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139 James Cameron: The Second Coming Jenny Cooney Carrillo/2002 From Dreamwatch, January 2002, issue 87. Reprinted by permission of Jenny Cooney Carrillo. James Cameron’s Dark Angel has, in the course of its first year, established itself as a challenger to the crown of top SF TV show. As the second season begins, Jenny Cooney Carrillo meets the Titanic ego who is out to build a better Angel. Everything that James Cameron touches seems to turn to gold. In his long and established career he has brought movies to audiences that have become hugely successful and starred some of the biggest names in Hollywood. After his Oscar win for Titanic, Cameron declared he was “King of the World.” Though he may not be king, he is definitely Hollywood royalty and his success continues with his first foray into television , Dark Angel. The science fiction drama he created, centering around the genetically altered Max (Jessica Alba), has become an instant hit, earning a Golden Globe nomination for his leading lady in its first season. Busy with movies and television and a new baby with his wife Suzy Amis, you’d think the writer/producer/director would slow down and enjoy his success . But that’s not in his nature. Q: What interested you in making the switch from movies to television? A: When you make a film there’s a long period of time where you’re writing and planning. It’s basically office work and it’s boring, quite frankly. When you’re making television, you’re in production all the time. You are constantly out there every single day making film. And even though I’m not on the set every day actually doing the shots, there’s an energy to it, it keeps the creative wheels turning. It’s also that television is an art of compromise. You have an image in 140 james cameron: inter views your head and you’re not going to be able to achieve it, so for a perfectionist like me it takes away the need for perfection and allows me to concentrate on the craft of writing, making good scenes on the page, casting good actors, and the things that are ultimately the strongest aspects of the show. A lot of filmmakers, myself included, get very involved in the music and the sound mix and they need every sound and visual effect to be perfect, but in the end that’s not how films really work. Films work in the hearts and minds of the audience based on whether or not they like the characters and the storyline or situation. In television you have all of that every single day of the year while you’re shooting so it’s a good way to keep these skills current. I find it more satisfying in a way. Q: You are involved with a number of projects, from space and underwater exploration to TV to film to science. How do you keep it all straight? A: It’s madness, plus I have a new baby at home! It’s a juggling act and the key is to have good teams on each one of those activities that are selfsufficient when I’m not there and yet can mesh with me creatively when I am there. They need to know how to reach out and get what it is they need at the right time and in the right way. I have video teleconference capability at my house and at my offices so I spend a lot of time video teleconferencing, which is almost like being there but is much more effective in terms of time management It is all an issue of time management, which is a curse when you are interested in so many different things like I am. You only have so much time on this planet, so you have to make it count. Q: The season finale of Dark Angel was quite surprising. In what direction will you be taking the show this season? A: I can tell you some broad stroke stuff. We looked at what we believed worked best in the first season and what didn’t and we realized that we have a good central relationship. We have a fabulous central character and so we’re going to keep all the things that we think are good about the series. We are probably going to push it more into science fiction on the basis that there were...

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