By Roland Bjerke
How It Came To Be
The “Avatar” movie series under the direction of James Cameron has been called by many critics “The Perfect Cinematic Journey.” As of today, there are three movies in the series, “Avatar,” “Avatar: Way of the Water,” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” with the hopes of a fourth on the way. You might know the director James Cameron from other movies like “Titanic” and “The Terminator.” The movies originated from James Cameron’s lifelong imagination, stemming from a 1970’s dream of a bioluminescent forest and early, unproduced sci-fi scripts like “Xenogenesis,” and have become one of the most successful movie series ever. The concept grew from childhood imaginings, nature, and science fiction, with early sketches dating back to high school. He formally drafted the story in 1994, delaying production until technology could match his vision. His mother had a dream about a 10-foot-tall blue woman, which directly influenced the look of the Na’vi.
The Cost Vs. Profit
The first “Avatar” movie cost around $237 million to make. It broke the box office record making it the highest grossing movie ever made at $2.92 billion, being the first film ever to break the $2 billion mark in the global box office. The second “Avatar,” “Avatar: Way of the Water,” cost roughly $460 million to make, (One of the most expensive movies ever.) and made $2.32 billion at the global box office, making it the third highest grossing film ever made (The second highest grossing film ever made was “Avengers Endgame” which made $2.7 billion). The third “Avatar” movie, “Avatar: Fire and Ash” cost roughly $400 million to make, and has made $1.4 billion, but is still in theaters. The series as a total has made over $6 billion at the global box office, making it one of the most successful franchises ever created.
How It Was Made
The “Avatar” franchise takes place on an alien planet called Pandora, where the scenery is a bioluminescent forest and ocean, with the main characters being big blue aliens. So how was it made? Well, the reason why it’s been called the “The Perfect Cinematic Journey” is because of the technology that makes it seem so real. It uses something called performance capture technology, where actors in marker-covered suits act out scenes on a YouTube video stage called a “Volume.” Cameras record every movement and facial expression, which are then rendered into digital characters by Weta FX. Even though the movie seems so real, it’s almost 50% CGI! James Cameron utilized a specialized “virtual camera” that allowed him to see the digital environment of Pandora in real-time while filming. This enabled him to direct, frame shots, and move through the CGI world as if it were a physical set. Not to mention the VFX team at Weta Digital built the bioluminescent, highly detailed jungle, designing over 3,000 unique, plant-based items to fill out the world.
What Makes It So Good
Besides the amazing cinematography, one of the reasons the franchise is so successful is because of the amazing cast. The main characters consist of some legendary actors like Sam Worthington as Jake Sully, Zoe Saldana as Neytiri, Sigourney Weaver as Grace Augustine and Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quarich. The most recent addition to the cast is the actress Oona Chaplin, the granddaughter of the legendary actor Charlie Chaplin. The “Avatar” film series has won three Academy Awards and over 90 other industry honors. Saldaña signed on to play Neytiri at age 28 and expects to be in her mid-50s by the time the fifth film is completed, spanning over 25 years. She trained extensively in archery and horseback riding (without a saddle). And at the time of Sam Worthington’s audition, he was living in his car and selling his possessions, not expecting to become a major Hollywood actor. This is one of my favorite franchises of all time, so I would definitely recommend watching it if you have not already!
Sources:
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_box_office_records_set_by_Avatar
• boxofficemojo.com/franchise/fr877104901/
Roland Bjerke is a Spring Grove High School student, one of 10 area students participating in the Journal Writing Project, now in its 27th year.
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