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.
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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.
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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.
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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