Filmmaker James Cameron has recalled an unusual experience from his early days in the film industry, revealing that he was once expected to distribute amphetamines and cocaine to crew members while working on a low-budget production.
Cameron said the practice was part of the working environment he encountered in the early stages of his career, when he was involved in productions operating on extremely limited budgets.
He recalled arriving at work and being briefed by the production manager, who handed him petty cash along with drugs intended for members of the crew.
“I show up to get briefed by the production manager. He says, ‘Okay, here’s your petty cash voucher… and here’s your ‘Black Beauties’, here’s your coke,’” Cameron recalled.
The filmmaker stressed that he personally did not use the drugs, saying he was content with coffee.
“I didn’t take drugs, you know. For me coffee was plenty,” he said.
Cameron said the production manager then instructed him to distribute the drugs to members of the crew.
“He said, ‘Well, you got to give it out to the crew.’ I just became a dealer, I guess, but that was just how things were done in that super low-budget world. ‘Will work for coke’ basically,” he recalled.
Rather than personally distributing the substances, Cameron said he handed everything over to his assistant art director, who was responsible for distributing it among the crew.
“I just gave it all to my assistant art director. He distributed it fairly and equitably,” Cameron said.
The filmmaker’s recollection offers a glimpse into the unconventional and often chaotic working conditions he says he encountered early in his career, long before he became one of Hollywood’s most commercially successful directors.
