James Cameron had an embarrassing Oscar moment after winning the Academy Award for best director in 1998. It is one of the most publicized events and is equally prevalent for its iconic mishaps and mistakes by several celebrities. The Avatar filmmaker had his share of misfortune when he tried to copy Leonardo DiCaprio during his acceptance speech and was left humiliated.
Recently, we saw the Oscars attracting immense attention due to the controversial slap by Will Smith to Chris Rock. Several instances in the past have also caused controversial moments in the function, be it the misreading of Best Picture by Warren Beatty or “I’m the King of the World” by James Cameron.
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James Cameron was left humiliated for his Oscar speech
James Cameron is known for his innovations in filmmaking. His story of underwater filming in Avatar: The Way of Water had raised quite a buzz among the audience. However, the movie lovers did not like Cameron’s innovation in his Oscar speech in 1998.
The Terminator director received three Oscars for Titanic. When the director received his Oscar for Best Film Director, the acceptance speech went very badly. While talking to Chris Wallace for an episode of Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace (via The Wrap), the director revealed that he still regrets the “cringeworthy” moment.
According to Cameron, he should not have expressed his joy in such a way by imitating Leonardo DiCaprio. The addition of “I’m the King of the World” made him look cringe and arrogant. But the filmmaker got his lesson as he stated he would never quote his movie again in life.
“What I learned is, you don’t quote your own movie if you win. Because it’s cringeworthy. It makes the assumption that you didn’t win by a narrow margin but that every single person sitting in the audience on that night at the Kodak Theatre saw and loved ‘Titanic.’ We’ll never know how much we won by, but it might not have been a landslide at all. I took flack for all 25 years after that, but you know, you live and you learn. I think what was interpreted as arrogance or a big ‘f*ck you, I-told-you-so’ wasn’t what was in my head at all.”
James Cameron acknowledged that as a director, he was supposed to be more careful with his words. He admitted that acceptance speeches are essential for any award and should be given carefully.
James Cameron compared his situation to a Sally Field moment
It is not only James Cameron, who messed up his Oscar speech. Actress Sally Field also had a controversial situation in 1985 when she said “I can’t deny the fact that you like me. Right now, you like me!” for winning an Oscar for Places in the Heart. Cameron brought up that moment during the interview and stated-
“You do have to be careful what you say in your acceptance speech. Me and Sally Field, we have a little self-help group together on this.”
Cameron revealed that soon after the speech, when he saw Warren Beatty’s facial expressions backstage, it was clear that the mess was done. Later, several crew present at the moment also spoke that the end of the speech was cringeworthy. While Academy Show director Louis J. Horvitz thought that the director was an a**hole (via IndieWire)
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Fox Film Entertainment Head Bill Mechanic was certain that such a move before the Oscar could have a massive impact on the win. Even Titanic actor Billy Zane and James Cameron’s then-wife Linda Hamilton were not pleased by the speech.
