“Avatar: The Way of Water,” the first sequel to the 2009 blockbuster “Avatar,” is right around the corner, and as such director James Cameron has begun his unfiltered publicity tour. An extensive new interview with The New York Times has the director taking shots at Marvel and DC movies, as well as movies set underwater like the upcoming “Aquaman” sequel and Disney’s live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid.” Buckle up. It’s Cameron time!
When the conversation turned to taking risks, Cameron responded by comparing himself to the two big players in the fantasy/science fiction game – DC and Marvel. “I also want to do the thing that other people aren’t doing. When I look at these big, spectacular films — I’m looking at you, Marvel and DC — it doesn’t matter how old the characters are, they all act like they’re in college. They have relationships, but they really don’t. They never hang up their spurs because of their kids,” Cameron said. “The things that really ground us and give us power, love, and a purpose? Those characters don’t experience it, and I think that’s not the way to make movies.”
While this isn’t exactly true, with Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark hanging up his robotic suit for a while to stay at home with his wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) and kid and characters like Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) being deeply family-focused, it’s an interesting observation from Cameron, a man who has dependably made large scale blockbusters that are both dazzling and deeply felt. (Also, kind of weird that Zoe Saldaña, who stars as a major character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was part of the conversation and didn’t say anything.)
One of the notable technological advances in “Avatar: The Way of Water” is the emergence of underwater motion capture technology (costar Kate Winslet supposedly held her breath for seven minutes at a time). Much of the story focuses on a water tribe, which we got to see some of during the footage presentation at the D23 Expo earlier this fall, and that technological leap meant a lot to Cameron.
When the fact that “Aquaman” and Disney’s upcoming “Little Mermaid” remake didn’t film in the water, interviewer Kyle Buchanan asked why shooting it for real was so important. Of course, Cameron balked.
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe that it looks good? Come on! You want it to look like the people are underwater, so they need to be underwater. It’s not some gigantic leap — if you were making a western, you’d be out learning how to ride a horse,” Cameron told The New York Times. “I knew Sam was a surfer, but Sig and Zoe and the others weren’t particularly ocean-oriented folks. So I was very specific about what would be required, and we got the world’s best breath-hold specialists to talk them through it.”
“Avatar: The Way of Water” hits theaters Dec. 16.
