How much money do you earn as the writer, creator and director of some of the most expensive, highest earning action movies of all time? A titanic amount. James Cameron is the creative force behind such blockbusters as The Terminator, Aliens, Rambo II, The Abyss, Terminator 2, True Lies, Titanic and the soon to be released Avatar. Domestically alone his movies have earned over $1.1 billion, and when you taken into account foreign markets as well as DVDs, video games, TV shows, and merchandise you are easily looking at a man who has generated over $3 billion worth of revenues unadjusted for inflation.

Cameron has the distinction of directing the highest grossing movie of all time which of course was Titanic at $2 billion. He also has the distinction of being the first person to ever direct a movie with a $100 million budget, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, a $200 million budget, Titanic, and reports are now coming out that his upcoming movie Avatar will have cost a whopping $500 million when he finally hits theaters in December 2009.

The largest payday Cameron ever had was on Titanic. After the movie had gone way over budget, he agreed to trade in his $8 million directing fee in exchange for backend profits. This turned out to be a VERY wise move that netted him over $115 million making him one of the richest directors of all time. Maybe not quite as much as billionaire Steven Spielberg but nothing to be ashamed of by any means! Unfortunately, when he divorced Linda Hamilton after only 18 months of marriage, he was forced to pay her a hefty $50 million settlement. But don’t feel bad for James, he has another $150 million where that came from! And if Avatar miraculously is a big enough hit to earn back the $500 million that’s already been spent, he’ll most likely be able to write, produce and direct the biggest movies ever for the rest of his life.