Proposal: The James Cameron Project

[Stamper]

But aren't those home-made at Lightstorm?

Plus T2 looked exactly like those remasters and that was 2017 with financial backing from the chinese.

Disney home video division problems might figure in the equation, but probably what happened is Cameron is too busy to waste timing revisiting his back catalogue again and dropped it on Lightstorm vice-president's lap, with instructions that it looks more or less the same. I think the only one he actually supervised was The Abyss, and it looks the best of all the bunch.

Titanic is just the old 2012 master that was tricked over the years with HFR and other stuff (the DCP I recently saw had some parts of the film clearly HFRised as they publicised a few years back) and now upscaled to 4K. I doubt he watched more than 20mn of it, same for Aliens and True Lies.

Plus Disney probably needed them suddenly fast to make some dough.

It's really sad, but most of the sightly out of focus shots could have been fixed just by going back to the negatives, and rescanning them in 10K at Park Road. Then once reduced to 4K, you would have one hell of a great looking master with really massive detail, that would only require the slighest amount of enhancement to look good.

I guess not this decade.

[zoidberg]

I don't think the Sony/Disney deal involves remastering, only distribution. In any case Cameron's approval clause would still apply

[alleycat]

I don't think the Sony/Disney deal involves remastering, only distribution. In any case Cameron's approval clause would still apply

Do we know if the approval clause also applies to the Terminator? Or did it come in after that?

[zoidberg]

MGM has T1, but Cameron would still get approval. When it does happen it will be much like the others, you can see already the DNR/processing in the current T1 lowry master underneath the grain overlay.

[alleycat]

MGM has T1, but Cameron would still get approval. When it does happen it will be much like the others, you can see already the DNR/processing in the current T1 lowry master underneath the grain overlay.

At least he can't mess with Piranha 2

[zoidberg]

Supposedly JC did re-edit Piranha 2 for a limited edition laserdisc but I don't know if it's true or just internet rumours turned folklore.

[Bigrob]

That re-edit does exist. I have it on my HDD

[Stamper]

Yes you can actually watch it on a french JC page, scroll down this page. It's funny, I saw it again recently in 35mm (not this version, the european cut) and it's pretty clear that JC has his pawns all over the film, I would say 90 % of the footage is his. The edit isn't his or only in parts, however the US edit is 100 % is and guess what, he trimmed about 8/10% of the film.

There's stuff that ended up in Aliens (the Burke turncoat character that befriend the heroine, the woman haircut, the monsters, and escape from the creature through an underwater corridor (same as when Vasquez and Gorman die), also the same sacrifice to let the other go etc.), Abyss (tons of underwater shots and there's no way they were shot by the producer), and even Avatar 2.

[Doctor M]

Never saw Piranha 2... which cut is better?

it's pretty clear that JC has his pawns all over the film

Prawns?

[Stamper]

The JC cut has the edge, obviously, it's watchable and quite entertaining. Just do not expect T1 or Aliens level of filmmaking.