James Cameron is a legendary filmmaker who has delivered many incredible films throughout his career. The director is known for his keen eye for detailing and impeccable art of storytelling. The list of his iconic work is indeed long, which also includes his 1986 sci-fiction film Aliens.
However, his experience working in the film wasn’t so great as while filming Cameron’s approach to working was misunderstood by the English crew members of the film, which created tension between him and the crew. However, there was one more factor that was criticized by Cameron.
James Cameron got a culture shock while helming the 1986 film Aliens
James Cameron has worked in numerous films, and with every film the director has proven his craft. However, behind every film, there is a backstory that reflects on the toil taken. Apart from putting in effort the director also had to deal with conflicts on sets for various issues.
During his 1986 film Aliens, the director had to face one such incident where a misunderstanding created tension between him and the crew he was working with. During an interview with GQ, Cameron reflected on how working on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s film was different from working on Aliens, and what led to the misunderstanding on set.
The filmmaker said that while he was directing Terminator, the film’s budget was quite limited, and since he and the producer Anne Hurd were experienced working with tight-budget films, they didn’t mind running errands apart from doing their assigned job. Cameron shared,
“Terminator was done on really quite a shoestring budget. And Gale and I came from the same kind of guerrilla background. I was of that ethos that if my hands weren’t filthy by the end of the day, I wasn’t directing a movie. You know cause I was helping move the lights, helping move the camera, helping set everything up, move the furniture around. That’s just how I thought it was.”
However, things changed when he took on another project. According to Cameron, things were entirely different while filming Aliens as that’s when he got the ‘culture shock’.
Differences in working style led to misunderstandings between the crew and James Cameron
During the same interview, James Cameron shared that since they shot the film Aliens in England, they experienced a difference in work culture which led to some clashes between Cameron and the crew.
For instance, Cameron was accustomed to a less stern approach where he could flexibly work with the rest while focusing on his own work. But in England, people involved in filming followed a strict and formal approach, where each individual was expected to perform his own duties. Cameron explained,
“The culture shock didn’t happen for us on the first film, it happened for us on Aliens when we went to England and they had a whole, it was much more of a kind of suit and tie thing, and the director kind of just sat back and let everybody do their jobs.”
Because Cameron came from a different culture and followed a different working style, he went with the flow and started getting involved in others’ work to help them. However, his positive intent was taken otherwise as the crew members thought he was trying to insult them. Cameron said,
“I think they were insulted ’cause they thought I believed they didn’t know their jobs and I had to help them, which wasn’t it at all. It was just a sort of a muck-in and get-it-done kind of mentality.”
Moreover, the director claimed that the crew was slow with their work, hence he gave them a hand to speed up the work. He said,
“They were by the way slow as shit. So I thought maybe I’d speed’em up a little bit.”
Although there were certain misunderstandings during the production of Aliens, the film was a massive success, and it also earned an Oscar nomination.
Source: GQ
