Epic films have large scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The term is slightly ambiguous, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply big-budget films. Like epics in the classical literary sense, it is often focused on a heroic character. An epic's ambitious nature helps to set it apart from other genres such as the period piece or adventure film .
105-454: Avatar is a 2009 epic science fiction film co-produced, co-edited, written, and directed by James Cameron . The cast includes Sam Worthington , Zoe Saldana , Stephen Lang , Michelle Rodriguez and Sigourney Weaver . It is the first installment in the Avatar film series . It is set in the mid-22nd century, when humans are colonizing Pandora , a lush habitable moon of a gas giant in
210-436: A motion-capture stage or "volume" six times larger than any previously used, and an improved method of capturing facial expressions, enabling full performance capture . To achieve the face capturing, actors wore individually made skull caps fitted with a tiny camera positioned in front of the actors' faces; the information collected about their facial expressions and eyes is then transmitted to computers. According to Cameron,
315-409: A petabyte of digital storage, and each minute of the final footage for Avatar occupies 17.28 gigabytes of storage. It would often take the computer several hours to render a single frame of the film. To help finish preparing the special effects sequences on time, a number of other companies were brought on board, including Industrial Light & Magic , which worked alongside Weta Digital to create
420-585: A traffic light with the amber signal lit outside of co-producer Jon Landau 's office to represent the film's uncertain future. Landau, who previously worked with Cameron as co-producer of Titanic , first met Cameron in 1993 when they were involved in the production of True Lies . Following True Lies , Landau would leave his role as a Fox executive to work in Cameron's production company Lightstorm . After Landau's death in July 2024, Cameron credited him for having
525-750: A 3-D web tag, called an i-TAG, that consumers can scan using a web cam , revealing unique on-screen content that is exclusive to each specific action figure. A series of toys representing six different characters from the film were also distributed globally in McDonald's Happy Meals . Epic film Epic historical films would usually take a historical or a mythical event and add an extravagant setting, lavish costumes, an expansive musical score , and an ensemble cast , which would make them extremely expensive to produce. The most common subjects of epic films are royalty and important figures from various periods in world history. The term "epic" originally came from
630-644: A 3D film requires a higher frame rate to make strobing less noticeable. According to Cameron, the film is composed of 60% computer-generated elements and 40% live action, as well as traditional miniatures . Motion-capture photography lasted 31 days at the Hughes Aircraft stage in Playa Vista , Los Angeles. Live action photography began in October 2007 at Stone Street Studios in Wellington and
735-456: A battered soldier finds himself drawn to the culture he was initially fighting against. He also cited Hayao Miyazaki 's anime films such as Princess Mononoke as an influence on the ecosystem of Pandora. In 2012, Cameron filed a 45-page legal declaration that intended to "describe in great detail the genesis of the ideas, themes, storylines, and images that came to be Avatar ." In addition to historical events (such as European colonization of
840-420: A big, powerful game engine . If I want to fly through space, or change my perspective, I can. I can turn the whole scene into a living miniature and go through it on a 50-to-1 scale." Using conventional techniques, the complete virtual world cannot be seen until the motion-capture of the actors is complete. Cameron said this process does not diminish the value or importance of acting. On the contrary, because there
945-477: A blue-skinned woman 12 feet (4 m) tall, which he thought was "kind of a cool image". Also he said, "I just like blue. It's a good color ... plus, there's a connection to the Hindu deities, which I like conceptually." He included similar creatures in his first screenplay (written in 1976 or 1977), which featured a planet with a native population of "gorgeous" tall blue aliens. The Na'vi were based on them. For
1050-427: A chance to test the new technology. Spielberg said, "I like to think of it as digital makeup, not augmented animation ... Motion capture brings the director back to a kind of intimacy that actors and directors only know when they're working in live theater." Spielberg and George Lucas were also able to visit the set to watch Cameron direct with the equipment. To film the shots where CGI interacts with live action,
1155-593: A depletion of our natural resources that make life harder. But we don't want to paint a bleak picture for where our world is going. The films are also about the idea of that we can change course." Champion said that the "story is pretty amazing and pretty dark". In August 2017, Matt Gerald had officially signed on to portray his first film's role Corporal Lyle Wainfleet in all upcoming sequels. That same month, in an interview with Empire , Cameron said that Stephen Lang would not only be returning in all four sequels as Colonel Miles Quaritch , but that he would also be
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#17327660976021260-547: A foreign culture and then ultimately joins that group to fight other outsiders." Cameron said he became familiar with the concept of a human operating a "synthetic avatar" inside another world from George Henry Smith 's short story " In the Imagicon " and Arthur C. Clarke 's novel The City and the Stars . He said he learned of the term "avatar" by reading the cyberpunk novels Neuromancer by William Gibson and Islands in
