History Creator / JamesCameron

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: ''The Abyss'' (with a lovely reel of human-orchestrated monstrosities nearly prompting the aliens to wipe out the Earth), ''Terminator 2'' ("It's in your nature to destroy yourselves"), and ''Aliens'', which features corrupt corporate leaders, and ''Avatar'', in which Earth is reduced to a barren wasteland. He just [[Misanthrope Supreme doesn't like people all that much]].

* Including ''Titanic''[='s=] UpdatedRerelease, he is one of only two directors to release two films that each made '''$2''' billion. He remained the only such director in history until The Russo Brothers released ''Avengers: Endgame''. With ''Avatar: The Way of Water'', Cameron is the first, and currently only, director in the "''three'' films with $2 billion" club, also making him the director of three of the five highest grossing films of all time.

One might wonder why Cameron's filmography became so spaced out after ''Titanic''. While part of the answer lies in how intensive and expensive filming the ''Avatar'' series is, the real answer might be that one of the most successful filmmakers of all time uses his films to fund his real passion: deep-sea diving. Cameron is no mere hobbyist: he is considered one of the premiere experts in the field and is the first (and to date only) person in human history to visit the deepest point in the Earth's oceans at Marianas Trench alone, in a submersible that ''he helped design''. If you're ever wondering where James Cameron is at any given point, there's a pretty high likelihood he's either filming ''Avatar'' or miles deep in the ocean. He's gone to the wreckage of the UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic over 30 times, made several documentaries on the ocean depths, and was among the experts who were interviewed when the [=OceanGate=] ''Titan'' tragedy happened in June 2023--a disaster which, as he noted, was caused by hubris and a disregard for safety similar to that which led to the ''Titanic'' going full steam ahead into an iceberg field. A friend of his, leading French ''Titanic'' expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, was one of the victims.

James Francis Cameron [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever CC]] (born August 16, 1954) is a UsefulNotes/{{Canad|a}}ian filmmaker and ocean explorer famous for the ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' franchise, ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', and the blockbusters ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}'' and ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', [[CanadaEh eh?]] He also has a reputation for being a tyrant on the set of his films, earning him the nickname "Iron Jim", but one certainly can't argue with the results considering how spectacular and well-made they often turn out to be. He's also known for [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold being much kinder when not filming]].

* CanadaEh: He was born and grew up in Ontario. However, he famously doesn't live up to the stereotype that Canadians are all mild-mannered and polite, at least not when he's filming.

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: ''The Abyss'' (with a lovely reel of human-orchestrated monstrosities nearly prompting the aliens to wipe out the Earth), ''Terminator 2'' ("It's in your nature to destroy yourselves"), and ''Aliens'', which features corrupt corporate leaders, and ''Avatar'', in which Earth is reduced to a barren wasteland. He just [[ Misanthrope Supreme doesn't like people all that much]].

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: ''The Abyss'' (with a lovely reel of human-orchestrated monstrosities nearly prompting the aliens to wipe out the Earth), ''Terminator 2'' ("It's in your nature to destroy yourselves"), and ''Aliens'', which features corrupt corporate leaders, and ''Avatar'', in which Earth is reduced to a barren wasteland. He just doesn't like people all that much.

Cameron's films have certain common traits, such as a ProductionPosse consisting of Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, Creator/SigourneyWeaver, Creator/BillPaxton, Creator/MichaelBiehn, Creator/LindaHamilton, Creator/LanceHenriksen, Jenette Goldstein, and Creator/StanWinston[[note]]A lifelong friend, he was the genius puppeteer and makeup master who helped bring Jim's Terminators and Alien Queen to life.[[/note]]; the threat of nuclear war; the interaction between humanity and technology; shiny glowy aliens; [[ActionGirl strong female characters]]; deep sea diving; and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers titles starting with either A or T.]] He is also infamous for his temper and dictatorial filming style (the crew on some of his movies wore t-shirts reading "You can't scare me, I work for Jim Cameron"), along with his tendency to go way over-budget and over-schedule during production though, by all accounts, he's [[TookALevelInKindness mellowed a bit with age.]]

