Ryan Lambie Jul 14, 2017
A cult gem in its own right, 1981's Galaxy Of Terror also gave James Cameron his start in big-screen filmmaking...
In most respects, it's pure Roger Corman: low-budget, swiftly made, and loaded with gratuitous gore and bare flesh. But take a closer look at Galaxy Of Terror, the amiably tawdry sci-fi horror flick released by Corman's New World in 1981, and you'll see the creative fingerprints of one James Cameron.
See related 8 Star Wars games we'd like to see
Directed by Bruce D Clark - who also co-wrote - Galaxy Of Terror slams together the plots of Ridley Scott's Alien and the 50s classic, Forbidden Planet. A group of explorers land on the planet Morganthus, where they discover a huge ancient pyramid; one by one, the visitors are terrorised and killed by monsters from their subconscious. One luckless character is torn apart by claws and tentacles...
A cult gem in its own right, 1981's Galaxy Of Terror also gave James Cameron his start in big-screen filmmaking...
In most respects, it's pure Roger Corman: low-budget, swiftly made, and loaded with gratuitous gore and bare flesh. But take a closer look at Galaxy Of Terror, the amiably tawdry sci-fi horror flick released by Corman's New World in 1981, and you'll see the creative fingerprints of one James Cameron.
See related 8 Star Wars games we'd like to see
Directed by Bruce D Clark - who also co-wrote - Galaxy Of Terror slams together the plots of Ridley Scott's Alien and the 50s classic, Forbidden Planet. A group of explorers land on the planet Morganthus, where they discover a huge ancient pyramid; one by one, the visitors are terrorised and killed by monsters from their subconscious. One luckless character is torn apart by claws and tentacles...
- 6/23/2017
- Den of Geek
Before he was conducting space operas or spraying graffiti across American movie screens, George Lucas was a student at the University of Southern California — one of the first schools in the country with a devoted film program. While there he made a three-minute short called “Freiheit,” humbly introduced onscreen as “a film by Lucas.” Watch the film below.
Read More: Christopher Nolan’s First Released Short Film ‘Doodlebug’: Watch His Twisted 1997 Debut
Opening on the image of a man (Randal Kleiser, who went on to direct “Grease”) running through a field, clearly afraid of something we’ve yet to see, “Freiheit” (German for “freedom”) takes on the divide between East and West Germany. The man’s journey isn’t especially successful, but it does inspire a series chorus of voiceover narrators: “Animals are free. Why shouldn’t man be free?” “Freedom is definitely worth dying for. It’s the only thing worth dying for.
Read More: Christopher Nolan’s First Released Short Film ‘Doodlebug’: Watch His Twisted 1997 Debut
Opening on the image of a man (Randal Kleiser, who went on to direct “Grease”) running through a field, clearly afraid of something we’ve yet to see, “Freiheit” (German for “freedom”) takes on the divide between East and West Germany. The man’s journey isn’t especially successful, but it does inspire a series chorus of voiceover narrators: “Animals are free. Why shouldn’t man be free?” “Freedom is definitely worth dying for. It’s the only thing worth dying for.
- 8/21/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Nearly a decade before he was making movies about bats, Christopher Nolan was turning his attention to bugs. The filmmaker made a debut of sorts with 1997’s “Doodlebug,” a three-minute short filmed on 16mm and produced by his future wife and producing partner Emma Thomas, who’s worked with Nolan on each of his subsequent films.
Read More: Wes Anderson’s ‘Bottle Rocket’ Short Film: Watch the 13 Minute Clip That Launched His Career
“Doodlebug” is marked by a grainy, black-and-white aesthetic that’s of a piece with the spar narrative about a man (Jeremy Theobald) trying to squash an insect in his dingy apartment. It eventually gets recursive, with the bug in question being revealed as a miniature version of the man himself; in the end, they’re both of them dwarfed by an even larger version who appears behind them.
Read More: James Cameron’s ‘Xenogenesis’: Watch the Lo-Fi,...
Read More: Wes Anderson’s ‘Bottle Rocket’ Short Film: Watch the 13 Minute Clip That Launched His Career
“Doodlebug” is marked by a grainy, black-and-white aesthetic that’s of a piece with the spar narrative about a man (Jeremy Theobald) trying to squash an insect in his dingy apartment. It eventually gets recursive, with the bug in question being revealed as a miniature version of the man himself; in the end, they’re both of them dwarfed by an even larger version who appears behind them.
Read More: James Cameron’s ‘Xenogenesis’: Watch the Lo-Fi,...
- 7/17/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
It seemed like we were all on a Star Wars high when “The Force Awakens” came out. But after the high faded, the problems unmasked themselves, with many people pointing out some of the film’s flaws — a group that now includes James Cameron, who made some subtle comments regarding why he thinks the J.J. Abrams film might not fit too well into the “Star Wars” universe.
