James Cameron

An audacious visionary who developed new film technologies midstream in order to turn his creative visions into reality, director James Cameron is credited with single-handedly resurrecting a once-dead science fiction genre, thanks to the timeless success of "The Terminator" (1984) and "Aliens" (1986). Tales of his volcanic temper on the set of the groundbreaking deep sea adventure "The Abyss" (1989), combined with its astronomical budget and relatively disappointing box-office performance, earned Cameron a reputation as one of Hollywood's most ambitious, but problematic directors. Reteaming with Arnold Schwarzenegger, he proved himself worth the risk with the back-to-back blockbusters, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (1991) and "True Lies" (1994). Combining his passion for oceanic exploration and technology with his love of movies, he advanced underwater filmmaking to a remarkable degree. Despite his penchant for aliens of the deep and outer space, it was "Titanic" (1997) - a period romance based on the infamous ocean liner tragedy - that cemented Cameron as a director for the ages. "Titanic" was a seminal event in cinema in terms of size, scope and commercial success, quickly becoming the highest-grossing film of all time until it was bumped to No. 2 by Cameron's next film, the 3D sci-fi epic, "Avatar" (2009). In addition to his remarkable achievements outside of film, Cameron was inarguably one of the most proficient, admired and, above all, successful directors in Hollywood history.