HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — James Cameron returns to the big screen this weekend with Avatar, the story of a reluctant human hero who fights to save the alien world he has learned to call home.
“Avatar is the most challenging film I’ve ever made,” the Oscar-winning Titanic director says of his latest sci-fi epic.
The film’s central figure, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a relatable everyman who unexpectedly rises to become a hero, as events draw him deeper into a clash of civilizations, between the Earth corporations bent on “developing” Pandora and the indigenous Na’vi. Jake is a former Marine who places honor and duty above all, but he must eventually choose between his personal honor, in defense of what is right, and his supposed duty to those who have tasked him with his mission.
“I wanted to create a familiar type of adventure in an unfamiliar environment, ” Cameron explains, “by setting the classic tale of a newcomer to a foreign land and culture on an alien planet. The story is by design classic in its broad strokes, but we have plenty of twists and turns in store for the audience. I’ve dreamed of creating a film like this, set on another world of great danger and beauty, since I was a kid reading pulp science fiction and comic books by the truckload, and sitting in math class drawing creatures and aliens behind my propped up textbook. With Avatar, I finally got my chance.”
In addition to Worthington, the film’s cast includes Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and Michelle Rodriguez.
Click here for the official trailer, cast interviews and behind the scenes footage from the film.
