Digigeek06

We've moved 'Project 880' into first position," Cameron said. "It's as classified as the Manhattan Project." Many believe it is actually a version of Avatar, the director's oft-rumored love story set against interplanetary war.

Cameron is ready to shoot "880" at 20th Century Fox - where he's also preparing Battle Angel. Neither film has been completely cast, but "880" is now slated for 2007 and "Angel" is targeted for 2009. "We couldn't do one unless we do both" says Cameron. "They use the same technology." Both projects will be shot in new High Definition 3-D.

Cameron adds that the release date years are still up in the air. "We don't want to get jammed up like on 'Titanic'... consensus has been we will serve no wine before its time."

The cast for either movie has yet to be announced although i heard rumor that Swhwarzenegger was to attached to Battle Angel.Could it be that Cameron is pushing back Battle Angel awaiting for Swhwarzenegger's political campaign to end? I hope so.Who knows.maybe he will be in both.Anyways,i am finally glad Cameron is finally back in Hollywood to give us something fresh and exciting no matter who is is starring.

The Nature Boy

Very interesting, I was watching Terminator and Titanic back to back the other night, and just reminded of how talented this guy is. Terminator is just so inventive shot wise even, and Titanic was likewise awesome.

I'm sure the guy was intimidated in some way to return, it's not an uncommon problem, but it was a shame we're going to 10 years without a new narrative from him by the time this next one comes out. That said, I have faith in his hand and will be there on opening day.

TomOpus

Since it's going to be a 3D all-CGI film, it'll limit the number of theaters it can be shown in (I read around 1,000 screens). Also I hope the technology has improved so the actors don't have that weird "Polar Express" look.

Looking forward to it!

Groucho

What happened with Aquaman? I was really looking forward to that.

jaeufraser

I don't think it's ALL CG like Polar Express. Only some characters will be like that, while some elements will be live action. As far as I know. For instance, the lead in Alita will be all CG, but the character is some cyborg robot thing.

dhmac

10-years off. I just hope Cameron's ability to make good movies hasn't slipped like other filmmakers who took an extended amount of time off (ex. Lucas). (And the fact that he liked Alien vs. Predator worries me.)

(Yeah, I know Cameron made some good documentaries over the past decade, but those are not the same as regular movies.)

Steve Phillips

By the time these films are ready for release, there will be at far, far more screens equipped for digital projection in both 2-D and 3-D. The major theater chains are making commitments and starting the ball rolling on conversion based on successful tests over the last couple of years. There isn't a major chain that hasn't got something brewing.

CHICKEN LITTLE played on just 85 screens in digital polarized 3-D, yet Disney is talking 750 screens for MEET THE ROBINSONS this Christmas. MONSTER HOUSE will hopefully get released on a number somewhere above 100 this summer.

In any case, Cameron's films will be offered in plain old flat 2-D as well as digital 3-D anyway, so those theatres who haven't got the newer systems in time can still play the film in two dimensions.

Check out these sites for more info on the projection technology and news on the digital rollout. www.reald.com www.worldenteractive.com www.dcinematoday.com

Shemp

Looks like a press release.


Cameron Resurfaces for Avatar

Although it might seem as if it were only yesterday that James Cameron declared himself King of the World, it's actually been nine years since he hoisted Best Picture and Best Director Oscars for Titanic.

But now, after several voyages beneath the sea for documentary purposes and then a gig helming the make-believe blockbuster Aquaman solely for Entourage consideration, Cameron is teaming up with 20th Century Fox to direct the sci-fi fantasy Avatar, a $200 million production that, according to the director and the studio, will be filmed in 3-D using an unprecedented combination of computer animation and motion-capture technology.

As was the case with Titanic, which scored 11 Oscars, spent 15 consecutive weeks as number one at the box office and raked in an all-time high $1.8 billion worldwide, Cameron also penned the screenplay for Avatar. The futuristic tale pits a human army, led by a paralyzed war vet played by Australian actor Sam Worthington, against an alien battalion.

To make matters more complicated, Worthington will have an alien love interest, embodied by Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl beauty Zoe Saldana. According to Fox, both actors have signed on for possible future installments of the would-be franchise.

"We're creating an entire world, a complete ecosystem of phantasmagorical plants and creatures, and a native people with a rich culture and language," Cameron said. "The story is both epic and emotional.

"The two things that make this film even possible are pioneering advances in CG effects and performance capture, as well as my 22-year relationship with Fox, since only with great trust can you operate so close to the cutting edge."

Akin to what Robert Zemeckis did with The Polar Express, Cameron's characters will be computer-designed based on the actors who play them. What will be new is the fact that said characters will then be inserted into an entirely photorealistic world.

"Once again Jim is transforming the medium," Jim Gianopulos, cochairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment, told the New York Times. "Jim's not just a filmmaker; every one of his films have pushed the envelope, in its aesthetic and in technology. This is an astounding undertaking, and one only Jim could do justice to."

Cameron announced in June 2005 that he had two big digital productions in the works, one evidently being Avatar, which didn't have a title at the time, and the next being Battle Angel, based on a series of graphic sci-fi novels by Yukito Kirshiro.

Finally letting the world in on the progress he's made on that front, Cameron told the Times Monday that he was already four months into shooting Avatar's nonprincipal (i.e., less expensive) scenes by the time Fox gave him the go-ahead.

"I've looked long and hard at Titanic and other effects-related things I've done where they've drifted budget-wise," said Cameron, who since his much-ballyhooed disaster flick has helmed the Imax documentaries Ghosts of the Abyss and Aliens of the Deep and produced the Jessica Alba series Dark Angel.

Titanic went notoriously way over budget during production, eventually becoming the most expensive film ever made. But, according to Cameron, who reportedly rules with an iron fist from his perch behind the camera, Avatar will not face similar difficulties.

"This has been designed from the ground up to avoid those pitfalls," he said. "Will we have other pitfalls? Yes, probably."

Avatar is destined, in all its 3-D glory, for theaters in summer 2009. Live-action production is scheduled to start in April, with Peter Jackson's special effects company Weta Digital handling the major visual tricks.

E!

I always look forward to another Cameron movie. It's been too long.