James Cameron to Fix Oil Spill with Hollywood Clout

Posted by on June 3rd, 2010   Filed under: Industry News, Sci-fi
Source: Wall Street Journal

Oh look, James Cameron’s back at it again, saving the world from the stupidity of humans! It seems that after watching a few failed attempts by BP to contain their ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, good ol’ Jim decided that he’d had enough of their incompetency and got on the phone with Washington. He felt that after his work on The Abyss and Titanic and a number of undersea documentaries, he had acquired enough of a background and enough contacts to put together a task force of engineers capable of solving the problem.

“I was watching with growing horror thinking, ‘Those morons don’t know what they’re doing.’ … I know a lot of people who work in deep submergence … They know the engineering that’s required to work at that depth.”

This comes just a week or two after Kevin Costner volunteered the use of some oil separation machines he had been funding and developing since 1995, as inspired by his film Waterworld. No, this is not a joke.

While it remains to be seen if either of these Hollywood personalities will actually be able to come up with a workable solution, I have to say, it would be pretty damn embarrassing for BP if they do. To be fair, Cameron himself isn’t necessarily claiming to have the answers… he merely knows some people who might. His offer to help was apparently brushed off by BP, but resulted in a meeting hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency where a group of 23 experts have assembled to brainstorm ideas. At the very least, his involvement is keeping the oil spill in the headlines, which is probably a good thing. Who knows, maybe when all is said and done we’ll get a decent movie out of the whole ordeal as well.



  • projectgenesis

    The U.S. Government can’t fix a stupid oil leak but wants to be in charge of everyone’s health-care?

  • rob

    If the substance at stake was not oil BP would be shut down

    if a food company was leaking into the sea affecting 3 states of fisherman and killing and wounding a huge area of wildlife the pipe would be cut off and the company would be shut down instantly

    this sounds like perfect Michael Moore material

  • kyriacos

    Is he gonna fill the hole with douchebaggness?? ..
    There’s a hole! .. there’s a hole! there’s a hole in the bottom of his brain man..

    http://mfile.akamai.com/97892/live/reflector:46245.asx?bkup=46260

    This is the link to the underwater submarine’s camera, I hacked it!

    Am I qualified to fix the oil spill now?

  • Henrik

    “The U.S. Government can’t fix a stupid oil leak but wants to be in charge of everyone’s health-care?”

    The only thing that makes this resistable, is that I have just within the last 30 seconds imagined the exact conversation a response would lead to.

  • As much as Cameron bugs me, its funny that I’ve been yelling for two weeks now about how Cameron uses all that undersea equipment and does all manner of excavations with the Titanic, why can’t BP use some of that technology and get down there and start welding and plugging? The whole thing totally baffles me I must admit. It’s a hole in a pipe. Pressure fill it with high impact cement using submersive vehicles that can withstand that depth and get the fuck out.

    I bet anything if anyone can fix it, it is Cameron and his “contacts.”

  • Darksiders

    He’s trying to do more than Obama. All that f-er does is talk about how they are trying to come up with solutions and he guesses it is his mistake not realizing how bad the situation was in the beginning.

    I’m on location in New Orleans right now and they are talking major shit happening here. Especially since the hurricane season is coming up. They are predicting the hurricanes picking up the oil off the water and dropping it on the city.

    F BP. Gov take over and get this crap fixed. Then sue the shit outta them.

    This is a horrific disaster and if this had happened to any country other than the US other countries would be up in arms giving a shit.

    I don’t like the guy but go Cameron if he can do something.

  • Darksiders

    Also BP has the technology. They are just trying to save this pipe that they drilled because it costs them over $200 million to re-drill a new pipe.

  • Marcus Mallard

    I am so sick and tired of James Cameron. I really wish he would leave this planet on whatever spaceship brought him here…seriously. Here’s what should happen. Let this douche start going down there to film the hole (not fix the damn thing) and either drown in his own feces; or swallow enough oil to lubricate all the cars in Los Angeles for the next 40 years.

  • Antho42

    Well–at least he is trying–unlike someone famous…

  • TheAllKnowingGod

    Jim for President!

  • Jake

    How many “umms” are possible in a podcast?

  • NervousRex

    It would be Karma for Cameron if he could contribute to a solution. You never hear about the area of the Mexican coast that was destroyed in the making of Titanic. The livelihood of the fishing village at that location was wiped out because of all the chemicals that killed most the sealife. And because of a wall the filmmakers put up, the fisherman couldn’t even put out to sea, nor were they allowed to work on the movie. They broke Mexican enviromental laws, but were able to bribe officials to get permission. That’s what is so ironic about Avatar. Cameron knows all about destroying a culture to get a technological trophy.

  • Dear Mr. Cameron:

    I just saw a video of your efforts to fix the oil spill on CNN. Here’s a new idea for you. Put a cap on the bottom of a sub secured by an electro magnet that is released once the sub has safely travled over the spill in the exact area an placed the cap over the leak by driving directly over the leak and parking itself right over it. Your fan, Burke2 of Burke2data.com Go Cameron ! Go Avatar !