You may or may not know that legendary filmmakers James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow were married from 1989 to 1991.
One reason you may know about their prior relationship is because of a particularly sick burn delivered by Amy Poehler during her stint co-hosting the 2013 Golden Globes with Tina Fey.
While referencing the depiction of torture in Kathryn’s much-celebrated film Zero Dark Thirty, Amy said, “When it comes to torture, I trust the lady who spent three years married to James Cameron.” Ouch.
Now, if there’s one thing about James Cameron, it’s that he will speak his mind on literally anything — and in a recent interview with The New York Times, the Avatar: Fire and Ash mastermind finally (and quite belatedly, I might add!) addressed Amy’s dig at his prior marriage to Kathryn.
“Amy Poehler’s remark was an ignorant dig, at an event which is supposed to be a celebration of cinema and filmmakers, not a roast,” he said. “I’m pretty thick-skinned, and happy to be the butt of a good-natured joke, but that went too far.”
“The fact that people found it funny shows exactly what they think of me, even though they have no idea who I am or how I work.”
You may or may not recall that Kathryn and James also competed against each other at the 2010 Oscars — with the former’s The Hurt Locker taking Best Director and Best Picture over the latter’s Avatar. In the interview, James also reiterated his support at the time for Kathryn’s success, and he remarked on the media’s established narrative regarding the pair’s nominations.
“I was the first one on my feet applauding,” he said. “Kathryn and I thought the whole meta-narrative around us was pretty funny. I was a little concerned that it would just take away from her credibility as a filmmaker. It started to turn into a conversation that wasn’t about her film, and that bothered both of us.”
Well, there you have it. You can read the entire interview here.