Written and Directed by James Cameron and Randall Frakes.
Starring William Wisher Jr. and Margaret Undiel.
After dropping out of college James Cameron was approached by a group of dentists looking to invest in a film as a tax write-off. Cameron pitched an idea that would become his debut short, Xenogenesis, and was given $20,000 to produce a teaser trailer. Using the funds, Cameron and co-director Randall Frakes (writer of the 1988 cult classic Hell Comes to Frogtown) delivered a twelve minute short which would incorporate numerous themes and elements prevalent in his later work.
Shot on 35mm, Xenogenesis tells the story of a man and woman tasked with searching out new worlds capable of supporting life. Exploring their huge sentient space-ship, they stumble upon a hostile robot (reminiscent of Terminator's Hunter-Killers) and must fight for their survival. In addition to writing and directing, Cameron handled set design, cinematography, editing and visual effects, which led to him gaining employment as a model sculptor with legendary B-movie producer Roger Corman's New World Pictures.
Xenogenesis:
Embed courtesy of DailyMotion.
Related: Resurfacing: A James Cameron Profile
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