James Cameron is famous for many things: his groundbreaking use of special effects, his strong female characters, his movies smashing box office records, but he's also famous for his mercurial personality.
The famed director is back with his first movie since 2009's 'Avatar' with a sequel to the blockbuster due for release in December, and we're now being reminded of just how fun a James Cameron press tour is.
Joining the likes of Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese in dismissing the current trend of superhero films, saying the characters "act like they're in college."
Speaking to The New York Times, Cameron said that there are no emotional stakes to superhero films and there is little room for character development.
"When I look at these big, spectacular films — I’m looking at you, Marvel and DC — it doesn’t matter how old the characters are, they all act like they’re in college. They have relationships, but they really don’t."
"They never hang up their spurs because of their kids. The things that really ground us and give us power, love, and a purpose? Those characters don’t experience it, and I think that’s not the way to make movies."
Cameron was drawing parallels between the current superhero trend (and lack of dramatic elements) and his new 'Avatar' movie which sees our heroes Jake and Neytiri settled down with children 15 years after the events of the first movie.
The Oscar-winning director said his own parenthood informed the creative process of the long-awaited sequel.
"For me, as a parent of five kids, I’m saying, ‘What happens when those characters mature and realise that they have a responsibility outside their own survival?'"
"In the first movie, Sam’s character leaps off his flying creature and essentially changes the course of history as a result of this crazy, almost suicidal leap of faith. And Zoe’s character leaps off a limb and assumes there’s going to be some nice big leaves down there that can cushion her fall. But when you’re a parent, you don’t think that way."
Family is a running theme through the films of Cameron, most notably in 'Aliens' which saw Ripley become a parent figure for the young Newt and Linda Hamilton risking life and limb to keep her son John Connor safe in the classic 'Terminator 2: Judgement Day'.
'Avatar: The Way Of Water' is due for a December release, and with the recent re-release of the first 'Avatar' film a box office success, fan anticipation for the sequel is running rampant.
