Sunday
07Sep2008
James Cameron Says 'Avatar' "Will Make 'Titanic' Look Like a Picnic"
Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 4:30PM 
James Cameron has proclaimed that his next
film, the ambitious stereoscopic 3-D epic
Avatar, "makes
Titanic look like a picnic."
In an interview with
The Edmonton Sun, the director, who has not
made dramatic film since sinking the big boat back in 1997, discusses why it has
been so long since a Titanic follow-up. "I got involved in 3-D, doing 3-D
documentaries, natural history, deep ocean exploration stuff, and at that point
I sort of decided I didn't want to go back to non-stereoscopic moviemaking, but
then there was a lag time while the theatres didn't exist yet," Cameron
explained.
"I decided to work on a very large project that would
take time to develop properly and design all the elements of the world, to give
them time to get the theatres in place. Now the timing seems to be working out
quite well. In the meantime, I was having fun doing ocean expeditions."
Having wrapped up filming the live action sequences in
New Zealand a while ago, Cameron is now devoted to the digital aspects, which he
speculates will account for 60% of the completed movie.
"It's simultaneously the most vexing and the most
rewarding type of production that I've done yet," Cameron says. "It's this form
of pure creation where ... if you want to move a tree or a mountain or the sky
or change the time of day, you have complete control over the elements and the
production design."
We'll finally see what has dominated his life for the
better part of the past half-decade when Avatar arrives in theaters 12 years
after Titanic, on December 18, 2009.
I have no doubt that it will look like nothing we've
ever seen before. But will that be enough? According to some cast members, the
CG is significantly more advanced than Beowulf. But with a reported budget
ballooning to
$250 - $300 million, it would need a Titanic-like box office for
the movie to be a financial success, although I highly doubt that's what Cameron
is interested in at this point. The story is compelling - scientists from Earth
travel to a newly discovered planet and try to exploit its resources, which
doesn't go over too well with that planets inhabitants, and one of the
scientists even crosses over to lead the natives - but I think the jury is still
out on whether on not audiences are entertained by the ongoing 3-D experiment.
I'm confident Avatar will look amazing. But will
it be amazing? That's the real question. For its time, the Final
Fantasy movie looked amazing. Nobody cared. Beowulf: Not a big hit.
The stories didn't justify the resources spent to make the movies. And it's a
difficult thing to balance, because while these advances are no doubt enhancing
the way we see movies and the technologies that make them possible, the dollars
simply haven't shown up yet. And Avatar would need a lot of dollars to really
prove the point.
Colin Boyd | Permalink | in 3D, Avatar, James Cameron, Sci-Fi | Print Article | Email Article | 1 Comment | Share Article
Reader Comments (1)
Hope for the best, preapre for the worst.
PS Rest in peace Final Fantasy Movie