Avatar (2009) - James Cameron

[Shivers]

O filme começa a ser filmado em Abril, para um lançamento previsto para o verão de 2009... A notícia foi oficializada pela Fox:

Academy Award®-winning filmmaker James Cameron begins principal photography on Avatar - his first feature directorial effort since Titanic - in April 2007 for a summer 2009 release, it was announced today by Fox Filmed Entertainment Chairmen Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman.

Utilizing a blend of live-action photography and new virtual photorealistic production techniques invented by Cameron's team, Avatar will offer audiences a unique cinematic experience. Avatar will be filmed in 3D for release in the new digital 3D format. With the continued roll-out of digital projection systems, the studio and filmmakers anticipate that digital 3D theaters will be widespread by the film's summer 2009 release.

For Avatar, Cameron will use revolutionary image-based performance capture techniques, and a real-time virtual camera system, to create new CG worlds and blend them with dramatic performances and live action in ways never before possible.

Avatar is written by Cameron from an idea he nurtured for over a decade, while working on the technology necessary to realize its wholly imagined world. A return to the action adventure sci-fi genre that made him famous, Avatar is also an emotional journey of redemption and revolution. It is the story of a wounded ex-marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in bio-diversity, who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival. It thus again combines the elements of massive spectacle and intimate character that made Titanic the highest grossing film of all time; a title it still holds by over three quarters of a billion dollars.

Just as he did with the then little known Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron wanted a new face to portray the lead, Jake Sully. Having searched around the world and screen tested a number of emerging young actors, Cameron has chosen the young Australian Sam Worthington, a rising star who has been recognized by The Australian Film Institute and The Film Critics Circle of Australia, in his homeland from such work as Somersault and Dirty Deeds. Zoe Saldana (The Terminal, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl) will portray the local woman Jake first betrays, then loves. Both actors have signed on for possible future installments as well, as Avatar is conceived as a potential franchise. Other casting will be announced shortly.

Said Cameron, "For me, as a lifelong fan of science fiction and action, 'Avatar' is a dream project. We're creating an entire world, a complete ecosystem of phantasmagorical plants and creatures, and a native people with a rich culture and language. The story is both epic and emotional. The two things that make this film even possible are pioneering advances in CG effects and performance capture, as well as my 22 year relationship with Fox, since only with great trust can you operate so close to the cutting edge. I plan to honor that relationship by bringing them a winner. And I have the team to do it, the best team of artists and technicians I've ever been privileged to work with. This one's going to be a grand adventure."

"Every year, our business makes hundreds of films, most of which come and go. But a Jim Cameron film is different," said Tom Rothman and Jim Gianopulos. "Jim's movies raise the bar, both in storytelling and use of technology. 'Avatar' will do so again. The world he has created is breathtaking and the action breathless. It will take two more years, but in the summer of 2009, 'Avatar' will be a seismic change in the movie going experience."

The film's new image-based process of facial performance capture will get all the subtle nuances of the actors' performances. The virtual camera system will allow Cameron to work intimately with the cast while seeing in real-time, as each scene evolves, the computer generated worlds and characters. This revolutionary approach allows Cameron to direct scenes with CG characters and environments exactly as he would on a live action set.

The edited performances and scenes, incorporating Cameron's hands-on camera moves, will be turned over to Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning visual effects house Weta Digital ("The Lord of the Rings" trilogy). Weta's artists will incorporate new intuitive CGI technologies to transform the environments and characters into photorealistic 3D imagery that will transport the audience into the alien world rich with imaginative vistas, creatures and characters.

Avatar is produced by Cameron and Jon Landau for Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment. Principal photography will take place in and around Los Angeles, and in New Zealand. Live action will be shot using the proprietary FUSION digital 3D camera system developed by Cameron and Vince Pace.

Avatar is the latest creative partnership between Cameron and Twentieth Century Fox, one of the most successful filmmaker-studio alliances in motion picture history. Cameron and Fox first joined forces in 1985 for Aliens, which became a sci fi classic. Next came The Abyss, which revolutionized visual effects technology; and True Lies, a blockbuster starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 1996, Fox greenlighted Cameron's Titanic, which became the most successful film in history, and won a record-breaking eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

[Edward Brock]

Entrevista (interrompida!) com o senhor:
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/31191

Começo a antecipar este filme de uma forma que já não fazia há uns tempos valentes. In Cameron we trust!

[Edward Brock]

Geekgasm!

Cameron reunites with a pair of ALIENS actors in AVATAR?

