Avatar
- Directed & Written by James Cameron - Also made “Titanic” - Sam Worthington starred as Jake Sully - Most recently in Clash of the Titans - Zoe Saldana starred as Neytiri - Also seen as Uhura in newest Star Trek - Sigourney Weaver starred as Dr. Grace Augustine - Also worked with dir. on Aliens
- Budget $237 mil., gross over $760 mil. - The movie is 40% live action and 60% photo- realistic CGI. - Shooting title was “Battle Angel” - This is now a movie being made by Cameron for Michael Biehn considered for Col. Quaritch - Weaver plays a Cameron persona for her character.
- Cameron originally planned to complete by 1999 but would have cost $400 mil. Because tech. was not available. - Cameron convinced to make film after seeing Golum in Lord of the Rings. - Promotional items shipped under name “Project 880” - Film shipped in two parts to U.K. under codename Redbird. - Cameron took cast and crew to Hawaii to prepare where they trekked the jungles.
- One of the most expensive movies ever made. - Worthington worked with Cameron on Teminator Salvation. - Avatars have eyebrows and five fingers while Na’vi have four fingers and no eyebrows. - Weaver’s avatar wears a Stanford shirt because that is where the actress went to college. - Na’Vi language created entirely from scratch by linguist Paul R. Frommer. - He created about 1000 words.
- Year is never stated but video log shows it as Actors playing Na’vi had cameras attached to their head so that they filmed closeups. - Actors also wore motion capture suits. - Director trademark = closeup of Jake’s feet when he moves them in the soil. - This is WETA and ILM’s fourth film together. - First Cameron film not to mention nuclear weopons.
- Each frame of film of the CGI scenes took an average of 47 hours to complete. - Reached $500 mil. In 32 days, fastest ever. - Avatar is Sanskrit for incarnation. - Na’vi are blue to create a parallel to the trad. Hindu depicitons of God. - Ey’wa is a mixed up pronunciation of Yahweh, God of the Hebrews. - First to cross the $2 bil. Mark worldwide.