You know what? It doesn’t sound like James Cameron liked Star Wars: The Force Awakens very much. A new interview with the influential director of Terminator, Titanic and Avatar is now online and, when asked about the film, he does a beautiful dance around his real feelings.
Here’s the clip, which is from a longer interview Cameron conducted with a reporter named Hannah Litchfield.
Cameron is one of those filmmakers whose opinion we all hold very highly. Maybe it’s because he’s consistently made such great, impactful movies that advanced technology. Which is why prefaces like, “George and I had a good conversation about it,” “I don’t want to say too much about the film as I have a lot of respect for J.J. Abrams,” and “I want to see where they’re taking it next,” are so telling. He eventually gets around to calling the film a “retrenchment” of Lucas’s six films, a fact J.J. Abrams has openly admitted to, but it’s pretty obvious he didn’t like it. Otherwise, why not just say that?
As for some retaliation, Abrams will have to wait a long time to comment on Cameron’s next film. Avatar 2 is currently scheduled for release December 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, followed by three more sequels.
[Keely Stinner via Jar Jar Abrams and The Playlist]