Sigourney Weaver as Ripley in Aliens
Many directors have themes in their work, and James Cameron’s has always been putting strong women into everything he does.
Some claim that his films even speak as feminist, although the man’s credentials are yet to be proven, having been married five times and supposed infidelity as the reason for his divorce from Linda Hamilton in 1999.
What can’t be denied though is that his parts for women stand out as some of the best in the industry, and with Avatar bringing more this week, FemaleFirst takes a look back at the leading ladies of the man called Jim.
Terminator and Terminator 2 – 1984/1991
James Cameron took a waitress and put the 
weight of the world on the shoulders. He made her the most important character in the universe and over the course of a two hour film, made her one of Hollywood’s first true action heroines.
The tale of a time travelling robotic hit man might have been ridiculous, but Linda Hamilton was awe inspiring as the woman forced to battle for the future of humanity with Kyle Reese, a ‘protector’ sent back in time to help her.
In the 1991 follow up, Linda Hamilton was unrecognisable from the permed party girl of seven years before. Having undergone a rigorous three month, three hours a day, six day a week work out regime, Hamilton was now the epitome of Cameron’s women, battle hardened and ready for anything, but still hugely maternal and caring towards her son.
Aliens – 1986
Taking up from where Ridley Scott left off in 1979’s seminal space horror, Cameron came to direct the sequel to Alien he radically changed the tense thriller to a record beating blockbuster, with Sigourney Weaver reprising her role as Ellen Ripley.
Re-confronting the demon that torments her dreams, Ripley is asked by the seedy Weyland Yutani corporation to accompany a squad of Marines to investigate the disappearance of miners on the planet where her nightmare began.
Under James Cameron, Ripley changed from running to making everything run away from her. Her finest hour came in the now famous finale, where she took on the Alien queen and won.
Sigourney Weaver pulled off this switch with real verve, bagging an Oscar nomination along the way.
Ripley wasn’t the only strong female lead in Cameron’s masterpiece. Played by first and only time actor Carrie Hern, young survivor Newt showed that you don’t need a rifle to stand tall in James Cameron’s universe.
Not satisfied with both Ripley’s new persona and the resilient Newt he added in Private Vasquez, undoubtedly the hardest of the set of soldiers who where Earth’s greatest troopers, who defies orders to help save her fellow troops during their ambush by the vicious creatures.
The Abyss – 1989
A film with no real place to put it, The Abyss sees Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio lead a team of scientists and soldiers (including her estranged husband Bud) down to a crashed nuclear submarine to try to salvage the sub and rescue anyone still inside.
Mastrantonio’s character Dr Lindsey Brigman stops a maniacal marine and gambles with her own life in her and Bud’s escape from a submersible.
Brigman was the first step towards the more savvy women Cameron would put into both Titanic and especially now in Avatar.
True Lies – 1994
Helen Tasker brought something completely new to the party.
In True Lies, Cameron’s comedy spy thriller, Harry Tasker is a man with two lives. He pretends to be a computer salesman but actually works as a secret agent, unknown to his long suffering wife Helen.
Played brilliantly by Jamie Lee Curtis, Helen starts unravels her husbands lies and sets about living her life the way she was never able to before.
Starting as a dowdy housewife and ending as a femme fatale spy via hanging off a helicopter, Curtis’ journey is possibly only matched by Sarah Connor when it comes to transformations on screen.
One of only a few characters that mixed strength and wit, Helen is undoubtedly Cameron’s sleeper success, and is a character that only gets better as time goes on.
Titanic – 1997
The film that famously cost more than the actual Titanic itself, produced arguably Cameron’s most unconventional heroine to date.
Ok, Rose never battled time travelling robots or ever threw a grenade, but she fought both her family and defied a system in the pursuit of her love with Leo DiCaprio’s Jack.
Earning an Oscar nod for Kate Winslet (who had to beg James Cameron for the part, originally going to Gwyneth Paltrow) Rose proved herself just as gutsy as any of Cameron’s other sirens of steel.
Dark Angel – 2000
Little known to many, this James Cameron created TV show about a rogue super-soldier was the first time some of us were introduced to a certain Jessica Alba.
Playing Max, the butt-kicking lead, she became an instantly became a fan-boy favourite, toughened up her Nickelodeon based image and started her on the path to become the star we all know today.
Avatar – 2009
Forget that Sam Worthington leads the cast, the latest ambitious project from the Canadian maestro has the most strong women yet.
