Hollywood director James Cameron addressed the media Wednesday afternoon in Edmonton saying while he realizes the province's oilsands can be a "great gift to Canada" he feels it could also be a curse if not managed properly.

Cameron says he understands the powerful economic forces that are driving this development, but feels it's critical for the public to take a hard look at what the "fallout from this is and could be."

The filmmaker also acknowledged the province's attempt at reclamation.

"Reclamation is possible, it's being demonstrated, it's very expensive, it has been budgeted in the forward projections of the oil companies that do the open pit mining. I saw a demonstration of it yesterday."

But he says there needs to be more public pressure to push for reclaiming tailings ponds.

"I know they're (energy companies) spending a lot of money on reclamation. I think they need to be encouraged publicly to do that. But I don't think it's been demonstrated on a scale enough yet to show that it's even economically viable to them."

Just last week, Suncor unveiled the first completed surface reclaimed tailings pond in the country north of Fort McMurray.

More than 600,000 trees were planted, and the land shows off a fresh water pond.

Suncor said the 225-hectare site was the company's first tailings pond dating back to 1967. It was closed nearly four years ago to begin the reclamation process.

Cameron called for a moratorium on new tailings ponds and an independent review of the water quality and wildlife downstream. He says he doesn't believe in the government's own studies.

"I find that inconclusive simply because the people in Fort Chipewyan are afraid to drink their own water, they're afraid to eat the fish they're afraid of the river," he said.

Cameron's comments come after a morning meeting with Premier Ed Stelmach at the Alberta Legislature where the pair discussed the filmmaker's recent trip to the oilsands and the issues relating to its development.

Stelmach called the meeting with Cameron "respectful". Although he acknowledged he didn't know if he actually changed anyone's mind on the oilsands, he felt it was important to take in the opportunity.

"By meeting there is a 50 per cent chance that you can at least put the information on the table telling Mr. Cameron the way it is in Alberta. If I had not met there would have been a zero chance," Stelmach told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

On Tuesday morning, Cameron took an aerial tour of the oilsands before meeting with Aboriginal leaders in Fort Chipewyan who said the director vowed to support -- even financially for legal action against the province relating to alleged water contamination in the community.

But Cameron refuted those reports that he is planning to support a lawsuit against the Alberta government.

"No I never said that, what I said was I was there to support whatever needs to be done... if they choose to take legal action that is their right and I'm not going to encourage that one way or another," he said while approaching the doors of the legislature.

Cameron made headlines this year after saying Alberta's oilsands are a "black eye" to Canada's image. He said the government should be spending money on wind turbines instead of extracting crude oil.

The Avatar director also spoke to MSNBC via Skype from Edmonton. He says he hasn't changed his overall view of the oilsands.

"The toxins, which are carcinogenic, are getting into the water supply, they're getting into the watershed. Some of it is probably airborne," he said Wednesday afternoon.

In the spring, the Canadian director said he was interested in learning more about the Athabasca oilsands after he was contacted by local groups concerned about the environment.

Since the success of Avatar, Cameron has spoken out about the oil spill in the Gulf and travelled to Brazil to protest the construction of a hydro-electric dam threatening to displace thousands of people.

With files from Scott Roberts and Bill Fortier