1365-648: A grim future". Cameron acknowledges that Avatar implicitly criticizes the United States' role in the Iraq War and the impersonal nature of mechanized warfare in general. In reference to the use of the term " shock and awe " in the film, Cameron said: "We know what it feels like to launch the missiles. We don't know what it feels like for them to land on our home soil, not in America." He said in later interviews, "... I think it's very patriotic to question
1470-624: A harassed blonde woman in a bar that Jake defends. Vela-Bailey served as the stunt double for Zoe Saldana and would later portray Zdinarsk in Avatar: The Way of Water . Terry Notary , who performed stunts as well, plays the Banshees via motion capture. In 1994, director James Cameron wrote an 80-page treatment for Avatar , drawing inspiration from science fiction books he had read in his childhood, as well as from adventure novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs and H. Rider Haggard . Parts of
1575-469: A lexicon of about 1000 words, with some 30 added by Cameron. The tongue's phonemes include ejective consonants (such as the "kx" in "skxawng") that are found in Amharic , and the initial "ng" that Cameron may have taken from Te Reo Māori . Actress Sigourney Weaver and the film's set designers met with Jodie S. Holt, professor of plant physiology at University of California, Riverside , to learn about
1680-572: A massive scale. Biographical films may be less lavish versions of this genre. They often have a Roadshow theatrical release and are often shot on 70 mm film . Many writers may refer to any film that is "long" (over two hours) as an epic, making the definition epic a matter of dispute, and raise questions as to whether it is a "genre" at all. As Roger Ebert put it, in his "Great Movies" article on Lawrence of Arabia : The word epic in recent years has become synonymous with big-budget B picture . What you realize watching Lawrence of Arabia
1785-405: A music culture for the alien race. The first scoring sessions were planned to take place in early 2009. During production, Horner promised Cameron that he would not work on any other project except for Avatar and reportedly worked on the score from four in the morning until ten at night throughout the process. He stated in an interview, " Avatar has been the most difficult film I have worked on and
1890-500: A mythic level of storytelling". The January 2007 press release described the film as "an emotional journey of redemption and revolution" and said the story is of "a wounded former Marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in biodiversity , who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival". The story would be of an entire world complete with an ecosystem of phantasmagorical plants and creatures, and native people with
1995-585: A panel, moderated by Tom Rothman , at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con on July 23. Twenty-five minutes of footage was screened in Dolby 3D . Weaver and Cameron appeared at additional panels to promote the film, speaking on the 23rd and 24th respectively. James Cameron announced at the Comic-Con Avatar panel that August 21 will be " Avatar Day". On this day, the trailer was released in all theatrical formats. The official game trailer and toy line of
2100-634: A photograph of themselves to change into a Na'vi. Avatar: A Confidential Report on the Biological and Social History of Pandora , a 224-page book in the form of a field guide to the film's fictional setting of the planet of Pandora, was released by Harper Entertainment on November 24, 2009. It is presented as a compilation of data collected by the humans about Pandora and the life on it, written by Maria Wilhelm and Dirk Mathison. HarperFestival also released Wilhelm's 48-page James Cameron's Avatar: The Reusable Scrapbook for children. The Art of Avatar
2205-530: A recurring role on the program, and is seen in the episode anxiously awaiting the release of the film. A week prior to the American release, Zoe Saldana promoted the film on Adult Swim , when she was interviewed by an animated Space Ghost . McDonald's had a promotion mentioned in television commercials in Europe called "Avatarize yourself", which encouraged people to go to the website set up by Oddcast , and use
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#17327660976022310-620: A rich culture and language. Estimates put the cost of the film at about $ 280–310 million to produce and an estimated $ 150 million for marketing, noting that about $ 30 million in tax credits would lessen the financial impact on the studio and its financiers. A studio spokesperson said that the budget was "$ 237 million, with $ 150 million for promotion, end of story." Principal photography for Avatar began in April 2007 in Los Angeles and Wellington . Cameron described
2415-426: A single camera body to create depth perception. While these preparations were underway, Fox wavered in its commitment to Avatar because of cost overruns and delays on Cameron's previous picture, Titanic . During the production of Titanic , Cameron rewrote the script to streamline the plot by combining several characters' roles and offered to cut his fee if the film were a commercial disappointment. Cameron installed
2520-628: A system that needs to be corralled ..." and, "The film is definitely not anti-American." A scene in the film portrays the violent destruction of the towering Na'vi Hometree, which collapses in flames after a missile attack, coating the landscape with ash and floating embers. Asked about the scene's resemblance to the September ;11 attacks on the World Trade Center , Cameron said he had been "surprised at how much it did look like September 11". In July 2024, Cameron stated
2625-448: A unique camera referred to as a "simulcam" was used, a merger of the 3D fusion camera and the virtual camera systems. While filming live action in real time with the simulcam, the CGI images captured with the virtual camera or designed from scratch, are superimposed over the live action images as in augmented reality and shown on a small monitor, making it possible for the director to instruct
