James Cameron doesn't want people to see him as a "rich guy on a ride".
The filmmaker is behind some of Hollywood's most-loved movies, including 1997 classic Titanic and the Avatar franchise.
His latest project is Deepsea Challenge 3D, which chronicles the 60-year-old's diving challenges in a specially made submersible.
James managed to pursue his dreams thanks to his large available budget, but he's adamant it's not all about money.
“I think it certainly helped because I put in the seed money to get the ball rolling and to start building and designing the sub,” he reasoned to Guardian Australia.
“You can find a way to piece the finances together. I didn’t just write a cheque for this whole thing. This is too big a project, so I spent a lot of time going around and finding the right partners to work with. Anybody can do that. It’s really just a question of will.
“This is not just about some rich guy writing a cheque and getting some race car built for him to go on a ride. I like to hope that you see that in the film.”
Throughout his career James has dealt with accusations of harsh behaviour on set.
Kate Winslet was rumoured to have said she wouldn't work with him again after the trying conditions while filming Titanic. However, she later defended the director and said he only ever lost his temper for "really, really good reasons".
James himself isn't worried about any of it.
"There’s always a danger that people will push themselves too far. I set challenges for people. That’s what I do on my Hollywood films; that’s what I do on my expedition projects. I tend to find that people can go beyond what they think they can do,” he said.
“That’s why they always feel very loyal to the project after the fact and want to do it again. Because they feel it was a crucible in which they got to prove something to themselves, and I foster that. Now, as you go along, you find there are some people who just don’t want to be part of that culture."