Read More: ‘The Force Awakens’ ‘Everything is a Remix’ Video: Trace All Of The Lifted Influences From J.J. Abrams’ Film
In a video interview discovered on YouTube, Cameron was asked his opinion on the seventh installment — and, never a good sign, he started off by saying, “I don’t want to say too much about the film, because I also have a lot of respect for J.J. Abrams.” Uh oh.
He elaborated: “I have to say that I felt that George’s group...
Read More: ‘The Force Awakens’ ‘Everything is a Remix’ Video: Trace All Of The Lifted Influences From J.J. Abrams’ Film
In a video interview discovered on YouTube, Cameron was asked his opinion on the seventh installment — and, never a good sign, he started off by saying, “I don’t want to say too much about the film, because I also have a lot of respect for J.J. Abrams.” Uh oh.
He elaborated: “I have to say that I felt that George’s group...
- 6/28/2016
- by Kyle Kizu
- Indiewire
Before he was working with hundred-million-dollar budgets — hell, before he was even making that “Piranha” sequel — James Cameron was an aspiring filmmaker like any other. He first announced himself to the world with 1978’s “Xenogenesis,” a 12-minute short made in 1978. If you’re curious where the king of the world got his start, watch the shoestring sci-fi project below.
Read More: Wes Anderson’s ‘Bottle Rocket’ Short Film: Watch the 13 Minute Clip That Launched His Career
Beginning with a series of illustrations set to narrated voiceover, the film bills itself as “man’s ultimate adventure.” William Wisher stars as a passenger aboard a sentient spacecraft looking for a suitable environment to start anew — imagine a shoestring version of the prologue from “Prometheus.” Long before he reaches this new beginning, the spacefarer encounters a rather large robot whose functionality appears to extend well beyond maintenance and upkeep. This results in the...
Read More: Wes Anderson’s ‘Bottle Rocket’ Short Film: Watch the 13 Minute Clip That Launched His Career
Beginning with a series of illustrations set to narrated voiceover, the film bills itself as “man’s ultimate adventure.” William Wisher stars as a passenger aboard a sentient spacecraft looking for a suitable environment to start anew — imagine a shoestring version of the prologue from “Prometheus.” Long before he reaches this new beginning, the spacefarer encounters a rather large robot whose functionality appears to extend well beyond maintenance and upkeep. This results in the...
- 6/26/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
In 1978, a pair of young, wannabe filmmakers made a 12-minute, 35mm short called Xenogenesis. One of those wannabes was a visionary artist by the name of James Cameron. The other—who Cameron calls “the best kept secret in Hollywood”—was a precocious storyteller by the name of Randall Frakes. Over the following four decades, the two […]
The post Hdtgm: A Conversation with Randall Frakes, Writer/Producer of ‘Hell Comes to Frogtown’ appeared first on /Film.
The post Hdtgm: A Conversation with Randall Frakes, Writer/Producer of ‘Hell Comes to Frogtown’ appeared first on /Film.
- 5/13/2016
- by Blake Harris
- Slash Film
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It’s 6 years since the release of Avatar, and still no sequel. Ryan considers the disappearance of a great mainstream filmmaker.
James Cameron was just 24 years old when he borrowed a small sum of money from a bunch of dentists and made his first film, Xenogenesis. Just 12 minutes long, the 1978 movie was a humble yet significant beginning for the young filmmaker.
The sci-fi short landed Cameron's first job in the film industry: devising practical effects for Roger Corman. Xenogenesis was the first proper collaboration between Cameron and Willliam Wisher, who’d later write the screenplay for Terminator 2. About a battle between man and giant killing machine, Xenogenesis contained numerous elements that Cameron would revisit in his subsequent movies. The giant killer robot looks uncannily like a Hunter Killer from The Terminator. Xenogenesis’s tough heroine bears more than a passing resemblance to one Ellen Ripley, whose fate...
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It’s 6 years since the release of Avatar, and still no sequel. Ryan considers the disappearance of a great mainstream filmmaker.
James Cameron was just 24 years old when he borrowed a small sum of money from a bunch of dentists and made his first film, Xenogenesis. Just 12 minutes long, the 1978 movie was a humble yet significant beginning for the young filmmaker.
The sci-fi short landed Cameron's first job in the film industry: devising practical effects for Roger Corman. Xenogenesis was the first proper collaboration between Cameron and Willliam Wisher, who’d later write the screenplay for Terminator 2. About a battle between man and giant killing machine, Xenogenesis contained numerous elements that Cameron would revisit in his subsequent movies. The giant killer robot looks uncannily like a Hunter Killer from The Terminator. Xenogenesis’s tough heroine bears more than a passing resemblance to one Ellen Ripley, whose fate...
