James Cameron gave one of the biggest blockbusters ever with the disaster epic Titanic. The film, which was a love story set during the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, was the highest-grossing film of all time until it was surpassed by his own film Avatar. Cameron’s film became a pop cultural milestone for its depiction of the disaster and has become one of the most adored romances.
While Cameron has delivered blockbusters that have been great pieces of art, he is known for running a tight ship on set. Many stories have come out of his autocratic behavior and his long schedules without breaks. Titanic actor Bernard Hill mentioned that he used to be very hard on actors and crew members who did not give their full potential for the film.
Bernard Hill Recounts James Cameron’s Wrath On Titanic
Actor Bernard Hill played the role of Captain Edward Smith in James Cameron’s magnum opus Titanic. The actor was known for his roles in films such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Clint Eastwood’s True Crime. Hill reportedly had no inkling of how big the film would become while they were shooting it and that he felt that the set was very close and intimate.
While Hill did bear the brunt of it, he recounted James Cameron’s annoyance at actors who did not work to their full potential. Hill mentioned to Metro that since he was working at his maximum during all days, he would get extremely annoyed when he did not receive the same commitment from others in the cast and crew.
Though he did not mention any names, Hill spoke of Cameron running out of patience when he figured out that an actor was not working well for him,
“He always wants to work through a scene with an actor and give them opportunities to do it again, and work it out, to work with them on the different routes through a scene…It’s people who don’t actually reach for their full potential and he can’t bear it. And if you’re doing that, he’ll knock you out. He’ll crucify you… He got very bored with people who wouldn’t or couldn’t do it.”
James Cameron is notorious for his extremely strict rules and reportedly pushed his crew to work for ten hours straight without accounting for breaks.
James Cameron Regretted His Autocratic Behavior On Set Later
Many filmmakers have often come under fire for their extremely difficult behavior on set, despite their end result of good art. Directors such as Stanley Kubrick, David Fincher, and David O Russell have allegedly been extremely difficult directors, with multiple retakes for actors and extremely tight schedules.
James Cameron has also been notorious for his difficult behavior on set. The filmmaker has been accused of being extremely rude and mean on set and reportedly ran a tight schedule that did not account for breaks. The cast and crew of Titanic were famously forbidden from using the bathroom during filming, which was so strict that Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio reportedly went in the water tank they were filming in (via ScreenRant).
However, Cameron seemed to have regretted his behavior of late and mentioned that he would have done things differently if he were to do it again. He reportedly mentioned on his Masterclass sessions,
“I could’ve listened more. I could’ve been less autocratic. I could’ve not made the movie more important than the human interaction of the crew.”
Cameron’s behavior was so bad that Kate Winslet reportedly refused to work with him again on any film, though she returned for Avatar 2: The Way of the Water (via ScreenRant).