2730-443: A vital role in the production of Avatar . In mid-2006, Fox decisively declined to produce the film, so Cameron began shopping it around to other studios. He approached Walt Disney Studios , showing his proof of concept to then-chairman Dick Cook . However, when Disney attempted to take over, Fox exercised its right of first refusal . In October 2006, Fox finally committed to making Avatar after Ingenious Media agreed to back
2835-623: Is capable of injecting a human's intelligence into a remotely located body, a biological body." Cameron also cited the Japanese cyberpunk manga and anime Ghost in the Shell , in terms of how humans can remotely control, and transfer their personalities into, alien bodies. The look of the Na'vi – the humanoids indigenous to Pandora — was inspired by a dream that Cameron's mother had, long before he started work on Avatar . In her dream, she saw
2940-429: Is initiated into the tribe, and they choose each other as mates. When Jake attempts to disable a bulldozer threatening a sacred Na'vi site, Administrator Parker Selfridge orders Hometree destroyed. Despite Grace's argument that destroying Hometree would damage the biological neural network that encompasses all Pandoran life, Selfridge gives Jake and Grace one hour to convince the Na'vi to evacuate. Jake confesses that he
3045-542: Is killed by Neytiri, who saves Jake from suffocation, seeing his human form for the first time. The RDA are expelled from Pandora; only some humans are chosen to stay. Jake is permanently transferred into his avatar with the aid of the Tree of Souls. Additionally, Alicia Vela-Bailey appears, uncredited, as Ikeyni, the leader of the Tayrangi clan, Saeyla, one of the young Na'vi hunters who accompany Jake during his Iknimaya and
3150-398: Is no need for repeated camera and lighting setups, costume fittings and make-up touch-ups, scenes do not need to be interrupted repeatedly. Cameron described the system as a "form of pure creation where if you want to move a tree or a mountain or the sky or change the time of day, you have complete control over the elements". Cameron gave fellow directors Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson
3255-460: Is not just represented by the RDA [...] Just like you’re defined by the choices you make in life, not all humans are bad. Not all Na’vi are good. And that’s the case here on Earth. And we want to expose Neytiri to that." In 2022, Cameron revealed that he also has plans for a potential sixth and seventh film and would make them if there was demand. However, he also noted that he would be 89 years old by
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3360-637: Is primarily an action-adventure journey of self-discovery, in the context of imperialism , and deep ecology . Cameron said his inspiration was "every single science fiction book I read as a kid" and that he wanted to update the style of Edgar Rice Burroughs ' John Carter series. He acknowledged that Avatar shares themes with the films At Play in the Fields of the Lord , The Emerald Forest , and Princess Mononoke , which feature clashes between cultures and civilizations, and with Dances with Wolves , where
3465-463: Is recruited by the RDA to replace his deceased identical twin , who had signed up to be an operator. Avatar Program head Dr. Grace Augustine considers Jake inadequate, but accepts him as an operator. While escorting the avatars of Grace and Dr. Norm Spellman, Jake's avatar is attacked by Pandoran wildlife and flees into the forest, where he is rescued by the Na'vi princess Neytiri . Suspicious of Jake, she takes him to her clan. Neytiri's mother, Mo'at,
3570-404: Is scheduled to be released on December 21, 2029, by 20th Century Studios . Like its predecessors, the film was subject to multiple delays (this time it consisted of five delays) since the crew took more time on the writing, pre-production and visual effects process. In April 2017, a release date of December 20, 2024 was announced, with the recurring sequel releasing on December 19, 2025. Following
3675-485: Is that the word epic refers not to the cost or the elaborate production, but to the size of the ideas and vision. Werner Herzog's Aguirre: The Wrath of God didn't cost as much as the catering in Pearl Harbor , but it is an epic, and Pearl Harbor is not. The epic is among the oldest of film genres, with one early notable example being Giovanni Pastrone 's Cabiria , a two-and-a-half hour silent film about
3780-534: The Noble Clyde Boudreaux oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico during June 2007. They photographed, measured and filmed every aspect of the platform, which was later replicated on-screen with photorealistic CGI during post-production. Cameron said that he wanted to make "something that has this spoonful of sugar of all the action and the adventure and all that" but also have a conscience "that maybe in
3885-577: The 2023 Writers Guild of America strike , pushing the film to December 21, 2029. Avatar 4 and its forthcoming sequels will be released in Dolby Vision . A fifth film has been announced and is scheduled for December 19, 2031. Cameron stated in an interview with ABC News Australia that he is uncertain whether he will direct the fifth film. According to Landau, part of Avatar 5 will take place on earth and "open people’s eyes, open Neytiri’s eyes, to what exists on Earth ". Landau also said "Earth
3990-483: The Alpha Centauri star system, in order to mine the valuable unobtanium , a room-temperature superconductor mineral. The expansion of the mining colony threatens the continued existence of a local tribe of Na'vi , a humanoid species indigenous to Pandora. The title of the film refers to a genetically engineered Na'vi body operated from the brain of a remotely located human that is used to interact with