Hey folks, Harry here... First I want to clear something up. The reason that "part two" of the Cameron interview isn't here - is that it hasn't happened yet. When James had to deal with the Malibu fire situation - well, doing the second half of our interview evaporated next to well the crazy situation that he faced. Since then, there hasn't been time, and we're hoping to finish up sometime soon. Meanwhile - some interesting word is hitting. I've had multiple sources tell me that Michael Biehn is in AVATAR. In addition - word comes today that Sigourney Weaver has alluded to being in an upcoming film of Cameron's. I'm betting that it's AVATAR. When next I speak to Jim, I'll get his perspective on these 'rumors' - but it sounds good to me.

Hello Harry,

I come to your site every day, and i've heard something tonight that might interest you. I haven't read anything about it yet on any swebsite or newspaper:

Sigourney Weaver was invited on a show called "le grand journal" here in france, and she was asked if she would do another "alien"...
She said no, she said that everything has been said about this creature and for her, it's over..
BUT she said that she will be making a big sci-fi movie with james cameron... But she didn't want to talk too much about it...
Yet i don't know if it's "battle angel alita" or "avatar"...

That's it, you can call me "jerome"

And continue, i just love to come by and read your articles.

Jerome

OK... agora quando é que o Bill Paxton se junta à pandilha?

[Shivers]

Mais confirmações:

James Cameron chatted with Ain't It Cool News on his way back from shooting three days of live action work in Kauai for Avatar. In the conversation, he confirmed more members of the cast:

WES STUDI, SIGOURNEY WEAVER (confirmed as Grace), Peter Mensah, Joel David Moore (fantastic in both HATCHET and SPIRAL) - I imagine him as being Hippy-esque (think ABYSS), C.C.H. Pounder (love her) and then last but not least... I believe it was Laz Alonso - looking at his filmography - that's the name that most fits with what I heard.

Cameron will now begin a stage of the production called Pre-Capture with stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana. You can read more on Cameron's comments here.

The sci-fi action-adventure comes to theaters in summer 2009. It is the story of a wounded ex-marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in bio-diversity, who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival.

[Edward Brock]

http://iesb.net/index.php?option=com_d4 ... &Itemid=28

James Cameron Avatar Update!
Written by Stephanie Sanchez
Sunday, 25 March 2007

The IESB attended the press day for Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse today in Beverly Hills and got an unexpected "heads up" on some casting for James Cameron's Avatar!

Image
Michael Biehn, best known for his role as Reese in the original Terminator film and Ringo in one of the best movies of all time, Tombstone, not to mention T2, Abyss, and Aliens as well, has been in talks with Cameron to fill a role in the upcoming 2009 futuristic odyssey.

Biehn says he has two really incredible meetings with Cameron but cannot say which role he has been trying to nail down.

Biehn says Avatar is "Lawrence of Arabia" in space.

He also said that although he's not sure how it's being done exactly, he has been told that the movie itself is using the latest technology available and is being shot without cameras and without opticals.

This confirms what was said when the film's production was announced at 20th Century Fox, "Utilizing a blend of live-action photography and new virtual photorealistic production techniques invented by Cameron's team, Avatar will offer audiences a unique cinematic experience...Cameron will use revolutionary image-based performance capture techniques, and a real-time virtual camera system, to create new CG worlds and blend them with dramatic performances and live action in ways never before possible." What does that mean exactly? We are not sure, but James "King of the World" Cameron is sure to explain it all soon enough!

Biehn says he also saw the footage that was shot for FOX. The plot summary floating around says Avatar takes place in the future where, Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na'vi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture. Those from Earth find themselves at odds with each other and the local culture. But Cameron more recently described it as, "futuristic tale set on a planet 200 years hence... an old-fashioned jungle adventure with an environmental conscience... that aspires to a mythic level of storytelling."

Sigourney Weaver, Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Peter Mensah and more have already been cast.

We will have the entire transcript from the Avatar questions with Michael Biehn posted as soon as possible, but that's the nitty gritty for now!

Here's a re-posting of the production announcement from 20th Century Fox --
Academy Award®-winning filmmaker James Cameron begins principal photography on Avatar - his first feature directorial effort since Titanic - in April 2007 for a summer 2009 release, it was announced today by Fox Filmed Entertainment Chairmen Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman.

Utilizing a blend of live-action photography and new virtual photorealistic production techniques invented by Cameron's team, Avatar will offer audiences a unique cinematic experience. Avatar will be filmed in 3D for release in the new digital 3D format. With the continued roll-out of digital projection systems, the studio and filmmakers anticipate that digital 3D theaters will be widespread by the film's summer 2009 release.

For Avatar, Cameron will use revolutionary image-based performance capture techniques, and a real-time virtual camera system, to create new CG worlds and blend them with dramatic performances and live action in ways never before possible.

