James Cameron Flips Off Autograph-Seekers After ‘Avatar’ Screening

James Cameron met fire with fire after storming through a crowd of autograph-seekers that he had no intention of satisfying … fleeing the scene with a message from a little birdy.

The famed director was leaving the WGA building in Beverly Hills Saturday, this after they held a special screening of his new film … ‘Avatar: The Way of Water,’ which hit theaters this weekend. On the way out, there was a crowd for JC — but he was in no mood to please.

Rather than stop and sign stuff that these folks were desperately hoping he would … Jim just powered his way through without giving anyone the time of day, or the power of ink.

When it became clear he wasn’t autographing squat … the fans turned on him, jeering him as he got into his waiting SUV — and even condemning his movie … shouting, “F*** Avatar!” James had something for them almost immediately — flipping them off out of his window.

Unclear what had him so sour … but it’s a pretty hilarious interaction nonetheless.

Of course, the weekend box office numbers for James’ new movie aren’t as great as some hoped — which could affect future sequels he had planned. If it turns out that ‘Way of Water’ isn’t the box office boom Disney wants, we suppose that’s reason enough to be a Grinch.