My proposal form

I have officially decided on a question that I'm going to explore and answer through my auteur study and that is: Could Hollywood's biggest Director also be referred to as an artist?
I am going to use the three films Aliens (1986), Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009) with Aliens being my focus film. I am going to be using sources from websites, books and magazine articles to help answer and explore the question.

James Cameron info - IMDB Bio

Marriages and Children Suzy Amis	(4 June 2000 - present) 3 children
Linda Hamilton	(26 July 1997 - 16 December 1999) (divorced) 1 child
Kathryn Bigelow	(17 August 1989 - 10 November 1991) (divorced)
Gale Anne Hurd	(1985 - 1989) (divorced)
Sharon Williams	(14 February 1978 - 14 July 1984) (divorced)

Frequently casts Michael Biehn, Jenette Goldstein, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.


James Cameron was born in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada, on August 16, 1954


Utilizes slow motion in intense scenes or to intensify a scene


The use of machines as an important plot point or weapon: in both Avatar and Aliens the soldiers use a similar machine to fight in the final battle, the Terminators are machines and The Abyss also features a lot of machines important to the plot.


First director to film both a $100 million (Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)) and a $200 million (Titanic (1997)) movie.


One of only two people to have both written and directed an Alien movie. The other is Paul W.S. Anderson.


He has developed a new generation stereo imaging camera called "The Fusion Camera"


Apart from The Terminator (1984), all of his films have been nominated for or won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.


In 2010, his movie Avatar (2009) became the highest grossing movie of all time, not adjusted for inflation. It is also the first movie to gross the 2 billion dollar mark at the box office. Until Avatar (2009), Cameron's previous movie Titanic (1997) was the highest grossing movie of all time for 12 years (also not adjusted for inflation).

Final choice for Auteur study

I have decided after some research that i am going to do James Cameron as my director because i like the films he has directed and i think there is a lot to write about him.

James Cameron and Sam Worthington interview

This is an interview with James Cameron and Sam Worthington talking about working together on Avatar. James Cameron talks the long 14 years of work that he had to put in so that he could make Avatar perfect and just the way he wants it. He also talks his love of sci-fi films and thats clearly why most of his films are of that genre.

No 1 most influencial man in Hollywood

James Cameron was recently named the no 1 most influential man in Hollywood, for his 2 films Avatar and Titanic, the 2 films that are holding the no 1 and 2 spot in the biggest grossing films in history.

Possible areas of information

James Cameron:
Books:

• Dreaming aloud: The life and films of James Cameron
• Titanic the making of James Cameron

Websites:

• http://www.imdb.com/
• http://www.jamescamerononline.com/
• http://www.wikipedia.com/

Steven Spielberg:
Books:

• Steven Spielberg: Interviews (Conversations with Filmmakers)
• Steven Spielberg: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies)

Websites:

• http://www.imdb.com/
• http://www.wikipedia.com/
• http://www.solarnavigator.net/films_movies_actors/steven_spielberg.htm

James Cameron and Steven Spielberg

I have currently researched these 2 directors as possible candidates for my Auteur study.
The 3 films i have chosen to research for James Cameron are:

1. Aliens (1986)(Focus film) - Aliens is the second installment of a quadrilogy about and alien race being discovered and they are now hunting down the people working in space, they all follow the main character Ellen Ripley played by Sigourney Weaver.
2. Titanic (1997) - Titanic is a film based on the true event of the sinking of the Titanic ship. It is a romance film about 2 people meeting on the ship and falling in love, however all does not end well when they are pulled apart by the sinking of the ship, starring Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet. Also Titanic has it's own major theme song called 'My Heart Will Go On' by Celine Dion. Currentley the second biggest grossing film in the world.
3. Avatar (2009) - Avatar is a christmas blockbuster of 2009 and also to date Cameron's biggest hit, currentley being the biggest grossing film in the world. It is about a different planet called pandora with hundreds of new species living there. Pandora contains the purest amount of a rare item that will sell for millions and there are indiginous creatures living on the area. The film is known for incredible work with 3D equipment and the CGI effects are amazing, starring Sam Worthington.

The 3 films i have chosen to research for Steven Spielberg are:

1. Jaws (1975)(Focus film) - Jaws is the first of Spielberg's big hits. It is known for the seperate soundtrack that is played whenever the shark enters the scene. The music is still recognised today.
2. E.T The extra terrestrial (1982) - This is childrens film about an alien that lands on earth and loses his spaceship, he befriends a young boy who shows how to live on earth. The film ends up with young boy helping the alien find his spaceship and the alien returning home.
3. Jurassic Park (1997) - Jurassic Park is about a bunch of dinosaur experts visting a different proffesor who has managed to clone dinosaur DNA and has mad a dinosaur park. Like in Jaws they used models of dinosaurs like the model shark.