Avatar is written by Cameron from an idea he nurtured for over a decade, while working on the technology necessary to realize its wholly imagined world. A return to the action adventure sci-fi genre that made him famous, Avatar is also an emotional journey of redemption and revolution. It is the story of a wounded ex-marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in bio-diversity, who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival. It thus again combines the elements of massive spectacle and intimate character that made Titanic the highest grossing film of all time; a title it still holds by over three quarters of a billion dollars.

Just as he did with the then little known Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron wanted a new face to portray the lead, Jake Sully. Having searched around the world and screen tested a number of emerging young actors, Cameron has chosen the young Australian Sam Worthington, a rising star who has been recognized by The Australian Film Institute and The Film Critics Circle of Australia, in his homeland from such work as Somersault and Dirty Deeds. Zoe Saldana (The Terminal, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl) will portray the local woman Jake first betrays, then loves. Both actors have signed on for possible future installments as well, as Avatar is conceived as a potential franchise. Other casting will be announced shortly.

Said Cameron, "For me, as a lifelong fan of science fiction and action, 'Avatar' is a dream project. We're creating an entire world, a complete ecosystem of phantasmagorical plants and creatures, and a native people with a rich culture and language. The story is both epic and emotional. The two things that make this film even possible are pioneering advances in CG effects and performance capture, as well as my 22 year relationship with Fox, since only with great trust can you operate so close to the cutting edge. I plan to honor that relationship by bringing them a winner. And I have the team to do it, the best team of artists and technicians I've ever been privileged to work with. This one's going to be a grand adventure."

"Every year, our business makes hundreds of films, most of which come and go. But a Jim Cameron film is different," said Tom Rothman and Jim Gianopulos. "Jim's movies raise the bar, both in storytelling and use of technology. 'Avatar' will do so again. The world he has created is breathtaking and the action breathless. It will take two more years, but in the summer of 2009, 'Avatar' will be a seismic change in the movie going experience."

The film's new image-based process of facial performance capture will get all the subtle nuances of the actors' performances. The virtual camera system will allow Cameron to work intimately with the cast while seeing in real-time, as each scene evolves, the computer generated worlds and characters. This revolutionary approach allows Cameron to direct scenes with CG characters and environments exactly as he would on a live action set.

The edited performances and scenes, incorporating Cameron's hands-on camera moves, will be turned over to Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning visual effects house Weta Digital ("The Lord of the Rings" trilogy). Weta's artists will incorporate new intuitive CGI technologies to transform the environments and characters into photorealistic 3D imagery that will transport the audience into the alien world rich with imaginative vistas, creatures and characters.

Avatar is produced by Cameron and Jon Landau for Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment. Principal photography will take place in and around Los Angeles, and in New Zealand. Live action will be shot using the proprietary FUSION digital 3D camera system developed by Cameron and Vince Pace.

Avatar is the latest creative partnership between Cameron and Twentieth Century Fox, one of the most successful filmmaker-studio alliances in motion picture history. Cameron and Fox first joined forces in 1985 for Aliens, which became a sci fi classic. Next came The Abyss, which revolutionized visual effects technology; and True Lies, a blockbuster starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 1996, Fox greenlighted Cameron's Titanic, which became the most successful film in history, and won a record-breaking eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Michael Biehn?! YEAH!!!! WOOOOHOOOO!!!

[Borreicho]

Será verdade?

James Cameron's monumental sci-fi epic AVATAR is coming next year... no, wait! Not until May 2009? Gah! So I guess this really is an early glimpse of the flick's alien species (assuming it's actual concept art, as it was presented), which means we have a long time to wait for verification.

The movie follows a war veteran dispatched to a distant world, where he and others clash with indigenous humanoid lifeforms, some of whom are apparently sexy blue bioluminescent babes with tails. Nice planet. The FX-loaded 3-D film stars Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Matt Gerald, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, Wes Studi, Stephen Lang, CCH Pounder, Michelle Rodriguez and the stunning Zoe Saldana, possibly playing this lithe extraterrestrial lady.

Fonte: JoBlo.com

[Borreicho]

A data de estreia foi adiada para 18 de Dezembro:

Fox has pushed back the release date of James Cameron's sure-to-be huge 3-D sci-fi epic Avatar six months, from May 22nd to December 18, 2009.

According to Variety, the delay is to give the Titanic-helmer more time to work on the live-action/CGI production's digital effects, as well as to allow additional theatres to install 3-D screens.

A spokesman for Fox told Variety: "Making this change more than two years out allows Weta to achieve this unparalleled cinematic feat with the most efficient completion of the digital effects." He also revealed that Cameron has almost completed principle photography in New Zealand.

