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29 March 2024

Avatar's James Cameron to open media summit

James Cameron (AP)

Published
By Bindu Suresh Rai

Next week’s Abu Dhabi Media Summit has roped in Hollywood’s most successful filmmaker to kick off the event, as the Oscar-winning James Cameron, best known for films “Avatar” and “Titanic” will participate in the keynote conversation with James Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive, Europe and Asia, News Corporation, who is also a co-chair of the event.

ADMS, which is being held under the Patronage of General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces, will run from March 15 until 17 be held at Yas Hotel on Yas Island on the first two days, before moving to the Emirates Palace hotel for the third and final day.
 
The cult of Cameron

Those of you who will be unable to catch the acclaimed writer/producer/director on day one can head to Emirates Palace where Cameron will join Carlos Saldanha (director of the “Ice Age” animated series and the upcoming film “Rio”) and Jim Gianopulos (Chairman and CEO, Fox Filmed Entertainment) to deliver a special master-class.

The three Hollywood greats will take summit guests through their creative processes, giving the audience a glimpse of how they use technology to enhance storytelling. The master-class will also include 3D cinema demonstrations, which Cameron single handedly turned into an iconic art form with the release of “Avatar”, which was the closing film at the Dubai International Film Festival in 2009.

Cameron’s cult status is also visible in the numbers, with “Avatar” becoming the top grossing film of all time, with nearly $3 billion in its kitty via its global box office collections, according Boxofficemojo.com.

Cameron’s 1997 released “Titanic”, which starred Leonardo Di Caprio in the lead, along with Kate Winslet, is the second top grossing film of all time, with over $1.8bn in global box office collections.
 
Summit strategy

Saeed Al-Hajeri, a member of the Abu Dhabi Media Company Board and the Chairman of the company’s Executive Committee, said in a statement: “We are delighted to have James Cameron open the second Abu Dhabi Media Summit. He has repeatedly raised the bar in terms of groundbreaking content and creativity. With his support, the 2011 summit looks forward to exploring what makes great storytelling in today’s digital age.”

The co-chairs of the event include: Mohamed Mubarak al Mazrouei, Chairman, Abu Dhabi Media Company; Sheikh Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, Chairman and CEO, MBC Group; Ibrahim Ajami, CEO, Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC); Stephen Elop, President and CEO, Nokia; Tom Glocer, CEO, Thomson Reuters; Jean-Bernard Lévy, Chairman of the Management Board, Vivendi; Yuri Milner, Founding Partner and CEO, Digital Sky Technologies; James Murdoch, Chairman and CEO, Europe and Asia, News Corporation; and Paul Sagan, CEO, Akamai Technologies.

Al-Hajeri added: “For the last few years, the conversation in our industry has been about the evolution of the platforms through which we consume media.

“We wanted to concentrate our dialogue around the very thing that drives people to buy and invest in these latest platforms: great content. It must be a number one priority for the media industry to ensure that as much energy and investment goes into nurturing creative talent as it does technology. That is the only way the media industry can be sustainable.”