen got the smaller part of LAPD detective Hal Vukovich and the role of Kyle Reese went to Michael Biehn. In addition, Linda Hamilton first appeared in this film in her iconic role of Sarah Connor, and later married Cameron.^[16]

The Terminator was a box office hit, breaking expectations by Orion Pictures executives that the film would be regarded as no more than a sci-fi film, and only last a week in theaters. It was a low-budget film which cost $6.5 million to make, cutting expenses in such ways as recording the audio track in mono. However, The Terminator eventually earned over $78 million worldwide.^[25]

[edit] Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

During the early 1980s, Cameron wrote three screenplays simultaneously: The Terminator, Aliens, and the first draft of Rambo: First Blood Part II. While Cameron continued with The Terminator and Aliens, Sylvester Stallone eventually took over the script of Rambo: First Blood Part II, creating a final draft which differed radically from Cameron's initial version.^[26]

[edit] Aliens (1986)

The producing team behind Aliens, James Cameron and Gale Ann Hurd.

Cameron next began the sequel to Alien, the 1979 film by Ridley Scott. Cameron named the sequel Aliens, and again cast Sigourney Weaver in the iconic role of Ellen Ripley. According to Cameron, the crew on Aliens was hostile to him, regarding him as a poor substitute for Ridley Scott. Cameron sought to show them The Terminator but the majority of the crew refused to watch it and remained skeptical of his direction throughout production. Despite this and other off-screen problems (such as clashing with an uncooperative camera man and having to replace one of the lead actors – Michael Biehn of Terminator took James Remar's place as Corporal Hicks), Aliens became a box office success, and received Academy Award nominations for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Weaver, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Sound, and won awards for Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Visual Effects. In addition, the film and its lead actress made the cover of TIME magazine as a result of its numerous and extensive scenes of women in combat - these were almost without precedent and expressed the feminist theme of the film very strongly.

[edit] The Abyss (1989)

Cameron's next project stemmed from an idea that had come up during a high school biology class. The story of oil-rig workers who discover otherworldly underwater creatures became the basis of Cameron's screenplay for The Abyss, which cast Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Michael Biehn. Initially budgeted at $41 million U.S. (though the production ran considerably over budget), it was considered to be one of the most expensive films of its time, and required cutting-edge effects technology. Because much of the film takes place underwater and the technology wasn't advanced enough to digitally create an underwater environment, Cameron chose to shoot much of the movie "reel-for-real", at depths of up to 40 feet (12 m). For creation of the sets, the containment building of an unfinished nuclear power plant was converted, and two huge tanks were used.^[27] The main tank was filled with 7,500,000 US gallons (28,000,000 L) of water, and the second with 2,500,000 US gallons (9,500,000 L). The cast and crew resided there for much of the shooting.

[edit] Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

After the success of The Terminator, there had always been talks about a sequel to continue the story of Sarah Connor and her struggle against machines from the future. Although Cameron had come up with a core idea for the sequel, and Schwarzenegger expressed interest in continuing the story, there were still problems regarding who had the rights to the story, as well as the logistics of the special effects needed to make the sequel. Finally, in late-1980s, Mario Kassar of Carolco Pictures secured the rights to the sequel, allowing Cameron to greenlight production of the film, now called Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

For the film, Linda Hamilton reprised her iconic role of Sarah Connor.^[28] In addition, Schwarzenegger also returned in his role as The Terminator, but this time as a protector. Unlike the T-800, who is made of a metal endoskeleton, the new villain of the sequel, called the T-1000, was a more advanced Terminator made of liquid metal, and with polymorphic abilities. The T-1000 would also be much less bulky than the T-800. For the role, Cameron cast Robert Patrick, a sharp contrast to Schwarzenegger. Cameron explained, "I wanted someone who was extremely fast and agile. If the T-800 is a human Panzer tank, then the T-1000 is a Porsche."

Cameron had originally wanted to incorporate this advanced-model Terminator into the first film, but the special effects at the time were not advanced enough. The ground-breaking effects used in The Abyss to digitally depict the water tentacle convinced Cameron that his liquid metal villain was now possible.

