The 'Avatar' sequel: An instant guide

James Cameron is taking his cameras underwater — to the deepest, most treacherous spot in the ocean — for the sci-fi follow-up. Why make things easy?


The first Avatar set records as both the most expensive movie ever (with estimated production costs as high as $310 million) and the most profitable (becoming the first film to gross over $2 billion worldwide). If you thought James Cameron would hold back when it comes to making a sequel, you'd be wrong. (Watch a report about the "Avatar" sequel.) Here, a quick guide:

The sequel will be set underwater, right?
Yes. Cameron told the Los Angeles Times in April that Avatar 2 would be focusing on the ocean worlds of Pandora, the fictional planet introduced in the first film. Cameron promises the sequel will be "rich and diverse and crazy and imaginative."

How challenging is it to make an underwater film?
It would be a lot easier if Cameron were creating his world from scratch in a special-effects studio. Instead, he wants to take cameras to one of the least hospitable regions on earth — the Mariana Trench, almost seven miles beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

Why would he tackle such a location?
For the challenge and also, some say, for a potential $10 million prize that the X Prize Foundation is expected to offer would-be explorers who can successfully descend to the Mariana Trench — something only two people have ever done before. The director wants to film at 36,000 ft. — a depth at which no existing submarine can withstand the enormous pressures. Even the strongest military submersible can only descend to 3,000 ft.

How will he get down there, then?
He'll build his own submarine, of course. Cameron has hired a team of Australian engineers to conceive and construct an underwater vessel that can not only handle the fierce conditions but also function as an underwater 3D studio.

What will Cameron be filming at the bottom of the ocean floor?
3D footage that would be incorporated into the Avatar sequel. For "a very basic idea of what Cameron might encounter," suggests Nicholas Jackson at The Atlantic, take a look at this simulated video from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. If Cameron is expecting the bright blues and greens of Pandora, says Michael Hanlon at The Daily Mail, he won't find them in "this inky world of greys and browns."

How much underwater filming experience does Cameron have?
A considerable amount. Cameron is something of a deep sea maven, having filmed two documentaries on the mysteries of the ocean — Ghosts of the Abyss (2003) and Aliens of the Deep (2005) — and memorably incorporated footage of the sunken Titanic into his Oscar-winning blockbuster of the same name. He already owns several submarines.

Should the Avatar actors be worried?
They're not expected to join Cameron in the Mariana Trench, but Cameron has a history of allegedly tormenting actors underwater. During the filming of 1989's The Abyss, he put those playing deep sea divers through such strenuous paces that one (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) reportedly had a nervous breakdown. After the six month, 70 hour-a-week shoot was finished, Cameron had limited sympathy for his stars. "For every hour they spent trying to figure out what magazine to read, we spent an hour at the bottom of the tank breathing compressed air,'' he told The New York Times.

Avatar Sequel to be Announced Soon

Talking about 3D at a technology forum in Seoul, South Korea, James Cameron said that he estimates it will take about three years to make the Avatar sequel. That's 18 months less than it took the first.

He said that the release date for the follow-up will be announced in a few months.

Cameron previously revealed that the sequel would focus on Pandora's ocean. "I'm going to be focusing on the ocean on Pandora, which will be equally rich and diverse and crazy and imaginative, but it just won't be a rain forest. I'm not saying we won't see what we've already seen; we'll see more of that as well," he said.

The first film has earned a massive $2.718 billion worldwide and has sold more than 19.7 million DVD and Blu-ray discs in three weeks.

comingsoon.net

Sigourney Weaver Returning for Avatar 2?

Sigourney Weaver is returning for the sequel to Avatar? While it may surprise you at first, after you listen to Weaver explain how this can happen it does make sense. CineTVBuzz.com alerted us to the following:Sigourney Weaver is in Paris this weekend to honor Harrison Ford during the Cesar Awards (the French Oscars). She was today in the TV show "Le Grand Journal". She was asked if she would be part of "Avatar 2" and from what she said, it was clear she already talked about it with James Cameron and she surely would be part of it.

James Cameron Confirms 'Technical Discussions' About 'Avatar' Sequel

Writer/director discussed the possibility of a follow-up to the highest-grossing domestic film of all time on 'Larry King Live.'

On the same day that "Avatar" was officially announced as the highest-grossing domestic film of all time ($601 million at the box office and counting), writer/director James Cameron appeared on "Larry King Live" to talk all things blue and alien, as well as a tiny bit about the sequel that we all know by now is going to happen.

