Yes, it’s a  done deal. James Cameron has committed to make Avatar 2 and 3 as his next project. They are targeting to release Avarar 2 December 2014 and Avatar 3 December 2015.

No word if they will shoot the movies back to back, but I guess they have to if they want to release them just one year apart.

Press release below:

James Cameron is returning to Pandora for an extended stay, inking a deal with 20th Century Fox to direct a sequel and three-quel to “Avatar.” Those two pics will be his next projects.

Deal was confirmed to Daily Variety by Fox Filmed Entertainment chairmen Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman.

Cameron and Fox are eyeing a December 2014 release for the tentatively titled “Avatar 2,” and a December 2015 release for “Avatar 3.”.

Cameron will begin working on the scripts for the two films early next year. He hopes to commence production later in 2011, but won’t decide whether he’ll shoot them back-to-back until he finishes writing.

Pics will be produced by Cameron and his partner Jon Landau for Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment.

“In the second and third films, which will be self-contained stories that also fulfill a greater story arc, we will not back off the throttle of ‘Avatar’s’ visual and emotional horsepower, and will continue to explore its themes and characters, which touched the hearts of audiences in all cultures around the world,” Cameron said. “I’m looking forward to returning to Pandora, a world where our imaginations can run wild.”

“Avatar,” released by Fox last December, is the top-grossing film of all time, with a global haul of $2.8 billion. The 3D pic grossed $760.4 million domestically and $2 billion overseas. Pic’s boffo perf has helped fuel the boom in 3D feature production.

” ‘Avatar’ is not only the highest grossing movie of all time, it created a universe based on the singular imagination and daring of James Cameron, who also has raised the consciousness of people worldwide to some of the greatest issues facing our planet,” Gianopulos and Rothman said. “We had no greater priority, and can feel no greater joy, than enabling Jim to continue and expand his vision of the world of ‘Avatar.’ ”

Lightstorm partner Rae Sanchini negotiated the deal on behalf of the company.

Cameron penned “Avatar” from an idea he nurtured for more than a decade, all the while developing cutting-edge technology to make the 3D film, with the help of Peter Jackson’s WETA Digital.

Fox and Cameron have long said the cost of any follow-up films will be offset by the original investment made in creating the groundbreaking technology used in “Avatar.”

In addition to its history-making B.O. run, “Avatar” is the top-selling Blu-ray disc of all time.

“It is a rare and remarkable opportunity when a filmmaker gets to build a fantasy world, and watch it grow, with the resources and partnership of a global media company,” Cameron said. “With two new films on the drawing boards, my company and I are embarking on an epic journey with our partners at 20th Century Fox.”

The announcement for the two “Avatar” tentpoles answers the question of what Cameron will do next. Other projects he was rumored to be considering included “Cleopatra” for Sony.

Cameron has a long relationship with Fox, beginning with “Aliens” in 1985 and 1997’s “Titanic,” which previously held the all-time B.O. record until topped by “Avatar.”

Related posts

• Avatar sequel will dive into the oceans of Pandora (6)
• Avatar sequel is coming (22)
• Avatar DVD will be out before June 30 (4)
• Three new Avatar photos (0)
• Short preview of new Avatar trailer (1)

Do you want to see Avatar one more time at the movies? Do you want to see 8 minutes of never before seen footage? Well, then you’re in luck, Avatar is back at the movies August 27.

On August 27, return to Pandora and re-experience James Cameron’s History-Making Epic film, with more than Eight Minutes of Never Before Seen Footage- exclusively in Digital 3D and IMAX® 3D. Since – and largely as of result of – AVATAR’s release last December, the number of available digital 3D screens has exploded, and moviegoers who missed experiencing the film in 3D, as well as fans that want to return to Pandora again, will now have that opportunity.

The Oscar® and Golden Globe® winning epic is the highest grossing film of all time, taking in over $2.7 billion in worldwide box office. It is also the top-selling Blu-ray disc of all time.

Source: Avatarmovie.com

Related posts

• Short preview of new Avatar trailer (1)
• 5 reasons to see Avatar (4)
• Welcome to Pandora – a video introduction (7)
• Spoiler alert: New Avatar trailer in bad quality (1)
• Relive James Cameron’s live facebook interview (2)

The Avatar DVD and Blu-ray is soon here. But Cameron is talking about the Avatar sequel already, and it’s going to take place in the ocean of Pandora.

