In the age of streaming, Avatar is still meant for big screen
James Cameron’s sci-fi epic Avatar is returning to the cinemas 12 years after its original theatrical release. In December 2009, the film that holds the record as the biggest box-office hit of all time with over $2.8 billion gross worldwide, introduced moviegoers to a fully-immersive cinematic adventure.
Set in the distant future, the story is about the paraplegic soldier Jake Scully (Sam Worthington) who is “reborn as an avatar” — a remotely controlled biological body — when he’s sent to the Na’vi-inhabited moon called Pandora for a special mission. After meeting the Na’vi princess Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), he ends up being torn between obeying human orders and saving the “alien” world he comes to embrace as home.
For the film’s director, writer and producer, the time has come to retell the tale. During a recent virtual presscon, Cameron explained that he wanted to bring Avatar back to the cinemas to entertain a new generation of movie fans, who haven’t seen it inside a theater.
“It’s been 12 years since the release, and so basically, if you’re kind of under 22 or 23 years of age, it’s very, very unlikely that you’ve seen the film in a movie theater. Which in a way kinda means you haven’t seen the film. I mean, we authored the film for the big screen, for the giant screen, in 3D,” he said.
And on its theatrical comeback, Cameron promised that Avatar is going to look better than ever after the film got remastered in 4K at a higher frame rate and with High Dynamic Range.
“It’s looking better than it ever looked, even back in its initial release. And there’s so many people out there, a whole new generation of film fans coming up. Even if they like the movie on streaming or Blu-ray or however they saw it, they still haven’t really seen the movie the way we intended it to be seen,” he said.
He excitedly noted that when they watched the film recently after the completion of the remastering process, the result “kinda blew us away.”
James continued, “That’s hard to say with any degree of humility. But I mean, we were really impressed with how the movie looked. Just the physical experience of the film. And we’re just really excited to share that with people who have never seen it in a movie theater.”
Cameron went down the memory lane and cited several reasons why, for him, Avatar became incredibly popular with audiences back then. He believes the cast assembled was instrumental in connecting the story and the viewers.
“I think any film is only as good as the people in it, and you see in front of you, five individuals who brought their hearts and souls to that film,” he said, referring to the lead stars who joined him during the virtual media junket, namely Worthington, Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez and Stephen Lang.
“I think, people respond to people. But in this particular case with Avatar, they’re responding to people sometimes that are 10 feet tall, like Sam and Zoe’s characters,” he said.
He also felt that encountering otherworldly narrative and characters, at least on screen, “took us out of our day-to-day problems.”
“It took us out of our day-to-day, kinda political discourse and the chaos and disorderliness of real life. And it took us to a place where, yes, there’s conflict, there’s all sorts of important things going on, but it’s all through the lens of fantasy or science-fiction,” he further said.
“So, from whatever culture you’re in, whether you’re in China, Japan, Europe, North America, it didn’t matter. People saw some universality of their lives and these characters through the lens of science-fiction.”
He believes that the audience simply surrendered and immersed themselves in the fantasy world. “And you’re willing to go on a fantasy, if you can relate to the main characters… I think people found universal human experience that they could relate to.”
Another reason for him was that the film brought out a childlike wonder about the natural world.
“I think when we’re kids, we just innately love nature. We love animals. We love being out in nature. And as our lives progress, we become more and more away from nature. And, I think, society at large anywhere in the world is suffering from nature deficit disorder of some kind, to some degree. I think, the movie puts us back into that childlike wonder about nature — about nature’s grandeur and complexity and beauty,” he said.
With the film credited to have “revolutionized” the use of 3D technology in Hollywood, Cameron reflected on the movie’s “most substantial” influence on present-day blockbusters.
To recall, Avatar won the Oscar for Best in Art Direction, Visual Effects and Cinematography, using a 3D digital camera.
“Avatar was certainly not the first film to use advanced computer-generated effects and so on. And that’s been a trending wave before Avatar, through Avatar and beyond,” he said.
But, he pointed out, “no digital camera had ever won the Best Cinematography Oscar before (Avatar).”
He also likened the reaction then to how they utilized 3D technology, to when color was first used in a film.
“When color first came out, it was a big deal. People used to go see movies because they were in color. So, I think around the time of Avatar, people went to see movies because they were in 3D. Nobody’s gonna go see a movie today because it’s in 3D. It’s all the other factors by which we choose a film,” he said.
“So, I think, it had an impact on the way films were presented that’s now just sort of accepted and part of the zeitgeist and how it’s done. In terms of long-term cultural impact, well, I guess we’ll find out if people show up for Avatar 2.”
Looking back and bearing the perspective of 12 years later, Cameron said he’s most proud of the film because of the team — both production and cast — that came together to help him make Avatar happen.
“I just look back on everybody’s work and am just so grateful to have had an opportunity to work with these amazing people. And I think that’s why I promptly went out and wrote another and another and another Avatar (laughs). I just wanted to continue with this family, which is such a great, great experience.”
The remastered Avatar begins its limited run in Philippine cinemas on Sept. 21. The release is expected to heighten anticipation for the sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, which is coming in December.
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