4095-515: The John Carter and Tarzan stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs and other adventure stories by Rudyard Kipling and H. Rider Haggard . In a 2007 interview with Time magazine, Cameron was asked about the meaning of the term Avatar , to which he replied, "It's an incarnation of one of the Hindu gods taking a flesh form. In this film what that means is that the human technology in the future
4200-564: The Punic Wars , which laid the groundwork for the subsequent silent epics of D. W. Griffith . The genre reached a peak of popularity in the early 1960s, when Hollywood frequently collaborated with foreign film studios (such as Rome's Cinecittà ) to use relatively exotic locations in Spain, Morocco and elsewhere for the production of epic films such as El Cid (1961) or Lawrence of Arabia (1962). The genre soon spread to other regions of
4305-530: The karst limestone formations in China." According to production designer Dylan Cole, the fictional floating rocks were inspired by Huangshan (also known as Yellow Mountain), Guilin , Zhangjiajie , among others around the world. Cameron had noted the influence of the Chinese peaks on the design of the floating mountains. To create the interiors of the human mining colony on Pandora, production designers visited
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4410-643: The "epic" film, encompassing such examples as Ben-Hur , Gone with the Wind and more recently, 300 and the Star Wars films [...] none of these comes from literary epics per se , and there is little that links them with one another. Among those who espouse film genre studies, epic is one of the most despised and ignored genres". Finally, although the American Movie Channel formally defines epic films as historical films, they nonetheless state
4515-653: The Americas ), his life experiences and several of his unproduced projects, Cameron drew connections between Avatar and his previous films. He cited his script and concept art for Xenogenesis , partially produced as a short film, as being the basis for many of the ideas and visual designs in Avatar . He stated that Avatar 's "concepts of a world mind, intelligence within nature, the idea of projecting force or consciousness using an avatar, colonization of alien planets, greedy corporate interests backed up by military force,
4620-461: The Na'vi's trust by connecting his mind to that of the Toruk , a dragon-like creature feared and revered by the Na'vi. Supported by Neytiri and the new chief Tsu'tey, Jake unites the clan, telling them to gather all the clans to battle the RDA. Quaritch organizes a strike against the Tree of Souls to demoralize the Na'vi. Before the battle, Jake prays to the Na'vi deity Eywa via a neural connection with
4725-462: The Net by Bruce Sterling . The idea of a "world mind" originated in the novel Solaris by Stanislaw Lem . Cameron mentioned several other films about people interacting with "indigenous cultures" as inspiring him, including Dances with Wolves , The Man Who Would Be King , The Mission , The Emerald Forest , Medicine Man , The Jungle Book and FernGully . He also cited as inspiration
4830-457: The Tree of Souls. Tsu'tey and Trudy are among the battle's heavy casualties. The Na'vi are rescued when Pandoran wildlife unexpectedly join the attack and overwhelm the humans, which Neytiri interprets as Eywa answering Jake's prayer. Quaritch, in an AMP suit , escapes his crashed aircraft and breaks open the avatar link unit containing Jake's human body, exposing it to Pandora's poisonous atmosphere. As Quaritch prepares to kill Jake's avatar, he
4935-592: The Wind is the highest-grossing film ever, with two other romantic epics ( Titanic and Doctor Zhivago ) also featuring among the global top ten. So far the most Academy Awards ever won by a single film stands at eleven. This feat has only been achieved by three films: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), all of which are above three hours long and considered epic films. The previous record holder
5040-454: The actors how to relate to the virtual material in the scene. Due to Cameron's personal convictions about climate change, he allowed only plant-based (vegan) food to be served on set. Eventually, Cameron stated that it was Jon Landau who was "the heart of the Avatar family" and "the center of gravity of our little bubble universe." A number of innovative visual effects techniques were used during production. According to Cameron, work on
5145-466: The animation software and managers, Pixar 's RenderMan and Pixar's Alfred queue management system . The render farm occupies the 193rd to 197th spots in the TOP500 list of the world's most powerful supercomputers . A new texturing and paint software system, called Mari, was developed by The Foundry in cooperation with Weta. Creating the Na'vi characters and the virtual world of Pandora required over
5250-562: The announcement of the three upcoming Star Wars films, in May 2019, the sequels' release dates were pushed back to two years, with Avatar 4 , being scheduled to be released on December 19, 2025. The release date was again deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic , and in August 2020, a new release of December 18, 2026 was announced. Another delay was announced on June 13, 2023, this time due to
5355-427: The appearance of...an alien life form...in order to bridge the cultural gap and build trust." Cameron also cited a number of works by other creators as "reference points and sources of inspiration" for Avatar . These include two of his "favorite" films, 2001: A Space Odyssey , where mankind experiences an evolution after meeting alien life, and Lawrence of Arabia , where "an outsider...encounters and immerses into
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#17327660976025460-532: The basis of their enormous scope and the sweeping panorama of their settings such as How the West Was Won or East of Eden that do not have the typical substance of classical epics but are directed in an epic style. When described as "epic" because of content, an epic movie is often set during a time of war or other societal crisis, while usually covering a longer span of time sometimes throughout entire generations coming and passing away, in terms of both
