Zoe Saldana Reveals The Secrets Behind Her 'Avatar' Alien

James Cameron digs love stories between people from different cultures thrust together in strange territory. That's true of his star-crossed "Titanic" twosome and the alien/human pair he's been putting together for more than a decade in "Avatar."

What does it take to create a convincing romance between two species from different planets? In MTV's live-stream chat with Cameron and the "Avatar" cast, star Zoe Saldana gave us insight into how they created the character of Neytiri, the big blue alien who initially resists an amorous connection to the alien avatar controlled by human Jake Sully (Sam Worthington).

"She's like a big kid," Saldana said. "That's the one thing we realized."

The Na'vi, as this race of aliens is called, live at one with nature on the lush planet of Pandora. "If they're going to be completely different from human beings and they're so in tune with their environments and so in tune with themselves, then what don't they have that the humans have too much of?" Saldana said. "And there were so many flaws and we were like, 'What if they were never exposed to this?' Once we started shaving everything down, we were brought to a very childlike form of what these people are, where they're very innocent but at the same time so intuitive."

Saldana compared Neytiri to the heroine of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew," a woman who resists love lest a relationship impinge on her freedom. Neytiri still wants to be in the jungle with her animals, chasing after guys. While Sully falls in love at first sight, Neytiri resists him. Or, at least, that's how it appears.

"I really think it was [love at first sight] for Neytiri too," she said. "She just had to conceal it because you can't give all your goods away so quickly."

Is 'Avatar' Star Zoe Saldana The New Kate Winslet?

We compare James Cameron's newest leading lady to the 'Titanic' beauty.

These days, the one word on every moviegoer's lips is "Avatar." With the box-office receipts soaring, the love story and special effects fueling repeat views, and Oscar-buzz building, it's unlike anything we've seen since ... well, the last James Cameron feature film, 1997's "Titanic."

In the 12 years following that movie's release, stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet have made good on their promise, racking up instant classics and awards nods with equal aplomb. On Monday, we took a hard look at whether "Avatar" star Sam Worthington could use his momentum to launch a Leo-like career. Now, it's time to compare Cameron's leading ladies and look at why Zoe Saldana could become the next Winslet — or why such comparisons could leave the actress feeling as blue as her "Avatar" character.

What They Have in Common

The Breakthrough: Although Saldana seems like a fresh face, the 31-year-old actress is the latest example of Hollywood's "work for years to become an overnight success" reality. Her real breakthrough came in the 2000 dance film "Center Stage," a minor hit that led to solid work in everything from "Guess Who" to "The Terminal" to the infamous Britney Spears flick "Crossroads." Similarly, Winslet had a substantial back catalog before she became a household name — having raised eyebrows in Ang Lee's "Sense and Sensibility," Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet" and, most notably, Peter Jackson's excellent "Heavenly Creatures."

Unlikely Beauties: Think of the words "Hollywood starlet," and you're unlikely to picture either Saldana or Winslet. Both have a unique beauty, which perhaps makes them more memorable. In "Titanic" and during the years since, Winslet has never been shy about showing her body — and defending its ample curves and fluctuating weight. Zoe Yadira Zaldaña Nazario, meanwhile, was born in New Jersey to a Dominican father and a Puerto Rican mother and grew up in the Dominican Republic. Much like Jessica Alba and Vin Diesel, she has an exotic, intriguing and almost indefinable look.

Nice Girls Finish First: If you've seen enough of their interviews, you may have figured out the same thing as those of us who've been lucky enough to meet both ladies: In real life, they're exceedingly gracious, polite and eager to please. True, the stereotype in Hollywood may be that nice guys finish last, but there's a reason why directors and co-stars line up to work opposite these two.

What They Don't Have in Common

A Blockbuster Mentality: Saldana is an unabashed geek who found her back-to-back roles in "Avatar" and "Star Trek" to be a dream come true. Coupled with work in big films like "Pirates of the Caribbean," don't be surprised if her career path looks increasingly more like Rosario Dawson's or Kate Beckinsale's — respectable, fun and with a healthy dose of genre films. Winslet, meanwhile, has avoided action flicks, superhero films and geek-friendly franchises so effectively that the decision must be intentional. Instead, she prefers original scripts (does it get any more outside-the-box than "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind?") and conflicted housewives ("Little Children," "Revolutionary Road") whose feet are firmly planted in tragic realities.

The Franchise Factor: While it could be argued that nothing Winslet has ever made is sequel-ready, the fact is that she also stays far away from repeating herself. The same is unlikely to be said for Saldana, whose immediate future is likely to be booked up with "Trek" and "Avatar" sequels. It will be interesting to see whether Zoe can define herself outside her franchise commitments — à la Keira Knightley — or become a female Mark Hamill, whose side projects never quite soar.

Oscar Awesomeness: Often called the best actress of her generation, Winslet has been nominated for six Oscars and finally took home the little gold guy last year for "The Reader." But while "Titanic" earned her one of those nominations, it wasn't the first time she displayed impressive acting skills; "Sensibility" earned Oscar and Golden Globe noms and a BAFTA win, and her "Creatures" performance blew critics away. Will Saldana — who has never received a major award nomination — prove herself to be as prolific a thespian? Only time will tell.

