Changing the game
I realise that it's a bit late but still: Was anybody actually surprised when James Cameron's "Avatar" turned out to be the biggest grossing film of all timeup to now? Considering that Mr. Cameron has been making a habit of making films that cost more than anybody else's and wind up making more money than anybody else's since 1991 (that little flick called "Terminator 2: Judgment Day") and considering that his last film on general release was "Titanic", it seemed like a bit of a no-brainer. Admittedly, there was a slight chance that sales would have reached the glass ceiling and just could not possibly be topped, but waiting for 12 years of inflation probably helped a bit, as did charging extra extra! for the longer film and the 3D glasses.
And that's the thing: James Cameron makes expensive films that in terms of production values kick the living shit out of any competition available and oftentimes do things that have not been done in movies before (CGI/Morphing in "The Abyss", CGI/Morphing 1.2 in "Terminator 2", CGI/3D in "Avatar", horse in elevator in "True Lies"), which leads to them making lots of money at the box office. Being able to do this consistently certainly is a skill but it hardly is the "game changer" that it has been touted as. Rather, James Cameron is one of the best players of the old game, and there is always an audience waiting to be razzle-dazzled.
And that's the thing: James Cameron makes expensive films that in terms of production values kick the living shit out of any competition available and oftentimes do things that have not been done in movies before (CGI/Morphing in "The Abyss", CGI/Morphing 1.2 in "Terminator 2", CGI/3D in "Avatar", horse in elevator in "True Lies"), which leads to them making lots of money at the box office. Being able to do this consistently certainly is a skill but it hardly is the "game changer" that it has been touted as. Rather, James Cameron is one of the best players of the old game, and there is always an audience waiting to be razzle-dazzled.