James Cameron recently sat down with Germany’s Der Spiegel for the awesomely Google Translated headline and picture you see above. The part of the interview that raised eyebrows and possibly monocles was when Cameron dissed the upcoming Peter Berg adaptation of the board game Battleship specifically, saying it “degrades the cinema.” Ahh, my young Padawan, I see you’ve read the script.
[Translated by WorstPreviews]: “We have a story crisis,” he said (translated). “Now they want to make the ‘Battleship’ game into a film. This is pure desperation. Everyone in Hollywood knows how important it is that a film is a brand before it hit theaters. If a brand has been around, ‘Harry Potter’ for example, or ‘Spider-Man,’ you are light years ahead. And there lies the problem. Because unfortunately these franchises are become more ridiculous. ‘Battleship.’ This degrades the cinema.”
Most of the response so far seem to focus back on Cameron:
Cameron went on to say that the only reason Warner Bros split the last “Harry Potter” book into two films is because the studio knew it would be able to make more money. He called the move “excessive.” Cameron, meanwhile, released “Avatar” in theaters twice, created two separate DVD/Blu-ray editions of the film and is now converting “Titanic” to 3D. [WorstPreviews]
In defense of Battleship, the movie seems to be based on the board game in name only. Though the script written by Jon and Erich Hoeber (Whiteout), with revisions by Brian Koppelman and David Levien (Rounders), is still tightly under wraps, the plot is said to involve an international naval fleet defending the earth from an alien invasion. [ReelzChannel]
Say what you will about James Cameron’s movies, his ego, or his lady hair, but I’ve read the Battleship script. It is a hate crime. He could not be more correct on this point. Making an epic movie with a derivative plot is one thing, spending $200 million on a movie everyone knows is a piece of crap so you can sell more board games is another. (*fashions ladywig out of mop head in tribute*) Aw crap, now I have to kill a high-priced hooker for sport, don’t I.