[Shivers]

Entrevista com James Cameron:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQpDD6w6KOs

James Cameron on Avatar
Source: The Hour
October 15, 2008

James Cameron was interviewed by CBC's "The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos" and talked about his anticipated December 18, 2009 opener, Avatar.

The sci-fi action-adventure tells the story of an ex-Marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in bio-diversity, who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival.

Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Peter Mensah, Laz Alonso, Wes Studi, Stephen Lang and Matt Gerald star.

[jimmy]

Artigo interessante da Time sobre o cinema 3d , com a informacao que o Avatar terá um custo de producao na ordem dos 300 milhoes de dolares

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/artic ... -1,00.html

[Tojal City]

O Cameron adora arrebentar com qualquer budget que lhe disponibilizem.

[Wickedbug]

Uma nota no fim do artigo:

The original version of this story misstated the cost of the film Avatar as being in excess of $300 million. The correct figure is in excess of $200 million.

[Argaroth01]

I couldn't tell what was real and what was animated--even knowing that the 9-ft.-tall blue, dappled dude couldn't possibly be real. The scenes were so startling and absorbing that the following morning, I had the peculiar sensation of wanting to return there, as if Pandora were real.

WOW !!!

[Shivers]

Foi exibido 24 minutos do filme na CinemaExpo International em Amesterdão, aqui ficam as reacções:

The first footage from James Cameron’s Avatar was screened to over 1,000 European Industry attendees at CinemaExpo International in Amsterdam, and some of the early buzz has begun to leak out. 24 minutes of footage was screened in all, most of which came from the first third of the film, but THR notes that “there were also glimpses from unfinished portions of later battle scenes.” What did everyone think of the first glimpse of the film that everyone is already touting as “revolutionary”? The reactions after the jump are, for the most part, spoiler free.

“The Insider” files his report on ComingSoon: “jaw-dropping experience.” … “3-D until now has been used as a gimmick.” On the human characters inhabiting their Avatars: “It took my breath away. I thought–just like you guys–that I’ve seen it all with Gollum, or The Hulk, but Cameron has done it again. These creatures seem so real, that within minutes you forget you’re watching an enormous and very blue CGI character. Even the eyes are totally convincing. The characters have real personalities and a soul.” … “How the hell is it possible that I never once felt like I’ve been watching a movie where almost everything comes out of a computer?” … “The effects are in a league of their own. After some disappointing or even pointless 3-D movies, Avatar maybe the first movie where 3-D is properly utilized.”

“Anonymous” over on IESB: “It makes me want to create a time machine like Cartman from South Park, so that I don’t have to wait till the 18th of December to watch the finished movie. If it’s anything like the scenes I saw, it’s going to be one of the best movies of the decade.”

Unique Cinema Systems Nord on Twitter: “stunning, literally jawdropping. Amazing visuals unlike any before seen, with incredible detail.” … “CGI was photorealistic, characters look really real. Believe the hype, this movie will be massive!” … “Cameron told audience each frame of finished film takes 30-50 hrs to render, then double that up for 3D.”

A scooper at MarketSaw: “The clips were amazing” … “You will NOT believe the detail.” … “The world outside is amazing. It all lives, breathes and works.” … “You will not believe the amount of leaves that look like someone created that jungle for real.” … “Little fireflies and birds fly through the shots without being there. You just take them as the world, like a dove in Central Park. It’s not placed there, it lives there and just happens to be in the shot.” … “There’s a shot of leaves somewhere which is so photorealistic you don’t want to think it’s CGI. You believe this world from the get-go. It’s there, you don’t need to believe it because you will experience it.”

GJKooijman on Twitter: “is mindblown” … “Still in awe of meeting James Cameron… Avatar will change movie industry forever.. thank you Jim” … “It’s nothing you can imagine, it’s real. Cameron made a new planet and took a cam there.” … “THIS WILL CHANGE MOVIES FOREVER. Trust me, it will.”

Sperling on Twitter: “It’s official! The footage from “Avatar” shown at Cine Expo was amazing. Absolutely stunning in 3D. Should be a huge hit.”

Head on over to any of the linked sites for detailed descriptions of the footage screened. The photos above, courtesy of UCSNord, were on display at the After Party.

[Samwise]

Ainda cabem aqui mais WOWs?

Este só não vou à estreia se me amarrarem. Parece saltar fora do conceito de cinema tal como o conhecemos. A experiência deve ser muito interessante. Será que exige equipamento especial nas salas?

Sam

[jimmy]

Nunca acredito nestas coisas das reaccoes.."ah e tal nao se pode falar sobre o projecto...mas se for para dizer bem uma palavrinha ou outra nao faz mal nenhum.."