5565-558: The battle sequences. ILM was responsible for the visual effects for many of the film's specialized vehicles and devised a new way to make CGI explosions. Joe Letteri was the film's visual effects general supervisor. Composer James Horner scored the film, his third collaboration with Cameron after Aliens and Titanic . Horner recorded parts of the score with a small chorus singing in the alien language Na'vi in March 2008. He also worked with Wanda Bryant, an ethnomusicologist , to create
5670-450: The biggest job I have undertaken." Horner composed the score as two different scores merged into one. He first created a score that reflected the Na'vi way of sound and then combined it with a separate "traditional" score to drive the film. British singer Leona Lewis was chosen to sing the theme song for the film, called " I See You ". An accompanying music video, directed by Jake Nava , premiered December 15, 2009, on MySpace. Avatar
5775-503: The cast to the Hawaiian tropical rainforests to get a feel for a rainforest setting before shooting on the soundstage. During filming, Cameron made use of his virtual camera system , a new way of directing motion-capture filmmaking. The system shows the actors' virtual counterparts in their digital surroundings in real time, allowing the director to adjust and direct scenes just as if shooting live action. According to Cameron, "It's like
5880-455: The clan's spiritual leader, orders her daughter to initiate Jake into their society. Colonel Miles Quaritch , head of RDA's security force, promises Jake that the company will restore the use of his legs if he provides information about the Na'vi and their gathering place, the giant Hometree , under which is a rich deposit of unobtanium. Learning of this, Grace transfers herself, Jake, and Norm to an outpost. Jake and Neytiri fall in love as Jake
5985-506: The competing communities." Cameron described Neytiri as his "Pocahontas", saying that his plotline followed the historical story of a "white outsider [who] falls in love with the chief's daughter, who becomes his guide to the tribe and to their special bond with nature." Cameron felt that whether or not the Jake and Neytiri love story would be perceived as believable partially hinged on the physical attractiveness of Neytiri's alien appearance, which
6090-427: The creation of the computer-generated characters Gollum , King Kong , and Davy Jones . Cameron had chosen Avatar over his project Battle Angel after completing a five-day camera test in the previous year. From January to April 2006, Cameron worked on the script and developed a culture for the Na'vi, the film's aliens. The Na'vi language was created by Paul Frommer , a linguist at USC . The Na'vi language has
6195-430: The enjoying of it makes you think a little bit about the way you interact with nature and your fellow man". He added that "the Na'vi represent something that is our higher selves, or our aspirational selves, what we would like to think we are" and that even though there are good humans within the film, the humans "represent what we know to be the parts of ourselves that are trashing our world and maybe condemning ourselves to
6300-449: The epic film may be combined with the genre of science-fiction and cite Star Wars as an example. Stylistically, films classed as epic usually employ spectacular settings and specially designed costumes, often accompanied by a sweeping musical score, and an ensemble cast of bankable stars . Epics are usually among the most expensive of films to produce. They often use on-location filming, authentic period costumes , and action scenes on
6405-426: The epic is often credited to their ability to appeal to a wide audience. Several of the highest-grossing films of all-time have been epics. James Cameron 's 1997 film Titanic , which is cited as helping to revive the genre, grossed $ 1.8 billion at cinemas worldwide to become the highest-grossing film—a record it held for twelve years. If inflation is taken into account, then the historical romantic epic Gone with
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#17327660976026510-402: The events depicted and the running time of the film. Such films usually have a historical setting, although speculative fiction (i.e. fantasy or science fiction ) settings have become common in recent decades. The central conflict of the film is usually seen as having far-reaching effects, often changing the course of history. The main characters' actions are often central to the resolution of
6615-567: The film "resembled the Manhattan Project ... making up new physics as we went along. Mastering a brand new methodology to tell stories." Cameron also acknowledged that it was actually film co-producer Jon Landau who was "the heart of the Avatar family." The first photo of the film was released on August 14, 2009, and Empire released exclusive images from the film in its October issue. Cameron, producer Jon Landau , Zoe Saldana , Stephen Lang , and Sigourney Weaver appeared at
6720-436: The film also led to electronics manufacturers releasing 3D televisions and caused 3D films to increase in popularity. Its success led to the Avatar franchise , which includes the sequels Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025), Avatar 4 (2029), and Avatar 5 (2031). In 2154, Earth suffers from resource exhaustion and ecological collapse. The Resources Development Administration (RDA) mines
6825-602: The film as a hybrid with a full live-action shoot in combination with computer-generated characters and live environments. "Ideally at the end of the day the audience has no idea which they're looking at," Cameron said. The director indicated that he had already worked four months on nonprincipal scenes for the film. The live action was shot with a modified version of the proprietary digital 3D Fusion Camera System , developed by Cameron and Vince Pace. In January 2007, Fox had announced that 3D filming for Avatar would be done at 24 frames per second, despite Cameron's strong opinion that