The director's next major project was a movie based on the sinking of the ''Titanic'', a subject he had been interested in for a long time. Thanks to his obsessive [[ShownTheirWork attention to detail]], the production ran massively overbudget and overschedule. Eventually released in December 1997, ''Titanic'' became the film with the largest box office gross in history, and the first film ever to bring in more than $1 billion in ticket gross. The movie also won Cameron his first Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture, along with multiple other Oscars. However, this movie is a polarizing entry in Cameron's body of work.. The film became practically a punchline for its [[{{Melodrama}} melodramatic]], sentimentalism, and [[RomanticPlotTumor excessive focus on the romantic aspect of the story]], only useful as a target for parodies and jokes, but it remains one of the most iconic films of all time and responsible for getting a new generation of people fascinated in the story of [[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic the actual ship]].

The director's next major project was a movie based on the sinking of the ''Titanic'', a subject he had been interested in for a long time. Thanks to his obsessive [[ShownTheirWork attention to detail]], the production ran massively overbudget and overschedule. Eventually released in December 1997, ''Titanic'' became the film with the largest box office gross in history, and [[UsefulNotes/BillionDollarClub the first film ever to bring in more than $1 billion in ticket gross]]. The movie also won Cameron his first Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture, along with multiple other Oscars. However, this movie is a polarizing entry in Cameron's body of work.. The film became practically a punchline for its [[{{Melodrama}} melodramatic]], sentimentalism, and [[RomanticPlotTumor excessive focus on the romantic aspect of the story]], only useful as a target for parodies and jokes, but it remains one of the most iconic films of all time and responsible for getting a new generation of people fascinated in the story of [[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic the actual ship]].

The director's next major project was a movie based on the sinking of the ''Titanic'', a subject he had been interested in for a long time. Thanks to his obsessive [[ShownTheirWork attention to detail]], the production ran massively overbudget and overschedule. Eventually released in December 1997, ''Titanic'' became the film with the largest box office gross in history, and the first film ever to bring in more than $1 billion in ticket gross. The movie also won Cameron his first Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture, along with multiple other Oscars. However, this movie is a polarizing entry in Cameron's body of work.. The film became practically a punchline for its [[{{Melodrama}} melodramatic]], sentimentalism, and [[RomanticPlotTumor excessive focus on the romantic aspect of the story]], only useful as a target for parodies and jokes, but it remains one of the most iconic films of all time and responsible for getting a new generation of people fascinated in the story of [[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic the actual ship]].

** ''Avatar 3'' (2024)
** ''Avatar 4'' (2026)
** ''Avatar 5'' (2028)

** Deep-sea diving, his primary off-screen passion since the late '80s, shows up in many of his films (most prominently ''The Abyss'', ''Titanic'', and ''Avatar: The Way of Water''. His [[TechnologyPron interest in technology more generally]], rooted in his early interest in being an engineer, appears in almost every film he had creative control in.

Cameron's films have certain common traits, such as a ProductionPosse consisting of Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, Creator/SigourneyWeaver, Creator/BillPaxton, Creator/MichaelBiehn, Creator/LindaHamilton, Creator/LanceHenriksen, Jenette Goldstein, and Creator/StanWinston [[note]]A lifelong friend, he was the genius puppeteer and makeup master who helped bring James' Terminators and Alien Queen to life.[[/note]]; the threat of nuclear war; the interaction between humanity and technology; shiny glowy aliens; [[ActionGirl strong female characters]]; deep sea diving; and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers titles starting with either A or T.]] He is also infamous for his temper and dictatorial filming style (the crew on some of his movies wore t-shirts reading "You can't scare me, I work for Jim Cameron"), along with his tendency to go way over-budget and over-schedule during production though, by all accounts, he's [[TookALevelInKindness mellowed a bit with age.]]

Cameron is one of the most financially successful directors of all time.