“We created a broad canvas for the environment of film. That’s not just on Pandora, but throughout the Alpha Centauri AB system. And we expand out across that system and incorporate more into the story – not necessarily in the second film, but more toward a third film. I’ve already announced this, so I might as well say it: Part of my focus in the second film is in creating a different environment – a different setting within Pandora. And I’m going to be focusing on the ocean on Pandora, which will be equally rich and diverse and crazy and imaginative, but it just won’t be a rain forest. I’m not saying we won’t see what we’ve already seen; we’ll see more of that as well.”

Sounds good if you ask me, in Cameron we trust

Head over to LA Times to read the whole interview.

Related posts

• Avatar DVD will be out before June 30 (4)
• Go see Avatar in IMAX 3D, again – last chance (1)
• Avatar sequel is coming (22)
• Short preview of new Avatar trailer (1)
• Relive James Cameron’s live facebook interview (2)

Great news. If you still have an urge to see Avatar at the movies one last time, you have the chance this coming weekend.

It is our duty to bring you news and information about movies showing in theaters, so we have to let you know about the upcoming re-release of James Cameron’s Avatar in theaters this weekend, even though I don’t really understand the point of it. AMC will be re-showing Avatar in 61 theaters in 29 cities in the US on April 16th and 17th (Friday and Saturday) in glorious IMAX 3D. The real reason is that Avatar hits DVD and Blu-Ray on April 22nd (Earth Day!) next week and this is your very last chance to see Avatar “the way director James Cameron intended it to be experienced.” I’m not sure this is truly your last chance, though.

The only bad news is that the only showtimes for Avatar are at 11PM at night on Friday and Saturday. What the heck AMC? Why choose the absolute worst times to show a 3 hour movie? If you still want to go, you can click here for info on locations and tickets. This is not the extended cut of Avatar will be released back into IMAX theaters sometime in late summer. This is simple a double-dip last minute cash grab to get people out to see Avatar in theaters before it hits DVD and I’m not sure that many people care. Unfortunately this is a pretty half-assed attempt on AMC’s part. I think they should be running it more than just at 11PM, come on!

I’m planning on picking up Avatar next week on Blu-Ray and watching it when I get it then. But I don’t plan on re-watching it in theaters (in 3D) until the extended release hits sometime later this year. Anyone else?

Source: Firstshowing.net

Related posts

• Avatar DVD will be out before June 30 (4)
• James Cameron talks 3D in general and some Avatar movie news (4)
• Fox Releasing 3-Disc Extended Edition of Avatar (2)
• DVD and Blu-ray (4)
• Avatar Three-Disc Extended Collector’s Edition – Order now (1)

Avatar the won three awards for art direction, cinematography and visual effects at the Oscars. Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) won  the acclaimed Best Director award, and she’s the first woman in history to win that Oscar. The Hurt Locker also won best picture and was the the big winner of the night with a total of six Oscars.

Both Avatar and The Hurt Locker had nine nominations each, The Hurt Locker ended up winning the heavy categories, Avatar won the technical ones.

So, Avatar rules the Box Office but not the Oscars. Congratulations to Kathryn Bigelow and the team behind The Hurt Locker, it’s a great movie.

PICTURE:
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Pixar’s Up
Up in the Air

DIRECTOR:
James Cameron – Avatar
Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds
Lee Daniels – Precious
Jason Reitman – Up in the Air

ACTOR:
Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart
George Clooney – Up in the Air
Colin Firth – A Single Man
Morgan Freeman – Invictus
Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker

ACTRESS:
Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side
Helen Mirren – The Last Station
Carey Mulligan – An Education
Gabourey Sidibe – Precious
Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia

SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Matt Damon – Invictus
Woody Harrelson – The Messenger
Christopher Plummer – The Last Station
Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Penélope Cruz – Nine
Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal – Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air
Mo’Nique – Precious

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Mark Boal – The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds
Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman – The Messenger
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen – A Serious Man
Bob Peterson & Pete Docter – Pixar’s Up

