On August 5, in time for the 80th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, the book “Ghosts of Hiroshima” will hit shelves, written by author Charles R. Pellegrino. The novel, as the cover announces, will eventually be a project for James Cameron — and he insists that he will be tackling the subject in a different fashion than Christopher Nolan did two years ago with his Oscar-winning “Oppenheimer.”
Cameron actually told Deadline that he felt Nolan took “a bit of a moral cop out” because of “what he stayed away from” in his narrative.
“He’s got one brief scene in the film where we see — and I don’t like to criticize another filmmaker’s film – but there’s only one brief moment where he sees some charred bodies in the audience and then the film goes on to show how it deeply moved him,” Cameron said. “But I felt that it dodged the subject. I don’t know whether the studio or Chris felt that that was a third rail that they didn’t want to touch, but I want to go straight at the third rail. I’m just stupid that way.”
Nolan had insisted at the time that that was not the story he was trying to tell, and it may instead take a filmmaker like Cameron to do it. The “Titanic” director plans to heed the call.
“OK, I’ll put up my hand. I’ll do it, Chris. No problem,” he said. “You come to my premiere and say nice things… I can’t tell you today what’s going to be in the movie. I’ve been making notes for 15 years and I haven’t written a word of the script yet because there’s a point where it’s all there and then you start to write. That’s how I always work. I explore around, I remember the things that impact me. I start to assemble ’em into a narrative. And then there’s a moment where you’re ready to write. And I’m not in that head space right now.”
There is one filmmaker, however, whose product he does wish to emulate in substance. This, of course, is none other than Steve Spielberg, who made a pair of definitive World War II classics with “Schindler’s List” and “Saving Private Ryan” in the ’90s. “He showed it the way it happened,” Cameron said.
In addition to the next “Avatar” sequel, due December 19, 2025, Cameron is also writing “The Devils” with its author Joe Abercrombie.
“This is Joe Abercrombie in absolute peak form, opening up a whole new world and an ensemble of delicious new characters,” Cameron said earlier this month. “The twists and turns come at a rollercoaster pace, and with Joe’s signature acerbic wit and style. ‘The Devils’ showcases Joe’s jaundiced view of human nature, in all its dark, selfish glory, as told through some decidedly un-human characters. But of course, Joe always teases with the flickers of redemption that make it all worthwhile — and ultimately quite heart-wrenching.”