'Avatar' Director Has 'Great Ideas' For Sequel, Sam Worthington Says

"I talk to [Cameron] all the time," Worthington said. "I talked to him last week. I think at the moment he's still doing the ['Avatar'] bible, the book, and I think the book will then inspire where he wants to take it," the "Clash of the Titans" star explained. "He's got great ideas; what he told me about, where he wants to set it, things he wants to explore. We'll probably talk next year, and then he can fill us in on where, personally, he wants to take it, where emotionally he wants to take it."

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Michelle Rodriguez wants 'Avatar 2' return

Michelle Rodriguez has hinted that she may return in James Cameron's ocean-set sequel to Avatar.

The actress played pilot Trudy Chacon in the first film, who died during the final battle. She told Total Film that she would like to work with Cameron again.

She said: "Jim Cameron can kill me anytime. It's a pleasure to die for him! But Jim'll tell you himself... in science fiction films nobody really dies".

"I would work with him in a heartbeat. He's so intelligent. He's like Yoda, man."


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James Cameron: "I'd love to just start on 'Avatar 2' right now"

According to Comingsoon, James Cameron spoke to press today at a special event to promote the November 16th release of the Avatar extended edition Blu-ray set. here's what Cameron had to say in regard to future adventures in the world Avatar, his rumored Cleopatra project and the upcoming television series based on his 1994 film, True Lies.

"Our plan right now is to do two and three as a single large production and release them a year apart," Cameron said, "In order to do that, we have to refine our technical processes beyond the end of where we were finishing 'Avatar' one a year ago. We need to future-proof ourselves out five or six years to the end of the third film."

Though Cameron's name has recently been brought up in connection with Cleopatra (with Angelina Jolie tentatively attached to star), Cameron announced that it was currently undetermined whether or not he'd come aboard that specific project. "I haven't made any decisions about that," were Cameron's exact words, "but here's a decision: I'm not going to work on a film between ['Avatar'] two and three. It's really a question of whether or not I do one between now and when we start two. We're evaluating how much of our techwork and how much of our facility work it's going to take. That's not decided as of right now. I'd love to just start on 'Avatar 2' right now, but I don't know if that's possible or if it makes sense to wait."

Avatar Deleted Scene: Future Earth Bar Brawl

Avatar Deleted Scene: Future Earth Bar Brawl

As you know by now, the November 16th release of Avatar Extended Collector’s Edition 3-disc set will include an extended length cut that’s sixteen minutes longer, plus documentaries, behind the scenes featurettes, artwork and over 45 minutes of deleted scenes. Part of the “extended length cut” is the deleted opening sequence which involved our introduction to Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) on Future Earth. We’ve seen glimpses of this sequence in trailers and the photo above, and 45 seconds of the scene premiered on the Spike 2010 Scream Awards. Watch the clip embedded after the jump.

Cameron: Titanic 3-D in 2012, Extended Avatar This Summer

If you kept your eyes on the box office the week before Alice in Wonderland hit theaters in IMAX 3-D, you saw Avatar take back the #1 box office spot the entire week leading up to Alice's release, not to mention that despite Disney's box office reign that weekend, nearby digital 3-D screens showing Avatar saw a decent increase in numbers, showing that there is still demand. So to counteract the money Fox might be losing, THR's Heat Vision reports that an extended cut of Avatar might head back to IMAX in late summer. In related news, Cameron says they're aiming for a 3-D theatrical re-release of Titanic sometime in 2012.

First, on Avatar's re-release, the main driving force seems to be money (obviously) as James Cameron told USA Today: "The word we’re getting back from exhibitors is we probably left a couple hundred million dollars on the table as a result." And Fox isn't going to let that much money go to waste, not when they have the highest grossing and most lucrative IMAX release ever at their fingertips with $127.1 million of its $712.5 million domestic haul coming from IMAX showings. Additionally, Avatar has done more than 80% of its domestic business in 3D theaters, which represented fewer than half of its runs. That's just crazy!

