James Cameron hails the message of his film Avatar as a lesson for humankind to stop damaging the environment.
The Titanic director, whose new 3-D blockbuster premiered at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) yesterday, hopes that we can learn to change our ways.
"I see it as a broader metaphor, not so intensely politicised as some might make it, but rather that's how we treat the natural world as well," says Cameron.
"There's a sense of entitlement: ‘We're here, we're big, we've got the guns, we've got the technology, we've got the brains, we therefore are entitled to damn everything on this planet.' That's not how it works and we're going to find out the hard way if we don't wise up and start seeking a life that's in balance with the natural cycles of life on earth," he adds.
The sci-fi epic, said to be the most expensive film ever, stars Sam Worthington and Sigourney Weaver and is set in the future on an alien planet which humankind is pillaging for natural resources. The planet's indigenous species harmonise with nature to fight the invading humans.
TECH THAT
Cameron insists that he doesn't see technology as the enemy. "The film espouses this love-hate relationship with technology. Certainly, we use technology to tell the story, which is a celebration of nature and that is an irony in itself. But it's not that technology is bad, it's not that technological civilisation is bad — we need to take control of our technological process," he asserts.
Cameron reveals that he has plans for a second and third instalment, but plays down Titanic expectations for Avatar.
"Titanic was the No 1 picture for 16 weeks — I don't expect that kind of performance out of Avatar."
Cameron also plays down hopes for another Best Picture Oscar, saying: "I think they should give serious attention to the technical work, the visual effects and photography, sound, music... it's a beautiful score. As for the other stuff, the Academy tends to be not that interested in science fiction films, fantasy films but we'll see. It's a possibility."
He adds: "It's hard for me to imagine that short of some massive marketing debacle, that it's not going to work for people. The story is by design classic in its broad strokes, but we have plenty of twists and turns in store for the audience."
The Canadian conceived the story in 1995 before waiting for a decade for technology to catch up so that he could transfer it to the big screen.
ZOE SALDANA
Glamorous American actress Zoe Saldana, who plays Neytiri, said it was "liberating" not to have to worry about hair, make-up and costume while filming Avatar.
"Liberating is the one word that Sam and I and Sigourney and the rest of the cast have used since day one... because all we had to worry about was character and story and working intimately with Jim and the rest of the actors. It brought back the simplicity of the way acting really is." The Star Trek actress added that she loved the training she needed for the role. "For six months before the film started there was a lot of physical and mental training — from martial arts to horseback riding without a saddle, to weight training, archery and language too. We had to live without sophisticated technology, tools and comforts," Saldana recalls. "I was almost naked for three days, digging and climbing and muddy like a dead rat," she laughs. "I was missing creature comforts and I was like, ‘I can't deal with this.' And Jim said, ‘Oh come on, Neytiri, suck it up.'"
Movie synopsis
Avatar shows you the fascinating world of aliens through the eyes of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic war veteran. Despite his broken body, Sully is recruited to travel light years to the human outpost on Pandora, where a corporate consortium is mining a rare mineral that is the key to solving Earth's energy crisis. Because Pandora's atmosphere is toxic, an Avatar Programme is created in which human drivers have their consciousness linked to an avatar — a remotely-controlled biological body that can survive in lethal air. These avatars are genetically engineered hybrids of human DNA mixed with DNA from the natives of Pandora — the Na'vi. Sully is given a mission to infiltrate the Na'vi, who have become an obstacle to mining the precious ore. But a Na'vi female, Neytiri, saves Sully's life and this changes everything. Soon Sully will face the ultimate test as he leads the Na'vi in a battle that decides the fate of an entire world.
SAM WORTHINGTON
When Sam Worthington was offered an audition, he was sceptical due to the secrecy surrounding the project. "They wouldn't tell me anything. And I thought, ‘Well, here's another waste of my time.' Then a week later, I got a call… ‘Look, Jim [James] Cameron wants to fly you to L.A. to audition for him.' I said, ‘Yes, but for what?' I take my work seriously, just like Jim. We both come at work wanting to give it everything we've got."
Did you know?
The 3-D world of Avatar was conceived by the filmmaker 15 years ago and was in production for more than four-and-a-half years
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