“Avatar: the Way of the Water” is to be discovered in cinemas on December 14, 2022, thirteen years after the first episode. Before the release of this event film, we met James Cameron when he came to Paris. Interview.
There are few, directors capable of making blockbusters that are as much technical and visual revolutions as storytelling and emotional successes. james cameron is part of this kind of filmmaker who knew how to conquer the public and the critics unanimously. terminator (1984), Aliens, the return (1986), Abyss (1989), Terminator 2 (1991), titanic (1997), Avatar (2009), he is the father of some of the greatest successes of the seventh art. Two of his films (titanic and Avatar) have even each in turn become the biggest box office successes worldwide. He alone has won three Oscars and four Golden Globes. It is to say the monster of cinema.
Thirteen years after the release ofAvatar and its immense worldwide box office success, James Cameron is back for the release of the second episode. Avatar 2: The Way of the Water. We caught up with the filmmaker during his visit to Paris in early December, a few days before the film’s release on December 14. The opportunity to explain to the readers of Linternaute.com the reasons for such a wait between the two parts, the challenges encountered on the set, but also the main themes of this new feature film.
James Cameron’s video interview
“Avatar 2: interview with James CAMERON”
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James Cameron explains the wait between Avatar 1 and 2
Avatar was released in theaters in December 2009. And it was already a revolution: the feature film then opened the frontiers of the seventh art by introducing 3D, in addition to marveling viewers who discovered Pandora. It becomes the biggest success of the world box office, accumulating more than 2.9 billion dollars for its theatrical exploitation. Same Avengers: Endgame (nearly $2.8 billion) failed to top it. Avatar: The Way of the Water released 13 years later, on December 14, 2022. James Cameron chose to take his time before exploring new facets of Pandora: “Production of the film began in September 2017, he explains to us in an interview. Before that, I wrote the screenplay, I did underwater exploration, I worked on sustainable development…” A way of wrapping up his business before tackling his colossal work: “I knew that from the moment I started working on Avatar 2, it would take over my life and everything else would be pushed aside.”
A technical revolution for Avatar 2
James Cameron is not only a renowned filmmaker, he is also an inventor who puts his science at the service of his stories. Avatar used several innovative special effects, particularly in terms of capturing the movements and facial expressions of the actors, but also filming in 3D using a specific digital camera. For Avatar: The Way of the Water, the filmmaker has taken on a new challenge: filming underwater. “I insisted that the actors really shoot in the water, he confides to us. The actors had to be comfortable in the water and learn to dive, breathe underwater, swim, hold their breaths,…” Kate Winslet (Ronal) became the actress who held the longest time in apnea on a film set, with a record of 7 minutes and 14 seconds under water without breathing. To shoot the aquatic scenes, James Cameron developed new technologies and cameras to capture the movements and expressions of the actors underwater. “When I hear the word ‘challenge’, it attracts me like a magnet”, laughs the director.
Avatar 2, a financial bet… but already consequences
James Cameron is feverish about welcomingAvatar: The Way of the Water, and is very curious in interviews to know what journalists thought of his latest film. It must be said that this is a hell of a financial bet: as he was able to entrust to QG, the film would have to become “the third or fourth most profitable film in history” to be profitable. Regardless, the director has confirmed to us that the third episode ofAvatar has already been filmed (scheduled for release in 2024), as has the first part of the fourth film (scheduled for 2026). A fifth part, scheduled for 2028, is also written and designed, but has not yet entered the filming phase.