BP better add James Cameron to it. He’s a huge and potentially dangerous wildcard at the moment. I saw him on Larry King, and though he seemed sympathetic to the technical challenges BP is facing, I’m sure he must be pondering the cinematic possibilities.

He’s the most successful filmmaker in history, and his last film Avatar was not only the highest grossing film ever, it was a deep meditation on the conflict between the heart and the mind, between corporate exploitation and the preservation of the sacred.

He’s got the clout to make any film he wants right now, and a documentary about the greatest environmental disaster in American history is certainly worthy of his energies.

He’s also the perfect guy for the job.  He’s a technical genius with a keen scientific mind and years of experience in deep water exploration and film-making. Christ, this guy even assembled his own team of deep submersion specialists to investigate the technical aspects of BP’s problem. Can you imagine the film he could put together?

Cameron possess the mind of an engineer and the sensibilities of a gifted storyteller. He would bring an astonishing level of credibility to such a film.

But in some ways Cameron must relate to BP’s difficulties. Throughout his career he’s wrestled with enormous technical and logistical problems, and more than his share of bad press.

But, if he decides to take an anti-BP stance, these experiences will make him much more dangerous to BP.  If he  produces a film critical of BP  it will be a lot harder to dismiss than a film by someone like Michael Moore-a propagandist who usually demonstrates little knowledge of the real challenges inherent in managing complex events.

Now with that damn well spewing millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico it looks like we’ve got an unprecedented environmental disaster on our hands. I suggest BP change its branding strategy one last time. BP should now stand for Bankruptcy Protection.

“My name is Stephen Reid. I used to rob banks for a living. Now I’m a professional liar.”

Writers reveal truth through fiction, he explained, pacing in front of the small group gathered at the Yellowknife Public Library to hear him speak. I sat transfixed, thrilled to be so close to a famous bank robber.

This was June 1998, and Reid had been out of prison for 10 years, paroled after serving 14 years of a twenty-year sentence. He’d achieved literary success with the release of his autobiographical novel Jack Rabbit Parole and personal happiness with his marriage to celebrated poet Susan Musgrave.  The twin redeemers of love and letters had saved him.

Yet, his criminal past didn’t seem entirely behind him that day, and he had little else to say about writing. Instead, he paced, and recounted his exploits in the 1970’s with the infamous Stopwatch Gang.  He looked like a literature professor  in his glasses and tweed jacket, but seemed nervous, and carried himself like a guy used to looking over his shoulder.  His sense of identity seemed strongly linked to his fame as a bank robber, and in interviews over the years he’d made no secret of his history of drug abuse.  I wondered if he’d really reformed.

A year later, high on cocaine, and armed with a shotgun, he robbed a Victoria bank. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Fuck. Sometimes I hate always being right.