James Cameron Criticizes Christopher Nolan: 'Moral Subversion'

The creator of "Titanic" has committed to a new project. The Hollywood director will adapt the book that is awaiting its premiere, which tells the story of the victims of the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima. In a recent interview, James Cameron attempted to make a critical comment on the way the subject was presented in the cinematic hit "Oppenheimer". According to the famous filmmaker, Christopher Nolan's approach, who omitted the issue of the dramatic effects of using nuclear weapons in the film, was morally questionable.

James Cameron can't complain about a lack of professional challenges these days. And although the legendary director will spend the next few years shooting the next parts of "Avatar", he is not giving up on other projects. We recently learned that the winner of three Oscars will create a film adaptation of Joe Abercrombie's latest novel, "The Devils", which hit the prestigious bestseller list of "The New York Times" magazine right after its May premiere.

Cameron announced that his Lightstorm Entertainment company will produce the film. He will write the script with the author of the literary original.

The creator of "Titanic" will soon be working on a screen adaptation of the upcoming book "Ghosts of Hiroshima" by Charles Pellegrino, which is set to hit bookstores on August 5.

- Based on years of court documentation and interviews with over two hundred survivors and their families, this book is a unique story of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events. Events during which our modern civilization entered perhaps its most difficult phase - nuclear maturation. This story contains a warning: if we are not wise enough and do not learn from our past, we may not survive this phase - reads the publisher's description.

Speaking to Deadline, James Cameron revealed that he was primarily interested in the most credible possible portrayal of the brutal reality faced by the victims of the 1945 disaster.

"I don't want to get into politics. I'm not going to judge whether the bomb should have been dropped or whether all the bad things Japan did justified dropping it. I want to avoid moralizing and politicizing. I'm just going to deal with what happened so that the viewer can feel almost as if they were actually there and saw it with their own eyes," the 70-year-old filmmaker said.

At the same time, the director emphasized that he wants to show on the screen what Christopher Nolan ignored in his big cinema hit from 2023.

"For me, the most interesting thing about this story is what he stayed away from in 'Oppenheimer.' There's just one short scene in that film where we see charred bodies and then we see how much it affected the character. I don't like to criticize other filmmakers, but I felt that to some extent it was moral evasion on Chris' part. I felt that he was avoiding the subject," Cameron said.

In an interview, Nolan explained that he deliberately omitted the issue of the tragic consequences of the atomic bomb explosion.

- The film presents Oppenheimer's experiences subjectively. I always intended to stick to that rigidly. Oppenheimer learned about the assassination at the same time as the rest of the world. I wanted to show someone who is beginning to realize the unintended consequences of his actions - the creator of the production awarded seven Oscars noted in an interview with Variety.

Cameron adds that when creating the screen adaptation of the book "Ghost of Hiroshima" he intends to draw inspiration from another legendary director.

- I plan to do with this subject what Steven Spielberg did with the Allied landings in Normandy in "Saving Private Ryan". He showed it as it really happened - said the filmmaker.

He added that his goal was to make viewers reflect.

"I think it's very important that people remember the devastation that nuclear weapons cause. This was the only time they were ever used against people. I want to make a film that simply reminds us that it is absolutely unacceptable to even consider using them," Cameron concluded.