6930-450: The film had been delayed since the 1990s to allow the techniques to reach the necessary degree of advancement to adequately portray his vision of the film. The director planned to make use of photorealistic computer-generated characters, created using new motion capture animation technologies he had been developing in the 14 months leading up to December 2006. Innovations include a new system for lighting massive areas like Pandora's jungle,
7035-549: The film premiered live on November 1, 2009, during a Dallas Cowboys football game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on the Diamond Vision screen, one of the world's largest video displays, and to TV audiences viewing the game on Fox . It is said to be the largest live motion picture trailer viewing in history. The Coca-Cola Company collaborated with Fox to launch a worldwide marketing campaign to promote
7140-555: The film were also unveiled on this day. The 129-second trailer was released online on August 20, 2009. The new 210-second trailer was premiered in theaters on October 23, 2009, then soon after premiered online on Yahoo! on October 29, 2009, to positive reviews. An extended version in IMAX 3D received overwhelmingly positive reviews. The Hollywood Reporter said that audience expectations were colored by "the [same] establishment skepticism that preceded Titanic " and suggested
7245-426: The film's designs. Production design for the film took several years. The film had two different production designers, and two separate art departments, one of which focused on the flora and fauna of Pandora, and another that created human machines and human factors. In September 2006, Cameron was announced to be using his own Reality Camera System to film in 3D. The system would use two high-definition cameras in
7350-400: The film's production process and contains over 500 color photographs and illustrations. In a 2009 interview, Cameron said that he planned to write a novel version of Avatar after the film was released. In February 2010, producer Jon Landau stated that Cameron plans a prequel novel for Avatar that will "lead up to telling the story of the movie, but it would go into much more depth about all
7455-510: The film, reducing Fox's financial exposure to less than half of the film's official $ 237 million budget. After Fox accepted Avatar , one skeptical Fox executive told Cameron and Landau, "I don't know if we're crazier for letting you do this, or if you're crazier for thinking you can do this ..." In December 2006, Cameron described Avatar as "a futuristic tale set on a planet 200 years hence ... an old-fashioned jungle adventure with an environmental conscience [that] aspires to
7560-521: The film. Avatar: The Game was released on December 1, 2009, for most home video game consoles ( PlayStation 3 , Xbox 360 , Wii , Nintendo DS , iPhone ) and Microsoft Windows , and December 8 for PlayStation Portable . A second game, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora , was released on December 7, 2023. Mattel Toys announced in December 2009 that it would be introducing a line of Avatar action figures. Each action figure will be made with
7665-474: The film. The highlight of the campaign was the website AVTR.com. Specially marked bottles and cans of Coca-Cola Zero , when held in front of a webcam, enabled users to interact with the website's 3-D features using augmented reality (AR) technology. The film was heavily promoted in an episode of the Fox series Bones in the episode "The Gamer In The Grease" (Season 5, Episode 9). Avatar star Joel David Moore has
7770-496: The first two sequels. However, producer Jon Landau said in February 2019 that some motion capture scenes had been shot for Avatar 4 , at the same time as its two predecessors. Landau later declared that a third of Avatar 4 has already been filmed for "logistical reasons". Elaborating on shooting a portion of 4 during the production of 2 and 3, Cameron stated that "I had to shoot the kids out. They're allowed to age six years in
7875-477: The highest-grossing film since then. Adjusted for inflation, Avatar is the second-highest-grossing movie of all time, only behind Gone with the Wind , with a total of a little more than $ 3.5 billion. It also became the first film to gross more than $ 2 billion and the best-selling video title of 2010 in the United States . Avatar was nominated for nine awards at the 82nd Academy Awards , winning three, and received numerous other accolades . The success of
7980-407: The kitchen of Cameron's Malibu home. In July 2006, Cameron announced that he would film Avatar for a mid-2008 release and planned to begin principal photography with an established cast by February 2007. The following August, the visual effects studio Weta Digital signed on to help Cameron produce Avatar . Stan Winston , who had collaborated with Cameron in the past, joined Avatar to help with
8085-403: The love story between characters Jake and Neytiri, Cameron applied a star-crossed love theme, which he said was in the tradition of Romeo and Juliet . He acknowledged its similarity to the pairing of Jack and Rose from his film Titanic . An interviewer stated: "Both couples come from radically different cultures that are contemptuous of their relationship and are forced to choose sides between
8190-572: The main villain in all four films. In 2019, Michelle Yeoh joined the cast of the Avatar series in a live-action role as Dr. Karina Mogue. In August 2024, Cameron clarified that Yeoh will be appearing in the fourth and fifth films. Filming on all four sequels was supposed to begin simultaneously on September 25, 2017, in Manhattan Beach , California , but Cameron said that the filming on 4 and 5 would begin after post-production wrapped on
8295-445: The method allows the filmmakers to transfer 100% of the actors' physical performances to their digital counterparts. Besides the performance capture data which were transferred directly to the computers, numerous reference cameras gave the digital artists multiple angles of each performance. A technically challenging scene was near the end of the film when the computer-generated Neytiri held the live action Jake in human form, and attention
