The 1997 films production costs ballooned to the biggest budget ever to that point.
That led Cameron to make a run at lasso costs to quell studio panic.
One way was to cut down on the size of the cast.
James CameronKevin Winter/Getty Images
Watch on Deadline
We only cast short extras, so it made our set look bigger.
Anybody above five-feet-eight, we didnt cast them.
Its like we got an extra million dollars of value out of casting.
The film went on to win 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
