Omatikaya

Why we LOVE Avatar

2011-06-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

An eloquent young man, Preston Mitchell, the author of the article below, takes a position in defense of James Cameron's world of Pandora. A wonderful must-read for Avatar lover's who might find themselves, and the object of their desires, challenged. Enjoy....
--------------------------------

I’m gonna use some words to chime in on why I love Avatar so much. Sure, the strong minority who thinks it’s overrated really despises the legacy it’ll still have in 10 or 20 years but us Avatar lovers keep loving this movie because it’s a great experience for us. Sure, the story isn’t original but what is anymore? What is Toy Story but a series of buddy movies told with toys? What are superhero classics like Iron Man all but simple origin stories told with a title-specific superhero each time? What is Love Actually but a whole bunch of romantic comic subplots jumbled together in one film?
I love Avatar just as much as I love these aforementioned modern classics.
First off, the criticisms involving Pocahontas and Dances With Wolves are poorly cast. Pocahontas is mainly a love story where people from two different tribes meet and fall in love. Dances with Wolves is mainly a story about a soldier being exiled to a Civil War post where he finds an Indian tribe and befriends them. While Avatar shares elements with both of those stories, people tend to overlook that James Cameron took the inspirations from Lean’s cinematic masterpiece Lawrence of Arabia, works like John Carter of Mars, and Apocalypse Now. If you wanna debate me, look this up. He’s stated these in numerous interviews, and he even went back to his own well - borrowing from his own masterpieces Aliens and the Terminator films. Moreover, Dances with Wolves is every bit as derivative - borrowing from some of the same influences this does. What does that tell you?
Whether or not you’re tired of seeing this story is fine, just don’t knock the fans for finding this predictable story told well. This brings me to the experience of Avatar - which is what keeps us fans coming back to it again and again.
Cameron didn’t spend $300 billion trying to copy other people’s work solely for commerical success. He wanted to take his audience on an adventure throughout another world, and make a universal allegory for spirituality, militarism, and finding a world that’s radically different from where you came… but you belonged to all along. He made a film about Jake Sully’s journey and moral and physical challenges he faced exploring Pandora while finally finding himself assimilating to it. Avatar works for us because this is a story that anyone can identify with. And when you’re playing towards the masses with a science fiction film delivering a world as rich as Pandora - your core story needs to be simple for the audience. It’s a decades-old axiom that works for every blockbuster. Inception worked because at its core - it’s a heist thriller - despite the jibberjab going on about its original universe throwing off and confusing mainstream viewers at points. Avatar is no less entertaining and cerebral.
People continue to love this film despite its haters because everything around that unoriginal story is wholly original. The planet of Pandora is one so multi-faceted and clearly detailed that it speaks volumes to the work ethic Cameron put into making his true passion project. The very fact that Pandora orbits two moons and has substantially less gravity than Earth gives the planet a rich bioluminenscence that was utilized well by Cameron’s non-gimmicky 3D - which was more about exploring Pandora than exploiting its jumpier aspects for a cheap buck.
Plus, it’s a rare mainstream science fiction film that dared to get as close to science fact as possible; which I’ve verified with a lot of other science buffs in my high school (both teachers and straight-A students). Pandora’s biology is in part from the lack of an Earthly atmosphere - therefore much of its indigenous life is large monsters on the bottom of the surface and its tetrapod species - the Na’vi - are more closely related to these animals than their human counterparts. Above all else, the unobtainium that drives the plot all along is what keeps Pandora floating in space beside the moons. As you can see, the Avatar universe is one that looked and felt like one a decade in the making.
Most importantly, that story was a thrilling and entertaining one. Despite some of his dialogue coming off as corny, the incredible Stephen Lang delivered as Colonel Quaritch - easily one of my favorite villains in a sci-fi film. He’s nothing but a nasty, scheming militarist who believes in his duty at all costs - and I absolutely love every minute that guy chews up the scenery. In addition, the protagonists in the film gave solid performances as well, including the actors they chose for the Na’vi. We fell in love with Zoe Saldana earlier that year in Star Trek, but we all went goo-goo retarded for her here because they finally nailed the emotive eyes of the Na’vi - something that Robert Zemeckis could never quite achieve despite his experimentations with performance capture.
James Cameron made a thrilling adventure film that took its audience on a ride. People kept coming back to it again and again to relive this emotional yet gut-busting experience. It’s not some Dances with Wolves facismile or some racial nudging flick about while guilt - it’s the story of one man who finds his life reinvigorated by the planet he came to betray. And once we come to realize that this story is being told as a truly epic one - we’ve come to accept its epicness; not just in scope, but in pure heart and emotion.
Lastly, if you walked into this film or watched this film on home video waiting to be impressed… you watched it for all the wrong reasons. Great science fiction is about giving us riveting stories via something we’ve never seen before. I honestly don’t believe that Avatar being spoken of along with the likes of 2001, Aliens, The Thing, and The Matrix is a real stretch. All five of these films are life-changing science fiction that managed to be entertaining while offering us a whole new experience from a man whose explored places, environments, and oceans we only dreamed of trekking through as children.
That man is James Cameron. And I’ve loved every movie he’s done - including Avatar. I have no problem with you not liking Avatar, just make sure you check your own faves before you begin deriding on everyone elses. Thank you.

Original Post courtesy of Preston Mitchell, who runs a film critique blog as good as anything spewed by Roger or Ebert.

Check out his blog at: http://presdaddy.tumblr.com/post/6113733517/mad-love-for-avatar

Protect Uncontacted Tribes of the Rainforest

2011-02-05T12:09:00.000-08:00

http://www.uncontactedtribes.org/

The pictures were taken by the Brazilian government's Indian Affairs Department and released by the NGO Survival International as part of an effort to protect the tribe. They say that the tribe's survival is in serious jeopardy due to an influx of illegal loggers that may have pushed them across the border from neighboring Peru.

The photos show large vegetable gardens where the tribe grow fruit and vegetables; manioc, maize, sweet potato, pumpkin, peanuts, papaya, and bananas can all be identified. They also plant cotton which is spun and woven for skirts. The men have cotton waist bands and some have small head dresses. The men carry bows and arrows for hunting.

Survival's Director Stephen Corry said 'The illegal loggers will destroy this tribe. It's vital that the Peruvian government stop them before time runs out. The people in these photos are self-evidently healthy and thriving. What they need from us is their territory protected, so that they can make their own choices about their future.'

Learn more about the uncontacted tribes of Brazil

Learn more about the uncontacted tribes of Peru

more after the jump!

Questions and answers: uncontacted tribes

What are ‘undiscovered’ or ‘lost’ tribes?

This is empty sensationalism. It’s extremely unlikely there are any tribes whose existence is totally unknown to anyone else.

What do you mean by ‘uncontacted’?

Peoples who have no peaceful contact with anyone in the mainstream or dominant society. There are about 100 uncontacted tribes in the world.

Does that mean they have no contact with anyone else at all?

No. Everyone has neighbours, even when they’re some distance away, and they’ll know who they are. If it’s another tribe, perhaps also uncontacted, they may or may not have friendly relations with them.

Will they ever have been in contact?

In some cases, probably. Some may have been in touch with the colonist society in the past, even in past centuries, and then retreated from the violence which that brought. Some may once have been part of larger tribal groups, and split off and moved away, fleeing contact.
Some who now grow no crops, but rely purely on gathering wild foods, may have had vegetable gardens in the past. They may have stopped cultivating because of the need to flee the encroaching society.

So they aren’t necessarily living as they were in past centuries?

No one is. Some Amazonian groups even had guns, from intertribal trading, before they’d ever met a non-Indian. Most uncontacted tribes have used some metal tools, which they have found, stolen or traded with their neighbours, for many years or even generations. Uncontacted peoples in the Andaman Islands use bits of metal from old shipwrecks, and so forth. Sweet potato, the staple for some Polynesian tribes well before their contact with Europeans, in fact came from South America.

So are there any pristine societies?

All peoples are changing all the time and always have, including uncontacted tribes. Survival doesn’t talk about ‘pristine’ tribes or cultures. They are not backward or ‘Stone Age’, they just live differently.

How long have they lived there?

Generally, tribal peoples have lived on their lands for many generations if not millennia.

Some say reports of uncontacted tribes are faked.

Some ‘first contacts’ are acts for the benefit of tourists etc, but there are actually quite a lot of real uncontacted tribes. Sometimes, they are surprisingly close to people who’ve been in contact for decades, or longer.

What’s Survival position on going there?

No one should go to tribes which aren’t in regular contact with outsiders. It’s dangerous for everyone. We only publicize their rough location when it’s needed to protect their lands.

The Brazilians used to have ‘first contact’ expeditions. What’s Survival’s position?

Those leading such expeditions ended up regretting them. They believed that contact was necessary to save the Indians, but the tribe often ended up destroyed anyway. Enlightened thinking now is that the Indians must be left alone, and effort put into protecting them.

Isn’t flying over their lands contact of some sort?

This is sometimes necessary to check whether they’ve moved elsewhere, and whether their lands are being invaded. It can be important to draw attention to their existence, and even to prove it. It’s necessary when the focus is on saving them from destruction, but shouldn’t be done just for tourism.

But won’t seeing aeroplanes affect the tribes’ vision of the world?

As already stated, uncontacted tribes will have seen aeroplanes on numerous occasions. The idea that this damages their self-image and/or spiritual beliefs belongs in the realm of fiction, and is based on the false supposition that their cultures are fragile. Experience shows that such peoples are in fact robust and well able to adapt to outside goods – most have been doing so for a very long time. Tribal peoples are not destroyed when they get or see things from outside, but by violence and disease as their lands are invaded.

How do they react to overflights?

They hide or show hostility. They make it clear they want to be left alone.

But could this be because they don’t see the benefits of ‘our’ way of life? If they knew, might they want to join us?

They won’t get the chance. In reality, the future offered by the settler society is to ‘join’ at the lowest possible level – often as beggars and prostitutes. History proves that tribal peoples end up in a far worse state after contact, often dead.

Why are they threatened?

Outsiders want their land or its resources, for timber, mining, dam or road building, ranching, or settlement etc. Contact is usually violent and hostile, but the main killers are often common diseases (influenza, measles, etc.) to which the uncontacted people have no immunity and which often prove fatal.

What do they need?

Their lands to be protected.

Surely they can’t be left alone forever.

If the alternative is their destruction, why not? Whose choice should it be, theirs or ‘ours’? If a people chooses to make contact with wider society, they’ll find a way. If we think they’re human beings, then they have human rights. The problem is that the belief that they are primitive and incapable of deciding for themselves is still widespread.

Why is it important that they be allowed to survive?

Firstly, although small in number they are the most vulnerable peoples on the planet. If we care about human rights at all, we should surely care about the most endangered.
Secondly, their languages, knowledge of the plants and animals in their environment (including medicinal plants) and view of life are unique. They know things we don’t.
Thirdly, as the ‘most different’, they add enormously to the diversity of human life. If diversity in any sphere is important, this must be amongst the most valuable.

Isn’t this unrealistic romanticism?

It’s asserting peoples’ right to decide for themselves, rather than be destroyed at the hands of an invading society. No one thinks it’s ‘romantic’ to oppose colonialism, slavery, or apartheid etc.

James Cameron & Cirque de Soleil

2011-01-18T11:29:00.000-08:00

Cirque du Soleil, James Cameron (Titanic, Avatar), and Andrew Adamson (Shrek, The Chronicles of Narnia), in association with Reel FX Entertainment, announced today a partnership designed to develop and produce immersive theatrical 3D projects inspired by the unique creative universe of Cirque du Soleil.

Initiated by Cirque du Soleil, the new 3D motion picture experiences will combine the creative visions of Cameron and Adamson to capture and expand the live production experience to an art form beyond the imagination. The partnership brings together the best creative minds in 3D technology, creative storytelling and live performance.

The first project to stem from this partnership is currently in production. This first film includes original visuals and a story written by the project's director, Andrew Adamson. James Cameron will Executive Produce, and bring his unique 3D expertise to the project. Reel FX Entertainment, led by Ed Jones and Cary Granat, is the production partner along with Cirque du Soleil Images. Both Jones and Granat have worked previously with Cameron and Adamson. Aron Warner, Adamson's partner at Strange Weather Films, will also produce and is playing a key role in the project. Warner has also worked previously with Cameron.

The yet-to-be-named film is based on a very simple creative premise:

There are worlds beyond dreams, illusion and imagination, where human beings are capable of anything. Where love rules, and everything your heart yearns for is beautifully, incredibly real.

"Shooting with the Cirque du Soleil team has been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my professional life. For years I've been a fan, both of their celebration of human physical performance and for their wild imagination in the designs of characters, costumes, music and unparalleled theatrical staging. They've built a global brand, and it's a unique opportunity for me, and my 3D partner Vince Pace, to bring the Cirque du Soleil experience to a world wide audience through the magic of 3D cinema. The images we've been shooting are stunning, and I know Andrew Adamson will weave them into a transporting, dreamlike narrative which will mesmerize audiences of all ages, around the world," said James Cameron.

Andrew Adamson commented, "Cirque du Soleil has always inspired me with their window into the balance between beauty and danger; art and technology; gravity and unbelievable physical ability. Bringing that to the screen in 3D is a perfect synergy between an art form and a medium - a chance to offer the audience an entirely new experience - and the opportunity to do that with people at the top of their game, like Jim and Cirque du Soleil, is an incredible privilege."

"Unique and challenging creative endeavors are what we strive for at Cirque du Soleil. Working with James Cameron, who changed the 3D creative reality with Avatar, is a gift. Creating a new time of 3D offer is exciting and inspiring," notes Guy Laliberté, Founder, Cirque du Soleil.

"Ed and I have had the privilege to work with both Jim and Andrew in the past, and each time we have pushed the boundaries of storytelling. To be able to work with them along with the creative geniuses of Cirque du Soleil gives us the chance to push those creative boundaries even further," said Cary Granat, Principal, Reel FX Entertainment.

Article Courtesy of ComingSoon:

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=72284

Personally, I think it would much more fun, interesting, beautiful and captivating if they made a Cirque de Soleil themed after Avatar and the Na'vi. It wouldn't have to have the same story as Avatar, but it would be amazing to see acrobats doing all of those beautiful stunts as Na'vi! Don't you think?

From Pandora to Earth!

2011-01-04T11:24:00.000-08:00

The message of James Cameron’s Avatar is unapologetically green. “All life on Earth is connected,” the director told in his interview.... "that we have taken from nature without giving back, and the time to pay the piper is coming.” But Cameron took from nature, too. If the lush, alien jungles of Avatar feel eerily familiar, that’s because the director rooted them close to home. His muse for Avatar’s fictional moon, Pandora, and its wildly fantastical creatures, plants and landscapes was the planet Earth.

In May of 2005, before the film was greenlit by 20th Century Fox, a four-man team of designers began secretly creating Pandora in Cameron’s home in Malibu, Calif. The director gave them National Geographic photos, botany books and nature documentaries for reference. Says Neville Page, a concept artist and creature designer behind much of Pandora’s spectacle: “The best we could do was try to capture what nature has done so perfectly and expand on it.”

MORE after the jump!

On Pandora: Woodsprites

The Na’vi, Pandora’s blue inhabitants, consider these glowing, floating seeds sacred. They come from the giant, willow-like Tree of Souls, which connects to all living things on Pandora and directly to the Na’vi deity, Eywa. The seeds are not just blowing in the breeze, they’re traveling with spiritual purpose.

On Earth: Deep-Sea Jellyfish

The woodsprites’ pulsating, almost hypnotic movement mimics the motion of deep-sea jellyfish, which Cameron saw while filming his underwater documentaries. But when Cameron first painted his woodsprites in the 1970s, he modeled them on the seed-bearing parachute of the dandelion weed. Back then he called them “dandelion things.”

On Pandora: Thanator

Even the Na’vi don’t mess with this rainforest predator, which inspired Sigourney Weaver’s character to yell, “Run! Definitely, run!” The Thanator has armored black skin, a massive head covered with red and yellow quills, and — lest you mistake it for a friend — 9-inch teeth.

On Earth: Black Panther

The Thanator owes its big, bad, toothy blackness to another forest-dwelling carnivore, the black panther, the melanistic wildcats found in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Its unusual armored skin comes from the insect world — it is hard, but pliable, like the chitinous texture of a caterpillar’s cocoon.

On Pandora: Mountain Banshee

The Na’vi ride the brightly colored, dragon-like banshees — so called for their piercing cry — through the mountaintops of Pandora. Banshees have four feathered wings with a 45-foot span. Each animal bonds with one Na’vi warrior in its lifetime, connecting with its rider through a bundle of nerve fibers called a queue.

On Earth: Archaeopteryx

Sometimes known as the “first bird,” the Jurassic-era Archaeopteryx was a major source of inspiration for the flying creatures in Avatar, including the banshee. The ancient creature is thought to be a transitional species between dinosaur and bird, since it has characteristics of both. In 2009, four years after the initial designs were made, a prehistoric bird fossil was found in China with four feathered wings, just as the banshee has.

On Pandora: Helicoradian

The spiraled orange leaf responds to touch by coiling up and sinking into the ground to avoid being eaten. The helicoradian is one of many kinds of zooplantae — part animal and part plant, or “planimals” — on Pandora.

On Earth: Christmas Tree Worm

These multicolored, cone-shaped worms live in the coral reefs of the world’s tropical oceans, where Cameron saw them while scuba diving. Like the helicoradian, Christmas tree worms are sensitive to movement and retract when touched.

On Pandora: Viperwolf

These six-legged, canine-like jungle predators move in packs and slink to the ground or climb up in trees when stalking their prey. Most creatures on Pandora are fierce or powerful — the closest Cameron got to cute and cuddly was his viperwolf pups.

On Earth: Mink

The lean body and graceful motion of the mink served as inspiration for the viperwolves. The minks’ movement — creeping so low as to almost disappear while hunting — was mimicked in the scene in which a group of viperwolves circle Sam Worthington’s character, Jake, in the forest.

On Pandora: Hallelujah Mountains

Pieces of these mist-covered, mesa-like mountains rip loose and float in the sky, like icebergs in the ocean. Waterfalls flow from the peaks, and straggly vines and ferns dangle off the sides. The humans in Avatar coined these the “Hallelujah Mountains” because they’re a source of unobtainium, a mineral sought after as a solution to Earth’s energy crisis.

On Earth: China’s Huangshan

Like the Hallelujahs, the peculiarly jutting granite peaks of Huangshan in Eastern China’s Anhui Province are often shrouded in clouds. In this case, art followed reality, which then followed art: Officials in a separate area of China, in Hunan province’s Zhangjiajie, renamed one of their craggy peaks the “Avatar Hallelujah Mountain” to appeal to tourists.

On Pandora: Prolemuris

This herbivorous monkey-like tree-dweller has two bifurcated limbs, which it uses to swing from branch to branch. Many of the animals on Pandora are hexapedal (they have six limbs), while the Na’vi have four — two legs and two arms. With its bifurcated arms, the prolemuris serves as an evolutionary link between the four-limbed Na’vi and the lower six-limbed species.

On Earth: Ida, a Missing Link

The prolemuris was designed as a transitional life form, an idea borrowed from evolution. Scientists point to transitional fossils or “missing links” to illustrate an evolutionary change. One such link is “Ida,” a 47-million-year-old primate fossil found in Germany that bridges higher primates with lemurs. Though Ida has a skeleton like a lemur, she has opposable thumbs, like apes and humans.

On Pandora: Direhorse

The Na’vi ride these calm, powerful, six-legged creatures, connecting with them through the queue. Direhorses grow to more than 13 feet in height, have a tough, plated hide and a long snout for drinking sap from Pandoran flora.

On Earth: Clydesdale

Clydesdales, with their massive scale and strength, helped inspire the Direhorse. Designers also referenced the arched neck of Arabian horses and the gymnastic abilities of the Lipizanner breed. And how can one not notice the obvious head reference to anteaters?

On Pandora: Hammerhead Titanothere

Twice the size of an African elephant, this herbivore has a massive, flat head, which it lowers when angry and ready to charge. When it wants to avoid a fight, the hammerhead raises a fan of brightly colored feathers on its head and roars.

On Earth: Hammerhead Shark

The shape of the hammerhead titanothere’s head mimics the flat, laterally distended head of a hammerhead shark. Its large body and herbivorous diet are modeled on titanotheres, a family of extinct mammals related to rhinoceroses and horses.

On Pandora: Neural Network

The trees on Pandora are connected by an electrochemical link that every living organism can access. A kind of organic superbrain, this neural network has 480 million more connections than the human brain. This is what the Na’vi consider their deity, Eywa.

On Earth: Rat Dendrites

Pandora’s neural network is conceptually Cameron’s loftiest creation in Avatar. But visually, its model is a lot more humble — rat brains. The energy branches on Pandora connect to each other like the axons and dendrites of rat neurons.

Living Root Bridges of India

In what’s a beautiful example of using nature without destroying it, a region in India (one of the wettest in the world) has over hundreds of years “grown” bridges. Using the secondary roots of a rubber tree called Ficus elastica, villagers have trained them into crossing rivers and creating a “living” bridge. As expected, the bridges take some 10-15 years to become usable. As a testament to their strength over time, however, some in the region are over 500 years old and capable of supporting 50 or more people at once.

Glowing Mushrooms of Japan and Brazil

While Pandora has its fair share of animals that glow, it's the flora that really stands out after the sun goes down. Earth definitely does not have the same flair (unless you're on the Vegas Strip) but there are 71 glowing mushroom species that would beg to differ. One in paritulcar, found in the forests of Japan and Brazil, is called the Mycena chlorophos. They emerge during the rainy season, causing the floor to glow with spores. The light show generally happens in the late summer months -- but while there are tours offered in Japan, the mushrooms only do really well where, not surprisingly, there are no people to disturb them. Scientists still aren't sure why exactly the mushrooms evolved to glow at night -- but we're hoping it's a trend that takes off with other plants and animals.

Wulingyuan Scenic Zone, Hunan Province, China

While we can only speculate as to the inspiration of most on our list in creating Pandora, we know for a fact that the Wulingyuan Scenic Zone in China played a big role.
Hollywood photographers spent four days in 2008 taking photos of the mountains there -- and 25 minutes of the film was actually shot in the region. The park, a World Natural Heritage site, provided the inspiration for the floating mountains in the film. It covers some 266 square miles and is said to be 'The ampliative miniascape and the contractible fairyland'

Glow Worm Caves of New Zealand/Australia

In certain part of New Zealand and Australia, travel underground and suddenly it appears as if the night sky has followed you. Thanks to the Arachnocampa, more commonly called the "glow worm", cave ceilings are turned into stunning bioluminescent points of light. Granted, they're not actually worms, but larvae of the gnat fly. They spin a nest of silk on the cave ceiling and then hang down as many as 70 threads with drops of mucus (yum!) attached to snare prey. The larva all glow (even more brightly if they haven't eaten in a bit) to lure victims to the threads. Incredibly, nearly 100% of the energy input is turned into light (compared to the best light-emitting diodes at just 22%).

The Waterfalls of Havasupai

One look at the opalescent waters of the falls of Havasupai in the Grand Canyon, and it's easy to see why they look like something straight out of Avatar. The mineral rich water tumbles over five major waterfalls - all of which are subject to change from massive floods that sweep down the canyon. Havasu Falls (pictured) plunges over 120 feet into a pool of blue-green waters and is one of the most photographed waterfalls in the world. Hiking to the falls can be a bit tricky (covering some 8-10 miles and descending 3,000 vertica feet), but campgrounds, supplies, and other facilities are provided by the Havasupai. This Native American tribe has existed in the Canyon for over 800 years.

To learn more about the Havasupai Waterfalls -- and the the people that protect them -- jump here.

Aurora Borealis

One of the most visually arresting aspects of Avatar can be seen in the depiction of the night time sky as a pulsing, undulating otherworldly organism, generating extraordinarily vibrant tones that alternately dance and melt into the distance, giving way to new waves of synergistic and impossibly seductive color. While it’s effortless to get swept away in the sheer cinematic majesty of it all, we are profoundly fortunate to be able to witness this type of naturally occurring light display with our own eyes – all we have to do is travel to a polar region! Hmmm, on second thought, that might not be so easy after all. According to countless scientists, photos of this glowing, upper atmospheric light show simply don’t do it proper justice -- guess you really just have to be there. Born out of photon emissions that interact in the upper atmosphere with magnetic energy and solar wind particles, a resulting ray or curtain like effect can be seen which is equally as magical as it is breathtaking. Best detected at midnight in a very dark, clear sky, residents in Yukon, Manitoba, Fairbanks, Norway and Iceland have the best chance of experiencing nature’s original laser light show, but during particularly strong periods of auroral activity, sky gazers in Scotland, St. Petersburg, Vancouver (BC) and even Michigan and South Dakota can also get lucky. For the rest of us, we can take comfort in the knowledge that we’ll always have Cameron’s celluloid version – accented with mysteriously alien bioluminescent creatures -- to keep our memories warm at night.

Borneo's Flying Animal Species

Suspending one’s belief while at the movies is often an absolute requirement, and yet Cameron’s cast of creature characters – from muscle-bound Dire Horses and armored Thanators to swift Viperwolves and massively intimidating Hammerhead Titanotheres – is actually somewhat easy to get accustomed to since they’re just slightly exaggerated versions of what really have or continue to exist on our planet. Of course, if the average person witnessed anything other than a bird flying through the air in real life, they might begin to question their sanity. Deep in Borneo’s woody, dense forests however, there are so many flying or “gliding” species – including careening snakes, flying frogs and soaring dragon lizards -- that scientists think evolution plays a greater role in this seemingly curious coincidence. Boasting a far higher tree height than comparable tropical regions, some theorize that Borneo’s many creatures choose to hang glide from tree to tree in an effort to navigate more effectively. Others are convinced that food sources – which are challenging to find on the rarely fruiting tree tops – have prompted adaptation to kick in via a quick and easy mode of travel. By gliding though air with the greatest of ease, 60 different species can cover more ground without actually touching the ground – a huge bonus in terms of exercising an effective survival strategy that they can take to the bank. Pandora’s mountain banshees would likely approve.

Bird of Paradise

Bonding with a birdlike reptilian banshee proves to be no small feat for Jake Sully’s avatar form, who soon finds that he has his work cut out for him. The domestication process begins with him bucking like a bronco on his hand-picked red Toruk, but before long, Sully is able to successfully connect via its neural interface, enabling him to leverage the leviathan quite like that of a jet soaring effortlessly through the sky. One can easily see the visual parallel between Avatar’s vividly painted flying creatures and their real life doppelgangers, found almost exclusively in the New Guinea region. Sporting outstanding plumage, head fans and breast shields in a vast array of rainbow combinations, Birds of Paradise thrive in dense rainforest, moss and swamp habitat, favoring the edible fruit and insect treats that they can locate high up in the canopy. Noted for their highly ritualized and elaborated mating displays which last for hours on end, perhaps humans could learn a thing or two from their distinctive brand of “bird play”. Not surprisingly, their dapper looks have long made them the target of skin hunters anxious to cash in, resulting in the decimation of extensive populations. Considering the underlying current of exploitation being played out on Pandora, it seems as though these birds could certainly relate.

The Alien Plantscape of the Yemeni Island of Socotra

Much of the visual allure of Avatar can be found deep in the bioluminescent Pandorum jungle where whimsical floating seeds of Eywa share close quarters with the prehistoric yet Dr. Seussian landscaping. A veritable feast for the eyes, this bizarre backdrop -- conjured up by the imaginative mind of director James Cameron -- isn’t as far-fetched as one might imagine. Far from the heart of civilization as we know it exists an isolated archipelago found in the middle of the Arabian Sea, referred to as “the jewel of biodiversity” due to the fact that 1/3 of its plant species can be found nowhere else on the planet. Socotra (or Soqotra) is notable for its spectacularly unique native flora, reminiscent of the entirely indigenous pockets of life found in the Galapagos – such unusual plants are presumed to exist today largely due to the extreme isolation of the landmass coupled with unique conditions of drought and heat. Scientists think that the alien landscape, consisting of pink flowered elephant trunk Adenium socotranum trees and Dragon’s Blood Dracaena cinnabari trees (among many others), boasts actual botanicals that existed in ancient times. Once Socotra separated from the super-continent of Gondwana approximately 500+ million years ago, the tectonically isolated region was able to carry with it a diverse array of 825 plants, some of which suspiciously resemble what is depicted in Avatar. Of course, there is no better form of flattery than imitating that which Mother Nature created.

Venezuela's Tepui

Venezuela is apparently harboring more than just one solitary Avatar-like dreamscape. The film’s floating Pandoran mountains appear to be a dead ringer for this towering, mile-high flat-topped mountain punctuated with hundreds of free-flowing water falls and seemingly symbiotic cotton-candy like clouds. Otherwise known as Mount Roraima, this 9,219 foot structure is ensconced amid emerald green tropical plants and rainbow bromeliads that peek out from behind jutting yet sculpturally aesthetic quartz sandstone. Those who favor mythical tales involving spiritually enlightened natives living in harmony with magical plants and flying dragons might prefer the alternative name given to this two billion year old geological formation – The Lost World, after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1912 novel. Due to its remote location far from the prying eyes and hands of the developed world, a diverse range of animal and plant species – completely unique to that area – have been able to flourish, including exotic-looking “carrot” formations as well as bell and pitcher-shaped flowers. Clearly, the Na'vi would feel right at home.

It's also worth nothing that the mysterious world of Pixar's "UP" was based on Venezuela's Tepuis.

Angel Falls

Reminiscent of the location where Jake Sully and Neytiri initially approach the dragon/bird hybrid Banshees and, together, take flight, Angel Falls – named after the first American aviator Jimmie Angel who soared across the 3,212 foot-tall natural phenomenon back in 1937 – is the pride and joy of Venezuela’s Canapa National Park. Referred to by indigenous people as “waterfall of the deepest place” or Kerepakupai meru, this spectacular wall of cascading rapids is located deep inside the jungle, just as Cameron’s Na'vi are. Earning the distinction of being the world’s tallest waterfall, it is commonly considered one of the eight natural wonders that every human being should make a point of seeing before they pass on. From its wispy atomized waters that dissipate in a lingering fog across the sky to the rainbow that is created when sun rays interact with perpetual sprays of moisture droplets, Angel Falls is not surprisingly a major tourist attraction made even more desirable given the fact that it is so challenging to reach. One of Mother Nature’s greatest treasures, this dramatic waterfall -- offering a dose of eye-candy in stark contrast to the sprawling backdrop of lush, tropical rainforests, grasslands and mesas – could easily be the secret real life twin of Avatar’s mythical Pandora settlement.

Bioluminescent Bay, Vieques, Puerto Rico

Glow in the dark water? Is this for real?? If you travel to Vieques, Puerto Rico, the answer is a resounding yes! yes! yes! Thanks to the fortuitous trio of luminescent waters called La Parguera, Mosquito Bay and Fajardo, the undoubtedly surreal experience of wading in up to 160,000 microscopic dinoflagellates per liter can be yours. Say what? That’s right – just as Pandora’s diverse microcosm of otherworldly species were able to thrive in an unspoiled world, so too have Puerto Rico’s most miniscule residents for hundreds of years. This visual marvel was first witnessed by Spanish colonists in the early 1500s and they were so troubled by the sight – mistakenly attributing it to “El Diablo” or the Devil – which they purposely segregated the “tainted” water from the rest of the ocean by installing a massive man-made border constructed out of boulders. While this great effort put their minds at ease, they inadvertently helped the microscopic organisms – called “swirling fire” or Pyrodinium bahamense) to enjoy what would ultimately end up being the perfect conditions to procreate. With no ocean waves to wash them away and decomposing mangrove leaves providing them with a perpetually replenishing food source, the “dinos” have long enjoyed a microcosm in which they are shielded and nurtured, all at once.

all information courtesy of:
http://thewondrous.com/the-real-science-of-avatar/
http://ecorazzi.com/slideshow/pandora-on-earth-12-places-and-things-that-remind-us-of-avatar/

"I See You" beautiful piano acoustic

2010-12-28T08:17:00.000-08:00

This performance is truly amazing. I, myself, play piano, and find myself yearning to play this. Maybe, when I have time, I'll buy the sheet music. Oh happy day!

Awesome Avatar Trivia

2010-12-16T11:01:00.000-08:00

The word "Na'vi" in Hebrew means "prophet". A Na'vi is a visionary or someone who communicates directly with god. Its pleural "Nevi'im" refers to the prophetic books of the bible including Judges, Kings, and Isaiah.
"Avatar" is Sanskrit for "incarnation". It is used extensively in Hindu scriptures to refer to human incarnations of God.
According to James Cameron, the Na'vi are blue to create a conceptual parallel with traditional Hindu depictions of God (e.g., in the forms of Vishnu, Shiva, Rama, Krishna, etc.), but also because "I just like the color blue."
Ey'wa, the deity of the Na'vi people, is a mixed-up pronunciation of "Yahweh", the God of the Hebrews.
Sam Worthington said in an interview that it was easier for him to master the Na'vi language than the American accent.
Matt Damon and Jake Gyllenhaal were the studio's first choice to play Jake Sully, but James Cameron decided to cast an unknown Sam Worthington in the lead role.

More After the Jump!

Promotional items for Avatar were shipped to cinemas under the name "Project 880".
In the UK, the film was shipped in two parts, under the code name "Redbird". Reels 1-5 were delivered first; 6-10 came the following day.
To help the actors prepare for their roles, director James Cameron took the cast and crew to Hawaii, where they spent their days trekking through the forests and jungles and living like tribes (building campfires, eating fish, etc), in order to get a better sense of what it would be like to live and move around in the jungle on Pandora, since there would not be any actual jungle sets to aid and guide the actors and crew. Zoe Saldana even dressed up as a warrior during these journeys, complete with an alien tail symbolic of the one her character has in the movie. These hikes were only done during the daytime, though; the cast and crew spent their nights at a Four Seasons hotel.
One of the most expensive movies ever made (as of December 2009), with an estimated budget of US $280,000,000.
Sam Worthington appeared in Terminator Salvation (2009), the fourth Terminator movie. His appearance in this non-Terminator movie is notable as James Cameron directed The Terminator (1984), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), T2 3-D: Battle Across Time (1996) as well has having being a writer (creator of characters) on other Terminator franchise video-games and TV episodes.
The first time Sigourney Weaver has appeared in a James Cameron film since Aliens (1986).
Avatars have eyebrows, toes and five fingers, whereas the Na'vi only have four fingers and no eyebrows. The Avatars are also broader in the chest and arms, appearing more 'muscular'.
In much of the movie, Sigourney Weaver's avatar wears a Stanford tank top. Weaver attended Stanford in the early 1970s.
The spiral-shaped, retracting creatures Jake encounters early in the film are giant versions of Christmas Tree Worms, a marine invertebrate commonly kept in reef aquariums.
The Na'vi language was created entirely from scratch by linguist Paul R. Frommer. James Cameron hired him to construct a language that the actors could pronounce easily, but did not resemble any single human language. Frommer created about 1000 words.
Though he is not credited in the film, several locations look very similar to paintings by English surrealist Roger Dean, most notably his works "Floating Islands" and "Arches".
In the Thai version, Jake Sully is a "Navi" who becomes a "Na'vi". The Thai word for Marine is "Na-vig-ga-yo-tin", but the translator shortened it to make the voice-over sync.
"Unobtainium" is a humorous term used mainly in the aerospace industry. It describes a material that is perfect for an application, but does not exist, is extremely expensive, or violates the laws of physics. Its chemical symbol is Uo. "Unobtainium" is also a general concept term used by sci-fi enthusiasts for any fictional substance that is needed to build a certain device that is crucial to the plot of a sci-fi story. "Unobtainium" is featured in the movie The Core (2003), where the earth-boring vessel called the "Virgil" has a hull made from unobtainium to help it withstand the massive pressures inside the Earth's core. "Unobtainium" is also an anti-gravity element in the online multi-player video game "Skyrates."
In Korean, "Na'vi" is spelled like "nabi", the Korean word for "butterfly".
When Sully reassures Mo'at (the shaman) that he is "empty", it refers to his life being empty. The term "jarhead" is applied to Marines referring to their traditional 'high and tight' haircut, and is used by Dr. Augustine when Sully is entering the Avatar link for the first time.
WETA and ILM have previously worked together on Contact (1997), Van Helsing (2004), and Eragon (2006), making 'Avatar' their fourth collaboration.
The first (and only, as of 2010) science fiction feature film by James Cameron that does not involve or mention nuclear weapons.
When Jake Sully is ready to choose a woman, Neytiri tells him about the women in the tribe, starting with "Ninat is a great singer". One of Israel's leading pop singers (Ninette Tayeb) is called Ninet.
Colonel Quaritch mentions that being on Pandora made him feel "like a shave-tail Looie." "Shave tail" was a term originally used in the 19th century among U.S. cavalry regiments. Newly assigned cavalry troopers were given horses with a shaved tail, to let other troopers know that the rider was dangerously inexperienced, and should be given extra room to maneuver during training. "Looie" is a nickname for lieutenant, the lowest ranking, and least experienced, rank among U.S. Marine Corps officers.
Avatar is James Cameron's first directorial feature film since Titanic (1997).
Each frame (1/24 of a second) of the CGI scenes took an average of 47 man-hours to complete.
The film reached the US$500 million dollar mark in 32 days, beating The Dark Knight (2008)'s previous record of 45 days. James Cameron's previous film, Titanic (1997), took 98 days to reach the US$500 million dollar mark.
The concept of a network of trees in which minds of the deceased continue to exist appears in several novels of the "Ender" series by Orson Scott Card, most prominently in "Speaker for the Dead". Just like in the movie, the trees in the novel are sacred to the native (remotely humanoid) inhabitants, who tolerate the presence of a small human colony on their world until cultural misunderstandings lead to conflict.
James Cameron disclosed on "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" (2009) that he began working on preliminary drafts of his movie as early as the mid 1990's. Because his visual concepts were so avant-garde, the technology required to consummate his vision was not then yet available. Not until 2005 was he able to proceed with viable script scenarios.
First movie to ever cross the US$ 2,000,000,000 mark worldwide (and later the US$ 2.5 billion mark), making it the highest grossing film in history.
Jodie Foster was considered for the role of Dr. Grace Augustine.
According to Sam Worthington, he was invited to the casting via a phone call. Who called told him nothing about the script, nor even told the director's name and Sam was disappointed at first, thinking it was "another waste of time".
Michael Biehn was considered for the role of Col. Quaritch. James Cameron rejected him because he'd already cast Sigourney Weaver, and he didn't want people to think it was Aliens (1986) all over again.
Sigourney Weaver plays a James Cameron persona for her character in this film. Sigourney stated in an interview, "I teased him because to me I'm playing Jim Cameron in the movie as this kind of brilliant, approach-driven, idealistic perfectionist. But that same somebody has a great heart underneath. So I have to say I was always kind of channeling him."
James Cameron originally planned to have the film completed for release in 1999. At the time, the special effects he wanted increased the budget to $400 million. No studio would fund the film, and it was shelved for eight years.
The movie is 40% live action and 60% photo-realistic CGI. A lot of motion capture technology was used for the CGI scenes.
James Cameron was convinced that CGI effects had progressed enough to make this film when he saw Gollum in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).
In the original draft Jake's original name was Josh while Neytiri was named Zuleika.
When Trudy (Michelle Rodriguez) refers to them needing to fly VFR what she is referring to is the Visual Flight Rules, where a pilot, accurately enough, needs to see where they're going.
According to Jake's video logs, the entire film (on Pandora) takes place over a 96-day period. The first log is dated 05/19/2154 and the last 08/24/2154 - 3 months and 5 days later.
All animals on Pandora have six limbs, except for the humans and Na'vi.
At the time of auditioning, Sam Worthington was living in his car.
James Cameron wanted an unknown actor to play Sully, because it would give the character a "real" quality. The guy you want to have a beer with, who ultimately becomes the leader that transforms a whole world.
To appease 20th Century Fox's fears, and remembering the harrowing experience of Titanic (1997) and its production overruns and costly delays, James Cameron promised to forgo his director's fee if Avatar (2009) flopped. Now THAT's artistic dedication!
The film's landscapes were in part inspired by the famed Huangshan Mountain in China.
Though James Cameron has mentioned Roger Dean as a possible influence on the landscapes, another who could also be possibly cited as an influence on the picture is Anne McCaffrey, whose 'Dragonriders of Pern' series of books center around the relationships between humans and dragons that involves a melding of the minds - in her books, a psychic link that takes place at the birth of the creatures. The dragon riders, not unlike their brethren in Avatar, fly around in squadrons protecting their home planet.
The multiple breathing orifices seen on the larger animals of Pandora were inspired by the air intakes on the sides of sports cars.
There are striking similarities between the movie and the "Destination: Void" universe depicted by Frank Herbert and 'Bill Ransom' in the science fiction novels 'The Jesus Incident' and 'The Lazarus Effect'. In the novels, an alien planet called Pandora is home to a global network of sentient kelp in which the minds of the deceased also continue to exist. The kelp, as well as other native lifeforms on the planet, are linked into a large entity with a shared consciousness, called "Avata".
The joystick and throttle used to remote-control the bulldozer is a set of modified Saitek X52 Pro. Those are designed to control airplanes in flight and combat simulator programs.
The common spirit of Pandora where every creature is constantly connected to each other and the planet itself is based on the concept of Gaia described in Isaac Asimov's novel 'Foundation's Edge' (1982).
SPOILER: In the scene where Jake Sully is in prison, his back is to the camera and you can see the back of his wheelchair. The brand of wheelchair he is in is "Grunt", which is another term for a Marine infantryman.
SPOILER: In the final battle sequence, Neytiri has a white hand print on her chest as part of her warpaint. It has five fingers, indicating that it is Jake's hand (avatars have five fingers while Na'vi only have four).
SPOILER: Sully and Neytiri only actually meet face to face at the end.
SPOILER: Stephen Lang has hinted that Colonel Quaritch could return for a sequel: "You think those two arrows in my chest are going to stop me from coming back? Nothing's over so long as they've got my DNA."

Who Doesn't Love Trudy?

2010-12-09T12:10:00.000-08:00

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."

Avatar 2 is set to be released in 2014, with a further sequel coming the following year.

Avatar Novel and More?

2010-12-09T12:08:00.000-08:00

You won't see a sequel to James Cameron's Avatar in movie theaters for the next few years, according to the director, but that doesn't mean that you'll be starved of new product set in Pandora. Speaking at a press event to promote next month's 3-disc Blu-Ray release of a new special edition of the movie, Cameron talked about plans to make Avatar into the next Star Wars.

Although the next two Avatar movies - which will be shot back-to-back and released a year apart, if all goes to plan - are years away (Cameron said that he wants to make them right now, but he has to wait until the technology is in place for what he wants to do; he talked about needing to "future proof" the movies so that they'll not seem outdated five or six years from now), Cameron hasn't abandoned Pandora. He's currently working on the Avatar novel, which he described as "a big project" that won't just adapt the movie, but expand it in scope considerably, going back three decades before the opening of the movie and also containing unseen and unhinted-at plots and characters from the same period as happened at the same time as what was seen on screen. "What I want to do is say, if this movie was based on a book, what would that book be?" he explained. And it'll be more than just fiction - He revealed that he also sees this novel as "a bible" that will be used as a guide for other writers to create their own Avatar stories in "spin-off novels, graphic novels and comic books." Sound ambitious? That's because James Cameron is ambitious when it comes to Avatar; when he talked about the movie's competition, he said "We're competing with Star Wars who have a 30 year head-start, but we have to compete with the Tolkien universe, the Star Trek universe [and] the Star Wars universe."

The Amazon Rainforest and Avatar II

2010-12-09T11:53:00.000-08:00

One of the things that didn't get as much attention as it probably should have about the announcement that James Cameron has agreed to make Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 his next projects was that, in order to convince him, 20th Century Fox made a "huge donation" to his environmental green fund. If that doesn't underline Cameron's dedication to the cause, then perhaps A Message To Pandora will. (See all of Techland's Avatar coverage)

Pandora, a 20 minute documentary that appears on the special edition Blu-Ray of Avatar released next Tuesday, is the result of two trips Cameron made to the Amazon rainforest at the invitation of the organization Amazon Watch and documents Cameron's experience meeting the indigenous and riverbank communities whose way of life is threatened by Brazil's $17 million Belo Monte Dam project - A project that would divert the flow of the Xingu River and, in the process, displace more than 20,000 people. Sound eerily familiar?

It wasn't just the parallels between the battle over the Belo Monte Dam and Avatar that moved Cameron to action - he's been an environmental activist for years ("Really since my teenage years," he said in an interview earlier this year) - but the success of Avatar has led him to be more active on the topic. In addition to using the popularity of the movie to bring attention to the plight of the people living along the Xingu, he's also spoken out about the extraction of the Alberta Tar Sands, been part of the think tank to deal with the BP oil spill and gave $1 million to the campaign against California's Prop 23 to suspend the state's global warming law (The proposition was defeated last week).

Unlike many celebrities, he's realistic about his activism; at the recent press launch of the Avatar special edition Blu-Ray, he said that it wasn't enough to simply lend his name to a cause:

"The first question I ask is, what can [I] really do? You have to make a commitment to follow-up, it can't just be a drive-by. I'm not delusional enough to think a movie can change the world. I have to follow it up with direct action."

Of course, that direct action can take many forms, whether it's traveling to the Amazon to see what's going on first hand, making a documentary about that trip to show others, or getting a multinational corporation to give a lot of money to environmental causes as a way of convincing you to make a movie that will inspire even more people to activism through heavily environmental themes. Maybe a movie really can change the world, after all.

(Article provided by Techland) http://techland.time.com/2010/11/11/how-the-amazon-rainforest-made-avatar-2-a-priority/#ixzz17e79CxrZ

Another Avatar Music Mash-up.

2010-12-03T19:08:00.000-08:00

Wonderful Movie Insights via YouTube!

2010-10-27T11:40:00.000-07:00

Cameron confirms AVATAR sequels and Novel

2010-10-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

Returning to Pandora is now a sure thing, according to James Cameron. The colourful Canadian-born filmmaker plans to direct two Avatar sequels himself, he said this week at his Hollywood studio. "It's in progress right now," Cameron said. "I mean, there's a lot of writing, a lot of designing, a lot of tech work that we're going to do. What I can tell you is this: Our plan right now is to make II and III together as a single large production, and release them a year apart."But the process might take five or six years.

"There shouldn't be any surprise there," he said, mocking himself. While perfecting new Avatar technology, he might make another movie first, Cameron explained during presentations to promote the Nov. 16 release of the Extended Collector's Edition of the original Avatar on Blu-ray.

Meanwhile, Cameron is writing an Avatar novel, with 30 years of back story. He also is deeply involved with eco-activist causes that solicited him after the phenomenal success of Avatar, which is driven by an environmental theme. His focus includes fighting the Alberta tar sands development, which Cameron says is "poisoning" First Nations people and creating "cancer clusters" in communities downstream from the massive oil extraction projects.

THE SEQUELS: Cameron says he wants to make sure that breakthrough technology that turned Avatar into a spectacle is now pushed forward. "We need to future-proof ourselves out five, six years to the end of the third film. So we're taking the time now."
His team is "tooling up a new facility" near his current studio just for the sequels. "It's permanent in the sense that it's designed to span two Avatar films. We're laying all the foundation work right now. Nothing is holding us back." But digital technology moves quickly, and Cameron says Avatar convinced him "there are a lot of things we knew we needed to do better." The goal, he says, is to ensure "we're not obsolete when we make the last movie."

James Cameron's thoughts on Sigourney Weaver's character returning for Avatar sequels, despite her apparent death in the first film...

"Who said she died?" Cameron teased with a big grin, "Nobody dies in a science fiction movie. Whether Grace lives or dies depends more on Sigourney's agent than anything.

(Via: http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=70922)

THE NOVEL: "The novel is a big project. My idea for the novel is not a novelization -- which I hate -- where you basically just take the script and put it into prose form, and add a few extra adjectives. What I really want to do is say: 'OK, if this movie were based on a book, what would that book have been?' "
Cameron is already deep into it. The novel will end like the first movie. "I don't give you one frame beyond that. But how about the 30 years before Jake gets to Pandora?"

THE ECO-ACTIVISM: Cameron says he remains committed to select causes among hundreds he has been approached about. "We've had to be selective because we can't get involved in every single cause everywhere. Even if I devoted the rest of my life to it, we can't do everything."

He intensely researches each cause he does support, including fighting the Alberta tar sands project. The goal there is to get the Alberta government and the oil companies to mitigate the effects of pollution, Cameron says.

"It's not me," he said of his influence. "A year ago I couldn't have stood up and done all that stuff -- and nobody would have asked me to. It's really that the movie has created this kind of global consciousness around this idea that we have to do something about our relationship with nature. I'm also not, by the way, delusional that a movie can change the world. But I do believe that, if you put a foot in the right direction and then you follow up ... But I can't wait until I make another Avatar movie (to act). There are too many important things that are happening right now."

(via Toronto Sun: http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/movies/2010/10/22/15791561.html)

Wild Blue Yonder

2010-09-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

James Cameron is preparing to dive to the deepest point of the oceans as part of research for a sequel to Avatar, his 3-D epic. He has commissioned Australian engineers to build a deep sea submersible which can reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench - 11,000m down in the western Pacific - after deciding to set the film in the turbulent waters of Pandora, an alien moon.

More After the Jump!!

The vessel will be fitted with 3-D cameras designed by Cameron so that he can take unprecedented footage of such depths and, if he wants to, fill it with digitally created monsters for Avatar 2.
The muddy, rocky Mariana Trench, which could swallow Mount Everest, has been visited by man only once.

In May 1960, a submersible called the Trieste took nearly five hours to descend to its floor. Its passengers, Jacques Piccard, a Swiss scientist, and Don Walsh, a US navy lieutenant, were able to spend 20 minutes at the bottom of the world. In the cold and darkness, eating chocolate bars, they were joined by flounder, sole and shrimp, proving that some vertebrate life can exist at such extraordinary depths.

Although remote-controlled vessels have gone back to the Challenger Deep, a valley at the bottom of the trench, no humans have been so deep again. However, Cameron, who reportedly earned $375 million from Avatar, has the money and passion to return. His obsession with the waters that cover two-thirds of the world's surface has been manifested not only in his blockbuster Titanic and a spin-off documentary, but also in his 1989 film The Abyss. Last month, Cameron spent his 56th birthday in a Russian deep sea submersible called the Mir-1, descending more than 1500m into Lake Baikal in Siberia, the deepest freshwater lake in the world.

Some 15 years ago he employed the Mir-1, one of only a handful of state-owned deep sea submersibles still in service, when shooting Titanic in the North Atlantic. Cameron told Russian journalists that he had come to the Siberian lake to draw attention to its pollution problems. He says his descent into the Mariana Trench would be a similar environmental mission.

“We are building a vehicle to do the dive,” he said. “It's about half-completed in Australia.” He hopes to start preparing for the dive later this year. Australian scientists believed to be working for Cameron have visited the San Francisco headquarters of Hawkes Ocean Technologies, which has been building a submersible capable of settling at the bottom of the trench.

The vessel was commissioned by adventurer Steve Fossett shortly before he died in a plane crash in 2007. He had hoped to launch it from his yacht, navigate to the bottom of the trench in two hours and spend at least another two hours there. The vessel could later have been used for salvage and further exploration.

Last week, Graham Hawkes, the London-born founder of the company, said Fossett's estate had sold the submersible to another deep sea enthusiast - not Cameron - so the original mission was not yet over. Hawkes said they were “six weeks away” from full tests.

“We are using lightweight but very strong carbon composite materials and other advanced technologies very different from the Trieste, which was a hollowed-out cannonball,” he said.

“We believe we have solved most of the technological challenges to returning to the Mariana Trench. The real trick now is to make such vessels lighter, cheaper and more attractive to industry.”

Cameron's new vessel is expected to be a two-seater, finned cylinder fitted with the latest 3-D cameras and a heating system largely missing from the Trieste.

Some of his footage from the depths may end up in Avatar 2 - which is not expected to reach cinemas before 2014 - or possibly in two other deep-sea adventures that the director is considering turning into movies.

Last month, when promoting an extended version of Avatar, he told the Los Angeles Times that in its sequel he would go beneath the waves.

“I'm going to be focusing on the ocean on Pandora,” he said. “The seas will be equally rich and diverse and crazy and imaginative, but it just won't be a rain forest.

“I think making another Avatar, or probably two, will not just be good business but also good for the environment because we want to get out the message about protecting what we have and making our world sustainable.”

(via The Australian: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/james-cameron-commissions-deep-sea-sub-to-film-footage-for-avatar-sequel/story-e6frg6so-1225919474515)

Avatar Invades Fashion Week! (updated)

2010-09-03T13:50:00.000-07:00

And here's great big THANK YOU to Australian Fashion designer Camilla Franks for including inspiration from Pandora. She also went to the great trouble of delicately painting up some of the models to look like Na'vi. Absolutely Fabulous. Here are all of the photos I could find, including the fashion, which is beautiful.

More after the Jump!

James Cameron on Re-Release, Sequel, BP Oil spill, and more...

2010-08-28T11:16:00.001-07:00

With the re-release of Jame's Cameron's epic "Avatar" today, speculation, questions, and interviews are flying. Here I have excerpts from two different interviews Jim gave to MTV and The Oregonian.

The fanbase that's built up around the film is massive, and it's understandable: director James Cameron crafted a fully fleshed out universe for his story to live in. There's so much depth that a companion book was released. And still fans want to know more. MTV's Eric Ditzian and Kara Warner did a deep-dive interview with Cameron and producer Jon Landau in an effort to answer some of those last lingering questions.

Hit the jump to learn whether people age during deep space travel, why the movie was set in 2154 and more!

Do people age when they travel from Earth to Pandora?

James Cameron: A very small amount, because they're in cryogenic suspension. The ship's crew, which has to be conscious, age at a rate relative to their speed because they're going at .7 times the speed of light, so they're aging slightly slower than the people on Earth.

Why did you choose to set the film in 2154?

Jon Landau: Jim went through it with a bunch of people one day and plotted out a whole calendar with nuclear physicists and other scientists and creative people. Jim picked that date because it had to do with when Pandora was discovered, its relationship to other planets and all of those things. They backed up from when it was discovered and how long it would take to get there and they just started adding the years: here's when the base was built, here's when the Avatar program started.

Why do the Na'vi have four fingers while Avatars have five?

Cameron: They're a generic hybrid, and they've retained a little bit more of the human DNA that expressed itself in the human number of digits, and we wanted to distinguish the one from the other. There's actually a scene that we shot, which is not in the re-release, where Grace [Sigourney Weaver] is reunited with the children that are part of her school, [and] she sees if they can still count on their fingertips. Her counting is different from theirs because they run out of fingers.

What is life like on Earth in 2154?

Landau: Real estate has become so valuable that even the skies are sold as advertising spots, so there's advertising in the sky, like the Bat signal. In the cities, they have [super-fast] maglev trains. No matter how small your apartment is, usually your biggest purchase is your big-screen TV. TVs can be whole walls in apartments, no matter how impoverished you are. But we also believe that not everything changes in the future. If you went into a local bar in [2154], it's still going to have pool tables and TVs and people hanging out at tables.

Are there any atheistic Na'vi?

Landau: That isn't anything we've tapped into yet. You'd have to wait for the sequel for that one!

How long do Na'vi live?

Landau: The Na'vi age slower than humans, so they have a longer life span. In the burial scene in the film, that woman would be older than the equivalent-looking human.

Is there anything you haven't been asked that leaves you thinking, "Gee, why hasn't anyone asked me that?"

Landau: The questions you've asked today aren't ones I've had before! Something I wonder — and you'd have to ask Jim for the answer, we've gone through a couple different scenarios — is how did Jake hurt himself? How exactly?

-------------------------------------

Cameron spoke with Mike Russel of The Oregonian for a little over 20 minutes last week -- about the technical challenges of transposing real facial expressions onto 12-foot-tall blue aliens; changing technology; whether his underrated 1989 film "The Abyss" influenced "Avatar"; deleted scenes; the enduring legacy of "Aliens" hardware; and much more.

Questions and answers have been edited.

Q: To my thinking, the biggest technical achievement of "Avatar" wasn't the 3-D or the spectacle -- it was the fact that you more or less pole-vaulted across the uncanny valley.

A: I agree with that absolutely, and that's a good way to put it. You'll have to explain to your readers what the uncanny valley means. It's a little bit obscure to the average person.

(In this conversation, the uncanny valley refers to that weird zone in computer animation where a computer-generated character is trying to pass for photo-real, but falls just short enough of photo-real that it profoundly creeps you out. See: the dead-eyed zombie conductor in that horrible "Polar Express" movie. This creep-out factor is usually due to the special-effects team's inability to capture the micro-twitches of eye and muscle movement and other subtleties that register subconsciously with the viewer as a living face. Cameron and his team were probably the first filmmakers since -- arguably -- Peter Jackson in "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" to successfully get past the uncanny valley with a computer-generated character -- and for "Avatar," Cameron and his team developed a system that captured a human performance and mapped it onto a computer-generated character with a subtlety Jackson couldn't achieve with Gollum nearly a decade ago.)

Q: Well, in a computer-generated character, it's that creepy effect caused by the lack of subtle little facial expressions, micro-movements, eye-flicks--

A: And what a lot of people have called the "dead-eye syndrome" -- that sort of lack of emotional affect in CG characters -- we had to punch past that. We had to get to a system that had zero loss of the original emotion of the actor's performance in the final CG version of the character.

I remember drawing out the uncanny valley, just on a white-board, and saying, "If we don't land here -- if we don't stick to the opposite face of this canyon with our fingernails at least over the edge -- we're screwed. We're wasting a lot of 20th Century Fox's money." We knew that was our basic challenge.

To me, the 3-D was kind of a no-brainer. I'd already made four 3-D films. We'd worked for seven years on the camera development. We'd shot with those cameras at sea and in all kinds of hard conditions. That was the easy part. The hard part was getting across the uncanny valley.

Q: Was there a moment in the production where you knew you finally had it nailed?

A: Yeah. Well, first of all, there was a moment where we'd been working on it for about 2 1/2 years with every possible best technique we could imagine -- including a lot of stuff that we had to create -- and I saw the first CG stuff and I wanted to put a pistol in my mouth. I thought, "This is what it's gonna look like? We're ****ed" -- excuse me -- "We just wasted an awful lot of money."

Then, with about 10 weeks from that point of hard work and refinement, we got the first scene finished, and I signed off on it. And I remember sitting in the cutting room by myself -- everybody else had left -- and I was staring at the screen. It was a shot of Neytiri, a closeup of Zoe (Saldana)'s character. And I thought, "She's alive. This is a real person." And then I knew we could do it.

The challenge, of course, was that we still had to do about 2,200 shots. (Laughs.)

Q: Has the technology for that advanced since you wrapped on the film? I mean, it was advancing while you were filming, right?

A: Yeah, it was changing while we were filming, and we got better at it toward the end.

Finishing the nine minutes for the (Friday) re-release was great. A lot of the things we had fought against, this headwind, in terms of getting the detail, the texture -- little things like the glint on the meniscus of the edge of an eyelid, on the surface of the eye, that suddenly made the eye look real -- we had worked for months on that stuff. And it was all now just automatic, kind of built into the code of how it was being done.

So while we were doing these nine additional minutes, I was kind of on vacation in Tahiti, and I set up an editing room at the hotel, and I'd come back from Jet Ski-ing with the kids, and I'd go in and they'd show me some of the shots. And boom, it's done. Because the technique now is robust.

I don't think we've advanced much beyond what we were doing. We've just got it down to where it's mass-producible at this point. We were taking scenes for the new material that had been "shot" -- meaning performance-captured during my virtual camera sessions –and we had edited it into a frame-accurate cut of the final scene, but it was still at this proxy (low-grade) resolution. And then (Peter Jackson's special-effects company) Weta Digital had to take it -- and I had to get Fox to spend several millions of dollars -- to finish that footage up to a photo-real level.

But it was a very automatic process at that point, which I think bodes well for future CG movies -- future "Avatar" films and future non-"Avatar" films.

Q: Do you bring specific lessons into your current high-tech filmmaking from your early days working for Roger Corman? (Cameron worked on "Battle Beyond the Stars" and "Piranha II: The Spawning" -- among other low-budget flicks -- for Corman.)

A: You know, interestingly, no -- other than maybe some things having to do with how you deal with people and how you manage the design process and so on. Because the technical process of filmmaking is so different now than it was back then, or even on my post-Roger films, "Terminator," "Aliens" and "The Abyss."

We don't shoot on film any more. We don't do any in-camera effects. We don't use opticals. The entire process has been fundamentally rewritten.

But of course, the essence of filmmaking hasn't changed at all. It still boils down to, "What's your story? Who's your cast? And how well does that cast create a sense of emotional reality for an audience?" That hasn't changed at all. I can imagine all kinds of ways filmmaking technology will continue to evolve, but those fundamentals will never change.

Q: Are you still in touch with Mr. Corman?

A: Yeah, I see Roger from time to time. He was honored this year with a lifetime-achievement award from the Academy, and I saw him at some of the functions and so on.

Q: OK, so I'm a huge nerd for "The Abyss." Do you consider "Avatar" a refinement of (or second try at) the ideas in "The Abyss"?

A: Some of the ideas, yeah.

Q: The films share a lot of similarities: hostile environments, remote corporations, twisted military men, aliens, a strong eco-message...

A: Yeah -- especially if you're familiar with the extended cut of "The Abyss," which is a real indictment of human nature as seen from an alien perspective.

I was watching "The Abyss" recently on cable -- I kind of popped into the middle of it one night -- and the color spectrum of the alien ships and creatures and so on, a lot of those design ideas were carried on in "Avatar."

Q: You've talked about getting into underwater environments on Pandora in the "Avatar" sequels...

A: Yep.

Q: Are there any ideas you'll be plundering for the sequels from "The Abyss" or "Aliens of the Deep"?

A: (Laughs.) Well, I don't know about "plunder"...

Q: "Plunder" is the wrong word, but you know what I mean.

A: Well, I love design. I have a lot of visual archetypes in my mind that haven't made it onto film yet, and they're strongly influenced by the natural world -- especially the underwater world. So the direction I want to take it on the second "Avatar" film is to see the underwater world of Pandora, and to fill it not only with amazing creatures, but amazing adaptations of the Na'vi to living at and under the
water.

Q: Oh, sure. Because in the film there were sort of these different neighborhoods of the Na'vi.

A: Sure. There were a number of different biomes on the planet, and just as we humans adapt to desert, forest, and mountain environments here on Earth, the Na'vi do the same.

Q: I love how I used the word "neighborhood" and you used the word "biome."

A: Well.

Q: Fans have been calling for Guillermo del Toro to direct the H.P. Lovecraft adaptation "At the Mountains of Madness" for years at this point, and you're finally making it happen. Do you see your power as a means to realize fan-dream projects like that?

A: Well, that's more of a personal thing. Guillermo and I have been friends, and we've looked for opportunities to work together. And when he fell out of "The Hobbit" project, we were talking, just kind of commiserating -- and he had spent a lot of time on that, and he wanted to go work on something that would sort of feed his soul as a filmmaker.

I said, "What's your favorite project? What do you want to do?" He said, " 'At the Mountains of Madness.' " And I was a huge Lovecraft fan, always have been -- just read him voraciously in college. And I said, "Let's do it!" Who doesn't want to see Cthulhu? (Laughs.)

Q: You wrote a blue-sky, 60-page scriptment for "Avatar" in the mid-'90s, but had to set it aside because of special-effects limitations at the time. Did you expect to never pick it up again, or were you just calmly waiting for processing power to catch up with you?

A: I always figured if I lived long enough, I'd make "Avatar." I always liked the story. But I had sort of forgotten about it. And I was struggling with the script on (his as-yet-unproduced manga adaptation) "Battle Angel," and I had sent my co-writer Laeta Kalogridis off to write a completely new version of the script -- we had thrown out everything on "Battle Angel" and started over. And she went off to do that, and I thought, "This draft isn't gonna work, either."

So I pulled out "Avatar" and re-read it, thinking, "Well, I don't know, what about this old saw?" And I read it kind of in one sitting and thought, "Wow ... you know, this isn't that bad." (Laughs.) "I kind of want to see this. And I'll bet you we can do it." It was the first time I actually thought there was an alignment between what I imagined and what was possible.

Little did I know that a lot of it was still impossible and we had to create the means to do it.

So we merrily set off down the path of developing "Avatar." And Laeta came back with a script for "Battle Angel" that was great. So I was in this weird position of having to decide between two really cool projects.

It was almost a coin toss -- that's the funny thing. And it went like this:

We decided to do a proof-of-concept test of our virtual captures (the technology used to make "Avatar"'s Na'vi come to life), and we were developing it for both "Avatar" and "Battle Angel" -- meaning whichever one we did first didn't really matter. And the night before the test, we needed something to shoot. So I wrote a scene. I went through "Battle Angel" and I couldn't find a scene between two virtual characters that had enough dialogue in it, because there's more emphasis on live-action in "Battle Angel." So I wrote an "Avatar" scene. And then once we started doing that scene, we never looked back -- we kept working on "Avatar." So it was almost arbitrary.

Q: Do you think "Battle Angel" will be your next gig?

A: Uh.... I don't know. I'm still weighing that.

Q: I know you're probably getting asked that question in every interview. Sorry.

A: No, not at all. A lot of people have sort of forgotten about it. But people who are fans of this stuff haven't. I wish I had a better answer -- I just really haven't made a decision yet about how to deal with "Battle Angel" now that "Avatar" has got so much momentum and has the opportunity to become a kind of persistent world for fans.

Q: Well, one of the stories of your career is you coming up with ideas -- "Avatar," the T-1000 -- that couldn't be filmed immediately because of tech limitations.

A: Right.

Q: Do you have any blue-sky filmmaking ideas now that are out of your reach due to our current technological limitations? Is anything rattling around in your head that tops the technological achievement of "Avatar," in other words?

A: Oh, I'm sure that everybody will scream and cry when I turn in the script for the next one. Well, for example, just doing a lot of water work in CG is already daunting -- although Weta made such strong strides with water just from the first "Avatar" film, even though they're only a couple of scenes. You know, that scene where all the banshees with the sea people are flying out from the cliffs and the waves are crashing against the rocks and water's flying up into the sunset sky –that's all CG. There's not a lick of photography in any of that stuff. So I'm sort of of a mind right now that pretty much anything I come up with, we'll be able to do.

Q: It strikes me that there's this essential dichotomy in your work, which is that you make action-packed movies about peace and harmony. For example: Your deeply anti-nuclear-war movie "T2" has one of the most lovingly photographed nuclear-blast shots in movie history.

A: Yeah, I know, I know. It's definitely a love/hate relationship with technology, a love/hate relationship with combat... You know, I've always described "Terminator 2" as "a violent film about peace."

Q: Right. I was actually going to quote that back to you. Are you comfortable with the ambiguity? Can you do that F. Scott Fitzgerald thing where you're holding contradictory ideas in your head?

A: Yeah, I'm comfortable with duality of thought. But I also see it as being consistent. I don't believe that peace is achieved by people sitting in a field holding hands and singing. I believe that peace is achieved through superior firepower on the side of moral right. (Laughs.)

Q: You convened a summit that gathered scientists and officials to brainstorm ideas on how to stop the BP oil spill. BP ignored your resulting report -- but ultimately, two months later, did exactly what you'd recommended, right?

A: Yeah, that's absolutely accurate. I think our report was ignored for political reasons -- and I think BP ultimately did exactly what we recommended only by the coincidence of the fact that it was the right answer. Because I don't think the BP engineering team ever really even knew that we were working or saw what we had written. I think it went the way the Lost Ark went at the end of "Raiders" -- just kind of into the bureaucratic maze.

But we were right -- our solution was the right answer. And we also recommended the "top kill" be tried again immediately. I mean, we studied the problem for a week, we had the best engineers we could round up, we got the best technical expertise from the oil industry -- non-BP people who could speak plainly.

My fantasy was we'd build something, we'd go in and clamp it on the damn thing and shut it off. That fantasy died when we got into the logistics of it, and it had to be done by BP, and it required big ships and dynamic positioning and the things they knew how to do. But we still continued with our process and submitted our report, which said, "What they should do is take off the riser at the top flange of the blowout preventer; using that flange, attach a surface-control valve system to increase the back pressure; and repeat 'top kill' using the three-inch lines." And that's exactly what they did.

It probably took BP a month to figure out how to market the idea, and then somebody came up with the idea of calling it "static kill" instead of "top kill" so it didn't look like they were just flailing around, doing the same thing again. But they did exactly what we said they should do. And it worked.

Q: Always a great idea to worry about branding your "kills." How did your friends in the deep-submergence community react to all this? Did you get a bunch of e-mails at once with the subject header "Told ya so"?

A: Yeah. They were all pretty frustrated by the whole process. You know, it's one thing to be wrong because we didn't have access to some piece of information that the 500 engineers working for BP had that we didn't. But we weren't wrong. And during that delay, a million gallons of oil a day, for two months, went into the Gulf. Untold damage.

Q: Sixty million gallons.

A: Yeah, exactly. Well, look -- doing it from the time we recommended it would still have taken two or three weeks. But I think you could still safely say 30 to 35 million gallons.

It all relates, by the way. I mean, "Avatar" is a movie about the environment and how we're screwing it up and how the endless so-called "progress" of civilization is just slowly wiping out our planet. So to me, I don't distinguish between the real-world activities in defense of the ocean and the environment and spending five years making a movie about that subject.

Q: That ties beautifully into my next "Avatar" question: I've read the "Avatar" screenplay that Fox posted online around Oscar season, and I'll admit the thing I want to see re-inserted into the film are the opening scenes set on the polluted, dystopian Earth -- the shots of lead character Jake in a sports bar -- the polluted, crowded cityscapes. You shot this sequence, correct? Any chance we'll be seeing that?

A: Well, if you buy the box set in November, you can sit down, and in a continuous screening of the film, watch it with the Earth opening.

Q: Oh, really.

A: Yeah. It works very well. It just takes a long time to get the movie started. You have to be sort of predisposed to like the movie like a fan, you know what I mean? And then you can sit and you can have a great ride -- a different telling of "Avatar." Not inconsistent -- it's just the stuff that happened off-camera.

We call it "the Earth opening." It's about 4 1/2 minutes of stuff. And it was in for the longest time. It was very late in the day that we took it out. I walked in one day and said to my two editors, "Guys, I want each of you to cut a new version of the start of the film, Reel 1, that doesn't have any Earth in it at all." And they looked at me like I was out of my mind. And I said, "No -- it's gonna work." They had to figure out the details. I said, "Just grab a couple of things to use as flashbacks, and start it in space when Jake opens his eyes."

Q: So wait – does the re-release start on Earth?

A: No. The re-release opening Friday starts the same way. But in November, you can buy a box set with all the bells and whistles. It's got like 45 minutes of unfinished deleted scenes that exist in a supplement where you can just play the scenes individually.

But it's all a big negotiation with the studios; how much money do they want to spend on these sort of revisionist versions of the movie? Because on the whole Earth opening, the visual effects weren't done, and we had to go back and spend a million bucks or whatever to get those shots done. So there's a price-tag dangling from anything that gets re-inserted. It's not like "Apocalypse Now," where they blow up a Vietnamese village and the footage is done – there are no visual effects after the fact. We've got to go back, and it's our time and our energy and the studio's money to re-create this stuff.

But (in November) you'll be able to watch a 16-minute-longer version of the film that's a nice, flowing, cohesive version of the movie. If you just want to wallow in "Avatar" for three hours, I can get that for you.

Q: A friend points out to me that one of your most enduring legacies as a filmmaker is the culture's crazy, omnipotent embrace of "Aliens"-style military tech in movies and videogames...

A: I know, I know. It's crazy. It's like "Halo" should be paying me residuals. (Laughs.)

Q: Is that flattering, or does it ever get kind of annoying?

A: It's flattering. I think it's fine. I think it's absolutely fine. I mean, everybody draws from what goes before them. For me, it was reading Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers," you know? I didn't come up with my ideas out of nowhere. Heinlein was reacting to his experiences in the military in World War II, and extrapolating that into the future.

But these ideas connect. You can always go back and find the sources for them. It isn't plagiarism -- it's evolution. So "The Matrix" owes some of its ideas to "The Terminator" and "Aliens," but also to manga and Sergio Leone movies and all kinds of other sources, as well.

So you can see the references. And I think that's true in literature, as well. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. So I look at "Halo" and think, "Well, yeah, sure, I know where they got that." But that doesn't mean it's not its own work, or that it's not highly creative.

The weird thing is when you start referencing yourself. I have Quaritch running around in an AMP suit, which basically is kind of the grandchild of Sigourney Weaver in the power-loader from "Aliens." Which is pretty funny, considering Sigourney's in both movies. (Laughs.)

Re-Release This August!

2010-08-22T10:01:00.000-07:00

When the AVATAR re-release hits theaters on August 27 get ready for 9 new minutes of never-before-seen footage of life on Pandora. Although Cameron originally planned 8 minutes, the final cut includes 9. One of the deleted scenes includes Tsu-tey's death: "There's a pretty powerful emotional scene at the end which is Tsu'tey's death ... which happens off-camera in the original release. [In the original film] he kind of falls off the back of the shuttle and that's the last that you see of him but here we follow through. We have this emotional scene with Jake [Sully] and Neytiri and some other Na'vi that gather around him in the forest," Cameron said. Cameron also says the additional AVATAR scenes include four major moments, each a few minutes long that center on when the helicopter first lands in the Pandora rainforest. There's also a new creature that turns up: the Sturmbeest. The director also said the scenes that were reinstated in the re-release version are big on non-stop action.

Cameron also revealed that he's talked to the studio about shooting Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 sequels back-to-back. “We’re actually talking about [doing 2 and 3] back to back. That’s not a decision yet but that’s something that makes a lot of sense given the nature of these productions because we can bank all the capture and go back and do cameras over a period of time… cause the way these sort of back to back productions fall apart is you’re trying to do two live-action films back to back and you’re working on it for like a year and a half shooting. Everybody’s dead- it’s not humanly possible. But this type of film it absolutely would work.”

Create Your Own Avatar!

2010-07-27T12:14:00.000-07:00

Created by *dolldivine, I give this credit as one of the most comprehensive amateur interactive Flash games I've seen in years. The creator has given an amazing amount of in depth thought to the wide variety of body and clothing options. This production obviously took some time and thought to make. It is easy to see how the Doll Divine craze has swept Deviantart.com by storm. I recommend this game to my fellow Avatar fans because it really is as fun as it looks! The creations are endless.

Doll Divine: Avatar Character Creator

Avatar Sequal May Already be in Production...

2010-06-17T09:31:00.000-07:00

Speculation about a sequel to AVATAR started before the movie was released. AVATAR’s success has ensured that sequel. Rumors are flying. Who will be in it and what will it be like? Here's what we know so far from comments by James Cameron, John Landau and members of the cast.

AVATAR’s sequel will be about Neytiri and Jake, but it is unlikely to be called AVATAR 2. According to SciFiWire, Cameron has confirmed that the Na’vi culture, including the spiritual aspects, will be a focus point for the movie. "Certainly I don't want to call it AVATAR 2," Cameron said "He's not an AVATAR anymore, is he? Maybe we'll call it Na'vi." James Cameron has said that scenes integral to the sequel were included in the first movie. There are three movies planned at this point, although AVATAR 3 information is mostly speculation on the part of fans.

While Cameron worked on AVATAR for ten years, he expects the making of the first of the AVATAR sequels to be much faster – and cheaper. There will probably be additional technological developments incorporated in the sequels, but the 3D and CGI technology used in AVATAR is already on hand for the making of the first AVATAR sequel. Cameron has confirmed, in interviews with MTV and the LA Times, that there is a trilogy planned, that it will not take ten more years to arrive, and that much of the action in the sequel will take place in the oceans of Pandora. He has also said that the sequel will take place several years after the events in AVATAR.

While the oceans of Pandora were briefly glimpsed in AVATAR with a view of Jake and Neytiri swimming, much more is due to seen in the second movie. Cameron told the LA Times that the oceans would be “rich, diverse, crazy and imaginative”. AVATAR An Activist Survival Guide mentions there are rafts of floating seaweed in the oceans. The book also has an image of the Amenonoid, a bioluminescent invertebrate with poisonous tentacles, found in ponds and lakes. Perhaps there is a larger relation in the oceans…

The sequel is in production, according to IMDB, with a scheduled release date of 2014. Fans of AVATAR are speculating that while Cameron said it will take just three years to make the sequel, the reason it will not be released in 2013 is because The Hobbit I & II are scheduled to be released in late 2012 and 2013. AVATAR’s sequel will have a release date timed not to conflict with the expected blockbusters – most likely 2014. Cameron and 20^th Century Fox seem to be taking to heart the lesson learned when AVATAR’s audience share plummeted with the release of Alice in Wonderland, How to Train your Dragon and Clash of the Titans. Since there are that the Hobbit may be shot in 3D, the conflict for theater space would be even more monstrous if the Hobbit Part 2 was released at the same time as the AVATAR sequel.

It seems to be standard policy in movies that may spawn sequels to have the stars sign agreements for multi-movie contracts when they are first cast in a movie, ensuing continuity. However, not every movie pans out. With the take from AVATAR an estimated 2.7 billion, those signatures are very important. In many ways stars in AVATAR really are avatars with CGI bodies. This does not mean that the actors behind those AVATARs can be replaced easily. The distinctive personal style those actors gave their characters – and their voices – cannot easily be replaced by a different person. While Worthington and Saldana previously signed contracts for sequels to AVATAR, the terms for those contracts are likely to have changed.

More and more of the cast of AVATAR are confirming they are back in the sequel. Jake, Neytiri and Mo’at's actors are all saying they have signed on for the sequel. Curiously, Colonel Quaritch may also be back. “You think those two arrows in my chest are going to stop me from coming back?” said Stephen Lang, who plays the evil Quaritch, "Nothing’s over so long as they’ve got my DNA." Sigourney Weaver, whose character became one with Eywa in AVATAR, is going to return in the sequel too, although it is not known if she will be embodied. She has said that Cameron may be bringing the whole family together again.

Another rumor with some basis in comments by Cameron says that future movies will explore more of Alpha Centauri, especially the other moons of Polyphemus. This certainly would offer some spectacular scenery. Those moons also influence the tides on Pandora, making them important even if they are not explored in the first sequel.

The constructed language of Na’vi has a strong fan community trying to learn it. Those fans will get a vocabulary boost in the second movie. Additional Na’vi dialog and more abstract concepts can be expected as we learn more about the Na’vi spiritual beliefs. The ecological themes in AVATAR have resonated with people around the world, and variations on the themes will play out in the conflicts that can be expected between the Na’vi and the RDA.

With the news that time has passed on Pandora, and a projected release of 2014, the events on Pandora may match the real time passed here on Earth.

article courtesy of: Rebecca Scudder

Also, it looks like said Sequel may already have a title!

It looks like James Cameron might be going ahead with his Avatar sequel much sooner than we had anticipated.

The first film took him 3 years to make. Well, if 20th Century Fox's newest production schedule is being read correctly then fans can expect to see Cameron's majestical blue world back in theaters in January of 2011.

The production report reads as follows:

January 28 -- Avatar: Na'vi - World Infinity -- Director James Cameron

Cameron was recently asked about this during a press junket for Avatar in Japan.

"Well, you know there is still 40 minutes of unused 3D footage that Avatar lovers, or I should say, the world, would give their eye-teeth to see," he offered. "I actually have the sequel ready to go. I started writing it the day I saw the first 3D images. I knew that no matter what Avatar would have an audience and I wanted to reward them before they even saw the first film."

One reporter mentioned how Cameron is apparently stewing over the fact that Avatar had to leave U.S. screens early to make way for other 3D films. Apparently, he feels this compromised the box office grosses. This might have something to do with getting Avatar: Na'vi - World Infinity out sooner rather than later.

"Yeah... obviously if the 'tar (Cameron's pet name for the film) was the only game in town, the grosses might've been well over $800 billion domestically. Once I realized what was going on I vowed that this wouldn't happen again. This made me really work extra hard at locking down the sequel. As an American I live in a capitalist society. Sure, Pandora is a beautiful planet but if you're not paying the bills those green plants dry up pretty quick, right? You can't knock me for protecting my brand. It's just good business."

Once the director left the press junket, Cameron's own press people were quick to point out that the director never committed to Fox's production announcement. However, when pressed they did acknowledge that he was shooting some footage with certain cast members from the original film (they wouldn't say who), and that the title of the sequel is going to be Avatar: Na'vi - World Infinity.

My Story: Only Hope is Left

2010-06-09T10:57:00.000-07:00

Here's my humble continuation of the Avatar story. Read and Enjoy.

The Skypeople have been defeated. Now life must go on. Toruk Makto must lead his people into a new home and a new life. Jake, Neytiri, and their friends try to live a semi-normal life, all the while preparing for the return of the Skypeople.

Chapter 1
Palulukan Makto

Chapter 2
The Beginning of the End

Chapter 3
Toruk Makto

Chapter 4
Half Life

Chapter 5
Interlude

Chapter 6
Hubris

Chapter 7
Homo Sapien

Chapter 8
Death, Rebirth, Renewal

Chapter 9
The Hunt

Chapter 10
Becoming One of The People

Chapter 11 ( in progress.... )

Amazing Fan Art (Updated)

2010-06-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

So this post is a feature about some of the best Avatar Fan Art I've seen on the web. Please enjoy responsibly. Click thumbnails for larger images

more after the Jump...

Na'vi Photoshop Tutorials

2010-05-25T13:19:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a little bit of searching. These are a few of my favorites. The first is definitely the most in-depth.

http://www.webdesign.org/photoshop/photo-editing/angelina-jolie-as-a-na-vi-from-avatar-movie.18062.html

http://www.naviblue.com/hometree/forums/13-Avatar-Fan-Made/61961-Avatar-Tutorial-!#61961

http://www.webdesign.org/photoshop/photo-editing/na-vi-avatar-photo-manipulation-exclusive-tutorial.18015.html

And here's a fabulous video by mateo785 of his process. Note, it is not a complete tutorial because there a lots of steps left out, but for an experienced hand, it's a great reference and inspiration.

Na'vi Name Generator

2010-05-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

Kaltxi everyone. So I've been looking at the few available Na'vi name generators, and there really isn't much selection. So I thought I'd make my own, using names from the movie, game, and variations on similar languages to Na'vi. Check it out. It's pretty fly.

The Better Na'vi Name Generator

Cameron Talks Science of Avatar

2010-05-02T17:15:00.000-07:00

At Caltech this past Tuesday, James Cameron got together with heavy-hitting scientists to discuss the science behind Avatar. Cameron explained his theories behind giant flying dinosaurs, floating rocks, and space travel with assembled specialists. He was quick to acknowledge that the film is science fiction, but the explanatory “reverse-engineering”, as he described it, occupies a staggering 400 to 500 pages on the film’s wiki.

Some things, like the science of unobtaniam, was consciously designed from the beginning (in case you didn’t know, it’s a room-temperature super conductor used in yet-to-be-built fusion generators). Others started with a “cool image,” like the moon circling a blue gas giant or men jumping out of hugheys (not the first time Cameron has tackled images of Vietnam in Sci-Fi). When a reporter mentioned the “Epic” story, the directory quickly pointed out that many films attempt a mythic arc but are unsuccessful. When asked for an example he said, “Krull.” The student asking had never seen it. Whether or not all the pieces fit, it became apparent that Cameron really knows his engineering/physics/botany/biology/etc. He waxed scientific on everything from undersea thermal colonies to high energy magnetic systems. Cameron also mentioned what his future film plans might be.

Cameron was joined at the panel by Jess F. Adkins (Geochemistry), John P. Grotzinger (Geology), Jared R. Leadbetter (Microbiology), and Robert Hurt (Astronomy). Before the scientists revealed their impressions of the film, Cameron reminded the audience that it’s science fiction and is meant to create a sense of wonder. His priority was to make a compelling story, and then to create a scientific backstory to back up the film’s evocative images. An example is the blue Na’vi, admittedly inspired by Hindu philosophy. Cameron even wanted multiple arms but that proved too difficult for the actors. He went with blue and invented backstory along the way.

SPACE TRAVEL
One of the first items addressed was the opening sequence with the spaceship ponderously drifting through space. Cameron said that he wanted to have the spaceship travel below the speed of light, to avoid “warp speed” and other standard tricks that ignore Einstein’s scribblings. His craft is propelled through the chilly void by a beam of energy, shot from earth of course.

This causes the ship to approach obscene velocities, but still not enough to span the galaxy. But that lead to another problem. If a spaceship can’t travel through a new-rave dance party on its way to work, then its final destination had better be pretty damn close. They made it as close as possible. Pandora “exists” in the Alpha Centauri system, the nearest to earth at a paltry 4.5 light years.

UNOBTANIUM?
Unobtanium has actually been around for a while as a euphemism used by disgruntled, budget-strapped engineers. Cameron co-opted the term for use in the film. The “hard” science of Avatar envisages unobtanium as a really, really expensive room temperature super-conductor. But in an interesting aside by the director, he said its main function was metaphor. Whether it’s furs, gold, or spices, “there’s always some damn thing that some group needs that some group has, that causes them to get in a ship [go there]... and shoot them.” Cameron then said that the aforementioned summary is the past five hundred years in a historical thumbnail. Everyone clapped.

JUNGLES AND FLOATING ROCKS
The scientists really started to speak up when the discussion got out of space and into the glowing jungles. Grotzinger, a geologist for NASA, asked about the dearth of volcanoes. Cameron responded, “sequel, sequel…” In fact, they had planned a lot of Volcanism, but it got lost among deadlines and art-departments. The molecular biologist, Leadbetter, said he got really excited when he saw the soldiers put on gas masks. Cameron explained that the air of Pandora is toxic with sulfides (as one scientist pointed out, that would produce one hell of an acid downpour). The air is also very dense, otherwise the creatures we see flying so gracefully would fall to the rocks below. As for the floating mountains, well, they’re held up with magnets.

The magnetic field around the Tree of Life is so strong that it lifts the nearby, Unobtanium enriched rocks into the air. Cameron acknowledged one of the slight problems with this idea is that such a field would be so strong it could rip the hemoglobin right out of your skin. Spontaneous self-explosion does require a certain poetic license.

SCIENTISTS ARE GOOD GUYS
Throughout the dialogue, the scientists expressed their gratitude that Cameron hadn’t portrayed them as “Ted Kazinski” while simultaneously creating a palpable sense of wonder and discovery in the film’s characters. Cameron agreed that he’s, “...tired of hollywood showing scientists as evil or boring lecturers”, and going further, that they have, “...poetry in their souls.” It was fascinating to watch the director trail off into latin-speak and sea floor terminology. Hard to follow at times, but there was a clear sense of mutual respect. Moreover, it was relieving to see a filmmaker, who cares so deeply about knowledge, engaging with university personnel and scientists. When Cameron later fielded questions from students (ignoring some of the older, established journalists), he brought an informed opinion to bear on each climate/environmental topic, even occasionally, and courteously, correcting the questioner.

SEQUEL
Cameron is aleady planning a sequel. He plugged Fox’s Avatar Tree Initiative (which, regardless of how cynical you may be, is a good thing). I doubt that Murdoch, or whoever, would be interested in a post-facto environmental PR event unless there was some Avatar promo value. After all, they are planting a million trees. Cameron was quick to point out that even one million was a drop in the bucket.

After the panel I asked Cameron if he would return to films with darker themes, after the environmental victory of Avatar. He said that he is really interested in developing the world of Avatar and working on the story, then quickly added he hasn’t officially decided yet.

courtesy of http://blogs.indiewire.com

Prequels & Sequels

2010-02-18T17:24:00.000-08:00

So, Avatar fans the world wide are eagerly waiting for the release of the Avatar DVD's, both regular and Extended.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal director James Cameron revealed the release date for Avatar on DVD and Blu-ray. Cameron said that we can expect the usual DVD and Blu-ray release in April, and then a 3D version will be released in November with all the special features, deleted and unfinished scenes.

“It’s all right on schedule,” said Cameron. “We’ll do the Blu-ray and the standard def DVD April 22nd, that’s our plan as of right now, and that’ll be pretty much bare bones. And then we’ll do a value-added DVD and a 3-D Blu-ray in I think November sometime.”

He also spoke about the DVD and Blu-ray release to MTV:
“The unfinished scenes look like a cheesy video game,” Cameron said. “They’re the performances — you can really see what the scenes would have been — but it doesn’t have that magical realism of the finished film.”

Among the deleted scenes will be footage focusing on the main group of Na’vi humanoids of Pandora, the introduction of other Na’vi clans, and the ritual hunt for a colorful creature called a Sturmbeest in which Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) takes part.

“It’s all wonderful stuff, but it was sort of bogging down the middle section of the movie,” Cameron told us back in December. “So there’s plenty for a value-added DVD experience on this film. Of course, we’ll have to go punch it all up and get it all mixed and stuff like that.”

By November Samsung, Panasonic and Sony should have home 3-D television systems available for purchase, along with 3D Blu-ray players, so if you’re wealthy and want to splash out on the latest tech then you’ll be able to see Avatar in all its 3D glory.

Here's an article listing all of the goodies that were cut from the movie.
http://io9.com/5446538/everything-that-was-cut-from-avatar-sex-drugs-and-suicide

But that's not all. James Cameron is also thinking of writing a Novel. A prequel. Below is the article talking all about it.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2010/02/16/2010-02-16_james_cameron_to_pen_avatar_prequel_novel_says_producer_jon_landau.html

A Sequel to AVATAR
Will there be a sequel to AVATAR? Yes, there is great news for all AVATAR fans. James Cameron has confirmed that there will be a 3D sequel to AVATAR. In fact, he envisions a trilogy for the story, which will follow the main characters of the original movie, Neytiri and Jake. He announced that information even before the film came out. After it became the epic success that it did, in January 2010, Cameron once again confirmed, when asked if there will be a sequel, "Yes, there'll be another."
In April of 2010, James Cameron went into greater detail. He told The Los Angeles Times, "Part of my focus in the second film is in creating a different environment, a different setting within Pandora.” He went on to state that he will explore Pandora's oceans in its sequel. While the beloved rainforest of the original film will still be in its sequels, the oceans will be prominent as well. Fans who remember all of the neat and original surprises of the rainforest can only imagine what he may envision for its oceans.
While a release date has not been set for its sequel—and the actual production on it has not even begun—there will definitely be a sequel. However, knowing Cameron’s penchant for perfection, it just may be a longer time coming than anxious AVATAR fans hope for.

http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/01/08/avatar-sequel-confirmed-by-james-cameron-and-heres-what-wed-like-to-see/

Promotional and Misc. Images

2010-02-16T10:01:00.000-08:00

Basically this is all of the leftovers. Pictures I forgot to squeeze in here or there, and a few other interesting tidbits. Definately worth a look.

more after the Jump...

Interviews

2010-02-13T17:28:00.000-08:00

More after the Jump....

and for some reason, the Embed code was disabled on these sections, so here are the links...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAbOYph9Lu8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35GiJvqdW0M

Secondary Characters

2010-02-09T14:27:00.000-08:00

Continue after the Jump....

Tsu'Tey
Family Members Ateyo (father)

Tsu’tey te Rongloa Ateyitan was one of the Omaticaya Clan's finest warriors and archery experts. He was the clan leader for a short period of time from August 16-20, 2154, but fell during the final battle against the RDA.

Tsu'Tey was born in the Omaticaya Clan, as the son of Ateyo. While still young he was chosen to be Neytiri's mate and the next Olo'eyktan. He grew up to be the finest warrior and leader of the clan's hunters.

Tsu'Tey was to be mated with Neytiri, the Omaticaya's Clan princess, and they would then become the leaders of the clan. Jake Sully was captured by Tsu'Tey, and at Neytiri's insistance Jake was brought before Mo'at, the Omaticaya's Tsahik, who then decided that Jake would be taught the Na'vi ways. Tsu'Tey maintained hostility towards Jake from the moment they first met in the jungles of Pandora, and his anger only grew as he realized that Jake and Neytiri were falling in love. Upon finding out that Jake had mated with Neytiri he attempted to kill him. Jake managed to subdue him, and while trying to warn the Omaticaya of the impending attack by the RDA, Colonel Quarich disengaged Jake from his link chamber. Seeing his opportunity as Jake's lifeless Avatar fell to the ground, Tsu'Tey tried to kill Jake's Avatar, only to be stopped by Neytiri. When Jake was re-linked to his Avatar and he told the Omaticaya that he was originally a spy, Eytukan ordered Tsu'Tey to bind his hands. After the destruction of Hometree by the RDA and the death of Eytukan in the attack, Tsu'Tey became the clan leader.

After Jake was able to regain the trust of the Omaticaya by becoming the sixth Toruk Makto, Tsu'Tey agreed to fly with him in the final battle against the RDA. Tsu'Tey was killed when he boarded the Valkyrie shuttle in an attempt to halt its bombing run. Maiming and killing several SecForces troops with his bow and knife, he was shot at point-blank range and fell to his death.

In content cut from the theatrical release, Tsu'Tey does not immediately die. Instead, he falls to the jungle below, where Lyle Wainfleet finds him. Lyle holds Tsu'Tey from his queue, and cuts it off near the base; leaving Tsu'Tey screaming in agony. Tsu'Tey then passes on leadership of the clan to Jake and then asks Jake, "let Toruk Makto be my last shadow". Jake, being Toruk Makto, ends Tsu'Tey's suffering with great grief. This scene, which was cut from the final release, may or may not appear in the Director's Cut, and unless it is included in said release, cannot be considered canon.

Trivia: Tsu'Tey's full name means "Eats the heart" and "Son of Ateyo"

Mo'at

We have tried to teach other Sky People... It is hard to fill a cup which is already full.

Mo'at is a main character in Avatar who is the Tsahik or Spiritual Leader of the Na'vi's Omaticaya Clan. According to Cameron's original script, her name means "Dream Catcher." She is mated with Eytukan and has two children: Neytiri and Sylwanin. She attempts to keep peace between the independent Neytiri and her father, and while she does not initially approve of Jake and Neytiri's relationship (as shown by her line to Eytukan: "We cannot let this seed grow. Her path is with Tsu’tey."). Ultimately she creates the freedom for her daugher to be with her love interest. She is partially responsible for Jake's adoption into the Omaticaya Clan.

She is seen as a psychic or a 'bridge' to their beliefs. More specifically: Eywa

Tsahik are the spiritual leaders of Na'vi clans. Their name means "she who interprets the will of Eywa" They are typically female and mated with the leader. The Tsahiks of the Omaticaya and Tipani clans are Mo'at and Sänume, respectively.

Eytukan is the patriarch of the Omaticaya Clan, the husband of Mo'at and the father of Neytiri. Eytukan prevented Tsu'tey from killing Jake when Jake explained he was a warrior, and along with Mo'at was partially responsible for Jake's adoption into the Omaticaya Clan.

He was killed when a shard of wood from the Hometree impaled him in the torso, during the RDA assault.

Upon his death, Eytukan hands over his ceremonial bow to his daughter, Neytiri, thus giving her leadership responsibility of the Omaticaya Clan.

His great-grandfather was the fifth Toruk Makto, the sixth being Jake Sully.

Trivia: In the original script Eytukan's name was Mato'a Te Kaha Nahgoitewa.

Dr. Grace Augustine is a xenobotanist in charge of the Avatar Program. She is a legend to the scientific personnel as the author of a comprehensive book of Pandora's plants. She helped Jake Sully on the Avatar program, until she died due to a gunshot wound inflicted by Quaritch.
Arriving on Pandora several years before Jake Sully, Dr Augustine was reluctant to accept him on her team due to his lack of training and qualifications for the program, but had no choice. When Sully was lost in the forest, she presumed his avatar dead but later found out that his avatar had been taken in by the Omaticaya Clan. Due to Jake's presence, in successive months relations with the clan improved and Augustine was allowed back into the village, until the Hometree was destroyed. Augustine, Sully, and Spellman escape Hell's Gate in an effort to help the Omaticaya, but not before Quaritch fatally wounds Grace with a well-placed shot. Jake brings her human form to Neytiri and Mo'at at the Tree of Souls, hoping they could transfer her consciousness into her avatar form, but she was rendered too weak by her wounds. Before she died at the foot of the Tree of Souls, she told Jake that she saw Eywa.

Grace arrived several years before the avatar team. She explored the plants of Pandora, and literally wrote the book on the unique botany she discovered, called The Na'vi. She was considered a living legend in the Terran scientific community. Grace also created a school to teach the Na'vi English and their culture until it was shut down. She continued to keep pictures of her students, one of them being Neytiri, on a cabinet in a camp stationed in the Hallelujah Mountains.

She appears to be very fond of and close to her Na'vi students, who seem to show the same feelings toward her; this is demonstrated when they take her unconscious Avatar body to the Tree of Souls with them after the destruction of Hometree. As a scientist, Grace Augustine's primary concern is with her work. She demonstrates her dedication to the study of Pandora and the Na'vi early and often; this dedication manifests itself as hostility towards Col. Quaritch and Parker Selfridge, who do not share her enthusiasm. As a result of this hostility, it is considered by many outside the Avatar program that Grace is little more than a lonely scientist, and that she loves plants more than humans. Possibly as an escape from her poor relationship with her colleagues, Grace is a smoker and a moderate drinker.She later shows her warmer side in her concern for Jake's well being. When in her avatar form, Grace seems more enthusiastic about her work and more cheerful and kind instead of irritable.

There are some foreshadowing lines on the film, for example:
- Grace, looking at a display showing the Tree of Souls: "I would die to get samples there." - She does, in fact, die there.
- Grace to Quaritch: "What are you going to do, Ranger Rick? Shoot me?" Quaritch: "I can do that." - Quaritch ends up mortally wounding her in the escape.
Grace's smoking and drinking have been one of the criticisms thrown at Avatar by some anti-smoking organizations, who say that she is setting a bad example for young children who might see the film.
Grace's avatar bears far more resemblance to her human form than other avatars. Her avatar form lacks a typical, flat na'vi nose and has facial structure and traits very similar to her human form.
In Cameron's original concept, Grace was named "Grace Shipley," while her role as head of the Avatar program was originally assumed by Dr. Brantley Giese, a character omitted from the final film. Also in the original scriptment, she survives the consciousness transfer to be reborn as a Na'vi.

Dr. Max Patel is a civilian scientist. He appears to be in charge of overseeing the process of synchronising the minds of humans with their Avatar bodies as well as providing technical advice and support. Max is implied to have been on Pandora for a number of years by the time of Jake Sully and Norm Spellman's arrival, being a member of Dr. Grace Augustine's original staff.

Max meets Jake Sully and Norm Spellman the day they arrive to Pandora. He explains what an avatar is, and shows their respective avatars. He is in charge of transporting Jake's mind into his avatar for the first time. When Jake is in his avatar form, he asks Jake to be quiet, as he isn't used to his avatar body.
Max and Trudy Chacon helped the avatar team go free after they were arrested, but as they flee Jake tells Max to stay behind in order to provide them with intelligence, saying he needs someone on the inside he can trust.

In the script (cut from the film) Max destroys the OPS Center in the final battle, as he smashes the windows with a Slash Cutter, leaving Selfridge and some technicians on the ground, with pandoran air. After that, several avatars aim weapons down at them, they have the OPS Center. Selfridge lies down with an emergency Exopack, defeated.

After the battle, Max is one of the few humans chosen to stay on Pandora, after the RDA employees were banished.

Norm Spellman is a main character in Avatar and a human anthropologist. He is portrayed by actor Joel David Moore. Norm was born and raised on Earth and trained as a scientist. Before his first assignment on Pandora, he claimed to have studied the Na'vi language for 5 years, and had logged 520 hours of simulation time in preparation for bonding with his Avatar. Norm, being a friend of the late Tom Sully, immediately introduced himself to Jake. Though they became close friends, he soon became somewhat envious of Jake, who after becoming lost in the forest was adopted by the Omaticaya clan of the Na'vi. Enjoying the contact this tutelage brought with the clan, Norm came to forgive him and acted as Jake's tutor (along with Dr. Grace and Neytiri) in the Na'vi culture.Norm watched the scene from the main link centre in Hell's Gate. When Selfridge ordered the cutting of Jake and Grace's psionic links he tried in vain to stop security from doing so, only to get himself, Jake and Grace imprisoned in the station brig, where they were rescued by Trudy Chacon and Max Patel. n the battle for Pandora, Norm fought alongside Jake and the Na'vi against the RDA. Whilst Jake led the air assault, Norm rode alongside the Na'vi cavalry. As the unarmored Na'vi were cut down by the RDA troops, his Avatar was shot in the chest and left shoulder. Back in his undamaged human body, suffering from shock but determined to help, he recovered enough to arm himself with a rifle and don an Exopack to rejoin the fray.

When the RDA was driven from Pandora, he was one of the few humans allowed to stay. He then chose to stay on Pandora after the movie's conclusion.

It is not known if Norm's Avatar body can still be used after he got shot (in his Avatar body). Unless the shots were fatal, it is possible that Norm can still use his Avatar body. Though when the RDA were leaving Pandora, Norm was shown in his human form wearing an Exopack which may suggest that his Avatar body is either deceased or being repaired. If Norm Spellman appears in the sequal to Avatar (which is most likely), then it will be confirmed if he can still use his Avatar body or not.

In the script, Norm was romantically linked to Trudy Chacon, however the idea was scrapped.
Was originally named Norm Cheeseman

"You're not the only one with a gun, bitch!"

Trudy Chacon was a marine Secops pilot, whose primary task is flying sorties for science teams. She pilots a Samson, that she uses for transportation and for battle. She was working for the RDA when she met Jake Sully just prior to transporting him, Norm Spellman and Dr. Grace Augustine on an expedition deep into Pandora's forest. She was forced to abandon the search for Jake when his Avatar was lost during his first mission, as Colonel Quaritch had deemed night operations too dangerous.
She also flew the trio to a temporary science station in the Hallelujah Mountains when Dr. Augustine wanted to continue her research away from Hell's Gate and military personnel.
When the RDA attacked the Hometree, Trudy refused to join in the assault and broke out of combat formation, returning to base just after the first salvo, stating, "I didn't sign up for this shit!" which effectively switched her side in the conflict. Interestingly, the movie shows no consequences for this action, as she is able to rescue Jake Sully, Norm Spellman and Dr. Grace Augustine from the cell they were being held in. She was assisted by Dr. Max Patel and airlifted their science installation away from the RDA's reach. They escape from Hell's Gate, and Trudy assists Jake and the Na'vi during their final stand against the RDA armada, which had mobilized once more to attack the Na'vi's temporary camp on their most sacred ground. Piloting her Samson, she engaged Colonel Quaritch's Dragon Gunship in order to distract him from his pursuit of Jake Sully astride his Toruk, but she was ultimately outgunned and killed.

Her confrontation with Quaritch is reminiscent of Chinese art portraying the Dragon vs Tiger; Quaritch flying a Dragon Gunship (he also has a dragon painted on the side of his ship) and Trudy having a Tiger painted on her Samson.
In the complete script of Avatar, Trudy and Norm were romantically involved. This relationship was cut out from the movie.

Colonel Miles Quaritch is the main antagonist of the 2009 film, "Avatar" and the Chief of Security of Hell's Gate on Pandora. Having little respect for indigenous lifeforms, especially the Na'vi, he directed the destruction of the Omaticaya Hometree and lead the SecOps forces in an attempt to destroy the Tree of Souls. He was eventually killed by being impaled by Neytiri's arrows.

Before his tour of duty on Pandora, Quaritch served in numerous military engagements without injury, most notably three tours in Nigeria with First Recon. On his first day on Pandora an encounter with the wildlife dealt him a trio of trademark scars to the side of his face. Given the option to return home for reconstructive surgery he opted to stay on Pandora. With his impressive record he was eventually chosen as the chief of security of Hell's Gate.

Quaritch looks and acts like a life long military man. He wears his hair short and is covered with battle scars, most notably a trio of claw marks on the side of his head, likely caused by a Viperwolf. He only respects force, and accordingly shows little respect for the Na'vi despite acknowledging their bravery.
His long-running military career is representative of his personality. He regularly works out to off-set the low gravity on Pandora so he doesn't get "soft". He is an outstanding soldier and has been known to forgo the Exopack when entering combat in the poisonous atmosphere of Pandora for short periods when he feels the situation demands it. An expert with his AMP suit, he is still familiar with combat techniques as demonstrated by his marksmanship and his hand-to-hand combat skills.

His final battle with Jake symbolizes the entire conflict; both are fighting with artificial bodies that are different in construction. Quaritch's AMP Suit represents the technologically advanced humans, while Jake's Avatar represents the organic and natural Na'vi.
However, as Quaritch himself alludes to, Quaritch's suit and Jake's Avatar are both the products of human, industrial science. This supports Quaritch's view that Jake is a traitor who is only fooling himself ("You think you're one of them?") when he chooses to side with the aliens, though we as an audience are inclined to sympathise with Jake.
More symbolically, an underlying discourse of the movie is one of industrialization vs nature, but the theme is literally embodied when the Pandoran wildlife attacks the RDA troops in response to their incursion. This is consistent with the film's environmental, anti-industrial overtones.
There are some foreshadowing lines on the film, for example:
- Quaritch at his safety brief: "'We have an indigenous population of humanoids, called the Na'vi, they are fond' of arrows dipped into a neurotoxin that will stop your heart in one minute" - He in fact dies at the end through two of those arrows fired from Neytiri.

The Art of Avatar

2010-02-09T13:42:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my favorite pictuers from behind-the-scenes art and the creation of Avatar.
Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

click thumbnails for larger images.

continue after the Jump....

Jake & Neytiri

2010-02-09T13:23:00.000-08:00

Neytiri
Omaticaya Clan
Mate    Jake Sully
Banshee    Seze†
Occupation    Tsahik

Family Members

    * Jake Sully (mate)
    * Eytukan (father)†
    * Mo'at (mother)
    * Sylwanin (sister)†
    * Tom Sully (brother in law)†

Neytiri Dis'kahan Mo'at'itey (known only as Neytiri) is a Na'vi, princess of the Omaticaya Clan. She is the daughter of Eytukan and Mo'at. She will be the future tsahik of the tribe, with her mate Jake Sully becoming the Olo'eyktan (leader).

Early Life

Neytiri is born as Neytiri Dis'kahan Mo'at'itey, which means daughter of Mo'at and Eytukan. As her name tells us, she is the daughter of the Omaticaya's Clan leaders, Eytukan and Mo'at. She grows up learning through songs, as all Na'vi do, learning to love and celebrate their connection with Eywa.

She learns English from Grace Augustine's school, but it is closed down when relations between the Humans and the Na'vi become hostile. Her English is broken, and she speaks with a thick Na'vi accent.

Jake and Neytiri

Neytiri and Jake's relationship starts as a mentor and her student when Neytiri is tasked to instruct Jake in the ways of the Omaticaya. As time passes they grow closer to one another and a mutual attraction grows between them. After Jake bonds with one of the Ikran of the Hallelujah Mountains, and so finishes the final test to become one of the Omaticaya people, their relationship reaches a new level. After the night of Jake's ceremony of acceptance the two go off together to a grove of trees called the Tree of Voices where they both choose each other as life mates, and mate before Eywa. This seals their relationship for the remainder of their lives, according to the Na'vi way. During the events leading up to the final battle with RDA forces, their relationship grows tense, as Neytiri believes Jake to be a traitor and rejects him from the clan, saying he "would never be one of the people" . After Jake proves his strong connection to Eywa by becoming Toruk Makto, Neytiri accepts, loves and sees him once more. Neytiri displays her love for Jake by saving his avatar's life from an enraged Tsu'Tey and also his human body from Quaritch by not only killing the colonel but also by placing an oxygen mask on Jake's human body after he nearly suffocates in Pandora's atmosphere. They now remain together and lead the Omaticaya people.

Tsu'Tey

Neytiri and Tsu'Tey are intended to be a mated pair and rule the Omaticaya people together. The two grew up and learned together, but it is implied that Neytiri does not love Tsu'Tey as she later chooses Jake Sully as her mate. After Jake and Neytiri mate, Tsu'Tey attempts to kill Jake for stealing Neytiri away from him. Neytiri defends Jake's unconscious Avatar after he is disconnected by Quaritch. Tsu'Tey is killed in the final battle against the RDA.

Behind the Scenes

* Neytiri was originally named "Zuleika Te Kaha Polenoma" in Cameron's first concept.
* In the script, she is named "Neytiri te Ckaha Mo'at’ite".[1]
* Neytiri is stated to be roughly 18 human years old.[2]
* It is stated in the script that Neytiri is pregnant with Jake's child at the end of the film but was taken out in the final release, or was simply filmed, but deleted from the final film.

Jake Sully

Occupation

    * Clan Leader (Olo'eyktan)
    * U.S. Marine (former)

Family Members

    * Neytiri (mate)
    * Tom Sully (twin brother)†
    * Eytukan (father-in-law)†
    * Mo'at (mother-in-law)

Jake Sully, (born 2126), is a renegade Marine infantryman who defects to the Na'vi race. He is also one of the 20 known avatars and the sixth Toruk Makto.

Jake was part of the Avatar Program, in which humans remotely control Human/Na'vi hybrids to safely navigate the planet. He was originally assigned to gather intel that would help Colonel Quaritch discover a way to force the Na'vi to leave Hometree, or destroy it if necessary. The Na'vi occupation of Hometree was blocking the RDA's access to the very large deposit of Unobtanium, the entire reason for RDA's interest in Pandora, underneath the tree. After spending time with the Na'vi, Jake abandons his original mission and stops reporting to Quaritch. Jake learns the ways of the Na'vi hunters from Neytiri, and is eventually accepted into the Omaticaya clan. Soon after, he and Neytiri fall in love. Seeing that the Na'vi will not leave, the RDA stages its attack on Hometree, for which Jake seeks revenge. When everything seems lost to the Na'vi, Jake is able to attain Tsahaylu with a Great Leonopteryx, becoming the sixth Toruk Makto. He plays a key role in the final battle, leading the Na'vi against the RDA offensive. The Na'vi then perform a ceremony in which they ask Eywa to place Jake's mind into his Avatar body permanently.

Jake Sully was born and raised on Earth, and grew up hearing about Pandora, a small moon orbiting the gas giant Polyphemus. Though nothing is known of his childhood, he joined the Marines as an adult and suffered an injury in an unspecified war while fighting in Venezuela. This left him paralyzed from the waist down.
Since his veterans benefits are not enough to pay for the surgery to repair his legs, he has no choice but to live out his life in a wheelchair. After a night of drinking, Jake starts a bar fight with a man who strikes a woman. After breaking up the fight, the bouncers throw him out into the street where he is approached by two RDA agents. After confirming his identity, the agents inform him that his identical twin brother, Tom, had been killed in a mugging. His brother was one of the selected few scientists chosen to participate in the Avatar Program, and one of even fewer Avatar drivers. Tom trained on Earth for three years in preparation for a tour on Pandora. He represented a significant investment on the part of the Resources Development Administration due to the inherent link between the pilot and the Avatar he controls, as well as the enormous cost of creating an Avatar. Since Jake is genetically identical to his brother, he can link with the Avatar, saving the company the cost of creating a new one. After being offered significant compensation, he apprehensively takes over his brother's contract and is put in cryosleep for the trip to Pandora.

Jake with Neytiri.

Jake first met Neytiri when she saved him from a pack of Viperwolves. At the time she was mad at him, since the Viperwolves would not have had to die if Jake had been more careful and quiet. When Jake asks why she saved him, she says it is because he has a strong heart, no fear. Initially demanding he leave, she decides to take him to the home tree after dozens of seeds from the sacred tree land on Jake signifying that Eywa has a purpose for him. Eytukan and Mo'at, the leaders of the clan and parents of Neytiri, decided to teach Jake their ways, choosing Neytiri as his tutor. As Neytiri taught him the Na'vi culture and language, their relationship grew. Their romantic relationship began to emerge after Jake is able to tame his own Ikran. That night, with Grace and Neytiri looking on, Jake undergoes the ceremony in which Eytukan declares him as one of their own, one of the People. Later, Neytiri tells Jake that he can choose his mate, and he chooses her. She in turn chooses him and they spend the night mating and are mated to one another for life.

When they return to the clan, Jake confesses to being ordered to spy on the Na'vi, and Neytiri is distraught. When the Hometree is destroyed, Neytiri is devastated, as her father, Eytukan, was killed in the battle. When Jake tries to comfort her she tells him to leave and never come back. But when Jake is able to tame a Great Leonopteryx, making him the sixth Toruk Makto, Neytiri is convinced of his loyalties and they fight together against the RDA forces. Neytiri saves Jake's life twice in the final fight with RDA forces. The first time she saves Jake's Avatar from Quaritch's AMP suit, and the second time she places an Exo-Pack on his human body, after the module he was in was breached by Quaritch. After Jake regains consciousness, Neytiri says "I see you", the traditional Na'vi greeting meaning "I see who you truly are". These words mark the true depth of their relationship with a new meaning due to Jake being in human form.

In a confirmed deleted scene, as evidenced by the above photo and the script, Jake finds a dying Tsu'Tey with Mo'at. Lyle Wainfleet cut his queue, he gives Jake the leadership of the clan, and has a final request for Jake, to let Toruk Makto be his last shadow, Jake unwillingly agrees, and ends Tsu'Tey's suffering.

Jake Sully was originally named "Josh Sully" in Cameron's first concept.
After waking from cryosleep aboard the ISV Venture Star, Jake's locker can be seen still labelled as "T. Sully"; it was originally assigned to Jake's dead twin brother Tom.
Jake Sully is 22 Earth years old before he sets off for Pandora.
Jake Sully's Avatar body is estimated to be 17 years old. It is, however, less than six years old, being grown during the ISV Venture Star's journey to Pandora.
In the script, Neytiri becomes pregnant with Jake's child, however the idea was scrapped, or filmed but just not in the final cut.

Eywa & Sacred places

2010-02-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

Eywa is the guiding force and deity of Pandora and the Na'vi. The Na'vi believe that Eywa acts to keep the ecosystem of Pandora in perfect equilibrium. It is sometimes theorized by Earth scientists that all living things on Pandora connect to Eywa through a system of neuro-conductive antennae; this often explains why Na'vi can mount their Direhorse or Banshee steeds and ride them immediately without going through the necessary centuries required to domesticate such wild animals.

Some believe that this interconnectedness, which on Earth is merely a spiritual concept, exists in a physical and tangible way on Pandora, in the form of a strange, collective psionic consciousness embedded in the planet, drawn from all Pandoran life. It is, in a way, a bit like a huge biological internet; the trees being computer servers that store information. The Na'vi can upload or download memories from it using their queues and it can even be used for mind transfers in certain cases.

In the Avatar video game, this psionic link can be manipulated by humans as well. If the player chooses to side with the RDA, then the main objective throughout the game is to gather three psionic crystals in certain areas and plant them near specific crystal willow trees, which are said to be where emanations of Eywa concentrate. This is done so that the willow trees emit a beam and signal that activates and points people toward the direction of the Well of Souls. This allows RDA scientists to both find the Well of Souls and build an artificial psionic machine that emulates an aggressive version of the smaller willow trees' signals, which is then planted in front of the active Well of Souls. This allows the RDA to tap into Eywa itself, control the psionic consciousness, and take control of the planet itself to turn it against the Na'vi, thereby giving the RDA a decisive advantage. Eventually, the RDA is successful in these efforts, and is now inevitably on the way to winning the war against the Na'vi and taking absolute control of Pandora. This only occurs if the player sides with the RDA.

    * Eywa is very similar to many of Earth's deities, such as Jörð in Norse mythology who is the personification of the Earth, and is even closer to the Native Americans' religious views of the planet being one living entity.
    * The Tree of Souls grants the Na'vi access to the psychic essences of their deceased, which is how the Na'vi communicate with their ancestors. The roots of the trees are capable of extending above the ground and connecting to the nervous system of any living thing, even humans. That's how Jake's consciousness was transferred to his Avatar.
    * Eywa has been compared to Gaia (Gaea), Mother Earth, Mother Nature or God by those trying to explain the relationship between Eywa and the Na'vi. The Gaia hypothesis follows on that the entire biosphere acts like a single organism or at least a complex system (soft Gaia), or that the Earth is consciously manipulating the biosphere in order to make conditions more favorable to life (hard Gaia).
    * Eywa's embodiment as plant life may be a reference to Yggdrasil, The Tree of Life, a holy embodiment in Norse mythology. Yggdrasil is a tree, said to be the root of all life, sent to keep the natural order of life on Earth.

Eywa is also similar to the Norse god-king Odin in title. Odin in known as the All-Father, whereas Eywa is known as the All-Mother.

The Well of Souls is a bizarre geological formation found in Pandora. The location is hidden deep in the heart of Pandoran forest. It is essentially a mixture of jagged megaliths protruding from the earth and graceful arches, levitated by the rocks' high Unobtanium content. In the middle of the formation is a huge caldera, home to the sacred Tree of Souls. The caldera is 100 meters across. It is ringed with enormous willows whose roots seem to pour down the sheer rock walls like candle wax.

The Tree of Souls (Na'vi Name: Vitraya Ramunong) is a giant willow-like tree that is said to be the closest connection to Eywa on all of Pandora.

The Tree of Souls is located on the ground of Pandora, amidst the floating Hallelujah Mountains, not far from Hometree. After the destruction of Hometree, the Na'vi tribe was forced to make an exodus there on foot to protect their cultural identity.
The tree sits in a basin roughly 60 meters in diameter, shielded by an unusual formation of rock arches that give the impression of a shell encasing it, increasing its sense of security and protection. The tree is difficult to find due to its location right at the heart of Pandora's natural Flux Vortex, caused by strong magnetic and gravitational forces from the floating mountains and the large unobtanium deposit located beneath the formation.

The Tree of Souls, besides being a very close connection to Eywa, also works as a way for Eywa to directly interact with the world through the seeds of the tree. The tree has the capability to connect directly to the nervous system of all living things, and is not limited to the queue that Pandoran wildlife possesses. When Grace Augustine was injured, Jake Sully brought her to the Na'vi and they attempted to save her by using the Tree of Souls to connect to Grace's nervous system and permanently transfer her mind to her Avatar body. Although Grace was too weak to make the transfer, instead she became one with Eywa. At the end of the film Jake successfully transfers his mind into his Avatar, making it his true body forever.

A Woodsprite (Na'vi name: Atokirina') is a seed of the Tree of Souls that lives on Pandora. These seeds, according to the Na'vi, are considered very pure and sacred spirits. Furthermore, these seeds are believed to be auspicious wheresoever they choose to rest. They are similar in appearance to small deep-sea jellyfish, but they float on the wind like dandelion seeds, possibly aided in this by the denser atmosphere on Pandora. Woodsprites also hold ritual importance. The Omaticaya Clan plants one of these seeds with the body of a deceased Na'vi, so the Na'vi's consciousness will become part of Eywa.

Strangely, despite the Woodsprite's omnipresence, no other Trees of Souls appear in the movie. This may imply that the seeds are actually infertile or serve another purpose besides reproduction. This would make the Tree of Souls a truly unique entity, since its seeds could not be used to germinate another one in the scenario that original tree was destroyed, damaged, or captured.

The Tree of Voices (Na'vi name: Utral Aymokriyä) was an important spiritual site to the local Na'vi, so named because the 'voices' of ancestors could be 'heard' there through nerve contact with the tree. Similar in appearance to the Tree of Souls, it was where Jake and Neytiri chose each other as mates. It was bulldozed when the RDA cleared a path to Hometree in preparation for mining the rich Unobtanium deposit there.

Na'vi Culture

2010-02-03T13:13:00.000-08:00

The Na'vi culture is deep, beautiful, and simple thing. Their lives focus on unity, simplicity, and a strong connection to nature. Here are some insights into the lives of the Na'vi and the Omaticaya as well as the tools and rituals that make up their lives.

more after the jump...

Baby Carriers

The Na'vi call their baby carriers Iveh k'nivi s'dir made of soft sturmbeest leather with fur, cut in strips, tanned and softened. A tight frontal wrap keeps Na'vi infants close to their mother's or father's body. The carrier keeps babies warm and allows the parent to run, climb, and carry out domestic activities. The wrap also helps socialize Na'vi children, who are face-to-face with their parents from their first days and thus learn appropriate facial cues and gestures. Most Na'vi couples have one to three children, although there are exceptions.

Toy Banshee

Su'shiri t'acto sa are toy banshees made by the Na'vi. They are made from flexible sticks decorated with twigs, reeds, and colored twine. Weighing roughly half a kilogram, the size depends on personal choice but no more than 40 centimeters wingspan is made. Every Na'vi child has one and most choose to personalize theirs with shells and twine. The toy reminds children that they will someday bond with a real banshee; this encourages them to hone their hunting skills.

The Bladder Lantern

(Na'vi name: Tmi nat'sey, "food here")

These lanterns are used as light source in Na'vi villages, or whether light is needed.
edit Materials and Construction

Lantern consists of the stomach, or thinskinned internal organs of various animals, dried and sewn with twine and leather. The organ's interior is coated with nectar to attract an indigenous glowing insect similar to a Terran firefly. Those insects, in turn, attract more of their kind, perpetuating and increasing the lantern's glow.
edit Trivia

Though the Na'vi have naturally excellent night vision, they enjoy the calming glow provided by these lanterns inside Hometree.

Hometree Songs

Na'vi Name: Kelutral tirol

The Na'vi people have no indigenous musical theory; they don not analyze or codify their musical creations. Songs come to the Na'vi through dreams, while wandering along, or while linked with the conciousness of Pandora through their queues. Na'vi do not claim ownership; the songs belong to all.

Unlike aboriginal cultures on Earth, both men and women join in songs that revolve around home and hearth activities, such as weaving, cooking, child-rearing, and playing games with children. They use a ver wide vocal range, often ecompassing three octaves (although they do not use that concept). Many Hometree songs invove overlapping, cascading musical lines, with each performer singing the same basic melody but joining the song at different points, with different tempi and rhythms, a style sometimes referred to as heterophony (commonly found on in Earth in Eastern music tradition).

It mus be noted that the theoretical information given here is the result of observation and analysis by xrenomusicologists. There has been no confirmation of musical theories by the Na'vi themselves. They do not recognize any theoretical basis other than Eywa and are reluctant to discuss their music with outsiders. An Earth-style musicological analysis would make absolutely no sense to them, and they believe the study of music to be a frivolous activity.

The Blue Flute

Na'vi Name: Omati s'ampta
Function: Guardian spirit played only on most sacred occasions
Materials and Construction: Hollowed branch from Hometree, one finger hole drilled near top

It is interesting to note that, although the Omaticaya calls itself "the Clan of the Blue Flute" the instrument referenced is, at least as described by researchers, not actually a flue. (Some researchers attribute this to a lack of nuance on the part of the Terran translator). Nor is it used as a musical instrument. There is only one in existance, kept carefully within the limbs of Hometree. It serves as a guardian spirit and a concrete representation of the connection of the Na'vi with the Hometree. The flute (actually a one-holed trumpet in terms of playing techniques) is of ancient ancestry. Na'vi mythology purports that Eywa plucked a branch from the Hometree, created the Blue Flute, and gave it to the Omaticaya with the intent that it be used as a device to communicate with her or the spirits of ancestors who hav passed on. Xenomusicologists believe that it is heard only on the most sacred of occasions, including the alignment of nearby planets and is played only by the Olo'eyktan (clan leader).

Hammocks

Na'vi Name: Eywa k'sey nivi bri'sta, or "Eywa cradles everyone"
Materials and Construction: rope, twine, strong woven mats usually made from beanstalk palm. A large central mat is woven in a decorative pattern, which is then affixed to a rope support structure. The finished hammock is then fastened to the branches of Hometree.

The Na'vi prefer to sleep in large groups for physical closeness and comfort. This arrangement also acts as an effective early warning system in the event of danger. Families sleep together on larger hammocks, which are decorated and meticulously constructed for flexibility and strength. For everyday use, the family hammock is known simply as nivi, or "us."

Clan members will occasionally sleep singly or with their mates in smaller hammocks. This is socially acceptable as long as the member returns group sleep, or k'sey nivi, within a short period of time. As attuned as they are to one another, the Na'vi use sleeping arrangements as an accurate barometer of a clan member's emotional health; if a Na'vi is seen to sleep outside the group (sumin'sey hulleh) for an extended period, it is generally considered a sign that the clan member is in some kind of distress.

Because of the fine craftsmanship, hammocks can last for more than 20 terran years. Family elders decide when a new hammock is needed. Construction takes place over a period of months and generates a good deal fo enthusiasm within both the family and the clan as a whole; everyone contributes to the efort. A great deal of time is spent in gathering the correct materials, and it is during this process that most of the familial bonding takes place. The construction itself is a relatively informal and straighforward process.

As the hammock nears completion, several ceremonies take place to honor and acknoledge the hard work. When the new hammock is finally installed and the old one is removed, there is a ceremony in which the old hammock is burned on a pyre in a serious, respectful manner. At the end of the ceremony, the family puts on a celebration with food and dance in honor of the moment of renewal.

*Hammocks are sensative to the touch, and can curl to form a cocoon like shape for a sleeping Na'vi.
*Banshee aerie is in Hometree near the Na'vi sleeping area.

The Great Loom

Na'vi Name: Ulivi mart'tsey mak'dini'to
Function: weaving items such as cloth, hammocks, mats, hanging decorations

While other Na'vi clans on Pandora organize themselves around carving or pottery, the Omaticaya are renowned for their brilliant textiles. Thus the loom plays a key role in the daily life of the clan. The largest of the Omaticayan looms is more massive than a terran pipe organ. This mas'kit nivi sa'nok, or "mother loom" is given a place of honor in the common area of Hometree.

The Na'vi word for loom, ulivi mar'tsey mak'dini'to, translates roughly into "branches of the tree look to each other for stength," or "many branches together are strong." Depending on the type of textile produced, the loom can also be referred to as Eywa s'ilivi mas'kit nivi (or just mas'kit nivi) which translates to "Eywa's wisdom is revealed to all of us." This evocation of Eywa is a clear indication of the loom's importance in Na'vi culture. It is also a compelling description of Eywa, who, in this context, is depicted as a kind of cosmic weaver who brings the disparate elements of Pandora together into a harmonious whole.

Weavers often sing of these themes while at the loom:

The rhythm of rain and sun,                Tompaya kato, tsakeya kato,
Of night and day,                                 Trra si txona,
The rhythm of the years,                     S(i) ayzista kato,
And the beat of the hearts,                  Si ekong te'lana,
Hearts of the people,                           Te'lana le-Na'vi
Fills me,                                              Oeru teya si
Fills me,    Oeru teya si

I weave the rhythm,                            Katot taftxu oel
In yellow and blue,                             Niean nirim
The rhythm of the years,                    Ayzisita kato,
The spiral of the lives,                        Iheyu sireya
The spiral of the lives,    Iheyu sireya
Lives of the people,                            Sireya le-Na'vi

Fills me,                                             Oeru teya si
Fills me,                                             Oeru teya si

Leaf Plate

Na'vi Name: Sumin jilt'luy, or ulu'tah inib'sey musli
Materials and Construction: Animal shell and bone, leaves, wood, reeds, twigs, and twine are formed into a wide, shallow basket.

Na'vi etiquette and tradtion dictates that these trasy are passed to every participant of a social gathering or ritual. One should not take a bowl, which is used for a mildly intoxicating drink, off the tray for his or her own use. Instead, one must hold the tray and allow another adjacent clan member to take the bowl and place it before the drinker. Only then can one drink from the cup. During festive occasions, children enjoy following the tray around the circle so that they can be the one to place the bowl in front of the tray holder.

Fire Pit

Na'vi Name: Mreki u'lito

Much like the anicent campfires and hearths of old Earth, Na'vi fire pits are centers of clan social life. Na'vi children grow up near the warmth of the fire and hear stories of their ancestors. Not all the discussion is serious. The cooks gossip about potential matings and joke about which hunter brought in the smallest hexapede. According to clan lore, the fire has been kept going, at least at ember level, for several generations. Even if this is not the literal truth, is is considered a lapse to have a fire that is not ready to quickly accomodate a successful hunt; the Na'vi believe that it is vital to honor the animal that gave up its life for the good of the clan. A fire turned to ash might indicate a lack of respect for both animal and hunter.

Personal Belongings Rack

Na'vi Name: P'ah s'ivil chey, or informally, chey
Function: rack for personal belongings, including clothing, jewelry, and tools, etc.
Materials and Construction: carved hardwood, attached with leather strips, often decorated with shells, colored stones.

By tradition, a Na'vi cannot build his or her own rack. Instead, they must be given one as a gift from a friend or family member. The long hours and craftsmanship needed to create the racks are considered powerful symbols of filial and familial love. It is believed that the ritul helps strengthen clan bonding.

Ceremonial Bow

Function: ceremonial, but can be used for hunting
Size and Weight: 2.9 meters long, 3.7 kilograms
Materials and Construction: shaped wood from Hometree, string of animal gut

This ranged bow is primarily designed for ceremony by clan elders, but it is crafted to the peak of Na'vi design and thus functions perfectly in hunt or battle. This bow is fashioned in honor of the direhorse. These exquisite bows are usually handed down from generation to generation and become powerful symbols of survival, continuity, and tradition.

War Drum

Function: accompaniment to pre-battle ritual dance, warning signals
Size and weight: 3 meter in height, 4 meters in diameter, roughtly 75 kilograms
Materials and Construction: structure of branches, covered on both sides with tanned hexapede hides. Filled with water. Beating stick is made from smoothed branch the size of a Terran baseball bat.

The different warning rhythms played on it are associated with specific dangers to the Na'vi and are used to signal for help. Because of its association with danger, the drum is also used to accompany ritual pre-battle dances. The drum is kept accessible at all times in an alcove off the communal area of Hometree. A small branch of Hometree is dropped into the drum as a symbol of the precious resources for which the Na'vi fight.

Amplified by the water inside, this large drum's volume is sufficient to warn all Na'vi within a six-mile radius of approaching danger. When the drum is struck with its large smooth wooden beater, the water sinside sloshes against the taut hexapede hides, amplifying the volume and changing the resonant pitch of the sound

Some of the warning rhythms played on the drum represent different dangers; other rhythms indicate the direction from which the danger approaches. One rhythm is played when a Na'vi is in mortal danger and in need of help. Historically, during pre-battle rituals, if the enemy was know, the Na'vi's used associated warning rhythms during ritual dances. Na'vi children learn the different signals from an early age.

The more recent incursions by humans necessitated the addition of another warning rhythm. It is theorized that the warning rhythm for terrans is based on the Na'vi word skx'awng, a highly derogatory term that is more or less analogous to "moron," or "one who does not see."

Gourd Drums

Function: social music, ritual use, including use during Uniltaron
Materials and Construction: wood, paint, woven materials, leather, rope, gourd, water. Hemispherical floating drum, made from a gourd that has been halved, is inverted into a larger water-filled gourd.

Similar to the jicara de agua from Mexico, the Na'vi gourd drum is created by filling a gourd bowl with water and placing an inverted half gourd in the water. The inverted gourd is stuck with one wooden drumstick.

A unique element of this drum is an additional smaller drum inserted into a hole cute in the side of the large gourd bowl. This drum is covered with a sturmbeest bladder, a material known for its strength and elasticity. While tapping on the inverted gourd, the player pushes on the bladder, which causes the water level in the gourd bowl to rise, causing the pitch of the drum to change subtly.

When used for the Uniltaron ceremony, a constant rapid tapping of the drum (a sound reminiscent of the anicent peyote songs fo Native Americans in the Southwest), while simultaneously pushing the bladder in and out creates a dronelike sound with microtonal fluctuations in pitch. This is related to the microtonal drone heard in the men's part of the Na'vi banquet songs thought to represent the spirit of Eywa.

Banshee Queue Harness

Na'vi Name: Eywa te' (personal name) tan'sey mak'ta
Function: bridle system to hold Na'vi queue and banshee antenna out of the way of rider and weapons

All taronyu (warriors) must construct a personalized harness for their banshee after they have bonded. The harness isused to keep the bonding queues in a rearward direction for quick and easy access. The banshee antenna is interlaced with the Na'vi queue, which sheathes the Na'vi antenna, to form a neural bond. The Na'vi and banshee are then able to fly in perfect coordination. The harness is called Eywa te' (personal name) tan'sey mak'ta. This roughly translates as "the love of Eywa's embrace is gifted to (the rider's name)." This is an acknowledgment of the beauty of connecting with the conciousness of another living creature such as a banshee or direhorse.

Log Drums

Drums are used as musical accompaniment during all social celebrations and most rituals. Na'vi drums are log drums, usually created out of fallen trees or branches that have been hollowed out by larvae and by the natural decaying processes on Pandora. They are created from a short section of hollow log. Both ends of the log are covered by the skin of a hexapede.

The best of these log drums are said to be from a fallen unidelta tree. During its life, this tree usually serves as a host for a species of insect with glowing larvae that drill elaborate pathways throught the wood of the living tree without affecting the tree's ability to grow. Once the tree (or a branch) has fallen, the larve move to another tree, leaving the fallen log riddled with channels. These channels give the tree an exceptionally resonant quality.

Any combination of sizes of drums may be used to accompany social dances. But the larger drums, those whose wood has been channeled by the larvae, are only used for ritual functions, especially those rituals that form a part of the Uniltaron, or Dream Hunt. These large drums are played by four or five Na'vi warriors at a time, wielding heavy wooden beaters.

Pendulum Drum

Na'vi Name: T'riti so jahmka, also Ganti'a hiru'taya, or "tree that flies"

These drums are exceptionally loud, due to the placement of the drums over hles in the trees. When the drum is struck, the volume is amplified by the hollow structure of the tree to which it is attached.

The performer stands on a trapeze-like swing; the padded end of the sturdy branch on which he stands acts as the drumstick. He propels himself back and forth between two drums, hitting each as he swings from side to side. Just before the beater hits the drum head, the performer jumps up off the swinging beater, allowing it rebound naturally. Numerous drums may be played simultaneously by drummers on trapezes of different lengths, creating a chaotic polyrhythm.

Because fo the inaccuracy of this swinging/playing technique, a steady rhythm is almost impossible to attain, except by a very few skilled players. Therefore these drums are typically not used as accompaniment for dances. They will, however, be used to ornament songs and especially to add excitement to Dream Hunt dancing.

Injuries are sometimes suffered by clan members who attempt to use drums during dances at which Kava, a mild intoxicant, is consumed.

Food Wraps

Na'vi Name: Nikt'chey

The Na'vi, while distinctly hunters, are also talented gatherers. They take advantage of everything the forest has to give. Much of the flora, like the fauna, can grow to colossal size. Fruit growing on a variety of trees near Hometree can provide a valuable source of food for the Na'vi. The fruit is dissected, some of which will be eaten immediately, and some of which is set aside and packaged in leaves for distribution or storage.

The Na'vi pride themselves on their inventive arrangements of Food Wraps. These are convenient for eating while hunting and gathering, but can also be eaten regularly while at Hometree. Fruits, meats, vegetables, seeds, and spices are combined together and wrapped in edible leaves and vines. Different Na'vi clans are known for their unique Nikt'chey, based largely upon local flora and fauna.

Wind Instruments

Na'vi Name: Hufwe, meaning "wind"

Hufwe instruments require a moving column of air to produce a sound. For example, the whizzer is simply a blade of grass of leaf held between the fingers or the teeth. When blown across, the thin strip of vegetation vibrates rapidly to produce a high-pitched whistle.

The cat ear plant is often used. Leaves of vaired sizes can be attaached to a base and then tapped with a stick or blow across, which casues air inside to vibrate and generate musical notes. Water added to a leaf reduces the volume of air and changes the note, much like musical bottles played on Earth. an exceptionally skilled player can produce a basic melody, but most of the time the whizzer is used to enliven social dances with brief but frequent whistles.

As soon as they are able, Na'vi children begin to learn the skills they will need to survive as adults. Many of those skills are taught to them using simplified versions of adult socail songs. In many cases, games with song, chant, or rhythmic accompaniment teach actual skills like hunting, riding, fire-making, weaving, and food preparation.

Many of the songs deal with the plant and animal life of their world. Through these, children learn the ecology of Pandora; which creatures are friendly and which are not, what things to eat and what to avoid, and the need to show respect for all living things. Other song, sung by parents and children during quiet family time, teach the mythology and history of the Na'vi as well as the close connection between the Na'vi and their moon.

Banshee Catcher

Na'vi Name: Mersh'ti cau'pla, or "nothing to see"
Materials: made from the leaves of the razor palm tree, a sinuous and durable plant similar to a Terran palm frond weighted at one end with a stone. The plant's sticky, hairlike underside helps fasten the bola to the animal. Edges of the frond are dulled to avoid cutting

Mastery of the Mersh'ti cau'pla is an indispensable skill for all Na'vi youth who begin training with the device (first as a toy, then more formally) at an early age. A Na'vi will spend years developing the proper technique, first on tree limbs and then on the deerlike hexapede. Without proficient skill, a young hunter will fail during a critical stage of Iknimaya, a profound rite of passage in which a Na'vi captures and bonds with his or her banshee.

During Iknimaya, a young Na'vi must approach the ikran and snap the front quickly so that it wraps around the creature's snout and eyes. (It is this temporary blinding of the animal that gives the lasso it's name). With the banshee momentarily disabled, the Na'vi is able to leap onto it's back and connect the queues of animal and rider. In that moment, sealed by the subsequent first flight, a lifelong bond is established that allows the Na'vi and banshee to ride through the sky with elegant, seemingly effortless coordination.

It should be noted that an imprecise toss of the Mersh'ti cau'pla has led to the injury or death of many young Na'vi at the hands of an angered banshee.

Hunt Songs

Na’vi Name: Taron tirol

Performance style: Rhythmic group chanting while on the hunt or during puberty rituals. Unison singing for social dances, especially in conjunction with prehunt rituals. Usually accompanied by different sizes of sturmbeest gongs or various drums.

*Song for Uniltaron have a strong driving rhythm and wild, ecstatic style. Sung by adult Na’vi who have attained Tsahaylu with their banshee, during Uniltaron, or during puberty rituals prior to first attempt at Iknimaya.

Hunts songs are often used to accompany rites of passage, including a precursor to the moment when a Na’vi first bonds with his or her banshee. They may be sung in unison, but more often are chanted breathlessly. During Uniltaron, in which Na’vi seek their spirit animal during a chemically induced trance, they express themselves musically as the spirit moves.

Other Hunt songs focus on hunting activities, the strength of both hunter and hunted, praying for the worthiness of the hunter, speaking to the spirits of the forest creatures, etc. These may be sung in many contexts: before or during a hunt, prior to battle with external forces, and during social events.

Many of the songs for puberty rituals and hunting are performed as non-melodic group chanting in a very forceful, rhythmic grunting style. In this style, the glottal stops and ejective consonants inherent in the Na’vi language are emphasized. It is believed that this chanting or grunting style is the oldest extant of Na’vi expressive style, because of the way the song style incorporates and emphasizes these linguistic elements.

During some rituals, members of the clan will perform agile “hand dancing” in which their long, tendril-like fingers weave a deeply symbolic and poetic narrative. Rapid, controlled shifts of the dancers’ bioluminescent spots often add to the magical beauty of the performance.

Uniltaron, or Dream Hunt, songs are especially interesting. While under the chemically induced effects that mark the Dream Hunt, a Na’vi may utilize any kind of expression: standard social song structures, imitations of domestic cascading vocal style or children’s songs from deep in their memories, wildly improvised songs, or chants. They only type of songs not heard in this context are personal songs or the ritual songs of mourning.

Here is a typical example of hunt song lyrics, which often display great respect for the potential prey.

We are walking your way Terìran ayoe ayngane

We are coming                      Zera'u
We are singing your way      Rerol ayoe ayngane
So choose                              Ha ftxey
Choose one among you        Awpot set ftxey ayngal a l(u) ayngakip
Who will feed the People     Awpot a Na'viru yomtiying

Chorus (repeated)

Let my arrow strike true           Oeyä swizaw nìngay tivakuk
Let my spear strike the heart     Oeyä tukrul txe'lanit tivakuk
Let the truth strike my heart      Oeri tìngayìl txe'lanit tivakuk
Let my heart be true                  Oeyä txe'lan livu ngay.
You are fast and strong              Lu nga win sì txur
You are wise                              Lu nga txantslusum
I must be fast and strong          Livu win sì txur oe zene
So only                                      Ha n(ì)'aw
Only if I am worthy of you      Pxan livu txo nì'aw oe ngari
Will you feed the People         Awpot a Na'viru yomtiying

Chorus (repeated)

Hunter's Prayer

Oel ngati kameie, ma Tsmukan, ulte ngaru seiyi ireiyo. Ngari hu Eywa saleu tirea, tokx 'ì'awn slu Na'viyä hapxì.

I see you Brother, Thank you. As your journey ends, your spirit will return to Eywa, but your body will remain here with the people.

Direhorse Lead

na'hla buk'ne

Paint Containers

Bioluminescence

2010-02-03T12:31:00.000-08:00

Bioluminescence is a way of living organisms to emit light. It is employed by nearly all Pandoran animals. Even the Na'vi have patterns of glowing dots that are unique to each individual. To avoid being detected by predators or pray, animals can damp down their own light. The RDA exploited it as another resource in the form of exotic jewelry and clothing.

Complete darkness is rare on Pandora. The large moon orbits a gas giant planet that in turn orbits a star with a stellar companion. Because of this unusual arrangement, most of Pandora's nights have some illumination; fully dark nights are few and far between. Thus, there was little evolutionary pressure on Pandoran fauna to develop night vision, echolocation, infrared sensors, or other methods of "seeing" in low-light conditions.

Some scientists theorize that nature found another way for Pandoran life forms to locate and identify one another. Bioluminescence, the production of "cold light" by living organisms, is employed by almost all Pandoran animals and plants to display their shape and location in the absence of external illumination. Even the Na'vi have patterns of glowing dots, which, like fingerprints, are unique to each individual. Anemonoid line the dense forest floors and waterways, providing the most light in the night landscape.

Bioluminescent plants

Most of Pandora's flora and fauna emits only one single color, often green, blue, indigo, or violet. There are exceptions like the Warbonnet Fern. Its leaves are illuminated by a broad band of red near their stems and by an iridescent blue near their tips. On Pandora, there is also a bioluminescent moss that is touch-sensitive. It will send out rings of blue-green light as a reaction to footsteps.

Bioluminescence is an enzymatic reaction that produces so called cold light. This reaction raises the valence electrons in the molecules of an organic compound to an orbit of higher energy. While decaying to its original state the electrons emit photons of visible light. It is a highly efficient reaction as it converts nearly all energy into light.

The reaction can occur within the metabolism of the creature or within symbiotic organisms that live inside of specialized organs, receiving food and oxygen from their host, and producing light in return.

There are several ways in which light production can be controlled:

    * Limiting the availability of the involved chemicals
    * The reaction takes place in an organ that can be moved away from the surface
    * A translucent muscle carries the light from an internal organ to the surface by expansion and contraction
    * Covering of the light producing area with dark pigment cells (melanophores)
A dark membrane that can be drawn over the light producing area