Saturday, February 20, 2010

For Avatar Lovers

If you’re one of the millions who loved James Cameron’s movie, Avatar, you’re probably wondering when he’ll come out with the sequel or maybe the prequel. Well, you’re not gonna have to wait too long. Sort of. In a way.

According to The Guardian, Cameron plans to write a novel based on the movie - not a novel of the movie, but a prequel that tells about the previous lives of the characters.
"It would be something that would lead up to telling the story of the movie, but it would go into much more depth about all the stories that we didn't have time to deal with – like the schoolhouse and Sigourney [Weaver's character] teaching at the schoolhouse; Jake on Earth and his backstory and how he came here; [the death of] Tommy, Jake's brother; and Colonel Quaritch, how he ended up there and all that…"
Don’t get too excited. It’s not expected to publish until the end of this year. But…if it’s a success, Cameron may allow other authors to write about the world he created. According to Cameron:
There might be opportunities in publishing to tell some of the backstory, tell some of the earth war stories, what went on in Jake's life before the movie. And we'd have that lead up to the sequel that might take place on Pandora several years after our movie closed.
In my opinion, he’ll have to find writers who can verbally create the world he brought to life on film. When I read one of these books, I want to see in my head the world and characters I saw on film. Nothing less. How about you?
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21 comments:

  1. When I see movies based on books I usually get disappointed (Dr. Zhivago the movie is almost as good as the book). It will be interesting to see what Cameron's project will bring ...

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  2. I read that in the paper yesterday and it stopped me cold. I don't think of Cameron as a writer, although he's an intensely creative and visionary man. I just...don't know! If he doesn't have a background in writing, I'm just not sure if he'll suddenly be able to swing it.

    Elizabeth

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  3. It would be disappointing to read something that doesn't measure up to the movie. That's a big step.

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  4. I haven't seen the movie yet, I am sooo lazy!!! Must try harder ;0)

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  5. I always prefer to read the book first for that very reason. I can't really see how a writer could duplicate that world when it's already been seen.
    As for Cameron writing it...hmm. Avatar was a very pedestrian storyline. What made the movie awesome were the 3D visuals.

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  6. Interesting concept, and if it's successful, I can see others following suit. I haven't seen the movie, but having heard the raves about it, I'd imagine his book will be wildly popular.

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  7. I agree with Laura. Cameron has creative talent when it comes to the visual, but having the ability to put those thoughts coherently on paper is something quite different. It will be interesting to see how this project works out.

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  8. What a switch - movie first and
    THEN a book? The only movie that ever came close to measuring up to the book that I've read was "The Shining" and even then I thought the book was more frightening and gripping. Avatar was a tremendous EXPERIENCE - best movie experience I've had, so ... well, we'll see - books ARE multi-dimensional with all the imagination they can create, so it's possible that the back story books could outdo the movie.

    Very interesting.

    Marvin D Wilson

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  9. Just a note to say that Bapsi Sidhwa's novel "Water" based on Deepa Mehta's film of the same name was wonderful. She is, however, an established novelist and not the creator of the film so that makes quite a difference...So much of Cameron's brilliance is in the cineamatic aspects and not in the narrative which was based on an old sci fi book from the sixties...

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  10. It will be interesting to see if the book measures up to the movie. And if he will write it alone or get help.

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  11. "Dances with Smurfs"? "Pocahontas Meets the Sky Pirates"?

    It was a visually stunning movie, but the story, quite frankly, sucked, and the characters were overwhelmingly cardboard. The girl protagonist was my favorite, and I couldn't remember her name WHILE I WAS WATCHING the movie.

    Why do I want to read a book about them? Of course, it will be a bestseller, because it has Cameron's name on it and he will get a huge advance from some publisher who has more dollars than sense.

    Okay, gonna go work on the second book now, and try to eke out a living...

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  12. From what I gather, it won't be a straight re-telling of the movie, but will bring in backstory and stuff he couldn't fit into the movie. Perhaps it will give more depth than the movie did.

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  13. Oh me too! Those books must do two things successfully - paint a lush picture and move along at a good fast pace.

    Cool to see Cameron branching out into books!

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  14. I heard about the book last week - too awesome!
    Timothy Zahn would be the perfect writer for Avatar books. His Star Wars books are the best of the lot.

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  15. Probably will take a while to write, but I think they'd draw a lot of interest.

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  16. I think what Cameron is proposing isn't much different from creating a "bible" for a television show. It has all the basics of characters and story lines and the writer's work off of that. If Cameron provides something like that for the writers who will work on the novels, I think it could work. I'm just not sure how many novels the concept could sustain.

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  17. I could see writers taking the books far beyond the movie. Delving into different characters and their lives leading up to the movie and beyond.

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  18. I'm with others here. What will be the book's 'gimmick'? The Avatar story is pedestrian at best. The film wins high praise not for its characters or story but for its FX, the movie's gimmick. Hard to write a book in 3-D. But I suppose with Cameron's name on it, it will sell no matter how paltry.

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  19. Like others, I loved the movie for its incredible visual effects, much more than for the plot. It would take some powerful writing to create that atmosphere.

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  20. I'm with the rest. I loved the movie, but it was more for the stunning visual effects and the concept. The story itself was just your typical 'little guy takes on big bully, little guy wins' thing, with stereotypical situations.
    How it will translate into a book, I really can't tell. It has the potential to be good, but only in the hands of someone skilled.

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  21. I think this may be James Cameron's way of taking his Avatar vision in the direction that George Lucas has with Star Wars. Cameron's supposedly been working on Avatar since he was a teenager, so I'm sure the idea is very close to his heart, and this way he can let it loose for lots of people to play and experiment with. He doesn't have the time to branch out into lots of different novels, so it would make sense for him to work with other people to flesh out his vision. But given his history with control issues, I wonder how able he will be to let go of the reins and let other people make decisions about the world he ultimately created.

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