For a while now James Cameron has been working away on the scripts to the two planned sequels to his hit Avatar with the ultimate goal of producing them back-to-back. Now comes word that he is just about wrapping up the writing phase with an eye towards being in production on the film by this time next year.
Speaking with some reporters at the New Zealand premier of The Hobbit last week, Cameron stated that he is working hard at finalizing the final draft of the screenplay by February in advance of cameras rolling on the project.
I want to get these scripts nailed down, I don’t want to be writing the movie in postproduction.
(Ummm, Jim? That whole thing of having scripts “nailed down” before production begins is how most of the rest of people make movies.)
Once cameras do start rolling, Cameron may be using the 48 frames-per-second high definition 3D process that Peter Jackson used for The Hobbit, depending on audience reaction to the process. Honestly, though, I don’t expect a gearhead such as Cameron to pass on trying out the newest technology for the films. Not so coincidentally, the director has moved his family to New Zealand for the time that it will take him to make the two films, placing him pretty close to Jackson’s studio and all that experience and expertise on shooting in the new high-def format.
Getting into production by the end of 2013 definitely puts the films on track for their proposed 2015 and 2016 releases.
Via LA Times.
