James Cameron shares how he almost drowned during Abyss
“Here I am, wasting my last breath of air on the submarine sound system, screaming…”
His passion for water and underwater filming almost cost him his life. James Cameron told this week, during a screening ofAbyss in Los Angeles, almost drowning during the production of his film in 1989.
He says (via Variety) that the crew had dived more than 10 meters deep, filming a scene, when their equipment broke down:
“When the oxygen tank gets low, you get a warning that you’re about to run out of air. Well, that thing had a Piston Servo Regulator, so I took one last breath… and then nothing left. Everyone turns on the lights and no one looks at me. I try to get the attention of (underwater cinematographer) Al Giddings but Al had had a diving accident shortly before and he Both eardrums were blown out so he was as deaf as a stone. So here I am, wasting my last breath of air in the submarine’s sound system. I shout, “Al… Al…” but he’s working with his back turned to me…”
James Cameron begins to panic and removes his equipment, which attracts the attention of a safety diver. “An angel” as the filmmaker calls it. The diver handed Cameron a regulator so he could exhale. However, in doing so, James Cameron realized his regulator was damaged, which meant he still couldn’t breathe.
“At that point, it was almost the point of no return, where the safety divers learn to hold you down so that you don’t get an embolism and don’t let your lungs expand too much. But I knew what was going on. Except he wouldn’t let me come up and I had no way of telling him my regulator wasn’t working. So I punched him in the face and swam to the surface . So, I survived!”
Abyss will celebrate its 35th anniversary next year.
