16 | Wednesday, March 17, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY YOUTH t took merely one and a half the roles of Sam Worthington, Zoe days from the start of its Saldana and Sigourney Weaver, will re­screening across China on be released globally on Dec 16, 2022. March 12 for James Cameron’s Cameron reveals that the Avatar Isci­fi blockbuster Avatar to retake its producers have two facilities respec­ crown as the world’s top­grossing tively located in Los Angeles and New film of all time. Zealand. Data from the box­office tracker Despite a lot of film projects strug­ Beacon shows that, with the newly gling with delays and postponements earned revenue from the re­release — or being forced to operate remotely sales as of Tuesday, Avatar has seen — Cameron says he feels “lucky” to be its total gross surpass 1.5 billion yuan in New Zealand right now and still ($231.3 million) in mainland thea­ able to work in the same room with ters, helping it to reclaim the throne other people. as cinematic top dog from Marvel’s “In a funny way, nothing really 2019 superhero hit Avengers: End­ changed for me. We were very fortu­ game. nate that we had based our produc­ Widely regarded as a technological tion here in New Zealand before the game changer, Avatar first opened pandemic,” says Cameron. across China in January 2010 follow­ But he reveals that the project did ing its release in the United States in get delayed for four months due to December 2009 creating a frenzy the pandemic, so they have had to that ushered in the revolutionary push two of the scheduled four mass expansion of 3D­capable screen sequels around a full calendar year installation in China. into 2022. Chinese media at the time report­ “But that’s probably a good thing in ed on audiences flocking to theaters the grand scheme of things, because and queuing for hours to get a ticket, we need to have everybody back in some even paying higher prices from cinemas worldwide,” he says. unofficial sources for the IMAX 3D Over the past year, the world’s cine­ experience, which was considered mas have collectively suffered. How­ the best medium in which to bask in ever, despite battling an industrial the movie’s (at the time) breathtaking slowdown caused by the pandemic, computer­generated imagery. Cameron says that he believes the It triggered a construction spree of charm of the big screen will not fade. advanced auditoria in which the “I think everyone who is a film­ moviegoing public could enjoy a cut­ maker, whether they’re like me and ting­edge cinematic experience. In they’re kind of an old dinosaur, or early 2010, the country had less than Pandora’s box­office gold whether they’re a new filmmaker 1,000 3D­capable screens, only 14 of that’s coming up, they have to ask which were IMAX­compatible. Now, themselves: ‘what is a movie?’ Why however, those figures have grown to should something be a movie and not around 60,000 3D cinema screens, a six­hour limited series, an episodic among which nearly 1,000 are IMAX series or a special — or any of the vari­ screens, with over 700 of them in Avatar ous ways that things can play operation and the rest at various sta­ as tops charts through with online streaming,” he ges of installation. says. Cameron, who is currently in New Eleven years on and James Cameron’s groundbreaking sci­fi epic is still pulling “I don’t know how it’s all going to Zealand engaged in post­production settle, but I do believe the cinema will work for the Avatar sequels, tells fans into theaters and breaking records, Xu Fan reports. always be there, because there’s China Daily, via an online video inter­ something the cinema provides that view, that he feels “truly incredible streaming platforms can’t. Going to about what has happened in China”. the theater is about being in a room “You guys are leading the charge. with a bunch of strangers. That’s fantastic. I love it that you’ve “The strangers keep you from talk­ got the virus under control enough ing to your friends while you’re and you’ve got the economy re­ watching. You don’t have a remote, so emerging as well as cinema re­ you can’t press pause and go order a emerging,” says Cameron. pizza or go to the bathroom. It’s great China took decisive action shortly when you laugh at a joke with every­ after the COVID­19 outbreak earlier body else in the room and you don’t last year, enforcing a six­month­long know them,” Cameron continues. closure of more than 75,000 screens After all, just like all the great in around 12,000 cinemas until it directors who have been asked this became safe for moviegoers to once question amid the double blows of again return. the pandemic and the rise of rival Propelled by a bunch of Chinese streaming services, Cameron blockbusters, ranging from the patri­ James Cameron’s Avatar has just reclaimed the top spot as the highest­grossing movie of all time. It features the alien tribe of Na’vi, a race of believes cinema is irreplaceable. otic anthology My People, My Home­ blue­skinned slender giants (top) and the protagonist, a US Marine veteran (bottom left and right). PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY “As a filmmaker, what we learned land to the recent Spring Festival about humanity in the very challeng­ smash hit Hi, Mom, the country’s cin­ ing last year is that human beings ema business has seen an inspiring Speaking about the legacy that tagonist is moved by the Na’vi’s need three things to survive — food, revival following the impact of the Avatar has given to global audiences respect for nature, and chooses to water and stories,” he says. pandemic, becoming the world’s over the past decade, Cameron says fight alongside them against the With Avatar — which despite largest movie market in terms of Avatar was something he believes Avatar is still a “fresh” human invaders. being 11 years old, took less than 48 yearly box­office gross in October last tale with a thought­provoking theme “As a filmmaker, you want to be able hours to top the Chinese box­office year. that everybody that explores climate change and to resonate with people everywhere. I chart again — the filmmaker, who “The Chinese film industry is everywhere could mankind’s relationship with nature. know some people criticize the story once loudly shouted “I’m the king of growing in strength and the ability to Set in the year 2154, the film fol­ for being too simple. I think it was the world” while accepting one of tell these Chinese stories is at a world­ understand and lows a paraplegic US military veter­ universal. It was something that Titanic’s 11 Oscars in 1998, might class level,” says Cameron. emotionally relate to.” an’s mission to the fictional, everybody everywhere could under­ probably be the last person to worry “I’m honored that they (the China inhabitable moon of Pandora, a lush stand and emotionally relate to.” about unemployment. Film Administration and Chinese James Cameron, director alien world, home to blue­skinned, Perhaps the most anticipated news “As a storyteller, I will always have distributors) chose Avatar to be one 3­meter­tall giants known as the for Avatar fans is that of a release a job,” concludes Cameron. of the films to sort of remind people Na’vi. Despite being part of a project date for the film’s upcoming sequels. what the cinematic experience is,” he in which humans seek to exploit the Disney’s latest update on the matter Contact the writer at adds. moon’s valuable resources, the pro­ states that Avatar 2, which reprises [email protected].