James Cameron says Steven Spielberg beat him to the 'Jurassic Park' rights by a few hours - and his version would have been 'much nastier'
- James Cameron told HuffPost UK that he once tried to buy the book rights to "Jurassic Park," but Steven Spielberg beat him "by a few hours."
- Cameron said his version would have been "much nastier" and "would have been 'Aliens' with dinosaurs."
- Cameron said after seeing the film, he realized Spielberg was "the right person to make" it because "his sensibility was right for that film."
James Cameron's version of "Jurassic Park" would have been much darker than Steven Spielberg's, at least according to Cameron himself.
The iconic director of "Aliens," "Titanic," and "Avatar" told HuffPost UK that he had always wanted to adapt "Jurassic Park." Cameron said he tried to buy the rights to the novel by Michael Crichton, but Spielberg "beat me to it by a few hours."
But it was all for the best, according to Cameron.
"When I saw the film, I realized that I was not the right person to make the film, he was," Cameron said. "Because he made a dinosaur movie for kids, and mine would have been 'Aliens' with dinosaurs, and that wouldn't have been fair ... Dinosaurs are for 8 year olds. We can all enjoy it, too, but kids get dinosaurs and they should not have been excluded for that. His sensibility was right for that film, I'd have gone further, nastier, much nastier."
After snagging the rights from under Cameron's nose, Spielberg went on to direct the 1993 film, which made over $1 billion worldwide - an impressive accomplishment, considering he also released "Schindler's List" that same year.
But Cameron did well for himself at the box office, too. "Titanic" and "Avatar" are currently the two highest-grossing movies of all time worldwide.
Spielberg's "Ready Player One," based on a popular book (like "Jurassic Park"), is currently playing theaters and is shaping up to do well at the box office.