'Avatar' Producer Explains Sequel Process

Jon Landau says the creative team will get started even before James Cameron has a script.By Eric Ditzian





Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana in "Avatar"

Photo: 20th Century Fox




Eight months after the record-breaking release of James Cameron's "Avatar," and with an expanded re-release just weeks away, the writer/director already has a massive trove of notes for a sequel. Eventually, he'll weave together plot strands from that hodgepodge of Pandora-based brainstorming.
When that process might begin — from notes to script — is anybody's guess, but as Cameron's longtime producing partners, Jon Landau, told MTV News, the filmmakers aren't going to wait for a draft before they begin to re-create the world of "Avatar."
The creative team will begin work on creature and environment development "as soon as Jim locks in on some of those notes," Landau explained. "We don't have to wait for a script for that. And there are also certain things we designed from the last movie that didn't make it in that I'm sure will make it in on the next movie."
For now, Landau described his producer role as a two-fold job. "I'm a sounding board for those ideas [in Cameron's notes]," he said. "And I'm looking to see how we can do what we do better — researching technologies and talking to people and pressing all those frontiers."
Filming on the first "Avatar" began in 2007, and whenever the sequel goes into production, Landau anticipates significant technological innovations when it comes to cameras and the capabilities of Weta Digital, which created the visual effects for the first flick.
"It's not like I'm thinking, 'OK, let's do it again and we'll do it exactly the same way,' " Landau said. "Let's do it better. Let's do it more cost-effectively. Let's be training our people now and getting them involved. If you look at 'Titanic' to 'Avatar,' what happened in the visual-effects world is that everything became more cost-effective, more time-efficient and at a higher visual quality. It doesn't mean when you look at 'Titanic' now, you go, 'Oh that's a bad movie.' It's the same thing now."
Just don't prod Landau to explain what he means by "now." Asked what his ideal start date for a second "Avatar" would be, he said simply, "Most definitely this century."
Check out everything we've got on "Avatar."
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.



Related Videos


'Behind The Screen: Avatar'


Related Photos


"Avatar"

Emmy Rossum Erica Leerhsen Erika Christensen Estella Warren Esther Cañadas