Movies

James Cameron talks about the Avatar re-release and the cinematic experience – The Hollywood Reporter

September 18, 2022

James Cameron recently rewatched a fully remastered movie Avatar with his kids, and it got him excited for the film’s upcoming theatrical re-release.

His children, like many people since Avatar first released in 2009, saw the movie streaming or on Blu-ray, rather than on the big screen. When they watched it in a theater with their father, they understood its greatness a little better, which Cameron hopes will be the case for everyone who sees it when it’s re-released on September 23.

“Young moviegoers never got to see it in a movie theater,” Cameron said in an interview with The New York Times. “Even though they think they’ve seen the movie, they really haven’t seen it. And I was pleasantly surprised, not only by how durable it was, but also how beautiful it looked in its remastered state.

Despite the expectation of AvatarCameron acknowledges that cinema is different today than it was when the record film was originally released, with many people relying on streaming and home access for their content.

“We have a world tour towards easy access at home, and it has a lot to do with the rise of streaming in general and the pandemic, where we literally had to risk our lives to go to the cinema,” he said. he told the publication.

On the bright side, however, the filmmaker pointed to the “resurgence of the theatrical experience,” though it’s still down about 20% from pre-pandemic levels.

“People crave it,” Cameron said. “It’s slowly rebuilding. This is partly because of a shortage of great titles that people would want to see in a theater. But Avatar is the poster child for that. This is the kind of film you have to see at the cinema. »

Avatar follows Sam Worthington’s Sully as he falls in love with Zoe Saldaña’s Neytiri and their joint efforts to save Pandora. Over the course of the highest-grossing film of all time, there’s an important message about caring for the environment and the resources it provides – a message the filmmakers are still trying to get across with projects like Don’t look up.

While Cameron knows people have to change their way of life in order to continue to save the environment, he says he doesn’t feel guilty that his “movie didn’t save the world.”

“I certainly wasn’t the only voice then, and I’m certainly not the only voice now, telling people they need to change,” he said. “Asking people to fundamentally change their behavior is like asking them to change their religion.”

People don’t want to change, the Oscar-winning actor continues, despite things like heat waves in China, North America and Europe, and floods in Pakistan, all of which are the result of people not doing their part to take care of the environment.

“Eventually, we will change or we will die. Avatar doesn’t try to tell you what to do specifically,” Cameron said. “It just reminds us of what we are losing. And it puts us back in touch with that childlike state of wonder about the natural world. As long as this beauty still resonates within us, there is hope.