At the Cinémathèque de Paris until January 5, 2025, the exhibition “The Art of James Cameron” delves into the sketchbooks of the American director and producer. This immersion in his creative universe which precedes the shooting of his films presents more than 300 original works.
Before getting behind the camera, James Cameron imagines his films through drawings. He even included one of them in his feature film “Titanic”. More than 300 original works, including pastels and paintings, by the American director are now brought together at the Cinémathèque de Paris in the exhibition “The Art of James Cameron”. A captivating immersion into the manufacturing secrets of the filmmaker of “Avatar”, “Alien” or “Terminator” to be discovered until January 5, 2025.
Renowned for their cutting-edge visual effects, these films pushed the boundaries of what was thought possible. Yet Cameron’s ideas are born in the pages of his sketchbooks. Some of these sketches even saw the light of day during James Cameron’s sleep.
As a child, the future director imagined himself becoming a designer. “I was thinking in terms of frames, so I was really thinking in terms of shots, if you think about it. So the transition into filmmaking was very easy, because it was just an extension of what I was already doing “, indicates James Cameron in the 12:45 p.m. of April 22.
“An autobiography through art”
Drawings as so many sources of inspiration, far from the artificial intelligence increasingly used in cinema. “I think we will learn things about consciousness, things about art thanks to generative AI. But there is no original, no paint that goes on the canvas of cinema. Computers can’t do that, I think the human artist becomes more important in a way,” the director believes.
The exhibition “The Art of James Cameron” is divided into six main themes, based on the key elements of his work: “Dreaming with your eyes wide open”, “The human machine”, “Exploring the unknown”, “Titanic: Turn Back Time”, “Creatures: Humans and Aliens” and “The Untamed Worlds”. And James Cameron describes it as “an autobiography through art”, an original way of retracing sixty years of creativity.
TV topic: Karima Benamrouche
Web adaptation: olhor
“The art of James Cameron”, La Cinémathèque française, Paris, until January 5, 2025.
