AMC is teaming up with filmmaker James Cameron to explore the evolution of sci-fi in a six-part documentary series, tentatively titled James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction, which THR reports will “delve into sci-fi’s origins as a small genre with a cult and developing to the blockbuster pop-culture phenomenon it is today.”
“When I was a kid, I basically read any book with a spaceship on the cover and I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey many, many times,” said Cameron. “The movie inspired me to become a filmmaker. I liked the special effects, but I really loved the ideas and the questions behind them: How will the world end? Will technology destroy us? What does it mean to be human? These are subjects sci-fi has never been afraid to tackle. With this series, we are going back to the origins of sci-fi, following the DNA of these ideas back to the source. Without Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, there wouldn’t have been Ray Bradbury or Robert A. Heinlein, and without them, there wouldn’t be George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott or me. As a filmmaker who specializes in science fiction, I’m interested in exploring the struggles and the triumphs that brought these incredible stories to life and seeing how art imitates life, as well as how science fiction imitates and sometimes informs science.”
According to THR, each episode will introduce one of humankind’s “big questions” and how this was explored through film, TV, books and video games, while Cameron and his contemporaries will also debate and discuss the titles that influenced their careers.
Originally published January 15, 2017. Updated April 15, 2018.
