After Terrence Malick, here comes another “Hamnet” truther, and it’s not necessarily who we expected: James Cameron.
The ‘Avatar’ filmmaker has been taken under the spell of “Hamnet,” interviewing Zhao onstage at the Aero Theatre about her Oscar contender, and gushing like a fangirl over her film.
It turns out Cameron wept hard while watching Hamnet, which he’s seen twice. “I bawled both times, multiple times in the film,” he said. “Your superpower is your empathy. So what the hell are you doing in Hollywood?”
Cameron’s strong and passionate reaction comes just weeks after it was reported that Terrence Malick sent a private letter to Zhao praising her film, which owes a lot to his work, as a “magnificent piece of work.”
Other filmmakers recently taken by Zhao’s film include Bong Joon Ho, who said the film “healed” him when he watched it, and Denis Villeneuve, who admitted to seeing it “twice.” Meanwhile, Hideo Kojima said Hamnet “has the power to rewrite cinema.”
“Hamnet” received eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Zhao, and Best Actress for Jessie Buckley. We’ll see how it does come March 15, but it certainly has plenty of A-list filmmakers backing it, including its producer, Steven Spielberg.
Note: As of early 2026, speculation has surfaced, notably in a Polygon piece, that Zhao could be a potential, logical replacement for ‘Avatar 4’ if Cameron decides not to direct it — she was described as the “only person who could takeover” the franchise.