However, there is some artistic merit to the re-release considering the theatrical cut of Avatar was missing about 40 minutes of additional material that didn’t make the original cut, and Cameron said about 10-12 minutes of that footage could be quickly put through post-production and be ready to add to a director’s cut for a theatrical reissue or as an extra on the DVD release. Of course, around 10 minutes is all Cameron could add for an IMAX re-release considering the maximum length a movie that can be released in IMAX is 170 minutes and the current cut of Avatar comes in around 160 minutes. The summer re-release would follow the DVD premiere of Avatar in 2-D, which will happen as soon as next month and no later than May.

On the Titanic 3-D front, the hopeful re-release was brought up in the aforementioned interview with USA Today, where Cameron said the hope was to have the 3-D re-release of Titanic hit in the spring of 2012 in order to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the ship's doomed voyage. Cameron continues to criticize the mishandling of 3-D and how it's ruining the potential 3D has of making the moviegoing experience all the more magical. For example, he rags on all the studios converting nearly every last movie into 3-D:

"You know, everybody is an overnight expert. They think, 'what was the takeaway lessons from Avatar? Oh you should make more money with 3D.' They ignore the fact that we natively authored the film in 3-D, and decide that what we accomplished in several years of production could be done in an eight week (post-production 3-D) conversion with 'Clash of the Titans.' It's never going to be as good as if you shot it in 3-D, but think of it as sort of 2.8-D."

"If people put bad 3-D in the marketplace they're going to hold back or even threaten the emerging of 3-D. People will be confused by differences in quality. Because the audience doesn't know the difference — when they put on the glasses on, they don't know if the problem is in the glasses, the TV or the actual way in which the stereo space is managed by the producers of the film."

Despite the fact that I agree with the mishandling of 3-D by studios, I'm not so sure audiences can actually tell the difference between a film shot natively in 3-D and a film that's converted in post-production. Still, I wholeheartedly agree with Cameron that converting older films to 3-D — a la Titanic or the talks of the potential Star Wars 3-D conversions — should be left to the original filmmakers when possible. "I think it should be driven by the artist. If Star Wars gets converted into 3-D I think George (Lucas) should do it. If Terminator gets converted into 3-D, I should do it." So what are you waiting for, James? Get on it! Check out the rest of the lengthy interview with Cameron about Avatar, 3-D technology and more at USA Today.

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Fox mulling 'Avatar' summer re-release

Get ready for "Avatar"-plus.

James Cameron and Fox are in discussions about rereleasing "Avatar," primarily in 3D theaters, in late summer -- and, tantalizingly, with additional scenes that had been left on the cutting-room floor in the rush to ready the epic for its Dec. 18 release.

The impetus for a rerelease is the feeling that, even though "Avatar" is the highest-grossing movie of all time, producers could have raked in even more money had they been able to hold on to the digital and Imax 3D screens that were lost when Disney opened "Alice in Wonderland" in 3D on March 5.

As for how much additional footage Cameron might add to "Avatar," the guessing began early Thursday when Imax CEO Richard Gelfond said during a Gabelli & Co. investor conference in New York that Cameron had about 40 minutes of additional material that didn't make the theatrical cut. He also predicted a rerelease, which he said probably would occur in the fall.

Cameron had said that he had 10-12 minutes of extra scenes that he cut and could quickly put through postproduction and have ready to add to a director's cut for a theatrical reissue or as an extra on the DVD release. One scene has to do with Jake Sully's avatar proving himself to the Na'vi people; the other involves a native festival during which tribe member Tsu'tey gets drunk.

The maximum length a movie can be released in analog Imax theaters is 170 minutes -- a number Cameron was aware of when he made his original edit -- so he could add about 10 minutes to the 160-minute current run time and still be in all Imax locations. That seems more likely than trying to add as much as 40 minutes.

The week before "Alice" arrived, Fox's movie still was minting millions in 2,456 North American theaters, including 179 Imax sites. This week, it dropped to a theater count of 2,163, including 667 digital 3D and eight Imax 3D locations, resulting in a 41% week-over-week drop in grosses.

Through March 4, "Avatar" had grossed $127.1 million of its $712.5 million domestic haul in Imax theaters; this week's giant-screen take was $175,884.

"Avatar" has done more than 80% of its domestic business in 3D theaters, which represented fewer than half of its runs.

The film also has grossed $1.9 billion outside North America for a total of about $2.6 billion. It has helped expand 3D globally and broken records worldwide.