- 4/15/2016
- Den of Geek
From his psychological thriller to Spider-Man to Battle Angel, here's a look at the James Cameron-directed projects that never happened...
In the summer of 1977, James Cameron, like lots of other people that year, went to the cinema and watched Star Wars. But unlike so many others, Cameron didn't feel elation as the room went dark and the first space ship soared overhead - he felt a shiver of mild panic.
"My reaction to it was not, 'Oh, wow, that's cool. I want to see more,'" he later recalled. "It was, 'Oh wow, I better get off my butt because somebody is doing this stuff, you know, and they're beating me to it.'"
Within one year, the 24-year-old Cameron had borrowed some money from a consortium of dentists looking for a tax break, and with it, made the short film Xenogenesis. That film and its title (which could...
In the summer of 1977, James Cameron, like lots of other people that year, went to the cinema and watched Star Wars. But unlike so many others, Cameron didn't feel elation as the room went dark and the first space ship soared overhead - he felt a shiver of mild panic.
"My reaction to it was not, 'Oh, wow, that's cool. I want to see more,'" he later recalled. "It was, 'Oh wow, I better get off my butt because somebody is doing this stuff, you know, and they're beating me to it.'"
Within one year, the 24-year-old Cameron had borrowed some money from a consortium of dentists looking for a tax break, and with it, made the short film Xenogenesis. That film and its title (which could...
- 2/3/2015
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
20th Century Fox
Love or hate his movies, no-one could argue that James Cameron is anything but ambitious. Cameron has directed cinematic classics like The Terminator, Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgement Day, along with record-breaking blockbusters such as Titanic and Avatar. Not everything he undertakes turns out to be a critical success, but it’s hard to deny the man’s vision.
Cameron worked as a truck driver in the ’70s, but quit his job after watching the original Star Wars, in order to work in the film industry. He’d become passionate about special effects during his truck driving days, often going to the USC library in order to read papers about film technology.
James Cameron’s very first foray into cinema was a short, low budget film called Xenogenesis, where he acted as the writer, director and producer. Soon after, he gained a number of jobs as an...
Love or hate his movies, no-one could argue that James Cameron is anything but ambitious. Cameron has directed cinematic classics like The Terminator, Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgement Day, along with record-breaking blockbusters such as Titanic and Avatar. Not everything he undertakes turns out to be a critical success, but it’s hard to deny the man’s vision.
Cameron worked as a truck driver in the ’70s, but quit his job after watching the original Star Wars, in order to work in the film industry. He’d become passionate about special effects during his truck driving days, often going to the USC library in order to read papers about film technology.
James Cameron’s very first foray into cinema was a short, low budget film called Xenogenesis, where he acted as the writer, director and producer. Soon after, he gained a number of jobs as an...
- 12/19/2014
- by Tom Butler
- Obsessed with Film
From low-budget dystopias to grungy horror, here are 12 shorts that became films such as Evil Dead, Twelve Monkeys and The Babadook.
The best story ideas are often the simple and pure ones. It's little wonder, then, that so many filmmakers and storytellers start by making short films - after all, if you can tell a good story in just a few minutes, you might be talented enough to make a feature.
Cinema history is full of stories about young filmmakers getting their start by making low-budget shorts. James Cameron famously made Xenogenesis, a sci-fi short which contained lots of things that would appear in his later feature films: a giant robot with big tank tracks, a cyborg, and a heroine at the helm of a hard-hitting mecha.
The short films below vary wildly, from two-minute chillers to 30-minute post-apocalyptic science fiction, but each of them are watchable for their own reasons,...
The best story ideas are often the simple and pure ones. It's little wonder, then, that so many filmmakers and storytellers start by making short films - after all, if you can tell a good story in just a few minutes, you might be talented enough to make a feature.
Cinema history is full of stories about young filmmakers getting their start by making low-budget shorts. James Cameron famously made Xenogenesis, a sci-fi short which contained lots of things that would appear in his later feature films: a giant robot with big tank tracks, a cyborg, and a heroine at the helm of a hard-hitting mecha.
The short films below vary wildly, from two-minute chillers to 30-minute post-apocalyptic science fiction, but each of them are watchable for their own reasons,...
- 12/2/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
James Cameron has been forced to reveal lots of his unproduced projects as part of his defense in a lawsuit alleging he ripped off the idea for Avatar. To prove the idea was his, the filmmaker recently submitted a 45-page declaration explaining how pretty much everything in his life was building toward that film (and its subsequent sequels) – and while that’s disappointing for Cameron (no artist really wants to share the projects that didn’t come together as planned), it’s a treasure trove of material for movie geeks. One of the projects Cameron talks about at length in his statement is his 1970s film project Xenogenesis – a title that would eventually become pretty integral in terms of what he envisioned for Avatar. Cameron describes Xenogenesis...
