James Cameron slams 'Oppenheimer' avoiding aftermath of atomic bombings on Japan as 'moral cop-out'
Prolific filmmaker James Cameron called the movie "Oppenheimer" a "moral cop-out" because it did not show the aftermath of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
"Yeah, it's interesting what he stayed away from. Look, I love the filmmaking, but I did feel that it was a bit of a moral cop-out," Cameron said in an interview with Deadline.
Cameron, best known for "Titanic," "The Terminator," and "Avatar," is currently developing a film called "Ghosts of Hiroshima," to depict the devastation of J. Robert Oppenheimer's nuclear weapon that struck Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945.
While discussing his new project, Cameron criticized "Oppenheimer" director Christopher Nolan's creative choice to leave out the effects of the bombing of Hiroshima.
Deadline added that in Cameron's view, "the choice to keep 'Oppenheimer' locked within its protagonist's perspective was a misstep, and one that, he suggests, sidesteps the full weight of the bomb's real-world consequences."
"Because it's not like Oppenheimer didn't know the effects. He's got one brief scene in the film where we see — and I don't like to criticize another filmmaker's film – but there's only one brief moment where he sees some charred bodies in the audience, and then the film goes on to show how it deeply moved him," Cameron said.
"But I felt that it dodged the subject. I don't know whether the studio or Chris felt that that was a third rail that they didn't want to touch, but I want to go straight at the third rail."
Nolan had previously addressed criticism of his decision not to show the Hiroshima bombing in 2023, the year the film was released.
"The film presents Oppenheimer's experience subjectively," Nolan said.
"It was always my intention to rigidly stick to that. Oppenheimer heard about the bombing at the same time that the rest of the world did. I wanted to show somebody who is starting to gain a clearer picture of the unintended consequences of his actions. It was as much about what I don't show as what I show."
Spike Lee also criticized the decision, saying, "If it's three hours, I would like to add some more minutes about what happened to the Japanese people. People got vaporized. Many years later, people are radioactive."
"Oppenheimer" earned 13 Academy Award nominations, making it one of the most-nominated movies in Oscars history.
Universal's World War II biopic was also the third highest-grossing movie of 2023, earning $951 million. It was part of a summer phenomenon called "Barbenheimer," which refers to theatergoers who opted to see both the deadly serious "Oppenheimer" and the more bubbly "Barbie" movie after both films were released in July.
"Ghosts of Hiroshima" does not have a set release date yet.
Nolan and Cameron did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment in time for comment.
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