When "Avatar" was forced off Imax screens -- after the longest and most lucrative run in Imax history -- to accommodate "Alice," Fox saw increased grosses on nearby digital 3D screens, an indication that demand remains.

How much did the film leave behind? Cameron was in New York this week for a demonstration of 3D TV and told USA Today, "The word we're getting back from exhibitors is we probably left a couple hundred million dollars on the table as a result."

The summer rerelease would follow an expected home video premiere in 2D form, which will happen as soon as next month and no later than May. Fox has made no official announcement about a release date for the 2D DVD.

Cameron told USA Today there might be a Blu-ray Disc release of the 3D version for home use as early as the fall, but Fox studio sources indicate that is unlikely. They believe there won't be enough of an installed base of 3D TV sets to make that worthwhile and said it is more likely to come next year.

Cameron and Fox also are in discussions about one or two sequels to "Avatar" that would use many of the digital "assets" that were created for the original. There is no script or deal in place, but the filmmaker and studio have indicated that it is something they would like to do.

Georg Szalai in New York contributed to this report.

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'Avatar' Junkies Explain Their Fandom: 'It's A Spiritual Experience!'

When it comes to James Cameron's mega-hit, some Pandoraholics don't know when — or how — to call it quits

Box-office bean counters haven't had much time to sleep in the six weeks since the release of James Cameron's epic "Avatar." The potent combination of effusive word of mouth and critical praise helped the film glide right past "The Dark Knight" this past weekend to capture the #2 spot — behind Cameron's "Titanic" — on the list of all-time top-grossing domestic releases.

So who's driving these intergalactic numbers? While casual moviegoers certainly play a huge role, "Avatar" junkies make "Titanic" devotees look like a regional fan club. And these are by no means closet cases: Coaxing Pandoraholics to dish about the movie's merits requires as much prodding as asking Lady Gaga fans why they love her.

So how do you know when you're officially a Pandoraholic? Judging from conversations with MTV News and fan comments on Ain't It Cool News and the Vancouver Sun, losing count of how many times you've seen the film is probably a good start. "I've been to the theater nine times to watch 'Avatar' and a few of those trips were for multiple showings," a fan named Burt unapologetically gushed. "All told, I think I'm on number 16 or 17, but I lost count after 12! I can't say I love this movie, because that's just too weak of a description. Worship comes closer, but that's still a long way off!"

'Fessing up to multiple screenings of the sci-fi epic is no point of embarrassment for Pandoraholics, who look upon their "Avatar" ticket stubs as badges of honor. "I've seen the movie seven times, and won't be stopping there," professed Zoey, whose conspiracy theories about the Vatican's secret plan to subvert the juggernaut are alive and well. "It is a spiritual experience for me in ways I won't go into here."

And for the junkies who see no end to future screenings in sight, do they consider their time and money well spent? "It was like going on Space Mountain five times — it was an amazing feeling!" Some even said they have a goal in mind — a certain double-digit number they want to hit, presumably before "Avatar II: The Blue is Back" comes out.

Like music enthusiasts who follow their favorite bands to every far-flung show in order to understand every facet of the music, several Pandoraholics said they feel compelled to see the film in every form available. So whether it's 2-D, real 3-D, IMAX 3-D or varying the type of glasses (Dolby, linear polarized) worn, super-fans seem to be in agreement that one can't really see "Avatar" until one sees all of "Avatar."

Jeff Bock, box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations, attributes the unprecedented box office numbers in part to the movie's 3-D advantage, but he also dubs "the fanatic factor" to be the real driving force behind the film's money-making momentum. "The fact that the realm 'Avatar' creates is a world that begets further exploration is why fanatics flock to these kinds of films over and over. Simply put: they can't get enough of the blue stuff."

With reports that some fans experience withdrawal symptoms from living in their [spiritual] motherland, Pandora, Bock credits James Cameron "for creating a true blue blockbuster using Hollywood's most successful mythic paradigm: the fantasy film."

As Pandoraholics continue to send their message to Hollywood loud and clear, there's little question that the film has fast joined flicks like the "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter" series in spawning its own cult of rabid fans.

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