How Billie Eilish and James Cameron captured her concert in 3D glory

When Billie Eilish’s mother told her that Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009 to present) director James Cameron wanted to direct a 3D concert movie starring the American pop star, the singer’s first reaction was incredulity.

- Steve Knopper

“What the hell are you talking about?” she recalled saying. “He e-mailed you himself? Like, James Cameron at Gmail?”

Then she considered the Canadian film-maker’s pitch. “It was also, ‘Wow, what an incredible idea,’” Eilish, 24, said in a video interview alongside the Oscar winner. ‘Something no one had ever thought of before that — not my team, not anybody I had ever heard of.”

Cameron, 71, came up with the idea while “playing hooky” from finishing Avatar: Fire And Ash (2025). He had been following Eilish’s concerts supporting her 2024 album Hit Me Hard And Soft, and admiring the Birds Of A Feather (2024) hitmaker’s emotional connection with her fans.

“I didn’t even tell the studio I was gone. I just sneaked out,” he said. “1 went and made another movie before anybody noticed.”

The two agreed to collaborate on Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour (Live In 3D), which captures Eilish’s July 2025 shows in Manchester, England, supplementing footage of the artiste whooshing around the stage with star and fan interviews. It is now showing in Singapore cinemas.

The movie is one of many concert-focused documentaries in theatres and on streaming services in recent years, including Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour - The Final Show (2025), Harry Styles: One Night In Manchester (2026) and Carole King & James Taylor: Just Call Out My Name (2022).