James Cameron Recalls 'Cringe-Worthy' Oscar Acceptance Speech For 'Titanic'

Director James Cameron, who is making headlines for making a massive box-office collection from his newly released "Avatar: The Way of Water," recalled his "cringe-worthy" acceptance speech for "Titanic" during Academy Awards in 1998.

The 68-year-old director opened up about the acceptance speech's lines that made people think he is arrogant.

"Mom, dad, there is no way that I can express to you what I'm feeling right now," Cameron said during the speech. "My heart is full to bursting, except to say, 'I'm the king of the world!'"

During a conversation with CNN over the weekend, the director admitted that he "took a lot of heat for the line." He explained, "I think the egregious sin there was a one of what was perceived, as you know, arrogance or the conquering, you know, a sense of conquest, which was not what was in my head."

Cameron went on to share that he was "trying to express the joy and excitement" that he was feeling at that time. The director said that he could feel like Leonardo DiCaprio's character in the movie, who "was free and at the bow of the ship, and all that sort of thing."

However, the director noted that he learned the hard way that one should not quote their own movie when they win Academy Award because it's "cringe-worthy."

"It makes the assumption that you didn't win by a narrow margin," he said. "But that every single person sitting in the audience on that night at the Kodak Theatre, saw and loved Titanic, and we'll never know how much we won by but it might not have been a landslide at all."

Cameron noted that he "took flack for all 25 years after that," adding that it was a learning experience for him. "I think what was interpreted as kind of arrogance or a big F- you, I told you so, wasn't in my head at all," he added.

He concluded by sharing his learnings, explaining that one should be "careful" with what they say during their acceptance speech.

"Titanic" was released in 1997 and got 14 nominations at Academy Awards, out of which the movie won 11 awards in various categories. Aside from "Titanic," Cameron's 2009 movie, "Avatar," was also nominated for Academy Awards nine times, out of which the flick won three awards.

"Avatar: The Way of Water" was released on Dec. 16 and there are speculations on social media that the second installment of "Avatar" will also get nominated in multiple categories.