James Cameron is a filmmaker who will go down in history as the writer and director of some of the greatest films of all time. He's made so many hit movies it’s almost hard to count, but he thinks the list should be even longer, as Cameron recently claimed credit for writing the surfer crime movie Point Break.
In a recent interview, Cameron claimed credit for the film, saying that he “got stiffed” by the Writers’ Guild when it came to credit on the movie. The actual credit went to screenwriter W. Peter Iliff, but speaking with EW, you won’t hear him complaining. Iliff confirms that Cameron did work on the film and says he has nothing but respect for the Avatar director. The screenwriter said…
Jim Cameron is my hero. I am perhaps his biggest fan. And so grateful for his fabulous work on Point Break.
Iliff details the story of Point Break, which he wrote based on an idea from filmmaker Rick King, with Ridley Scott originally attached to direct. The movie would then jump around studios, and lose Scott to Black Rain, before it ended up at 20th Century Fox with Kathryn Bigelow directing.
Bigelow was married to James Cameron at the time, who was on the same lot making The Abyss. Iliff is honest that Cameron and Bigelow wrote the “production draft” of the script based on his original screenplay. One moment that Cameron specifically added was apparently the famous scene of Keanu Reeves' Johnny Utah jumping out of a plane after Patrick Swayze’s Brodie without a parachute.
As far as who gets the credit, the Writers’ Guild of America determines credit by having a jury of other writers review multiple drafts of the script, in order to determine who contributed what and decide how many of the authors should receive credit for the final product. W. Peter Illiff received sole screenplay credit, with Illiff and King receiving Story credit.
I’m not sure anybody would blame Illiff for being frustrated by Cameron’s recent comments that he deserves credit for writing the film. However, that doesn’t appear to be happening. Illiff, who says he hasn’t seen James Cameron in years, doesn’t appear to be bothered by the issue. He continued…
My reaction to Jim is only one of gratitude. I am too blessed to be stressed by things I cannot control. And I always make sure to give Jim credit when publicly asked to speak about the film.
Illiff would go on to write the Harrison Ford-led Patriot Games and Varsity Blues, both the film and the follow-up TV series. James Cameron would go on to direct three of the top five highest grossing movies ever made. It seems everything turned out fine for all involved.