One might wonder why Cameron's filmography became so spaced out after ''Titanic''. While part of the answer lies in how intensive and expensive filming the ''Avatar'' series is, the real answer might be that one of the most successful filmmakers of all time uses his films to fund his real passion: deep-sea diving. Cameron is no mere hobbyist: he is considered one of the premiere experts in the field and is the only person in human history to visit the deepest point in the Earth's oceans at Marianas Trench alone, in a submersible that ''he helped design''. If you're ever wondering where James Cameron is at any given point, there's a pretty high likelihood he's either filming ''Avatar'' or miles deep in the ocean. He's gone to the wreckage of the UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic over 30 times, made several documentaries on the ocean depths, and was among the experts who were interviewed when the [=OceanGate=] ''Titan'' tragedy happened in June 2023--a disaster which, as he noted, was caused by hubris and a disregard for safety similar to that which led to the ''Titanic'' going full steam ahead into an iceberg field. A friend of his, leading French ''Titanic'' expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, was one of the victims.

One might wonder why Cameron's filmography became so spaced out after ''Titanic''. While part of the answer lies in how intensive and expensive filming the ''Avatar'' series is, the real answer might be that one of the most successful filmmakers of all time uses his films to fund his real passion: deep-sea diving. Cameron is no mere hobbyist: he is considered one of the premiere experts in the field and is the only person in human history to visit the deepest point in the Earth's oceans at Marianas Trench alone, in a submersible that ''he helped design''. If you're ever wondering where James Cameron is at any given point, there's a pretty high likelihood he's either filming ''Avatar'' or a mile deep in the ocean. He's gone to the wreckage of the UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic over 30 times, made several documentaries on the ocean depths, and was among the experts who were interviewed when the [=OceanGate=] ''Titan'' tragedy happened in June 2023--a disaster which, as he noted, was caused by hubris and a disregard for safety similar to that which led to the ''Titanic'' going full steam ahead into an iceberg field. A friend of his, leading French ''Titanic'' expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, was one of the victims.

One might wonder why Cameron's filmography became so spaced out after ''Titanic''. While part of the answer lies in how intensive and expensive filming the ''Avatar'' series is, the real answer might be that one of the most successful filmmakers of all time uses his films to fund his real passion: deep-sea diving. Cameron is no mere hobbyist: he is considered one of the premiere experts in the field and is the only person in human history to visit the deepest point in the Earth's oceans at Marianas Trench alone, in a submersible that ''he helped design''. If you're ever wondering where James Cameron is at any given point, there's a pretty high likelihood he's either filming ''Avatar'' or a mile deep in the ocean. He's gone to the wreckage of the UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic over 30 times, made several documentaries on the ocean depths, and was among the experts who were interviewed when the [=OceanGate=] ''Titan'' tragedy happened in June 2023--a disaster which, as he noted, was caused by hubris and a disregard for safety similar to that which led to the ''Titanic'' going full steam ahead into an iceberg field.

One might wonder why Cameron's filmography became so spaced out after ''Titanic''. While part of the answer lies in how intensive and expensive filming the ''Avatar'' series is, the real answer might be that one of the most successful filmmakers of all time uses his films to fund his real passion: deep-sea diving. Cameron is no mere hobbyist: he is considered one of the premiere experts in the field and is the only person in human history to visit the deepest point in the Earth's oceans at Marianas Trench alone, in a submersible that ''he helped design''. If you're ever wondering where James Cameron is at any given point, there's a pretty high likelihood he's either filming ''Avatar'' or a mile deep in the ocean. He's gone to the wreckage of the UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic over 30 times, made several documentaries on the ocean depths, and was among the experts who were interviewed when the [=OceanGate=] ''Titan'' tragedy happened in June 2023.

