It is safe to say that James Cameron has a deep affinity for water. The Canadian filmmaker is an expert at anything H20-related, whether creating his submersibles to explore the ocean floor, erecting enormous tanks to recreate the Titanic sinking, or convincing his actors to train for Avatar: The Way of Water.
This obsession with water has resulted in some challenging shoots, with up to 40% of his 1989 masterpiece, The Abyss, taking place underwater. His actors became agitated as a result of the harsh working conditions on a film set. Cameron’s experience dealing with a mutiny on the set of a $90 million film is a prime example of that. Yes, renowned actor Ed Harris—a four-time Oscar nominee—reportedly punched the Titanic director after he continued filming The Abyss, even when the actor got into trouble in the water.
Ed Harris Punched James Cameron On The Set Of The Abyss?
It seemed like many people had forgotten about The Abyss‘s existence not long after its 1989 release. Ed Harris, who played the lead, may have had some of the motivation behind his years-long refusal to discuss the James Cameron film. IMDb has reported that he has publicly refrained from discussing his experiences while working in the film, which also starred Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Michael Biehn.
“I’m not talking about The Abyss, and I never will.”
Still, a few stories about Harris’s experience filming the picture have come to light, and it is evident that he and the cast had a very unpleasant time. According to Syfy Wire, Elizabeth Mastrantonio’s stress on set caused her to have a physical and emotional breakdown. Also, she discussed her experiences in the documentary Under Pressure: Making The Abyss, saying:
“The Abyss was a lot of things. Fun to make was not one of them.”
Several articles and social media posts claim that Harris once punched Cameron in the face when the actor nearly drowned and the director continued to film. The majority of those articles seem to reference the claim made on The Abyss‘s IMDb trivia page that the punch actually happened.
Harris finally spoke out about The Abyss in a 2016 interview with Entertainment Weekly. According to him, there was mistreatment of the cast during the film’s production:
“We were guinea pigs, in a way, Jim wasn’t quite sure how this was all gonna go down… [in the drowning scene I was] screaming at her to come back and wake up, and I was slapping her across the face and I see that they’ve run out of film in the camera — there’s a light on the camera — and nobody had said anything.”
James Cameron’s The Abyss Returns To Theaters In 4k Remaster
The Abyss, James Cameron’s “first ocean film”, will return to theaters on December 6, 2023. The director personally completed the 4K transfer for the upcoming The Abyss: Special Edition, which features additional content and “surprises” not found in the original. He took to X (earlier Twitter) on November 13 to announce the film’s return to theaters. He elaborated:
“I’m excited for you to experience The Abyss: Special Edition, now remastered in 4K, only in theaters on December 6.”
via: @JimCameron pic.twitter.com/p1mgJ9E1eW
— 20th Century Studios (@20thcentury) November 13, 2023
In the video shared, the director stated:
“If you haven’t seen the film before, this is the way to experience it and if you have, you’ll be seeing the film I actually set out to make — with some big surprises not seen in the originally released version. I hope you’ll take advantage of seeing The Abyss, my first ocean film, back in theaters.”
With mostly favorable reviews at the box office, The Abyss made slightly less than $90 million worldwide. But as Cameron’s popularity grew over time, the movie attracted a sizable audience of its own. Moreover, it received four Academy Award nominations and took home the Best Visual Effects Oscar.
The Abyss: Special Edition will be available in theaters starting on December 6.
