Chabad's Children of Chernobyl James Cameron, George Clooney, David Copperfield, Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas, Clint Eastwood, Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Elton John, Quincy Jones, Nicole Kidman, Jay Leno, Madonna, Liam Neeson, Benjamin Netanyahu, Itzhak Perlman, Burt Reynolds, Michael Richards, Natasha Richardson, Jerry Seinfeld, Will Smith, Isaac Stern, Oliver Stone, Darryl Strawberry, Elizabeth Taylor, John Travolta, Kathleen Turner, Jon Voight, Rita Wilson, Oprah Winfrey Chabad' s Children of Chernobyl is a humanitarian medical relief project aimed at permanently evacuating children from the Chernobyl area, site of the worst nuclear disaster in history. Since its inception in 1990, the project has rescued more than 1,600 children from the contaminated region and transported them safely to Israel where they receive expert medical care and treatment, education and housing. In addition to evacuating the children to a safe haven, Children of Chernobyl also sends medical equipment, medical supplies, and clothing to the contaminated region of Belarus and Ukraine. Chabad ' s Children of Chernobyl brings doctors to the United States and Israel for special training of illnesses caused by the nuclear disaster. Working with other international agencies, Chabad's Children of Chernobyl participates in medical research and dissemination of information regarding the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. Once evacuated from the Chernobyl region, the children are evaluated and treated at Israeli hospitals and clinics. They are immediately placed on wholesome diets, given special vitamin supplements, and provided with psychological counseling and special tutoring to help the children adjust to new schools and surroundings. Chabad's Children of Chernobyl work to reunite parents and children in Israel, a process that takes up to two years. For further information about Chabad's Children of Chernobyl, contact: 535 Fifth Avenue, Suite 301 New York, NY 10017 Tel. (212) 681-7800 James Cameron Born in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada, James Cameron grew up in Niagara Falls. He moved to Brea, California, in 1971, to study Physics at Fullerton College while working as a machinist and a truck driver. Quitting his trucking job in 1978, he raised money from a consortium of dentists in Tustin, California, to produce a short film in 35mm. He served as producer, director, co-writer, miniature builder, cinematographer and special effects supervisor. This led to a position at Roger Corman ' s New World Pictures in 1980 where Cameron was able to wear many hats again, including art director of the picture ' s main unit. He found the energy of the set exhilarating, the work with actors exciting, and was determined to direct. Cameron wrote "The Terminator " in 1982, hoping to couple his effects and design experience with a low-budget, high-impact vehicle that could find independent financing. After two years of starvation, Cameron finally brought the film before cameras-a Hendale/HBO co-production, released by Orion-and it received international acclaim, appearing on numerous 10-best lists, including Time Magazine ' s, and, while it cost only $6 million to make, it realized over $80 million worldwide. While waiting for financing, Cameron had written two scripts; "Rambo: First Blood Part II", with Sylvester Stallone as co-writer, and a first draft of "Aliens " , the sequel to the 1979 science fiction classic "Alien". "Rambo II" later became an international mega-hit grossing over $250 million globally and in 1985, Cameron began "Aliens ". "Aliens" was released in the summer of 1986, and received 7 Academy Award nominations for which it won Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Effects, grossing over $180 million worldwide, and ranking as one of the highest grossing R-rated films of all time. As a result NATO, the National Association of Theater Owners named Cameron 1986 Director of the Year and Time Magazine featured the film on its cover. In 1988-89, Cameron wrote and directed the underwater epic "The Abyss " which received 4 Academy Award nominations, won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects and grossed $110 million worldwide. "Point Break", released in 1991, with Cameron as Executive Director, made close to $100 million worldwide and topped the video charts. In 1990, Cameron, as writer, producer, and director, had begun "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" which he completed in less than a year. The film, a visual tour-de-force coupled with the mega-presence of Arnold Schwarzenegger, grossed over $500 million worldwide and its total revenues, including worldwide video, TV, and merchandising, reached $1 billion. "T2" received 6 Oscar nominations of which it won 4: Makeup, Sound, Visual Effects, and Sound Effects Editing. "T2" 's many awards include the Ray Bradbury Award for Dramatic Screenwriting; 5 Saturn Awards from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror; 6 MTV Movie Awards; and, the People's Choice Award as Favorite Motion Picture. In 1992, Cameron' s production company, Lightstorm Entertainment, completed finance and distribution deals with Japan, Germany, and Italy as well as Twentieth Century Fox and Universal Pictures. He plans to produce 2-3 films a year, one of which he will direct. In 1993, he formed Digital Domain, whose visual effects first appeared in "True Lies" in 1994, written, produced and directed by Cameron. "True Lies" grossed over $360 million globally and Cameron this time received NATO's 1995 Producer of the Year Award. Cameron wrote, directed and produced "Titanic", released in 1997, which has grossed over $1.8 billion worldwide, received a record-tying 14 Academy Award nominations, and won 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.