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- 12/12/2012
- by Mike Bracken
- Movies.com
James Cameron's Xenogenesis served as a major inspiration in his creation of Avatar. Earlier today we posted a detailed breakdown of how everything Cameron has worked on in his life lead to his Avatar films. The filmmaker is currently in the middle of a lawsuit because someone claims that he stole their idea and turned it into Avatar. So Cameron wrote a detailed breakdown to prove that he's been working on developing this idea almost his whole life. It's a great read and you should check it out if you haven't already.
In the report he talks about his Xenogenesis story in great detail, and there are ideas and themes offered up in what we might see in the Avatar sequels. We've got something even better now to share with you! It's the actual short film that Cameron shot for the project back in 1978 to try and get funding.
In the report he talks about his Xenogenesis story in great detail, and there are ideas and themes offered up in what we might see in the Avatar sequels. We've got something even better now to share with you! It's the actual short film that Cameron shot for the project back in 1978 to try and get funding.
- 12/12/2012
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
James Cameron is being sued by someone named Gerald Morawski who sold some art pieces to Cameron a couple of decades ago intended for a film adaptation of a short story called Burning Chrome that Cameron was working on. Morawski claims that after he sold Cameron the art he pitched a movie to the director about a struggle between an evil mining conglomerate and an indigenous tribe, and believes that movie became the mega hit Avatar.
To prove that Avatar is solely Cameron's idea, the director wrote up a 45-page sworn declaration that explains in detail how he came up with Avatar, its themes, and even where Avatar is going in the next two films. Cameron's road to Avatar spanned five decades, starting in elementary school in the 1960's when he wanted to be a scientist.
It moved on to the eleventh grade when he drew a picture he called...
To prove that Avatar is solely Cameron's idea, the director wrote up a 45-page sworn declaration that explains in detail how he came up with Avatar, its themes, and even where Avatar is going in the next two films. Cameron's road to Avatar spanned five decades, starting in elementary school in the 1960's when he wanted to be a scientist.
It moved on to the eleventh grade when he drew a picture he called...
- 12/11/2012
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
After the Academy’s attempt at honoring genre during the live show, we saw a real tribute to horror by someone who is truly one of our own. Bob Murawski thanked Sam Raimi for giving him his “first cutting job” in Army of Darkness. His Best Editing award for Hurt Locker was shared by his partner Chris Innis, whom he met on the Raimi produced TV show “American Gothic.”
I gotta say, never since Peter Jackson’s (who was nominated this year for District 9) thank you to the crew of Meet the Feebles has there been such an excellent genre shout out.
On top of working with Raimi for over a decade, Murawski also runs Grindhouse Releasing, which distributes and restores cult and horror films with a focus on extreme Italian cinema. Pieces, The Beyond, Cannibal Holocaust, and I Drink Your Blood are just a few names you’ll find in Grindhouse Releasing's catalogue.
I gotta say, never since Peter Jackson’s (who was nominated this year for District 9) thank you to the crew of Meet the Feebles has there been such an excellent genre shout out.
On top of working with Raimi for over a decade, Murawski also runs Grindhouse Releasing, which distributes and restores cult and horror films with a focus on extreme Italian cinema. Pieces, The Beyond, Cannibal Holocaust, and I Drink Your Blood are just a few names you’ll find in Grindhouse Releasing's catalogue.
- 3/11/2010
- by Heather Buckley
- DreadCentral.com
Early parting shot tonight… I’ve got a comedy show to attend shortly, and I’ll be attending a screening of Nine a little later! My review will follow some time tomorrow, so look for it!
With the much talked about Avatar opening up today, a film I’ll be seeing this weekend, I thought it’ll be fun to post the short film that got James Cameron started. It’s titled Xenogenesis, and was made in 1978, when Cameron was very much a novice, still tinkering with special effects and sci-fi tools – staples of his future films. His work on this film got him hired as a model maker for Roger Corman productions, where he rose amongst the ranks very quickly. The rest, as they say, is history.
I think you’ll find several themes that would later show up on Cameron’s blockbuster studio pictures.
So, here’s short-on-plot...
With the much talked about Avatar opening up today, a film I’ll be seeing this weekend, I thought it’ll be fun to post the short film that got James Cameron started. It’s titled Xenogenesis, and was made in 1978, when Cameron was very much a novice, still tinkering with special effects and sci-fi tools – staples of his future films. His work on this film got him hired as a model maker for Roger Corman productions, where he rose amongst the ranks very quickly. The rest, as they say, is history.
I think you’ll find several themes that would later show up on Cameron’s blockbuster studio pictures.
So, here’s short-on-plot...
- 12/19/2009
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
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