When Fox executives read the script for Titanic, they handed director James Cameron a list of scenes to cut from the three-hour movie to save money. “You want to cut my movie?” he responded. “You’re going to have to fire me! You want to fire me? You’re going to have to kill me!” They did not kill Cameron, and Titanic went on to win 11 Oscars and become the highest-grossing movie ever, a record it held until Avatar, also from Cameron, came along years later. The moral of the story: never doubt James Cameron.