An Interview With James Cameron's Avatar About 'Avatar'

James Cameron's latest film, Avatar, is set to hit theaters next week. The CGI heavy film has taken Cameron over fifteen years to create, delayed by Cameron's own busy schedule, Hollywood politicking, and the sorry state of computer technology in the mid 1990s.

To give Cracked readers the inside scoop on the big movie of the holiday season, I met Mr. Cameron at his office in Los Angeles after some mild subterfuge. There we talked about the film, and the lengthy process involved in bringing his vision to the screen. ___ Chris Bucholz: Hello Mr. Cameron. James Cameron: Oh Please, call me James. CB: OK, sure James. I guess first off, I'd like to say I'm just a huge, huge fan of yours. JC: Glad to hear it.

-Cameron's face twitches as he says this, almost like he's winking at me- CB: Uh, yeah. I just totally break down crying every time I see True Lies. And Almost Famous was incredible. JC: That... that was actually Cameron Crowe. CB: Such a good movie though. JC: It was. -His face twitches again. Is he extremely attracted to me, or merely in possession of a facial tic, I wonder.- CB: -I cross my legs slowly.- But I guess I'm really here to talk about your latest film, which is called Avatar. JC: Yes. Avatar has been my p-p-ppp-passion and my burden for a long time now. CB: Yes, I've heard about its lengthy development. We'll talk about that later. For now, can you tell me what the film is about? JC: Well it's about this planet, where humans are battling the native species for control of a valuable resource. The protagonist - the hero - is this guy who, using DNA technology, creates a shell that looks like one of the natives. So he remotely takes control of this shell, or "avatar" and goes undercover, as a spy for the humans. And as the story develops, maybe it turns out that everything isn't quite what it first seemed. CB: So it's exactly like the

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Wizard of Oz. JC: It is nothing like the W-w-w-wizard of Oz, dammit!. -Another facial tic.- CB: You said there's a guy controlling an empty shell. Like the Wizard did with his big fire breathing statue. JC: -sighing- OK. It is a little bit like the Wizard of Oz. CB: A lot of people say that was a great movie. Not me. Didn't care for it. Not believable. So I guess that's a point against you. -I make a great show of placing a big heavy X in my notepad.- Ok. Let's talk a bit about the challenges in developing the film. JC: -Sounding mildly annoyed.- Yes, well I came up with the original idea in 1994, and wrote up most of the script for it. I sort of shopped it around a bit, but before long I ended up getting sidetracked with a little movie about a boat. CB:

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Growing Pains. JC: No. What? Oh. Kirk Cameron. OK, again, not me. Anyways, I looked into it again in the late 90's and decided that the technology wasn't there to realize my vision. I didn't look at it again until 2005, after I saw some of the work being done in other films, like with Gollum in The Lord of The Rings. CB: So this is a sequel to The Lord of the Rings. JC: Sure. Why not. I've also been working very hard with 3D technology, to create a really immersive experience. -Cameron's whole body starts shuddering at this point, his left arm flapping about like a seal that's excited about something.- CB: Are you OK? JC: Yes, of cc-c-c-ourse. CB: All right.... So you don't find 3D movies to be distracting headache machines? JC: No, but I know what you're talking about. We've worked very hard to make the effect very subtle and immersive. No spears flying right at the viewer, but techniques to make the viewer feel like they're really there, at the scene of the action. CB: Just like you did in