One might wonder why Cameron's filmography became so spaced out after ''Titanic''. While part of the answer lies in how intensive and expensive filming the ''Avatar'' series is, the real answer might be that one of the most successful filmmakers of all time uses his films to fund his real passion: deep-sea diving. Cameron is no mere hobbyist: he is considered one of the premiere experts in the field and is the only person in human history to visit the deepest point in the Earth's oceans at Marianas Trench alone, in a submersible that ''he helped design''. If you're ever wondering where James Cameron is at any given point, there's a pretty high likelihood he's either filming ''Avatar'' or a mile deep in the ocean. He's gone to the wreckage of the UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic over 30 times (spending more time there then the ship's passengers did), made several documentaries on the ocean depths, and was at the forefront of media coverage of the [=OceanGate=] ''Titan'' tragedy in June 2023.

One might wonder why Cameron's filmography became so spaced out after ''Titanic''. While part of the answer lies in how intensive and expensive filming the ''Avatar'' series is, the real answer might be that one of the most successful filmmakers of all time uses his films to fund his real passion: deep-sea diving. Cameron is no mere hobbyist: he is considered one of the premiere experts in the field and is the only person in human history to visit the deepest point in the Earth's oceans in Marianas Trench alone, in a submersible that ''he helped design''. If you're ever wondering where James Cameron is at any given point, there's a pretty high likelihood he's either filming ''Avatar'' or a mile deep in the ocean. He's gone to the wreckage of the UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic over 30 times, made several documentaries and was at the forefront of media coverage of the [=OceanGate=] ''Titan'' tragedy in June 2023 to explain everything that went wrong with it.

One might wonder why Cameron's filmography became so spaced out after ''Titanic''. While part of the answer lies in how intensive and expensive filming the ''Avatar'' series is, the real answer might be that one of the most successful filmmakers of all time now uses his films to fund his real passion: deep-sea diving. Cameron is no mere hobbyist: he is considered one of the premiere experts in the field and is the only person in human history to visit the deepest point in the Earth's oceans in Marianas Trench alone, in a submersible that ''he helped design''. If you're ever wondering where James Cameron is at any given point, there's a pretty high likelihood he's either filming ''Avatar'' or a mile deep in the ocean.

** Cameron came up with the idea for ''Avatar'' in the 90’s, but the technology was not yet availble so he put it on hold. The film was featured in ''Uncle John's Bathroom Reader'' under movies that likely would never happen. The sequels he had had planned fall under this as well.

* HiddenDepths: It is often said that, other than acting, there is no aspect of filmmaking that Cameron could not do himself, and that the only reason he hires people at all is because he can't be in multiple locations at the same time. Perhaps his most notable second string is art; he designed the superb matte paintings for ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'', the spaceships (yes, even the boob one) in ''Film/BattleBeyondTheStars'', the maggot monster in ''Film/GalaxyOfTerror'' and, most famously, the Alien Queen in ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', for which he also designed the now-iconic "W-Y" logo for Weyland-Yutani Corp. Winston admitted that he simply saw Cameron's designs as a blueprint for the Terminator endoskeleton.

James Francis Cameron [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever CC]] (born August 16, 1954) is a UsefulNotes/{{Canad|a}}ian filmmaker and ocean explorer famous for the ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' franchise, ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' and the blockbusters ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}'' and ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', [[CanadaEh eh?]] He also has a reputation for being a tyrant on the set of his films, earning him the nickname "Iron Jim", but one certainly can't argue with the results considering how spectacular and well-made they often turn out to be. He's also known for [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold being much kinder when not filming]].

His first exposure to filmmaking came while he attended the California State University in Fullerton, from where he'd frequently visit the film archive of UCLA. After dropping out, he took a variety of jobs and wrote in his spare time while learning about filmmaking from reading books and theses at the USC library. Inspired by a viewing of ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'' in 1977, he decided to enter the film industry. He began as a miniature model maker with Creator/RogerCorman's studio, and later ended up as special effects director on Creator/JohnCarpenter's ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork''. He was hired to do special effects for ''Film/PiranhaPartTwoTheSpawning'' in 1981, but ended up in the director's seat after the first director abandoned the project. After arriving at the studio, he discovered that the movie was under-financed and that a majority of the crew were Italians who couldn't speak English.

