Who wants to come along and ride with James Cameron on a Fantastic Voyage? During a Paris masterclass at Cinematheque Francaise showcasing the legendary filmmaker’s talent as a graphic artist, Cameron commented on his long-gestating remake of the Richard Fleischer-directed science-fiction adventure film Fantastic Voyage, saying he still plans to produce a remake of the classic cinematic gem.
“We’ve been developing it for a number of years, and we plan to go ahead with it very soon,” Cameron said about producing the remake with his friend Jon Landau. “Raquel Welch is not available, but we think we can make a pretty good movie.” In 1966’s Fantastic Voyage, a crew is shrunk and injected into the bloodstream of a comatose scientist to repair a blood clot.
“The Art of James Cameron” in Paris features over 300 of Cameron’s paintings, etchings, and production designs from his private collection. Cameron has signed every piece, which reflects different times in his fabled career. The event organizers chose the layout for the tour, so even Cameron was surprised by the elaborate display.
During the event, James Cameron also spoke about developing his first film in the Terminator franchise, saying he needed to step in when the project didn’t have a designer.
“I figured we didn’t have the money for a designer, and I could draw, so what the hell,” Cameron recalled. “I drew everything, and storyboarded the film very, very meticulously.”
Cameron also remarked on the challenge of portraying guns in the film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, and Michael Biehn. Guns were a foreign concept to Cameron, forcing him to look elsewhere for inspiration. He found it in the gun-obsessed United States.
“The Terminator’s” script was lean and mean and full of weapons, a fact that soon proved an issue for a Canadian director exploring unfamiliar ground. “I knew nothing about guns,” Cameron said. “And then I thought, ‘This is America, I can just go buy them!'”
Reflecting on the film, Cameron says he regrets fetishizing firearms in The Terminator, saying modern gun violence makes him feel ill.
“I look back on some films that I’ve made, and I don’t know if I would want to make that film now. I don’t know if I would want to fetishize the gun, like I did on a couple of ‘Terminator’ movies 30-plus years ago, in our current world,” he said. “What’s happening with guns in our society turns my stomach.”
Make sure you check out Variety‘s report to see samples of Cameron’s exceptional artwork.
Do you think James Cameron will get around to making his Fantastic Voyage remake? How badly do you want to travel to Paris to visit the exhibit? Let us know in the comments section below.