James Cameron didn’t just watch Star Wars.He saw his own imagination projected onto a movie screen. And that realization, he says, is what pushed him toward becoming a filmmaker. A moment of recognition, not imitation In a recent interview with CBS, Cameron reflected on the first time he experienced George Lucas’ 1977 space opera—and how unsettlingly familiar it felt. As a teenager, Cameron would listen to fast electronic music on headphones, imagining elaborate space battles filled with energy weapons and complex maneuvers. Then Star Wars arrived. “I would’ve thought, ‘They took that from my brain,’” Cameron said, before laughing at the idea. His actual conclusion was far more practical—and far more important. If the images in his head matched what audiences were lining up to see in the biggest movie in the world, then maybe his imagination had value. Maybe it was something people would actually pay to experience. That…