Up-and-coming 'Avatar' stars radically transform their careers

Sam Worthington had winnowed his possessions to two duffel bags — one for clothes, the other books — when he got a call from his agent asking if he'd like to read for a James Cameron movie. Suddenly, Worthington concedes, it seemed less urgent to quit the business and wander the roads of Australia, as was his original plan. "That's a call," he says, "that you have to take if you're serious about being an actor."

Zoe Saldana didn't need as much convincing. The actress, 31, had been pursuing a role in the sci-fi soap opera since she heard Cameron was returning after a 12-year commercial film hiatus following Titanic. "He was why I got into movies," she says. "His female heroes — Ripley (from Aliens) and Sarah Connor (from the Terminator franchise) — showed me an actress can be an action hero."

Seriousness has never been an issue for Worthington, a frank-talking Australian who worked as a bricklayer before taking an acting class to support a friend. Born in Surrey, England, the 33-year-old found most of his success before Avatar on Australian TV dramas such as The Surgeon and Love My Way.

But he was disillusioned with poor scripts and empty celebrity, and vowed to leave acting after the 2007 flop Rogue. "I was burned out," he says. "I wanted to control-alt-delete my life. I don't like being out of control of my life. I wasn't being rebellious. I was standing up for myself." Still, Worthington's intensity almost cost him the job. Like other stars of Cameron's films, Avatar's actors weren't given whole scripts, only a few select scenes. They aren't even told the title. The secrecy wore on Worthington, who during one read stormed off while "uttering some choice words.

Zoe Saldana: Avatar sequel will be 'amazing'

Zoe Saldana has been trying to get the gossip on the sequels to both Star Trek and Avatar.

"You can expect them to be amazing but we're going to have to wait," the actress admitted at the Hollywood premiere of her new film Burning Palms.

Having starred in both of the box-office smashes, the 32-year-old confessed she's been pestering James Cameron and JJ Abrams to find out what the plots will be.

She explained: "I email Jim and JJ to see if I can get a little bit of information and I don't know if it's a trend of mine or if I just psychologically gravitate towards these directors that are very secretive, but they're definitely talented."

In Burning Palms, Zoe has to go to a much darker place psychologically, playing a rape victim who decides to go and confront her attacker after realising he left his wallet in her home.

Talking about how to deal with such a sensitive storyline, Zoe said: "You focus a lot on your work and you try to make it as best as you can, especially when you're dealing with something that can be very real."

Zoe Saldana on Avatar Sequel: I’m Just Grateful to Have a Job

They say an actor’s life is hard, and doesn’t Zoe Saldana know it. The most exciting thing for the sci-fi beauty about the long-awaited sequels for Star Trek and Avatar is the prospect of continued employment.

“I mean, I’m just grateful that between Star Trek II and Avatar II, I’m employed,” Zoe told E! Online at a West Hollywood Haiti benefit which she co-hosted with Emile Hirsch and Michelle Rodriguez.


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“Jim [Cameron] has proven once again that even though he takes a decade between his projects, he promises to deliver you the most amazing adventure ever,” Zoe, who plays the movie’s heroine Neytiri, said.

With nine Oscar nominations for Avatar — including Best Picture and Best Director — James is in no hurry to rush out the next adventure on planet Pandora.

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“We just have to come up with a great story, which we haven’t done yet,” he says. “I have a rough story, but you need to make a script, so that might take some time. Don’t start going to buy your tickets.”

James Cameron talks Avatar 2, Interviewed with Zoe Saldana

The worldwide gross for James Cameron’s Avatar currently stands at $1.4 billion, which means it is just $400+ million away from reaching Titanic’s record. Will it make it? We’ll have to wait and see. Although whatever it’s final gross there will almost certainly be an Avatar 2, as Cameron kinda confirmed last week. In a recent interview with EW Cameron spoke briefly about the sequel, and said that they even put a few scenes in the film to set up a sequel:

But not only did director James Cameron always believe that the film would be a hit — he was even planning a sequel during production. “I’ve had a storyline in mind from the start — there are even scenes in Avatar that I kept in because they lead to the sequel,” Cameron says. “It just makes sense to think of it as a two or three film arc, in terms of the business plan. The CG plants and trees and creatures and the musculo-skeletal rigging of the main characters — that all takes an enormous amount of time to create. It’d be a waste not to use it again.” Sam Worthington is already signed to play Jake Sully again, and he e-mailed EW some plot suggestions for the sequel: “Jake should have abused his avatar and be fat and unfit and demand Neytiri to get him a beer.”

In related news The Wrap got the chance to interview Cameron and Zoe Saldana (Neytiri) after a recent screening. I love this interview mainly because the interviewer just lets them talk, and as a result we have 10 minutes of the duo talking about Zoe’s casting, behind the scenes antics and James Cameron bleeding after a camera hit him in the face whilst filming.


And finally here’s a ‘making of’ video which I hadn’t seen before (even though it’s been online for a few weeks). It’s still interesting to watch even if you have already seen it, and even more so after watching the above interview.


http://filmonic.com/