James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow are showering praise on each other decades after their divorce.
James and Kathryn joined filmmakers Ryan Coogler, Yorgos Lanthimos, Joachim Trier, and Chloé Zhao in a Hollywood Reporter roundtable discussion.
The Avatar: Fire and Ash director, 79, and House of Dynamite director, 74, married in 1989 and divorced three years later in 1991.
At the table, Cameron remarked, “We were married longer ago than half our lives.”
The directors collaborated on Blue Steel in 1990 and Point Break in 1991. Even after getting divorced, they teamed up for Strange Days in 1995.
“We love working together,” Cameron added during the THR interview.
The duo was asked what they admire about each other’s filmmaking skills.
James praised his ex, saying, “Kathryn cannot do anything that’s not authentic. I think it’s evolved to not be about pushing away that which is commercial; it’s figuring out what’s real in the world and then running that through her lens. And I look for that in my own work.”
“Oh, that’s very kind of you, thank you,” Bigelow replied.
She went on to point out what she’s learnt from James, who has two movies in the top three highest-grossing films ever.
“I think the desire to just reach as far as you possibly can — that really comes from Jim, a reach that seems both improbable and impossible and yet is doable,” she said, as James added, “You do it.”
James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow have remained well wishers for each other. The Avatar diretcor displayed this when he got on his feet and clapped when his ex-wife beat him and others to win the Best Director Oscar for The Hurt Locker in 2010.
