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Arts and Culture

James Cameron Calls for Dialogue With Glenn Beck

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Posted on Mar 24, 2010
Cameron
Wikimedia Commons / Natasha Baucas

Bleepity bleep: Here we have James Cameron at last summer’s Comic-Con in San Diego.

During a press junket on Tuesday, “Avatar” helmer James Cameron let fly about Fox News’ shouty conspiracy buff Glenn Beck, calling Beck a couple of rated-R names before backing up a bit and suggesting that he’d like to have a “dialogue with him.” In 3-D! Just kidding.  —KA

The Hollywood Reporter:

Asked what he thought about Beck during a junket appearance in support of the “Avatar” home video release, Cameron said: “Glenn Beck is a fucking asshole. I’ve met him. He called me the anti-Christ, and not about ‘Avatar.’ He hadn’t even seen ‘Avatar’ yet. I don’t know if he has seen it.”

Cameron was apparently referring to Beck’s reaction to his 2007 documentary, “The Lost Tomb of Jesus,” which casts doubt on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and makes the case that the ancient “Tomb of the Ten Ossuaries” belonged to Jesus’ family.

After blasting Beck, Cameron, surrounded by journalists inside a West Hollywood hillside mansion, seemed to reconsider: “I think, you know what, he may or may not be an asshole, but he certainly is dangerous, and I’d love to have a dialogue with him.”

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MarthaA's avatar

By MarthaA, March 30, 2010 at 10:03 am Link to this comment

Adam Yates, March 28 at 12:40 pm,

You are deceived.  Glenn Beck is a real Republican EXTREMIST in Hitleresque fashion.

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By pg 2010, March 29, 2010 at 7:50 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

——CAN’T STOP saying it!

Cameron, and just about ALLLLL the rest of
Hollywood have made BILLIONS these past decades
catering to the franchise-slum, dumb-down needs
of history’s MOST awesomely genocidal regime
—-ACROSS the Pacific.  (70 million—-FACT )

Everything they do—-everything they say
—-everything they make—-MUST be reviewed
in THAT light—-as they desperatetly run
for shrinking moral cover behind done-to-death
PC ‘consciousness’ and ad nasueum WWII retreads.

IT WON’T WASH BOYS!

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William W. Wexler's avatar

By William W. Wexler, March 28, 2010 at 11:41 am Link to this comment

Calling someone dangerous doesn’t make them so.

However, repeatedly and explicitly calling the elected government of the US illegitimate does.  Comparing sitting Presidents to murderous despots does.  Claiming that the President of the United States wants to pour gasoline on the nation and set it on fire does.

That’s just a small smattering, Tammy, of what Glenn Beck says on a daily basis.  He was just called a “domestic terrorist” by journalist Cokie Roberts, which is the first utterance from her I’ve agreed with in years.

In fact, I am currently working on a new page for my website called “Glenn Beck - Domestic Terrorist” which will seek to document all of his shout-outs, direction, and egging on to acts of violence against the government and the “progressives” he demonizes.

Tammy, I don’t know what you do for a living, but you ought to stick to that rather than making a baseless, unsupported attack on Cameron. Cameron makes good movies and good points.  I, for one, don’t give a fucking shit what you think.

-Wexler

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By Adam Yates, March 28, 2010 at 9:40 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

To MarthaA: Beck is an anti-intellectual, just as Nixon, Reagan, Bush1 and Bush2 were. He would not consider his public library self-educaton a weakness. In fact, he would embrace anything that shows a disdain for public education, or formal education, or anything that reflects intellectualism. That’s a hallmark of popular conservativism, at least since Nixon. From his point of view, his lack of formal education would actually give him an advantage against what he perceives as the sophistry of the intelligentsia. In my opinion, the vast majority in this country are of the same mindset as Beck, and the real sophists, the Republicans, know this, and use it masterfully.

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By Tammy, March 27, 2010 at 8:06 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Mr. Cameron needs to stick to making movies. Calling someone dangerous doesn’t make them so. And why would he want to have any kind of conversation with someone who apparently can’t formulate a sentence that is not comprised of profanity?

