--- title: Climate Change: James Cameron Takes on Donald Trump description: Filmmaker James Cameron described Donald Trump's campaign as a unique opportunity to put climate change on the map for voters canonical: https://time.com/4428920/climate-change-james-cameron-dnc/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-28T17:53:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T23:37:51.262Z article:section: Politics og:title: James Cameron Wants to Make Climate Change an Election Year Issue og:description: 'The Titanic' director called Trump a "madman" og:url: https://time.com/4428920/climate-change-james-cameron-dnc/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a53b936e3e07a30/6988a022ab6d775e3f6aab49/james-cameron-climate-change.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: james cameron climate change DNC og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: James Cameron Wants to Make Climate Change an Election Year Issue twitter:description: 'The Titanic' director called Trump a "madman" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a53b936e3e07a30/6988a022ab6d775e3f6aab49/james-cameron-climate-change.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # James Cameron Wants to Make Climate Change an Election Year Issue  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 28, 2016 5:53 PM UTC  Writer/director James Cameron of 'Avatar 2' speaks onstage during CinemaCon 2016 on April 14, 2016 in Las Vegas. Writer/director James Cameron of 'Avatar 2' speaks onstage during CinemaCon 2016 on April 14, 2016 in Las Vegas.Alberto E. Rodriguez—Getty Images for CinemaCon  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jul 28, 2016 5:53 PM UTC Filmmaker and climate change activist James Cameron described Donald Trump’s campaign as a unique opportunity to put climate change on the map for voters hours before a mini-documentary on the issue was set to air at the [Democratic National Convention](http://time.com/4424365/dnc-hillary-clinton-nomination/) (DNC). “If Trump is a declared denier, and he is, it’s unequivocal, now you’ve got some leverage for a swing voter,” said Cameron on a conference call for journalists. “I think you’ve got an angle of attack.” Cameron’s [short documentary](http://notrealitytv.org/)—entitled _Not Reality TV_—aimed to do just that. The five-and-a-half minute film presents visuals of climate-related devastation along with voices calling attention to the issue from the likes of Pope Francis, George H.W. Bush and scientists. And, like much of the DNC, the video is filled with celebrities—from narration by Sigourney Weaver to an appearance by Jack Black. **Read More**: [Donald Trump Supported Addressing Climate Change Before Calling It a ‘Hoax’](http://time.com/4362393/donald-trump-supported-addressing-climate-change-before-calling-it-a-hoax/) The video also takes aim at Trump calling his position on the issue “dangerous” and showing some of his more [outrageous remarks](http://time.com/4349309/donald-trump-bismarck-energy-speech/) on the topic. On the call, Cameron described Trump as “incredibly reckless” and a “madman.” Cameron has worked to bring attention to the issue as an executive producer on the show [_Years of Living Dangerously_](http://time.com/58074/years-of-living-dangerously-tries-to-close-the-climate-gap/), which highlights different places affected by climate change—as well as possible climate change solutions—each episode. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4428920/climate-change-james-cameron-dnc/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4428920/climate-change-james-cameron-dnc/"},"headline":"James Cameron Wants to Make Climate Change an Election Year Issue","datePublished":"2016-07-28T17:53:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:37:51.262Z","description":"The Titanic director called Trump a \"madman\"","url":"https://time.com/4428920/climate-change-james-cameron-dnc/","keywords":["climate change"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a53b936e3e07a30/6988a022ab6d775e3f6aab49/james-cameron-climate-change.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a53b936e3e07a30/6988a022ab6d775e3f6aab49/james-cameron-climate-change.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"james cameron climate change DNC","caption":"james cameron climate change DNC","creditText":"Alberto E. 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