Lead by Sigourney Weaver, returning to work with Cameron after two decades apart as scientist Dr Grace Augustine, the woman who stands up to the aggressive suits and soldiers wanting to tear the planet of Pandora apart.
Claiming that she’s channelling the obsessive aspects of Cameron himself, Weaver’s return sees a return of women as capable with maths as she is bullets to the screen.
She’s backed up by both Star Trek’s Zoe Saldana as the fiery alien princess Neytiri, who guides Sam Worthington’s Jake through the exotic world and proves more than a match for anyone around her.
Add in Michelle Rodriguez (who he’s always wanted to cast in something since she starred in Girlfight) as a pilot who rebels against the system and you've got one heck of a mix.
We’ve yet to see quite how it all plays out, but for now, we’ll have to wait and see if they join the ranks of James Cameron’s classic female leads.
FemaleFirst Cameron Smith
Many directors have themes in their work, and James Cameron’s has always been putting strong women into everything he does.
Some claim that his films even speak as feminist, although the man’s credentials are yet to be proven, having been married five times and supposed infidelity as the reason for his divorce from Linda Hamilton in 1999.
What can’t be denied though is that his parts for women stand out as some of the best in the industry, and with Avatar bringing more this week, FemaleFirst takes a look back at the leading ladies of the man called Jim.
Terminator and Terminator 2 – 1984/1991
James Cameron took a waitress and put the weight of the world on the shoulders. He made her the most important character in the universe and over the course of a two hour film, made her one of Hollywood’s first true action heroines.
The tale of a time travelling robotic hit man might have been ridiculous, but Linda Hamilton was awe inspiring as the woman forced to battle for the future of humanity with Kyle Reese, a ‘protector’ sent back in time to help her.
In the 1991 follow up, Linda Hamilton was unrecognisable from the permed party girl of seven years before. Having undergone a rigorous three month, three hours a day, six day a week work out regime, Hamilton was now the epitome of Cameron’s women, battle hardened and ready for anything, but still hugely maternal and caring towards her son.
Aliens – 1986
Taking up from where Ridley Scott left off in 1979’s seminal space horror, Cameron came to direct the sequel to Alien he radically changed the tense thriller to a record beating blockbuster, with Sigourney Weaver reprising her role as Ellen Ripley.
Re-confronting the demon that torments her dreams, Ripley is asked by the seedy Weyland Yutani corporation to accompany a squad of Marines to investigate the disappearance of miners on the planet where her nightmare began.
Under James Cameron, Ripley changed from running to making everything run away from her. Her finest hour came in the now famous finale, where she took on the Alien queen and won.
Sigourney Weaver pulled off this switch with real verve, bagging an Oscar nomination along the way.
Ripley wasn’t the only strong female lead in Cameron’s masterpiece. Played by first and only time actor Carrie Hern, young survivor Newt showed that you don’t need a rifle to stand tall in James Cameron’s universe.
Not satisfied with both Ripley’s new persona and the resilient Newt he added in Private Vasquez, undoubtedly the hardest of the set of soldiers who where Earth’s greatest troopers, who defies orders to help save her fellow troops during their ambush by the vicious creatures.
The Abyss – 1989
A film with no real place to put it, The Abyss sees Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio lead a team of scientists and soldiers (including her estranged husband Bud) down to a crashed nuclear submarine to try to salvage the sub and rescue anyone still inside.
Mastrantonio’s character Dr Lindsey Brigman stops a maniacal marine and gambles with her own life in her and Bud’s escape from a submersible.
Brigman was the first step towards the more savvy women Cameron would put into both Titanic and especially now in Avatar.
True Lies – 1994
Helen Tasker brought something completely new to the party.
In True Lies, Cameron’s comedy spy thriller, Harry Tasker is a man with two lives. He pretends to be a computer salesman but actually works as a secret agent, unknown to his long suffering wife Helen.
Played brilliantly by Jamie Lee Curtis, Helen starts unravels her husbands lies and sets about living her life the way she was never able to before.
Starting as a dowdy housewife and ending as a femme fatale spy via hanging off a helicopter, Curtis’ journey is possibly only matched by Sarah Connor when it comes to transformations on screen.
One of only a few characters that mixed strength and wit, Helen is undoubtedly Cameron’s sleeper success, and is a character that only gets better as time goes on.
Titanic – 1997
The film that famously cost more than the actual Titanic itself, produced arguably Cameron’s most unconventional heroine to date.
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