TriStar Pictures agreed to distribute the film, but under a locked release date only about one year after the start of shooting. The movie, co-written by Cameron and his longtime friend, William Wisher, Jr., had to go from screenplay to finished film in just that amount of time. Like Cameron's previous film, it was one of the most expensive films of its era, with a budget of about $100 million. The biggest challenge of the movie was the special effects used in creating the T-1000. Nevertheless, the film was finished on time, and released to theaters on July 3, 1991.

Terminator 2, or T2, as it was abbreviated, broke box-office records (including the opening weekend record for an R-rated film), earning over $200 million in the United States and Canada, and over $300 million in other territories, and became the highest-grossing film of that year. It won four Academy Awards: Best Makeup, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Visual Effects. It was also nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing, but lost both Awards to JFK.

James Cameron announced a third Terminator film many times during the 1990s, but without coming out with any finished scripts. Kassar and Vajna purchased the rights to the Terminator franchise from a bankruptcy sale of Carolco's assets.^[29] Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was eventually made and released in July 2003 without Cameron's involvement. Jonathan Mostow directed the film and Schwarzenegger returned as the Terminator.

Cameron reunited with the main cast of Terminator 2 to film T2 3-D: Battle Across Time, an attraction at Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan. It was released in 1996 and was a mini-sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The show is in two parts: a prequel segment in which a spokesperson talks about Cyberdyne, and a main feature, in which the performers interact with a 3-D movie.

[edit] True Lies (1994)

Before the release of T2, Schwarzenegger came to Cameron with the idea of remaking the French comedy La Totale! Titled True Lies, with filming beginning after T2's release, the story revolves around a secret-agent spy who leads a double life as a married man, whose wife believes he is a computer salesman. Schwarzenegger was cast as Harry Tasker, a spy charged with stopping a plan by a terrorist to use nuclear weapons against the United States. Jamie Lee Curtis and Eliza Dushku played the character's family, and Tom Arnold the sidekick.

Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment signed on with Twentieth Century Fox for production of True Lies. Made on a budget of $115 million and released in 1994, the film earned $146 million in North America, and $232 million abroad. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects.

[edit] Titanic (1997)

Cameron expressed interest in the famous sinking of the ship RMS Titanic. He decided to script and film his next project based on this event. The picture revolved around a fictional romance story between two young lovers from different social classes who meet on board. Before production began, he took dives to the bottom of the Atlantic and shot actual footage of the ship underwater, which he inserted into the final film. Much of the film's dialogue was also written during these dives.

Subsequently, Cameron cast Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Gloria Stuart, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde, Victor Garber, Danny Nucci, David Warner, Suzy Amis, and Bill Paxton as the film's principal cast. Cameron's budget for the film reached about $200 million, making it the most expensive movie ever made at the time. Before its release, the film was widely ridiculed for its expense and protracted production schedule.

Released to theaters on December 19, 1997, Titanic grossed less in its first weekend ($28.6 million) than in its second, ($35.4 million), an increase of 23.8%. This is unheard of for a widely released film, which is a testament to the movie's appeal. This was especially noteworthy, considering that the film's running time of more than three hours limited the number of showings each theater could schedule. It held the No. 1 spot on the box-office charts for months, eventually grossing a total of over $600 million in the United States and Canada and more than $1.8 billion worldwide. Titanic became the highest-grossing film ever made, until Cameron's 2009 film Avatar. The CG visuals surrounding the sinking and destruction of the ship were considered spectacular.^[30] Despite criticism during production of the film, it received a record-tying 14 Oscar nominations (tied with All About Eve) at the 1998 Academy Awards. It won 11 Oscars (also record-tying with Ben-Hur and later The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), including Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Original Song, Best Original Dramatic Score, and the Best Director award for Cameron.^[31] Upon receiving the award, Cameron exclaimed, "I'm king of the world!", in reference to one of the main characters' lines from the film. In March 2010, Cameron revealed that Titanic will be re-released in 3D in April 2012, and it was re-released on April 4th 2012, in order to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the actual ship.^[32]

[edit] Spider-Man and Dark Angel (2000–2002)