During the predictably torturous filming of ''Piranha Part Two'', Cameron had a nightmare about a chrome-plated torso crawling out of a fire. Based on this, he wrote the script for ''Film/TheTerminator'', lifting story material from Creator/HarlanEllison's ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963'' stories "Demon with a Glass Hand" and "Soldier." When no production company wanted to let him direct, Cameron and his then-wife Gale Anne Hurd (a producer who also got her start with Corman) persuaded Orion Pictures to distribute the film, with financial backing by Hemdale Film Corporation. A relatively low-budget film at $6.5 million, ''The Terminator'' became a success, grossing a total of $78 million worldwide while gathering positive reviews and providing a BreakthroughHit for the creator and a [[StarMakingRole breakout role]] for Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger as the titular murderous cyborg. Meanwhile, Ellison noticed the plagiarism and successfully sued for some money and an acknowledgment in the film's credits. Meanwhile Cameron was involved in writing a draft for ''Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII'', which was heavily modified for the film.

Cameron next worked on a sequel to Creator/RidleyScott's ''Film/{{Alien}}'', a film he was a big fan of. While filming in England, he repeatedly clashed with the crew, who considered him a poor substitute for Scott, especially over their practice of taking regular breaks that slowed down production and their taunting of his wife's role as producer. This caused initial cinematographer Dick Bush to be fired after about a month over CreativeDifferences, to be replaced by Adrian Biddle. The dispute culminated in a walkout after Cameron fired a cameraman due to a clash over lighting the xenomorph nest [[note]]said cameraman thought it would be a brilliant idea to have the nest really bright and visible and ruin the suspense[[/note]]; Cameron's wife managed to persuade the crew to return to work. These repeated disruptions forced the crew to work at a breakneck pace to finish the film before its release date, and composer Music/JamesHorner was forced to write the score without seeing the completed film and record it in an outdated studio in about four days. Due to the lack of time, Horner was forced to reuse some motifs from previous scores, and Cameron had to hack it in editing to match the film without any input because Horner was busy elsewhere.

In spite of the troubled production and ExecutiveMeddling which resulted in the removal of some footage for the theatrical edition [[labelnote:*]]expository scenes of Hadley's Hope and Ripley's backstory were thrown out, the {{Action Film Quiet Drama Scene}}s with Ripley and Newt were shortened; Sigourney Weaver wasn't happy about this, but luckily all those scenes were restored for the DirectorsCut[[/labelnote]], ''Aliens'' went on to become another huge success, receiving universal critical acclaim (being constantly referred to as an EvenBetterSequel), a cover and article dedicated to it in Time Magazine and a total profit of $131 million worldwide. ''Aliens'' also holds the distinction of being the first science fiction movie to gather seven UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nominations, including Best Actress for Sigourney Weaver, and even picking up Oscars for Best Visual Effects and Sound Effects Editing, [[SciFiGhetto in a period when science fiction movies were largely ignored and not taken seriously by the Academy]].

His next project was ''Film/TheAbyss'', the story of an oil-rig crew that discovers otherwordly creatures. It was considered to be one of the most expensive films of its time, and required cutting-edge effects technology and filming at depths of up to 12 m. Despite the production running overbudget, it recouped its investment. This time, the critical reaction was lukewarm compared to his previous highly acclaimed films. This was largely attributed to more ExecutiveMeddling and the removal of various scenes that made the film's plot difficult to follow, but Cameron has since revealed that he cut those scenes himself over the objections of the 20th Century Fox chiefs because he felt the special effects weren't up to par. Cameron subsequently re-inserted the deleted scenes in the 1993 special edition release of the movie after he felt that technology progressed sufficiently for them to be properly realised, a move that made the film more coherent and has generally improved audiences' and critics' opinion of the film in retrospect.

