“This is pure desperation”: James Cameron Was Disgusted With Liam Neeson’s Movie, Said It Degraded the Cinema Despite Over $90 Million Profit

"This is pure desperation": James Cameron Was Disgusted With Liam Neeson's Movie, Said It Degraded the Cinema Despite Over $90 Million Profit
Featured Video

Liam Neeson played the lead in 2012’s science fiction and action film, Battleship. It is based on the game of the same name. The movie was directed by Peter Berg and penned by brothers Jon and Erich Hoeber. The plot focuses on a group of warships forced to fight against a massive naval fleet of aliens who want to cause destruction on Earth. The movie did an average business with a gross of $303 million worldwide.

Advertisement
Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson

The movie did not get a great review from the viewers, and reputed director James Cameron even said it was ridiculous and degrading to the cinema world.

Also read- Movies That Bombed So Hard They Had To Cancel Sequel Plans

Advertisement

James Cameron was disgusted by Niam Leeson’s Battleship

James Cameron is one of the leading directors of Hollywood, with numerous successful movies in his name. The director is known to push the boundaries of cinematic capacity and bring innovation to all his projects. Some prominent works of the director include The Terminator, Titanic, and the highest-grossing film to date, Avatar: The Way of Water.

The director is not a fan of Neeson’s film Battleship. He shared in an interview that these kinds of movies show the degrading state of the cinema. Talking to Spiegel Online via Contact Music, he shared,

“We have a story crisis. Now they want to make Battleship the game into a film! This is pure desperation because now the ‘Sequel Business’ governs Hollywood, or how we call it: the franchise.”

Liam Neeson in Battleship
Liam Neeson in Battleship

The Avatar director brought focus to the larger problem, the film studios relying too much on franchises. He said,

Advertisement

“Everyone in Hollywood knows how important it is that the film before it hit theaters, is already a brand. If a brand has been around, Harry Potter for example, or Spider-Man, you are light years ahead…And there lies the problem. Because unfortunately [these franchises are becoming more] ridiculous. Battleship. This degrades the cinema.”

James Cameron’s movies Avatar (2009), Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), and Titanic (1997) are among the top four highest-grossing films ever.

Also read- James Cameron Becomes the First Director Ever to Have 3 Films Gross Over $1.5 Billion Worldwide

Liam Neeson reveals how he got the role in Battleship

The sci-fi action drama movie, Battleship is one of the movies which failed to impress the viewers despite a solid cast. The film featured Liam Neeson, Rihanna, Alexander Skarsgard, and Taylor Kitsch.

Advertisement
Rihanna in Battleship (2012)
Rihanna in Battleship (2012)

Taken star revealed in an interview, how he got roped in the alien invasion film. The actor shared that he received a phone call from the movie director Peter Berg which got him interested. Liam Neeson recalled in an interview with Film Industry Network,

“Pete Berg called me up and said, ‘Do you want to be the Admiral of the Fleet?’ I said, ‘What is that?’ He said, ‘You get to call the shots, you get to come to Hawaii for a few days, and everybody salutes you.’”

The numbers reported that the movie made $303 million worldwide, and its budget was $220 million.

Battleship is available to stream on Netflix.

Advertisement

Also read-“She was giving a hard time to these boys”: Rihanna Landed Battleship Movie After Convincing Director With Her SNL Sketch, Regretted Instantly After Film Bombed Massively Threatening Her Hollywood Career

Source- Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Avatar

Written by Arushi

Articles Published: 712

Arushi is a keen follower of Hollywood movies and TV shows. She has an experience of 5+ years in content writing and loves to write on everything around Hollywood and fan fiction. An ardent Hollywood buff, Arushi loves to tell stories through her writing and has contributed to several posts. You will find her following celebrities and enjoying classics in her free time.