James Cameron doesn’t take a lot of guff from many people in Hollywood–especially when they’re attacking his runtimes. As the much-anticipated release of Avatar: The Way of Water nears, Cameron has reflected colorfully on the time a Fox executive told him to cut down the 162-minute runtime of Avatar.
When approached about making edits, James Cameron refused and scolded the exec, saying he won’t get away with leeching off of any of the film’s successes. He told them, “You can’t come back to me and compliment the film or chum along and say, ‘Look what we did together.’ You won’t be able to do that.’ At that point, that particular studio executive flipped out and went bug shit on me. And I told him to get the fuck out of my office. And that’s where it was left.” Cameron wouldn’t name the Fox exec, which that suit is probably thankful for.
Cameron clearly had a reason for Avatar’s runtime and it’s rather curious that a studio would want him to trim the movie, since his Titanic stands as one of the longest Best Picture winners ever, at 195 minutes.
James Cameron was straight up with the executive regarding Avatar’s box office prospects, saying, “I think this movie is going to make all the fucking money…ALL THE MONEY, not some of the money, all the fucking money.” It was a bold prediction, but yeah, Avatar didn’t make just some money. It has pulled in just under $3 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film ever made.
As far as Avatar’s first sequel goes, Avatar: The Way of Water has a runtime of 192 minutes, which we’re totally cool with–no, really, Mr. Cameron! Cameron is even already on the defensive, warning moviegoers, “I don’t want anybody whining about the length when they sit and binge-watch [television] for eight hours. It’s like, give me a fucking break.”
Will you be seeing Avatar: The Way of Water despite its 192-minute runtime? Does a movie’s length ever keep you away from the cinema?