James Cameron's long awaited sci-fi flick Avatar is headed to cinemas this December. It has been 12 years since Cameron's last film Titanic made waves around the planet. The picture grossed an as-yet unequalled box office take of $1.8 billion worldwide and also brought home 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. Over the course of his innovative career, Cameron has changed the way audiences experience films. He has revolutionized special effects and created worlds beyond which most could even imagine. We're taking a look back through his varied career, before looking forward.



James Cameron's big break came on the set of Piranha 2: The Spawning, a low budget film for which he was special effects director. When the original director left the project, Cameron was selected to bring the film to completion. Although the film never entered the national consciousness like his later pictures, it was during a stress-induced fever dream during production that he first imagined a killer robot hit man sent back through time.

In 1984, James Cameron's ultra low-budget flick The Terminator hit cinemas, with few expecting much success. The picture went on to gross $78 million worldwide and has since become a cultural phenomenon. Cameron would later re-team with Terminator stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn in the future.

Cameron scored the coveted role of directing the sequel to Ridley Scott's classic thriller Alien. At first the crew of Aliens were hostile towards the young director, having not seen his previous work. However, the film became another box office success. Lead actress Sigourney Weaver scored an Oscar nomination for her iconic performance as Ellen Ripley and Cameron finally had the freedom to film whatever he chose.

His next film The Abyss would be a groundbreaking work of special effects wizardry. The picture required alien underwater creatures for the film's climax. However, Cameron's vision was slightly ahead of the existing technology. So he decided to invent the technology that would make such effects possible. The film was not a critical or financial hit, but has since collected cult acclaim. The Abyss did earn an Oscar for Best Visual Effects and spurred Cameron to found his own production company, called Lightstorm Entertainment.

In 1991, Cameron re-enlisted Schwarzenegger and Hamilton for a sequel to The Terminator, named Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The film broke box office records, claiming over $500 million worldwide. At the time, this figure was previously unheard of for a violent film. The movie continues to be an iconic piece of science fiction and one of the most popular action films of all time. Cameron would combine with Arnie one more time for True Lies, a highly successful action comedy.

Cameron's interest in underwater worlds and the sea led to his development of a film based around the sinking of the famous ship Titanic. During production, the film was ridiculed for costing around $200 million, becoming the most expensive movie ever made. In its first weekend, the picture grossed a minor $28 million in the U.S. However, the film's grosses increased over the weeks, and eventually earned $600 million in America alone. Titanic is still the highest grossing film of all time, more than half-a-billion dollars above its nearest competitor.

Having spent 12 years working on documentaries and honing 3D technology, Cameron returns to sci-fi with his upcoming picture Avatar. Starring Aussie Sam Worthington and Cameron favourite Sigourney Weaver, Cameron has promised the film will be unlike anything that has come before it. Utilising motion capture technology and 3-D photography, the picture has us excited. With eight months to go until it hits cinemas, we look forward to revisiting his back catalogue.