“I warned you guys,” says renowned Hollywood director James Cameron, reflecting on the prescient themes of his iconic Terminator series. Over 40 years since the release of the first film, Cameron asserts that the future it depicted is now a reality. “We are literally living out the precipice of what was science fiction back when I did it in the eighties,” he remarked in a recent interview with 7.30.
The multi Academy Award-winning director has expressed interest in creating a new Terminator story but acknowledges the rapid pace of AI development as a significant challenge. “I’m struggling with exactly how to tell a new Terminator story that won’t be obsolete in a year,” Cameron admitted. His primary concern, however, is the potential weaponization of AI. “It was science fiction that people would get into an arms race and connect it up to their weapons platforms and to their nuclear command and control,” he warned.
The Impact of AI on Filmmaking
For a director whose career has been defined by technological innovation, the notion of “machine super intelligence” surpassing human capability is daunting. “I don’t think we’re doing enough right now societally to put the brakes on that,” Cameron stated. “And you’ve got a bunch of rich people trying to get richer trying to be first to that.”
No to AI Actors and Filmmakers
Speaking from Los Angeles, Cameron promoted the one-week cinema re-release of Avatar: The Way of Water, ahead of the anticipated December premiere of the next installment, Fire and Ash. “It’s a shameless ploy to get more money,” he joked, emphasizing the importance of the cinema experience. “I make movies for the cinema. I believe in the cinema,” he added.
Avatar 3 will open with a title card declaring that no generative AI was used in its production. Cameron explained his deliberate decision to avoid the nascent technology. “Historically and inclusive of the new film that’s coming out, not just the re-release of The Way of Water … we haven’t used any. I think people think we do, but we don’t,” he clarified. “We use computers, but it’s all artist driven. It’s all actor driven and performance driven.”
While acknowledging the transformative potential of generative AI in filmmaking, Cameron remains cautious. “You can create characters right now that are photographically plausible,” he noted. “So where are we going to be in four years, five years, 10 years? It may be possible to make finished shots for a movie without sets, without camera people, without basically without artists.”
He advocates for the film industry to establish protective measures. “I think we need to put massive guardrails on this new technology,” he urged. “I think it needs to be done by Hollywood internally. I think government regulation would be just too much of a blunt instrument.”
Avatar’s VR Future
The concept for Avatar originated from a dream Cameron had at 19. “I had a dream of a bioluminescent forest,” he recounted. “I was so galvanized by the dream, I jumped up and I drew it. I drew what I had seen and it had moss that was glowing on the ground. When you stepped on it, ripples of light moved out. All the things that are actually in the first movie. Well, I didn’t do anything with that, I just stuck the drawings in a file folder.”
With Fire and Ash set for a December release, Cameron is already developing the fourth and fifth installments of the franchise. When asked about future engagement with the Avatar films, Cameron envisions a virtual reality transformation. “I think you’re gonna have an emerging new platform, which is gonna be VR and it’s gonna be based on very small form factor, almost glasses,” he predicted. “And they have the brightness and the resolution to be competitive with the theatre experience and they’re in 3D … this will become a new player in the landscape, a new way to consume.”
As the film industry continues to evolve, Cameron’s insights highlight the delicate balance between embracing technological advancements and preserving the artistry of filmmaking. His perspective serves as a reminder of the ongoing dialogue between innovation and tradition in Hollywood.
