It's finally official: James Cameron begins principal photography on Twentieth Century Fox's AVATAR -- his first feature since the Oscar-winning TITANIC -- in April for a summer 2009 release, the studio announced. THE NEW YORK TIMES additionally reports that the budget will be $200 million.
Utilizing a blend of live-action photography and new virtual photorealistic production techniques invented by Cameron's team (spearheaded by Rob Legato), AVATAR will be filmed in 3-D for release in the new digital 3-D format. With the continued rollout of digital projection systems, the studio and filmmakers anticipate that digital 3-D theaters will be widespread by the film's release.
For AVATAR, Cameron will use cutting edge image-based performance capture techniques, along with a realtime virtual camera system, to create new CG characters and worlds and then blend them into his own hybrid with live-action cinematography.
AVATAR, an original sci-fi written by Cameron, is the story of a wounded ex-marine, thrust unwillingly into an experiment 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.
Cameron wanted a new face to portray the lead, Jake Sully, and after an exhaustive search, has chosen the young Australian Sam Worthington SOMERSAULT, DIRTY DEEDS). Zoe Saldana (THE TERMINAL, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL) will portray the local woman Jake first betrays, and then falls in love with. 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," added Fox Filmed Ent. chairmen Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman. "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 realtime, as each scene evolves, the computer-generated worlds and characters. This 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, under the supervision of Joe Letteri (who won an Oscar for KING KONG).
Weta's artists will incorporate new intuitive CGI technologies to transform the environments and characters into photorealistic 3-D imagery that will transport the audience into the alien world rich with imaginative vistas, creatures and characters.
Letteri recently told VFXWORLD that Weta will be expanding the same Maya-based CityBot program for KING KONG's New York City for the fantasy environments. As for performance capture, Letteri added, "Rob has created an immersive system, which is necessary for AVATAR. Whereas our system was designed mostly to work with things that had been shot on set and to add motion capture into those. We're finding it very compatible, which allows us to keep a consistent workflow back and forth. We both use the Giant system for motion capture. The rest involves developing an infrastructure around that to support the film."
AVATAR is produced by Cameron and Jon Landau for Cameron's Lightstorm Ent. Principal photography will take place in and around Los Angeles, and in New Zealand. Live action will be shot using the proprietary FUSION digital 3-D camera system developed by Cameron and Vince Pace.
Fox Filmed Ent. produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units of FFE: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox Atomic and Twentieth Century Fox Animation.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
