As we reported at the start of this year , James Cameron was in talks with Last Train to Hiroshima author "Dr." Charles Pellegrino to work on adapting the literature. Quotations are used on Mr. Pellegrino's title because he is now under suspicion of fraud. According to an article by the Associated Press, Pellegrino may have taken some creative liberties with his book, but possibly his own educational background as well.
In other Cameron news, the director provided some new details about the sequel for Avatar. Hit the jump for more on both stories.
As reported by the AP, Pellegrino's sources of information used in the book may have been fabricated. The existence of two individuals Pellegrino name checked have yet to be verified. The AP did some digging and found that the Dr. title Mr. Pellegrino throws around may be fictitious as well. Apparently the University of Wellington (New Zealand) where he allegedly received his Ph.D. has no record of him. The good doctor's website ists a series of skills and experiences that would make Doc Savage jealous. Evidently Charles Pellegrino is a scientist of "paleobiology, astronomy and other areas." His biography also claims that his scientific adventures include "the co-discovery of Biblical Sodom to co-designing the world's first antimatters rockets..."
What makes this hot mess intriguing and unfortunate, should it be discovered that he did falsify information, is the fact that he's contributed so much to modern science and science fiction. In 1985 Pellegrino wrote a theoretical concept on cloning extinct species by harvesting DNA from fossils. If this rattles your memory, that's because his theory was the basis of Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park, which in turn was flipped into a little film directed by Steven Spielberg. Recently Pellegrino was a consultant on Cameron's Avatar and had previously collaborated with the director on Titanic, Ghosts of the Abyss and Aliens of the Deep. Ironically on Pellegrino's biography, he states "I say shy away from journalism school and concentrate instead on science, art, history, or some subject you truly love.", how very apropos of you Charles.
In other, not so serious film related news, James Cameron has briefly commented on Avatar 2. Actually that is the news, that it won't be called Avatar 2. According to Sci-Fi Wire, James Cameron stated that since Sam was no longer an avatar it would be illogical for a sequel to have Avatar in the title. "Maybe we'll call it Na'vi." said Cameron. Here's hoping the events surrounding Charles Pellegrino will cause Cameron to get cracking on an Avatar sequel stat. The last sequel Cameron filmed was Terminator 2: Judgment Day which turned out to only be one of the best, most successful sequels ever.