"[W]e have had some technical discussions of how we would do it," Cameron said on Wednesday's program.

That vaguely worded statement might jibe with rumors circulating on the Web that technical crew for an "Avatar" sequel are already being hired. One might have hoped for King to follow up with a probing question or three, but the CNN host seemed content to move on. Sit-down interviews with Cameron are hard to come by these days (unless you're Oprah), so King's interview represented a significant missed opportunity to reveal breaking news. Instead, King spent his time rehashing the cinematic past, talking B.O. numbers and giggling over a mockup of himself as a blue Na'vi alien.

What else was there to discuss? Well, we know from actor Joel David Moore that the cast have been involved in discussions about a sequel. And we know from producer Jon Landau that the pressure's on to jump right back into a sequel rather than start a different project. And we know Cameron has a pretty good idea of where the next story will go.

All or any of this information would have provided the basis for a compelling line of questioning, but it was not to be. Oh, Larry, what could have been! For now we'll have to wait, both for word from Cameron's Fox overlords and for the man who's made the top two highest-grossing films ever to get to work. "I have a trilogy-scaled arc of story right now, but I haven't really put any serious work into writing a script," Cameron told us in December.

http://www.mtv.com/

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.


OK! NEWS: AVATAR AND THE HURT LOCKER DOMINATE THE 82ND OSCARS

“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.

OK! NEWS: ZOE SALDANA SPEAKS FLUENT NA’VI

“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 hints at Avatar sequel

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Canadian director James Cameron said he could be "persuaded" to film a sequel to his record-breaking science-fiction epic "Avatar."

The futuristic 3-D blockbuster reached yet another milestone on Tuesday, when it smashed the North American box office record previously held by Cameron's "Titanic" (1997).

"We might be persuaded. We'll have to see how much money the movie makes first," Cameron told CNN on Wednesday when asked about a possible sequel.

Money should be of no concern, with "Avatar" having already racked up over 2.05 billion dollars worldwide, including over 601.1 million in the United States and Canada, overtaking the 600.8 million "Titanic" earned.

It has also secured nine Oscar nominations, including in the leading categories of best film and best director, as well as several technical achievement categories.

In his first interview since his film earned its massive success, Cameron said he was "absolutely" surprised by the records it has broken.

"And that's not some sort of false humility. We thought it was gonna be a commercial movie, but we didn't think it was gonna do half of what it's done financially," he said.

"I see a very similar pattern, in a sense, between Titanic and Avatar. Not that they are similar films because they are not -- totally different subjects -- but in both cases, you have people coming back over and over to see the film."

Cameron pointed to an "emotional connection" of the public across cultural boundaries with these films.

Despite not saying a word about the Oscar nominations, he acknowledged that making "Avatar" -- believed to be the most expensive motion picture ever -- was no easy undertaking.

"I had to keep from putting a pistol in my mouth about 20 times during the making of this film," he said ironically.

"That's the nature of an experimental project. It is like the Lewis and Clark expedition (to the US Pacific coast). They can have a general idea where they are going but there is no way you could predict all twists and turns along the way."

'Avatar' Sequel Is War Movie, Coming Within Four Years

While 'Avatar' ends with a battle, the follow-up is said to present a huge war but it reportedly will not be worked on soon after the first film.

Despite all the talks about the follow-up to highly-successful "Avatar" which suggested that the sequel is underway, MarketSaw has just noted that it may not come that fast. The site has claimed a source told them that the next installment for the sci-fi film franchise will be made within four years. However, it has not been known when the pre-production for this forthcoming project will be started.

About what can be expected from the second "Avatar" movie, the site further informed that it will be a full blown war. Meanwhile, it was previously reported that the sequel will not take place in distant moon Pandora. Additionally, MarketSaw reported some of the parts of the first film's script that didn't make it into the movie, will be used in the next installment.

Recently, Joel David Moore spoke to MTV that James Cameron has shared some of his ideas about the "Avatar" sequel with him and other cast members. "There have been conversations about certain ways to go," the actor who plays anthropologist Norm Spellman in the big-budget movie said, before adding "Of course nothings set in stone. I love all the ideas."

"Avatar", which was first released on December 18, 2009, follows Sam Worthington's Jake Sully who embarks on a journey to Pandora to join Avatar program and later leads a heroic battle to save a civilization. As of February 1, the film has raked in total domestic cume of $595.8 million and become the highest worldwide grosser of all time with $2.04 billion global revenue.