The director's next major project was a movie based on the sinking of the ''Titanic'', a subject he had been interested in for a long time. Thanks to his obsessive [[ShownTheirWork attention to detail]], the production ran massively overbudget and overschedule. Eventually released in December 1997, ''Titanic'' became the film with the largest box office gross in history, and the first film ever to bring in more than $1 billion in ticket gross. The movie also won Cameron his first Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture, along with multiple other Oscars. However, this movie is a polarizing entry in Cameron's body of work, polarizing fans severely, which gets worse if one is a fan of the ''Terminator'' films and ''Aliens''. The result is a real BrokenBase, largely between the OldGuardVersusNewBlood of fandom - fans of his previous sci-fi action movies on the one hand, and the younger, more female audience he attracted that wasn't familiar with his previous works on the other[[note]]the third, unrelated camp is ''Titanic'' buffs, among whom the film is widely beloved due to its incredible accuracy[[/note]]. The film became practically a punchline for its [[{{Melodrama}} melodramatic]], sentimentalism and [[RomanticPlotTumor excessive focus on the romantic aspect of the story]], only useful as a target for parodies and jokes, but was resurrected when it was reissued in 3-D for [[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic the actual ship's]] centennial in 2012.

Cameron did not make a movie for twelve years after ''Titanic''. Instead, he created the TV series ''Series/DarkAngel'', filmed various undersea documentaries and produced the 2002 adaptation of ''Literature/{{Solaris}}''. He returned to film in 2009 with the science fiction epic ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', which surpassed ''Titanic'' by becoming the first film to earn over ''$2'' billion at the box office. Despite some controversy over the film's political stance, not to mention a plot that is fairly easy to predict (and a BrokenBase over whether that is a good thing or not), he is currently working on sequels for ''Avatar'', in addition to messing around with, of all things, '''[[AsteroidMiners asteroid mining]]'''. He has also broken the record for traveling down to the lowest altitude on Earth.

Cameron's films have certain common traits, such as a ProductionPosse consisting of Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger, Creator/SigourneyWeaver, Creator/BillPaxton, Creator/MichaelBiehn, Creator/LindaHamilton, Creator/LanceHenriksen, Jenette Goldstein and Creator/StanWinston [[note]]A lifelong friend, he was the genius puppeteer and makeup master who helped bring James' Terminators and Alien Queen to life.[[/note]]; the threat of nuclear war; the interaction between humanity and technology; shiny glowy aliens; [[ActionGirl strong female characters]]; and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers titles starting with either A or T.]] He is also infamous for his temper and dictatorial filming style (the crew on some of his movies wore t-shirts reading "You can't scare me, I work for Jim Cameron"), along with his tendency to go way over-budget and over-schedule during production though, by all accounts, he's [[TookALevelInKindness mellowed a bit with age.]]

* As mentioned, ''Titanic'' was the first film in history to gross over US$1 billion at the box office. Since then, 50 others have crossed this line.
** ''Titanic'' is the only original film to accomplish this; all the others are sequels or parts of pre-existing franchises.
* With ''Avatar'', he became the first director in history to have ''two'' films that each made a billion dollars. Since then, he has been joined in this exclusive club by Creator/ChristopherNolan [[note]]''Film/TheDarkKnight'' and ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''[[/note]], Creator/PeterJackson [[note]]''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing'' and ''Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney''[[/note]], Creator/MichaelBay [[note]]''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' and ''Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction''[[/note]], Creator/JossWhedon [[note]]''[[Film/TheAvengers2012 The Avengers]]'' and ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron''[[/note]], Creator/JamesWan [[note]]''Film/Furious7'' and ''Film/{{Aquaman|2018}}''[[/note]], and Creator/TheRussoBrothers [[note]]''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' and ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''[[/note]].
** Cameron and Wan are the only directors to achieve this feat with two films that are unrelated to each other.
* Including ''Titanic''[='s=] UpdatedRerelease, he is one of only two directors to release two films that each made '''$2''' billion. He remained the only such director in history until The Russo Brothers released ''Avengers: Endgame''.
* And, with ''Film/AvatarTheWayOfWater'', Cameron is the first, and currently only, director in the "''three'' films with $2 billion" club.