8400-491: The methods used by botanists to study and sample plants, and to discuss ways to explain the communication between Pandora's organisms depicted in the film. From 2005 to 2007, Cameron worked with a handful of designers, including famed fantasy illustrator Wayne Barlowe and renowned concept artist Jordu Schell , to shape the design of the Na'vi with paintings and physical sculptures when Cameron felt that 3D brush renderings were not capturing his vision, often working together in
8505-431: The middle of the story on page 25 of movie '4.' So I needed everything before then, and then everything after, we'll do later." In January 2024, Cameron said that he will not start filming the remainder of Avatar 4 until after the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash , which is scheduled for December 2025. In August 2021, Landau announced that Simon Franglen would compose the score for the Avatar sequels. Avatar 4
8610-600: The movie also came to him in a dream when he was 19 years old. He dreamed about a bioluminescent forest with fiber-optic trees, fan lizards, a river with bioluminescent particles and a purple moss that lit up when stepped on. When he woke up, he made a drawing of the scene and later used it in the movie. In August 1996, Cameron announced that after completing Titanic , he would film Avatar , which would make use of synthetic, or computer-generated , actors. The project would cost $ 100 million and involve at least six actors in leading roles "who appear to be real but do not exist in
8715-440: The natives of Pandora. Development of Avatar began in 1994, when James Cameron wrote an 80-page treatment for the film. Filming was supposed to take place after the completion of Cameron's 1997 film Titanic , for a planned release in 1999; however, according to Cameron, the necessary technology was not yet available to achieve his vision of the film. Work on the language of the Na'vi began in 2005, and Cameron began developing
8820-404: The physical world". Visual effects house Digital Domain , with whom Cameron has a partnership, joined the project, which was supposed to begin production in mid-1997 for a 1999 release. However, Cameron felt that the technology had not caught up with the story and vision that he intended to tell. He decided to concentrate on making documentaries and refining the technology for the next few years. It
8925-676: The poetic genre exemplified by such works as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the works of the Trojan War Cycle . In classical literature, epics are considered works focused on deeds or journeys of heroes upon which the fate of many people depends. Similarly, films described as "epic" typically take a historical character, or a mythic heroic figure. Common subjects of epics are royalty , gladiators , great military leaders, or leading personalities from various periods in world history. However, there are some films described as "epic" almost solely on
9030-442: The screenplay and fictional universe in early 2006. Avatar was officially budgeted at $ 237 million, due to the groundbreaking array of new visual effects Cameron achieved in cooperation with Weta Digital in Wellington . Other estimates put the cost at between $ 280 million and $ 310 million for production and at $ 150 million for promotion. The film made extensive use of new motion capture filming techniques and
9135-495: The showing reflected the desire for original storytelling. The teaser has been among the most viewed trailers in the history of film marketing, reaching the first place of all trailers viewed on Apple.com with 4 million views. On October 30, to celebrate the opening of the first 3-D cinema in Vietnam, Fox allowed Megastar Cinema to screen exclusive 16 minutes of Avatar to a number of press. The three-and-a-half-minute trailer of
9240-474: The societal conflict. In its classification of films by genre, the American Film Institute limits the genre to historical films such as Ben-Hur . However, film scholars such as Constantine Santas are willing to extend the label to science-fiction films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars . Lynn Ramey suggests that "Surely one of the hardest film genres to define is that of
9345-501: The stories that we didn't have time to deal with", saying that "Jim wants to write a novel that is a big, epic story that fills in a lot of things". In August 2013, it was announced that Cameron hired Steven Gould to pen four standalone novels to expand the Avatar universe. Cameron chose Ubisoft Montreal to create an Avatar game for the film in 2007. The filmmakers and game developers collaborated heavily, and Cameron decided to include some of Ubisoft's vehicle and creature designs in
9450-462: The story of a seemingly weaker group prevailing over a technologically superior force, and the good scientist were all established and recurrent themes" from his earlier films including Aliens , The Abyss , Rambo: First Blood Part II , The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day . He specifically mentioned the "water tentacle" in The Abyss as an example of an "avatar" that "takes on
9555-507: The valuable mineral unobtanium on Pandora , a lush habitable moon orbiting a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system. Pandora, whose atmosphere is inhospitable to humans, is inhabited by the Na'vi , 10-foot-tall (3.0 m), blue-skinned, sapient humanoids that live in harmony with nature . To explore Pandora, genetically matched human scientists control Na'vi-human hybrids called "avatars". Paraplegic former Marine Jake Sully
