James Cameron fires back at Roland Emmerich calling him ‘overbearing’: ‘Damn right’

James Cameron has responded to an accusation made against him by Roland Emmerich, who claimed he is “overbearing.”

Cameron’s response: yes, and?

Emmerich, 68, made his remark about Cameron, 69, during this year’s San Diego Comic-Con at Collider’s Directors on Directors panel. The “To Those About To Die” director was asked by fellow filmmaker Louis Leterrier (“Fast X”) about his experience working with Cameron on the perpetually-in-development remake of “Fantastic Voyage.”

Roland Emmerich at Collider’s Directors on Directing Panel
Collider’s Directors on Directing, 2024 Comic-Con International, San Diego, California, USA – 26 Jul 2024. John Salangsang/Shutterstock

Emmerich was one of many directors behind a broad swath of blockbuster movies who was eyed to helm the project, which he was set to produce and co-author.

“James Cameron is very overbearing, and so I, at one point, just gave up,” Emmerich said of a possible collaboration. “Because it’s like, ‘Is it your movie or my movie?’”

Cameron has his own punches to throw.

“I’ve never said anything negative about Roland,” the Oscar winner told The Hollywood Reporter in a new interview published on Monday, August 12. “But anyway: Yes, I’m overbearing. Damn right.”

James Cameron speaks as he is honoured at the 2024 Disney Legends Awards during Disney’s D23 Expo in Anaheim, California, U.S., August 11, 2024. REUTERS

Cameron added, “When it’s a project where I’ve contributed to the writing, I might actually have an opinion on it.”

He went on to challenge Emmerich’s version of events, saying he has no recollection of speaking with the “Independence Day” filmmaker about a potential collaboration.

Roland Emmerich poses for a portrait to promote “Those About to Die” during Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 25, 2024, in San Diego. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

“I actually don’t even remember talking to Roland Emmerich about Fantastic,” the “Titanic” director said. “I remember the other directors that we worked with for months on end trying to develop that project.”

“If I talked to Roland, it was for two minutes,” he continued. “I have a pretty good memory and I don’t remember that at all.”

Emmerich’s remarks to the packed Comic-Con crowd went viral almost immediately.

“We were in very beginning stages,” Emmerich said of his experience. “Because I said, ‘Gosh, why is he so overbearing?’ I have to say, I do my stuff, and when I can’t do my stuff, I’m totally not interested. As simple as that. So when somebody else wants to say something to me and is more powerful than me, I drop out.”

“Fantastic Voyage” followed a submarine and its crew as they were shrunk and injected into the bloodstream to save a scientist after he slipped into a coma because of a blood clot.

The 1996 science fiction film starred sex symbol Raquel Welch, Donald Pleasence and Stephen Boyd.

Other directors Cameron spoke to about directing the remake included Guillermo Del Toro, Paul Greengrass, and Shawn Levy.

According to Cameron, fans shouldn’t expect to see his version of “Fantastic Voyage” anytime soon. “Move on, that’s a non-story,” he told The Hollywood Reporter when asked if the project was still in the works.