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell – District 9
Nick Hornby – An Education
Armando Iannucci & Simon Blackwell – In the Loop
Geoffrey Fletcher – Precious
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner – Up in the Air

ANIMATED FEATURE:
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Pixar’s Up

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
Ajami (Israel)
El Secreto de Sus Ojos (Argentina)
The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)
Un Prophète (France)
The White Ribbon (Germany)

ART DIRECTION:
Avatar
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Mauro Fiore – Avatar
Bruno Delbonnel – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Barry Ackroyd – The Hurt Locker
Robert Richardson – Inglourious Basterds
Christian Berger – The White Ribbon

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
Burma VJ
The Cove
Food, Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America
Which Way Home

DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Music by Prudence
Rabbit à la Berlin

ANIMATED SHORT:
French Roast
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death

LIVE-ACTION SHORT:
The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants

VISUAL EFFECTS:
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek

COSTUME DESIGN:
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria

MAKEUP:
Il Divo
Star Trek
The Young Victoria

FILM EDITING:
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious

SOUND MIXING:
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

SOUND EDITING:
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Pixar’s Up

ORIGINAL SCORE:
James Horner – Avatar
Alexandre Desplat – Fantastic Mr. Fox
Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders – The Hurt Locker
Hans Zimmer – Sherlock Holmes
Michael Giacchino – Pixar’s Up

ORIGINAL SONG:
“Almost There” from The Princess and the Frog
“Down in New Orleans” from The Princess and the Frog
“Loin de Paname” from Paris 36
“Take It All” from Nine
“The Weary Kind” from Crazy Heart

Related posts

• Avatar gets 9 Oscar nominations (3)
• Short preview of new Avatar trailer (1)
• Relive James Cameron’s live facebook interview (2)
• Old Avatar on set photo in new high resolution version (4)
• Navi photo from Avatar (0)

James Cameron’s big-budget (and even bigger-grossing) films create unreal worlds all their own. In this personal talk, he reveals his childhood fascination with the fantastic — from reading science fiction to deep-sea diving — and how it ultimately drove the success of his blockbuster hits “Aliens,” “The Terminator,” “Titanic” and “Avatar.”

Related posts

• Short preview of new Avatar trailer (1)
• Relive James Cameron’s live facebook interview (2)
• Old Avatar on set photo in new high resolution version (4)
• Navi photo from Avatar (0)
• John Landau, producer of Avatar, talks about 3D and the future (5)

According to News Corp. chairman and CEO (who owns Fox that financed Avatar), Rupert Murdoch, the Avatar DVD will be in stores sometime before June 30. He did’nt mention anything about Blu-Ray but I assume a Blu-Ray version will be released at the same time as the DVD. I also assume that he in fact means a Blu-Ray release (not DVD) when he talks about 3D versions of Avatar.

However, we will not get the 3D release just yet, that we will have to wait an unspecified extra time to get our hands on.

There is also talk about the upcoming Avatar sequel and that they are in “very early talks about it.” Director James Cameron “has ideas” for a sequel, he said, adding: “We will be pushing for one.”

NEW YORK — News Corp. is in very early talks with James Cameron about a possible “Avatar” sequel.

Asked about potential “Avatar” sequels, chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch said on his quarterly earnings call Tuesday that the conglomerate is in “very early talks about it.” Director James Cameron “has ideas” for a sequel, he said, adding: “We will be pushing for one.”

But he cautioned analysts not to “hold your breath for an early one” in a possible reference to Cameron projects often taking a long time to come to fruition.

News Corp. deputy chairman, president and COO Chase Carey interjected that both sides want to make another movie. “We certainly both intend to have one,” he said.

The executives said financing of a sequel like of any movies these days would be key as News Corp. likes to lay off risk, especially since Cameron films tend to go over budget. But given the success of “Avatar,” financing details could come together.

Management also said 60% or more of the profit from “Avatar” will come in over the next two quarters, adding the firm will continue its theater run as the boxoffice goes well, with a DVD release also planned soon after the theatrical run. A DVD release date hasn’t been announced so far.

