Avatar and Titanic director James Cameron is taking a lot of heat online for comments he made to The Guardian in a new interview he did to promote the 3D re-release of his Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Cameron has had a lot of strong female characters in his films, but when he was asked about the success of Wonder Woman, he replied:
“All of the self-congratulatory back-patting Hollywood’s been doing over Wonder Woman has been so misguided. She’s an objectified icon, and it’s just male Hollywood doing the same old thing! I’m not saying I didn’t like the movie but, to me, it’s a step backwards. Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit. And to me, [the benefit of characters like Sarah] is so obvious. I mean, half the audience is female!”
Do you agree or disagree with him? Either way, Wonder Woman has been a huge success for Warner Bros Pictures, having earned a massive $800 million worldwide on a budget of $149 million, so audiences definitely connected with the icon. The film was directed by Patty Jenkins and stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, Ewen Bremner, Saïd Taghmaoui, Elena Anaya, Connie Nielsen and Lucy Davis.
RELATED: Wonder Woman Digital, Blu-ray and DVD Details Announced
Released in 2009, Cameron’s first Avatar movie remains the highest-grossing film worldwide with over $2.7 billion in box office gross. It was dethroned by Star Wars: The Force Awakens as the highest at the domestic box office, pushing past Avatar‘s $760 million with a total of $936 million. 20th Century Fox and Lightstorm Entertainment recently announced release dates for Cameron’s four Avatar sequels – December 18, 2020, December 17, 2021, December 20, 2024 and December 19, 2025.
UPDATE: Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins has responded to James Cameron’s comments with the following statement.
— Patty Jenkins (@PattyJenks) August 25, 2017
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
