James Cameron Never Wanted to Make 'Titanic'

Perhaps the most comically brilliant interview of the month will come sandwiched between naked ladies as a lengthy chat with James Cameron will be featured in December's issue of Playboy. While we don't have the actual interview for you to read, Playboy sent over a whole batch of quotes that were just too good to resist. Based on the quotes, it would appear the interview covers everything from Cameron's directorial approach to his inspiration (Star Wars) to his personal life (married five times) to his films to Christian Bale's famous on-set tirade ("Man, I have to take my hat off to this guy. I could not pull a rant like that if I had to.' I mean, I can get on a roll but not like that. I just had to bow down.").

And speaking of his films, Cameron was quite candid when Titanic came up, admitting there was only one reason why he wanted to make that film and it wasn't to get Kate Winslet topless. "I made Titanic because I wanted to dive to a shipwreck, not because I particularly wanted to make the movie...Titanic was about 'f*ck you' money," he said. And on Kate Winslet almost dying while filming: "[On the set of Titanic] we simply let Kate [Winslet] think she was nearly drowning. A little sputtering and coughing does not count in my book, because I have almost drowned several times...Anybody who signs on [with me] is going to be tested." Right on! James Cameron: The director who will let you think you're dying in order to get the best performance!

Check out a few more choice Cameron quotes after the jump (like why you'll never see him on Twitter), and you can read the entire interview in the December issue of Playboy, which hits newstands and online on November 13th.

On his shortcomings as a director: "The part of directing I wasn't good at – and probably still am not the best at, although I'm better now – is the personal touch: letting people know you appreciate what they're doing."

On the impact Star Wars had on his career: "My entrée into Hollywood came as a direct result of Star Wars because George Lucas suddenly made science fiction gold instead of a ghettoized B-movie genre. When most people saw Star Wars there was the shock of the new. For me there was the shock of recognition, as if somebody had taken my private dream and put it up on the screen...I took Star Wars as a sign that what I had to offer was something people wanted."

On Kate Winslet versus Leo DiCaprio: "I'd certainly work with her again; she's very talented. Whereas Leo DiCaprio switches his acting on and off like a faucet, Kate's acting process is to internalize all this stuff and use it."

On reactions to the prescreening of Avatar: "We know from the exit polling that the response was 95 percent ecstatic. Most of the five percent negative response is from the fanatic fans who imagined the movie in their minds but now have to deal with my movie."

On Zoe Saldana: "Let's be clear. There is a classification above hot, which is 'smoking hot.' She is smoking hot...[Guys] will have actual lust for a character that consists of pixels of ones and zeros."

On plotting to top Avatar in the future: "I haven't decided. I always say that when a woman is in the midst of childbirth, don't ask her if she wants another child. I'm crowning right now."

On his 25th high school reunion: "If you ever go to a 25th high school reunion, make sure that in the previous two months you've made the world's highest-grossing movie, won 11 Academy Awards and become physically bigger than most of those guys who used to beat you up. I walked up to them one by one and said, 'You know, I could take your ass right now, and I'm tempted, but I won't.' Actually, they were all nice guys except for one who was still big and mean. I left him alone."

On his parents: "They were pretty much against everything. I can't think of anything my dad was for except hockey. He used to throw my comics and science-fiction books in the trash because he considered them mental junk...He treated science fiction as if it was porn."

On technology that eludes him: "On Twitter, a tweet has to be less than, what, 25 words? There isn't one concept I would be interested in discussing with anyone that could be summed up in 25 words or fewer. I'm totally not into Facebook or Twitter, so that makes me a dinosaur right there."