Self study 1 About the movie “Avatar” Famous director James Cameron's new film «Avatar» has caused a stir among fans of world cinema. We can prove the level of interest in the film with one fact. Less than 10 weeks after its release

SELF STUDY 1

About the movie “Avatar”
Famous director James Cameron's new film «Avatar» has caused a stir among fans of world cinema. We can prove the level of interest in the film with one fact. Less than 10 weeks after its release, the film grossed nearly $ 2.1 billion. This is 9 times more than the budget of the film. Today we will talk about the reasons for these interests and the views expressed in the film …

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Genre: Fiction, action, drama.

Scriptwriter and director: James Cameron.

Producers: James Cameron, John Landau.

Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigurni Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Stephen Leng.

Operator: Mauro Fiore.

Composer: James Horner.

Film Company: 20th Century Fox.

Film duration: 162 minutes.

Film budget: $ 237 million.

Film languages: English and Nawi languages.

In short. Cameron began working on Avatar in 1994 by writing an 80-page screenplay. Filming began after the completion of the film «Titanic». The film was supposed to hit the big screens in 1999, but according to the director, at that time there was no perfect technology to make the film. In the summer of 2005, work began on creating an alien race in the film. In early 2006, Cameron began serious work on the script. The film has been released in traditional formats, namely 3D, RealD 3D, Dolby 3D and IMAX 3D. Many people think that a special stereoscopic camera was created for «Avatar». Film critics say the director’s film marks a new revolution in cinema. Just like the color film once appeared on the big screens.

Avatar premiered worldwide on December 10, 2009 in London, and a week later the film was released worldwide. On January 25, 2010, the film grossed $ 1.8 billion and topped the charts. That meant the movie Titanic was left behind. By early February, the film had crossed the $ 2 billion mark. Encouraged by the film's success, Cameron said he was ready to take two more sequels.

The film is about the events that took place in 2154 in Pandora, the moon in the star system Alpha Centauri. Former Marine Jake Sally, who was injured in Venezuela and confined to a wheelchair, and his twin brother, a future scientist, plan to travel to the Earth base on the planet Pandora in 4.3 light-years.

The avatars depicted in the film are hybrids created with the help of genetic engineering, that is, they are formed from human DNA and the nucleus of the Pandora population (species). We think that there is no need to dwell on the plot of the film, as it has been watched by many people. So let’s focus on other aspects of the film.

Pandora's world

Living things on the planet are a product of natural bioluminescence. Much of the wildlife on another planet is reminiscent of creatures that once lived on Earth. These animals mysteriously formed a connection with the tree of life. James Cameron compared the Pandora world to the biointernet. In the process of watching the film, the viewer automatically begins to compare the creatures of that planet with those of Earth, and notices some similarities hidden in it. The film crew had to travel to the Huangshan Mountains in China to create an image of clouds floating over the mountains in the film. Traditions of South and North American tribes have been used as a model to create a socio-cultural world of planetary tribes.

Kaye du Cinema writes that the flora and fauna of Pandora is the same as its Earth counterpart. Some critics have also expressed only warm views on the issue.

The creation process. Cameron, who began writing the screenplay for Avatar in 1995, said that due to the lack of sophisticated technology to create the lead actors and their performance, the audience was asked, «Have we put the earth in this situation? What can be done to fix it?» It was a very strong factor of preparation for them to ask themselves the question.

Cameron said the screenplay was inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs' «John Carter the Martian» and Paul Anderson's «Call Me Joe.» In June 2006, the film was renamed Project 880.

Will there be a sequel?

We changed the name of the film to «Avatar». It will be in the form of a fantastic story that will take place on another planet in two hundred years. The spectators will be delighted to see the legendary creatures traveling in strange jungles, anyway. If the film pays off, it will have two more sequels, a logical sequel. « (From an interview with James Cameron in December 2006)

Technology

Avatar consists of 40% live photography and 60% real computer graphics. It took more than 1 petabyte (1024 terabytes) of digital disk space to create the planet Pandora and fit all the computer graphics in the movie. For comparison, the movie «Titanic» is only 2 terabytes in size. That's 500 times the size of Avatar.

Speaking of other technological innovations, the technology used to create the image of man and creatures is six times more powerful than before, so you can not separate the living from the graphics in the film.

To create a mass of people in Pandora, the filmmakers split the Gulf of Mexico in June 2007, creating an artificial storm, and each aspect was filmed separately without melting. This process was later further polished with computer graphics. Nearly a thousand people worked with this process.

The next film of the famous director was assisted by the studio of visual effects «Weta Digital». In September 2006, James Cameron announced in his film the use of a new special technology of the Reality Camera System.

Nawi language

Paul Frommer, a well-known linguist and director of the Center for Communication Management at the University of Southern California, was involved in this work. Under his leadership, Cameron created the language and culture of the indigenous peoples of Pandora.

Movie music

James Horner did a great job for the soundtrack. This is his third work with James Cameron after «Aliens» and «Titanic.» The film also stars ethno-musicologist Vanda Brandt and British singer Leona Lewis.

Presentation

The film was originally scheduled for release on May 22, 2009. But it was decided to postpone it until later, on December 17. This was due to the fact that many cinemas had time to install three-dimensional projectors and filmmakers had to have more time for «post-production».

Prizes and nominations

The film was nominated for nine Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Music, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, and Best Director. Work ”,“ Best editing ”,“ Best sound ”and“ Best sound editing ”.

In the Golden Globe competition, the film won the nominations for Best Dramatic Film and Best Director. He was also nominated for Best Music and Best Song.

Thoughts

Well-known director Steven Spielberg has admitted that «Avatar» has been the pinnacle of science fiction since Star Wars.

Roger Ebert acknowledged that Cameron's new film reaffirmed his position in Hollywood, noting that it could serve as a benchmark for the film world, setting an example of where to spend $ 250 or $ 300 million. The fact that this film is an anti-war, peace-calling film also proves that it is written in capital letters in the history of cinema, Ebert said. American critics say the film violates Hollywood traditions, meaning they no longer have a trace of vitality in the film. Cameron's film is also very heavy in content, and it is possible to predict the course of events in its next parts.

Special questions:
1.Who is the screenwriter of «Avatar»?

2.When and where did the film premiere?

3.What is the film budget?

4.In what Oscar nominations was the film «Avatar» nominated?

5.What percentage of the film was shot live?