Cameron had initially next planned to do a film of the comic book character Spider-Man, a project developed by Menahem Golan of Cannon Films. Columbia hired David Koepp to adapt Cameron's treatment into a screenplay, and Koepp's first draft is taken often word-for-word from Cameron's story,^[33] though later drafts were heavily rewritten by Koepp himself, Scott Rosenberg, and Alvin Sargent. Columbia preferred to credit David Koepp solely, and none of the scripts before or after his were ever examined by the Writers Guild of America, East to determine proper credit attribution.^{[citation needed]} Cameron and other writers objected, but Columbia and the WGA prevailed. In its release in 2002, Spider-Man had its screenplay credited solely to Koepp.^[34]

Unable to make Spider-Man, Cameron moved to television and created Dark Angel, a superheroine-centered series influenced by cyberpunk, biopunk, contemporary superhero franchises, and third-wave feminism. Co-produced with Charles H. Eglee, Dark Angel starred Jessica Alba as Max Guevara, a genetically enhanced transgenic super-soldier created by a secretive organization. Cameron's work was said to "bring empowered female warriors back to television screens[...] by mixing the sober feminism of his The Terminator and Aliens characters with the sexed-up Girl Power of a Britney Spears concert."^[35] While a success in its first season, low ratings in the second led to its cancellation. Cameron himself directed the series finale, a two-hour episode wrapping up many of the series' loose ends.

Documentaries (2002–2012)[link]

In 1998 James and John David Cameron formed a digital media company, earthship.tv which became Earthship Productions.^[36] The company produced live multimedia documentaries from the depths of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. With Earthship Productions, John Cameron's recent projects have included undersea documentaries on the Bismarck (Expedition: Bismarck, 2002) and the Titanic (Ghosts of the Abyss (2003, in IMAX 3D) and Tony Robinson's Titanic Adventure (2005)).^[37] He was a producer on the 2002 film Solaris, and narrated The Exodus Decoded.

Cameron is a leading advocate for stereoscopic digital 3-D films. In a 2003 interview about his IMAX 2D documentary Ghosts of the Abyss, he mentioned that he is "going to do everything in 3D now".^[38] He has made similar statements in other interviews. Ghosts of the Abyss and Aliens of the Deep (also an IMAX documentary) were both shot in 3-D and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, and Cameron did the same for his new project, Avatar for 20th Century Fox & Sony Pictures' Columbia Pictures. He intends to use the same technology for The Dive, Sanctum and an adaptation of the manga series Battle Angel Alita.

Cameron was the founder and CEO of Digital Domain, a visual effects production and technology company.

In addition, he plans to create a 3-D project about the first trip to Mars. ("I've been very interested in the Humans to Mars movement—the 'Mars Underground'—and I've done a tremendous amount of personal research for a novel, a miniseries, and a 3-D film.")^[39] He is on the science team for the 2011 Mars Science Laboratory.^[40]

Cameron announced on February 26, 2007, that he, along with his director, Simcha Jacobovici, have documented the unearthing of the Talpiot Tomb, which is alleged to be the tomb of Jesus. Unearthed in 1981 by Israeli construction workers, the names on the tomb are claimed, in the documentary, to correlate with the names of Jesus and several individuals closely associated with him. Scientists pictured in the feature further claim to have DNA tests, archaeological evidence, and Biblical studies to back up their claim. The documentary, named The Lost Tomb of Jesus, was broadcast on the Discovery Channel on March 4, 2007.

As a National Geographic explorer-in-residence,^[41] Cameron re-investigated the sinking of the Titanic with eight experts in 2012. The investigation was featured in the TV documentary special Titanic: The Final Word with James Cameron, which premiered on April 8 on the National Geographic Channel.^[42] In the conclusion of the analysis, the consensus revised the CGI animation of the sinking conceived in 1995.^[43][44]

[edit] Avatar (2009)

Cameron promoting Avatar during the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con

In June 2005, Cameron was announced to be working on a project tentatively titled "Project 880" (now known to be Avatar) in parallel with another project, Battle Angel (an adaptation of the manga series Battle Angel Alita).^[45] Both movies were to be shot in 3D. By December, Cameron stated that he wanted to film Battle Angel first, followed by Avatar. However in February 2006, he switched goals for the two film projects and decided to film Avatar first. He mentioned that if both films are successful, he would be interested in seeing a trilogy being made for both.^[46]

