Director James Cameron appeared to have trouble with some fans after a special screening of his latest film – Avatar: The Way of Water – when he flipped them the bird when they booed him for refusing to stop and get some autographs admit.
According to entertainment website TMZ, Cameron was at the WGA building in Beverly Hills for the special screening on Saturday – and as he was about to leave, he was immediately surrounded by a crowd of fans demanding autographs.
As Cameron climbed into a waiting vehicle without stopping to sign anything, the crowd turned to the famous director. “F*** Avatar,” someone said – and Cameron responded by rolling down his window just enough to show his middle finger at the crowd.
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James Cameron freaks out the crowd who boo him for not signing autographs #AvatarTheWayOfWater
pic.twitter.com/frDDoY4alM— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) December 18, 2022
The long-awaited sequel to Cameron’s visually stunning 2009 film has done well at the box office so far, grossing $134 million in North America and an additional $301 million from overseas markets – what ‘The Way of Water’ is for the Post tops -COVID opening weekends – but that may not be enough to even the scales.
The Way of Water still fell short of the predicted $150-175 million for its first weekend in North American theaters — and with a $350 million price tag just for the film’s production, let alone marketing of the latest ‘Avatar’ installment has reportedly had to land at the top of the highest grossing films of all time if producers expect to break even on the project.
But Cameron seems to have put his all into the world he’s created – he told GQ in November he’s already filmed the third installment in the series and the first act of a fourth film. When GQ pressed him on the possibility that, given his age, he might never do another film that wasn’t part of the franchise, he pushed back.
“First of all, I think it’s really unhealthy. Second, I’m not done until the big hook comes out on the side of the side curtain. So for me everything, every idea, is still a work in progress,” he said.
Disney seems confident that Cameron’s gamble will pay off, too. Tony Chambers, Disney’s EVP of theatrical distribution, said: “We have a great film that’s going through all demographics and has great word of mouth. We’ve got the screens and we’ve got a clear run. This isn’t about opening day or opening weekend. This is about the whole run.”