James Cameron revealed in a recent interview with The New York Times that he clashed over key sequence in Avatar with 20th Century Fox executives.
The director said that “the studio felt that the film should be shorter and that there was too much flying around on the ikran — what the humans call the banshees. Well, it turns out that's what the audience loved the most, in terms of our exit polling and data gathering.”
Cameron also asserted that since his directorial Titanic “paid for a large portion of the 20th Century Fox studio lot” so they should trust him.
“And that's a place where I just drew a line in the sand and said, ‘You know what? I made Titanic. This building that we're meeting in right now, this new half-billion dollar complex on your lot? Titanic paid for that, so I get to do this’.”
He continued, “And afterward, they thanked me. I feel that my job is to protect their investment, often against their own judgment. But as long as I protect their investment, all is forgiven.”
Cameron further elaborated that editing a film is an “intense process” and every frame is contemplated on whether it will stay in the movie or not.
“It’s such an intense process when you're editing a film and you have to fight for every frame that stays in. I felt pretty good about the creative decisions that were made back then. We spent a lot of time and energy improving our process in the decade-plus since,” Cameron said.
“But there’s certainly nothing cringeworthy. I can see tiny places where we've improved facial-performance work. But it doesn’t take you out. I think it's still competitive with everything that’s out there these days.”