9660-627: The world, such as India where it's flourishing Bollywood industry produced the landmark Mughal-E Azam (1960), which is widely considered as one of the greatest films of all time and a milestone in Asian epics. This boom period of international co-productions is generally considered to have ended with Cleopatra (1963), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) and Doctor Zhivago (1965). Nevertheless, films in this genre continued to appear, with one notable example being War and Peace , which
9765-474: Was Gone with the Wind (1939), also an epic, with ten awards. Avatar 4 Avatar 4 is an upcoming American epic science fiction film co-written, co-edited, co-produced and directed by James Cameron . Distributed by 20th Century Studios , it will be the sequel to Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) and the fourth installment in the Avatar film series . Cameron, who had stated in 2006 that he would like to make sequels to Avatar (2009) if it
9870-431: Was a spy and the Na'vi take him and Grace captive. Quaritch's soldiers destroy Hometree, killing many, including Neytiri's father, the clan chief. Mo'at frees Jake and Grace, but they are detached from their avatars and imprisoned by Quaritch's forces. Pilot Trudy Chacón, disgusted by Quaritch's brutality, airlifts Jake, Grace, and Norm to Grace's outpost, but during the escape Grace is shot and fatally wounded. Jake regains
9975-545: Was announced that the New Zealand -based visual effects studio Weta Digital had commenced work on the Avatar sequels. Cameron stated that Avatar: The Tulkun Rider is being considered as a possible title for the film. In January 2023, Cameron confirmed that, with Avatar: The Way of Water being profitable, Avatar 4 and 5 will get made. Landau reported that the action of Avatar 4 will move from Pandora to Earth. Landau said that "There's over-population and
10080-435: Was created by Microsoft especially for Avatar , which allowed the crews to keep track of and coordinate all stages in the digital processing. To render Avatar , Weta used a 930 m (10,000 sq ft) server farm making use of 4,000 Hewlett-Packard servers with 35,000 processor cores with 104 terabytes of RAM and three petabytes of network area storage running Ubuntu Linux , Grid Engine cluster manager, and 2 of
10185-416: Was developed by considering her appeal to the all-male crew of artists. Although Cameron felt Jake and Neytiri do not fall in love right away, their portrayers ( Worthington and Saldana ) felt the characters did. Cameron said the two actors "had a great chemistry" during filming. For the film's floating "Hallelujah Mountains", the designers drew inspiration from "many different types of mountains, but mainly
10290-424: Was given to the details of the shadows and reflected light between them. The lead visual effects company was Weta Digital in Wellington , at one point employing 900 people to work on the film. Because of the huge amount of data which needed to be stored, cataloged and available for everybody involved, even on the other side of the world, a new cloud computing and Digital Asset Management (DAM) system named Gaia
10395-612: Was released for traditional viewing, 3D viewing (using the RealD 3D , Dolby 3D , XpanD 3D , and IMAX 3D formats), and 4D experiences (in selected South Korean theaters). The series also featured Cameron reunite with his Titanic co-producer Jon Landau , who he would later credit for having a prominent role in the film's production. Avatar premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on December 10, 2009, and
10500-506: Was released in the United States on December 18. The film received positive reviews from critics, who highly praised its groundbreaking visual effects, though the story received some criticism for being derivative. During its theatrical run, the film broke several box office records, including becoming the highest-grossing film of all time . In July 2019, this position was overtaken by Avengers: Endgame , but with subsequent re-releases, beginning with China in March 2021, it returned to becoming
10605-448: Was released in the former Soviet Union during 1967–1968. Epic films continue to be produced, although since the development of CGI they typically use computer effects instead of an actual cast of thousands. Since the 1950s, such films have regularly been shot with a wide aspect ratio for a more immersive and panoramic theatrical experience. Epic films were recognized in a montage at the 2006 Academy Awards . The enduring popularity of
10710-418: Was released on November 30, 2009, by Abrams Books . The book features detailed production artwork from the film, including production sketches, illustrations by Lisa Fitzpatrick, and film stills. Producer Jon Landau wrote the foreword, Cameron wrote the epilogue, and director Peter Jackson wrote the preface. In October 2010, Abrams Books also released The Making of Avatar , a 272-page book that detailed
10815-403: Was revealed in a Bloomberg BusinessWeek cover story that 20th Century Fox had fronted $ 10 million to Cameron to film a proof-of-concept clip for Avatar , which he showed to Fox executives in October 2005. In February 2006, Cameron revealed that his film Project 880 was "a retooled version of Avatar ", a film that he had tried to make years earlier, citing the technological advances in
10920-409: Was scheduled to last 31 days. More than a thousand people worked on the production. In preparation of the filming sequences, all of the actors underwent professional training specific to their characters such as archery, horseback riding, firearm use, and hand-to-hand combat. They received language and dialect training in the Na'vi language created for the film. Before shooting the film, Cameron also sent
11025-449: Was successful, announced the fourth and fifth films in late 2010. Producer Jon Landau revealed in February 2019 that a third of Avatar 4 had already been filmed. The film's theatrical release has been subject to five delays, with the latest occurring on June 13, 2023; it is scheduled for release on December 21, 2029. A sequel, Avatar 5 , is in development and is expected to be released on December 19, 2031. On July 31, 2017, it
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