Wake up people. You’re being led by the nose by someone who dreams of blue beings.

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MarthaA's avatar

By MarthaA, March 27, 2010 at 1:59 pm Link to this comment

Glenn Beck is NOT an academic, and it is plain to see that he has no understanding above the socialist public library where he taught himself everything he knows, per his own words, or he would not be against his socialist education or socialism for the populace, while the wealthy take full advantage of socialism.  Beck said he is self-educated at the public library, where there are few, if any,  academic works for the populace to read that get into reality, as the populace isn’t considered to have a need to know reality.

Therefore, Beck will be unable to actually dialog with Cameron.  Beck only knows his propaganda techniques and will do what he can to use them to put down progressives, liberals, socialists, socialism, unions and the populace, which is his master, Rupert Murdoch’s will.

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By Nap, March 26, 2010 at 7:18 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Beck “is not the disease, he is a symptom”

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Hulk2008's avatar

By Hulk2008, March 26, 2010 at 3:08 pm Link to this comment

Who is going to bite the bullet and explain to Beck what a “dialogue” is ?  His his so-called “interviews” (e.g. Rep. Massa) turn out to be attempts to monopolize the content of all his shows.  His panel presentations basically are manipulations of cardboard cut-out people - goons he hand-picked to provide an occasional sentence or two so that he can twist the words into his own.

Extremism, even in defense of liberty, is just paranoia; and paranoia is a disease. 

Lucky for Beck, the new health care bill includes support for mental health.

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Night-Gaunt's avatar

By Night-Gaunt, March 25, 2010 at 9:26 pm Link to this comment

I’m all for such dialog. But types like Beck usually don’t like such things because then the bubble protecting them is burst. You just don’t see it. It is rare but I think I could pull it off.

*Don’t forget Anne Francis to play Neilson‘s wife in that cameo! [Remember the ending of the original?

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By Thomas Dooley, March 25, 2010 at 7:05 pm Link to this comment

“Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.”
—Unknown

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By wagonjak, March 25, 2010 at 1:06 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

I’m not sure what gene it is that forces good Liberals to always back away from
absolutely true remarks like those Cameron made about the madman Beck. Are
they afraid those mean Repubs will be angry at them, or in Cameron’s case that
the wing-nut movie goers would not go to his movies again?

Repubs NEVER APOLOGIZE, not matter how nasty or untrue their remarks are…and
I wish the Dems would 1) Never say anything they will later regret and pull back
from, and 2) Even if they do regret it, just keep their mouths shut…all apologies
do is encourage the right wing to step up the attacks.

GROW UP DEMS…stop trying to be so nice! The Repubs will never work with you
no matter how good or accomodating you are to them!

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William W. Wexler's avatar

By William W. Wexler, March 25, 2010 at 8:46 am Link to this comment

I have a standing challenge to debate Glenn Beck in a Lincoln-Douglas formal debate.

http://glennbeckreport.com/challenge-to-glenn-beck/

I would be honored to have James Cameron as a debate partner.  I stopped short of calling Beck a “fucking asshole” on the page above (I just called him an asshole, a liar, a coward, and a nincompoop), but I agree wholeheartedly with Cameron’s initial statement and invite James to join my challenge.

If you read this, James, please email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to respond.

-Wexler

PS I have been a huge fan of all your films since the first Terminator movie.  I especially liked Terminator, The Abyss, and Aliens.  If you finish the remake of Forbidden Planet, please consider getting Leslie Nielson for at least a cameo!

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By John, March 24, 2010 at 8:49 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

“To argue with a man who has renounced his reason is like giving medicine to the dead.”
  - Thomas Paine

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By James Cameron Fan, March 24, 2010 at 7:02 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

James, way to tell it like it is!

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By Joe G, March 24, 2010 at 12:12 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

This story made me smile.

James Cameron is my Co-Pilot now.

And Mr. T

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