Cameron Still Furious Over 2013 Golden Globes Marriage Joke

The director behind the Avatar franchise recently opened up about a 2013 Golden Globes moment that still bothers him more than a decade later. During that year's ceremony, comedian Amy Poehler made a cutting remark about his former marriage to fellow filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow while addressing the torture controversy surrounding Bigelow's nominated film Zero Dark Thirty.

Poehler's comment during her opening monologue with co-host Tina Fey was brutal in its simplicity: "When it comes to torture, I trust the lady who spent three years married to James Cameron." The audience's shocked reaction was immediate, and the filmmaker himself has now labeled the quip as going way too far.

Director Calls Out Award Show Humor

In a recent interview, the Titanic director didn't hold back his feelings about Poehler's wisecrack. He described it as "an ignorant dig, at an event which is supposed to be a celebration of cinema and filmmakers, not a roast." The comment clearly struck a nerve with someone who claims to usually take jokes about himself in stride.

"I'm pretty thick-skinned, and happy to be the butt of a good-natured joke, but that went too far," he explained. "The fact that people found it funny shows exactly what they think of me, even though they have no idea who I am or how I work." His main concern wasn't the personal attack on his character, but rather how it might affect his ex-wife's moment of recognition.

Protecting a Fellow Filmmaker's Legacy

What really upset the director was how the joke shifted focus away from Bigelow's professional achievements. He worried that the comment would undermine her credibility in an industry where women directors already face significant challenges. "I was the first one on my feet applauding," he recalled about her nomination.

Both filmmakers were concerned about the joke's impact on serious discussion of her work. "It started to turn into a conversation that wasn't about her film, and that bothered both of us," he noted. The couple had initially found the media attention around their professional rivalry amusing, but this particular moment crossed a line for them.

Behind-the-Scenes Creative Disputes

The director also revealed lingering frustration about not receiving proper credit for his work on Bigelow's 1991 action thriller Point Break. Despite his significant contributions to developing the story during their marriage, the Writers Guild denied him screenwriting credit. "I flat-out got stiffed by the Writers Guild on that. It was bullsh*t," he stated bluntly.

Interestingly, the film's official writer W. Peter Iliff has publicly supported the director's claims, acknowledging his substantial influence on the project's success. This professional recognition helps validate the filmmaker's contributions to what became a cult classic starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze.