James Cameron is a very rich man, and as the director of the two highest grossing films of all time, he has the clout to move forward on his next project whenever the hell he wants. We already know that he’s next set to direct Avatar 2 and 3 back-to-back, but he’s been a little busy diving to the ocean’s deepest point and mentoring the use of 3D cameras. It now appears that he’s ready to get going in earnest, as he recently provided a hoped-for timetable of when the scripts will be finished and when shooting might begin. Hit the jump for more.
Cameron has been working closely with director Peter Jackson on his use of 3D and high-frame-rate technology on The Hobbit trilogy, and while attending the premiere of An Unexpected Journey in New Zealand last night Cameron provided an update on Avatar. Speaking with The West Australian (via The Film Stage), he said that he hopes to have the scripts for Avatar 2 and 3 finished by February and begin filming by the end of next year:
“I want to get these scripts nailed down, I don’t want to be writing the movie in post production. We kind of did that on the first picture, I ended up cutting out a lot of scenes and so on and I don’t want to do that again.”
It’s entirely possible that this timetable could be pushed back yet again (remember when Avatar 2 was supposed to come out in 2014?), but it certainly sounds like Cameron is ready to dive back into Pandora. It’s also promising that he’s taking the time to make sure the script is in fine shape before starting production.
Cameron has long stated that he plans to film the Avatar sequels at 48 frames-per-second, and he reiterated this point in the aforementioned interview:
“If there is acceptance of 48, then that will pave the way for Avatar [sequels] to take advantage of it. We charged out ahead on 3D with Avatar, now Peter’s doing it with The Hobbit. It takes that kind of bold move to make change.”
It’ll be interesting to see what general audiences think of the 48 fps in The Hobbit, but An Unexpected Journey is only being presented in the high frame rate format in a select number of theaters so we won’t necessarily get a widespread reaction. As the Avatar scripts move closer to completion, hopefully we hear more solid word about the direction of the Avatar sequels in the coming months.
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I liked the first Avatar, but I believe the sequels will be terrible. James Cameron better think it through and not do it for money as he’s doing 4 films in total! The first was original and new and James Cameron hadn’t done a film since Titanic so everyone went out to see it. THis won’t be the same with Avatar 2,3,4.
Except that long before the first film released, Cameron was talking about having ideas for a second and third film. The Avatar prequel or fourth film hasn’t been confirmed and was merely an idea he floated during an interview that everybody ran with.
Cameron has directed (and that means ACTUALLY directed, Pirahna II fans) two sequels in his lifetime – Aliens and Terminator 2. Two of the greatest sequels ever. I’m not worried.
Yeah, cuz Cameron is terrible at making sequels. Oh wait, his best movies are sequels
JAMES CAMERON WILL BE SUED FOR STEALING MY WORK!!! YOU WILL PAY IN THIS LIFE AND THE NEXT!!!
Jim used to make sequels better than original ones.
So I’m on Jim! go go go!
48 fps is just too jarring and takes the cinematic experience out of the movie because it just feels too real, much like the motion interpolation feature on HDTV’s today. I don’t think it’s going to be accepted by general audiences.
48fps is the future like it or not… There have been plenty of studies done on fps and our eyes actually view motion at closer to 100fps. So higher than 24fps with 48 or 60 even will take a little to get used to it but once we do then it will be sweet!
Just think about changing from Black/White to Color, “Its the Devil!”. People hate change even if its better! How could no Judder be bad?! Panning scenes look amazing in higher FPS.
It’s not that it’s ‘bad’. It’s just extremely distracting. Especially for people that don’t have the newer HDTVs that relate to this. Everytime I see a TV in a store with this feature I just sit there focusing on how different it looks.
I really enjoyed the first Avatar. I am looking forward to the sequels, but I am a little skeptical. Avatar was so fresh and innovative in the technology that was used to put it together. I wonder if with the sequels the “wow” factor will no longer exist because people already know what to expect. They might not even care about the storyline and/or plot, but might be bored with the “blue monkey’s” since they’ve seen them before. I personally am looking forward to it, and am just hoping the storyline and character development is as strong as, if not stronger than the first movie.
James Cameron will die of old age before he start the shoot. I think he have no respect for the Avatar fans. And 48fps for what? this movie will be screened for some specie of aliens? Well, I (human) think there is nothing wrong with the technology of the first film.
Hey Cameron! You made films for us! Not for you…