James Cameron Rejected Notes From Fox on AVATAR Telling Execs That He Made TITANIC and It Paid for Their Half-Billion Dollar Studio

Director James Cameron is responsible for making some of the highest-grossing films of all time, and some of the most technologically advanced as well. From Aliens and the Terminator movies to Titanic and Avatar, he has an impressive list of films under his belt, and he’s apparently not shy about pointing that out when necessary.

Variety reports that James Cameron revealed in a recent interview with The New York Times that he shut down 20th Century Fox executives when they tried to battle him over a key sequence in his first Avatar movie. Cameron rejected the studio’s notes to make the film shorter and to trim the movie’s flying sequences with a pretty solid argument, saying:

“I think I felt, at the time, that we clashed over certain things. For example, the studio felt that the film should be shorter and that there was too much flying around on the ikran — what the humans call the banshees. Well, it turns out that’s what the audience loved the most, in terms of our exit polling and data gathering. And that’s a place where I just drew a line in the sand and said, ‘You know what? I made ‘Titanic.’ This building that we’re meeting in right now, this new half-billion dollar complex on your lot? ‘Titanic’ paid for that, so I get to do this.’ And afterward, they thanked me. I feel that my job is to protect their investment, often against their own judgment. But as long as I protect their investment, all is forgiven.”

Cameron has pretty good judgement most of the time when it comes to filmmaking, and his track record has proven that. He went on to talk about the editing process, explaining:

“It’s such an intense process when you’re editing a film and you have to fight for every frame that stays in. I felt pretty good about the creative decisions that were made back then. We spent a lot of time and energy improving our process in the decade-plus since. But there’s certainly nothing cringeworthy. I can see tiny places where we’ve improved facial-performance work. But it doesn’t take you out. I think it’s still competitive with everything that’s out there these days.”

Avatar is returning to theaters on September 23rd in IMAX and 3D formats ahead of the upcoming release of Avatar: The Way of Water, the long-awaited sequel that opens in theaters on December 16th.