Avatar had an estimated budget of over $300 million and was released on December 18, 2009.^[47] This marked his first feature film since 1997's Titanic. It is composed almost entirely of computer-generated animation, using a more advanced version of the "performance capture" technique used by director Robert Zemeckis in The Polar Express.^[48] James Cameron wrote an 80 page scriptment for Avatar in 1995^[49] and announced in 1996 that he would make the film after completing Titanic. In December 2006, Cameron explained that the delay in producing the film since the 1990s had been to wait until the technology necessary to create his project was advanced enough.^[50] The film was originally scheduled to be released in May 2009 but was pushed back to December 2009 to allow more time for post production on the complex CGI and to give more time for theatres worldwide to install 3D projectors.^[51] Cameron originally intended Avatar to be 3D-only.^[52] The film went on to break the record for highest-grossing film ever, beating Cameron's previous film Titanic.^[53] Avatar also became the first movie to ever earn more than $2 billion worldwide. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director,^[54] and won three for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and Best Art Direction. Cameron lost the award for Best Director to his ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow, who also took Best Picture with her film The Hurt Locker.

Cameron was declared as the highest earner in Hollywood for 2010 earning $257 million for his blockbuster hit, in a survey listing the top 40 earners by Vanity Fair.^[55] Critics of Avatar have said that it continues to perpetrate the "White Messiah" myth.^[56] Film-maker Neil Diamond described it in an interview as "Dances with Pocahontas in Space."^[57]

[edit] Sanctum (2011)

Most recently, James Cameron served as the executive producer of Sanctum, a $30,000,000 (estimated budget) film detailing the expedition of a team of underwater cave divers who find themselves trapped in a cave, their exit blocked and no known way to reach the surface either in person or with radio contact.

Planned films[link]

In October 2010, Cameron signed an agreement with Fox to direct two sequels to Avatar, which are scheduled to be released in December 2014 and December 2015. Another project Cameron has announced is a personal commitment to shoot a film on the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as told through the story of Tsutomu Yamaguchi, a man who survived both attacks. Cameron met with Yamaguchi just days before he died in 2010.^[58]

Awards[link]

Cameron receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in December 2009

Cameron received the Bradbury Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 1991—but, being primarily thought of as a genre filmmaker, he did not receive any major mainstream filmmaking awards prior to Titanic. With Titanic, Cameron received Academy Awards for Best Film Editing (shared with Conrad Buff and Richard A. Harris), Best Picture (shared with Jon Landau), and Best Director. He also won a Golden Globe Award for best director for the film.

In recognition of "a distinguished career as a Canadian filmmaker", Carleton University, Ottawa, awarded Cameron the honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts on June 13, 1998. Cameron accepted the degree in person and gave the Convocation Address.^{[citation needed]}

He also received an honorary doctorate in October 1998 from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, for his accomplishments in the international film industry.

In 1998, Cameron attended convocation to receive an honorary doctorate of Laws from Ryerson University, Toronto. The university awards its highest honor to those who have made extraordinary contributions in Canada, or internationally.

In 1999, Cameron received the honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree^[59] from California State University, Fullerton, where he had been a student in the 1970s. He received the degree at the university's annual Commencement exercises that year, where he gave the keynote speech.

In recognition of his contributions to underwater filming and remote vehicle technology, the University of Southampton awarded Cameron the honorary degree of Doctor of the University. Cameron received his degree in person at the graduation ceremony in July 2004.^{[citation needed]}

On June 3, 2008, it was announced that he would be inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.^[60] On December 18, 2009, the same day Avatar was released worldwide, Cameron received the 2,396th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[61]

On February 28, 2010 James Cameron was honored with a Visual Effects Society (VES) Lifetime Achievement Award.

With Avatar, Cameron has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Picture (shared with Jon Landau), Best Director and Best Film Editing (shared with John Refoua and Stephen E. Rivkin) and received the Golden Globe for Best Picture and Best Director.^[62] Cameron and Avatar lost the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture to Cameron's former wife^[63] Kathryn Bigelow for her film, The Hurt Locker.

On September 24, 2010 James Cameron was named Number 1 in The 2010 Guardian Film Power 100 list.^[64] In a list compiled by the British magazine New Statesman in September 2010, he was listed 30th in the list of "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures 2010".^[65]

Awards[link]