James Cameron is known for his status as an auteur and directorial mastermind. Inspired by the extensive world-building first popularized by George Lucas and his Star Wars franchise, Cameron creates fully realized and epic science fiction worlds with stunning and innovative special effects and compelling thematic content.
Cameron began piecing together the story of Avatar as early as 1995, before his first smash success, Titanic, had even come out. In 1996, he announced that he was working on the project that would eventually become Avatar—his first film since Titanic, released in 1997. Cameron used various innovative technologies to make the 3-D film, using a "performance capture" technique to create the special effects. He was inspired by adventure novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs and H. Rider Haggard, and conceived of the science-fiction plot himself, a story of the world 200 years in the future.
Working closely with a variety of designers, Cameron set about conceiving of the various elements of the plot, such as the Na'vi language, which was created by Paul Frommer, a linguist at USC. He also worked with Wayne Barlowe, a fantasy illustrator, and Jordu Schell, a conceptual artist. Filming involved several delays, as the studios were skeptical of Cameron's tendency to go overtime with filming and editing (specifically with his work on Titanic). Upon its release, it became the highest-grossing film of all time, and was met with critical acclaim, with many critics praising Cameron's directorial skills. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote, "Unlike hack-of-the-decade Michael Bay, who can transform anything into instant stupid, Cameron knows how to harness technology to storytelling."
