'Avatar' aims for Oscar glory

BEVERLY HILLS, California -- James Cameron may get to proclaim himself king of the distant moon Pandora at the Academy Awards.

Cameron -- who borrowed Leonardo DiCaprio's line from "Titanic" and declared himself "king of the world" when that film sailed to Oscar glory 12 years ago -- positioned himself for a repeat with his Golden Globe wins Sunday for the sci-fi blockbuster "Avatar."

The tale of big, blue aliens in conflict with rapacious humans on Pandora earned the Globes for best drama and director, prizes that also preceded the Oscar run of "Titanic."

"This is a trip," said Cameron, recalling that as "Titanic" was becoming a box-office and Oscar juggernaut, he had thought to himself, "enjoy this ride, it ain't never going to happen again."

Yet "Avatar" has soared to a worldwide box office of $1.6 billion, second only to "Titanic" at $1.8 billion, and could end up surpassing his 1997 smash about the doomed luxury liner.

A key difference for Cameron's success this awards season is that he's doing it with a space fantasy, the sort of far-out tale that usually goes overlooked except for visual effects and other technical honors during Hollywood's prestige period.

"Hopefully, this is part of a trend of the acceptance of science fiction as a legitimate dramatic form of cinema," Cameron said.