Pushed further on details about the DVD plans for “Avatar,” Murdoch said it will be released during his company’s current fiscal year, which ends June 30. But he also highlighted that it won’t be a 3D DVD release as that technology isn’t developed enough yet. But Carey added there could be a 3D “Avatar” DVD release further “down the road” when the technology is ready.

Sourse: THR

Related posts

• Go see Avatar in IMAX 3D, again – last chance (1)
• Avatar sequel will dive into the oceans of Pandora (6)
• Fox Releasing 3-Disc Extended Edition of Avatar (2)
• DVD and Blu-ray (4)
• Avatar Three-Disc Extended Collector’s Edition – Order now (1)

Avatar got 9 Oscar nominations just as I predicted (21% of the readers predicted 9-10 nominations according to the poll in my previous post, congrats to you). With 9 nominations Avatar leads the pack together with “The Hurt Locker” that also got 9 nominations.

It’s gonna be an exiting evening March 7th when the winners as announced, only 33 days away, Avatar FTW

Here’s the complete list of all the categories and nominees.

PICTURE:
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

DIRECTOR:
James Cameron – Avatar
Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds
Lee Daniels – Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
Jason Reitman – Up in the Air

ACTOR:
Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart
George Clooney – Up in the Air
Colin Firth – A Single Man
Morgan Freeman – Invictus
Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker

ACTRESS:
Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side
Helen Mirren – The Last Station
Carey Mulligan – An Education
Gabourey Sidibe – Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia

SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Matt Damon – Invictus
Woody Harrelson – The Messenger
Christopher Plummer – The Last Station
Stanley Tucci – The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Penélope Cruz – Nine
Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal – Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air
Mo’Nique – Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Mark Boal – The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds
Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman – The Messenger
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen – A Serious Man
Bob Peterson, Pete Docter – Up

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell – District 9
Nick Hornby – An Education
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche – In the Loop
Geoffrey Fletcher – Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire
Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner – Up in the Air

ANIMATED FEATURE:
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
Ajami (Israel)
El Secreto de Sus Ojos (Argentina)
The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)
Un Prophète (France)
The White Ribbon (Germany)

ART DIRECTION:
Avatar
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Mauro Fiore – Avatar
Bruno Delbonnel – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Barry Ackroyd – The Hurt Locker
Robert Richardson – Inglourious Basterds
Christian Berger – The White Ribbon

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
Burma VJ
The Cove
Food, Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home

DOCUMENTARY SHORT:
China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Music by Prudence
Rabbit à la Berlin

ANIMATED SHORT:
French Roast
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death

LIVE-ACTION SHORT:
The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants

VISUAL EFFECTS:
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek

COSTUME DESIGN:
Bright Star
Coco before Chanel
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria

MAKEUP:
Il Divo
Star Trek
The Young Victoria

FILM EDITING:
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

SOUND MIXING:
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

SOUND EDITING:
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up

ORIGINAL SCORE:
James Horner – Avatar
Alexandre Desplat – Fantastic Mr. Fox
Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders – The Hurt Locker
Hans Zimmer – Sherlock Holmes
Michael Giacchino – Up

ORIGINAL SONG:
“Almost There” from The Princess and the Frog
“Down in New Orleans” from The Princess and the Frog
“Loin de Paname” from Paris 36
“Take It All” from Nine
“The Weary Kind” from Crazy Heart

Related posts

• Avatar tops Titanic domestic Box Office record (5)
• Avatar tagline revealed (1)
• Avatar at the Oscars (4)
• John Landau, producer of Avatar, talks about 3D and the future (5)
• James Cameron talks 3D in general and some Avatar movie news (4)

So, at last it’s official, Avatar is the top grossing movie of all time worldwide. Who would have thought that just a month and a half ago?

Yesterday a lot of news sources reported this but it’s not until today we have the official figures to back it up. As you can see in the table below Avatar now stands at $1.858.6 billion.

This comes after the sixth straight $100+ million weekends worldwide, and Avatar is showing almost no signs of slowing down anytime soon. 2$ billion worldwide is a lock, the real question is how far above $2 billion it will eventually land.

What do you think?

Related posts

• Avatar breaks Box Office records (8)
• Avatar tops Box Office for fifth straight weekend (7)
• Time to hit the movies (0)
• Short preview of new Avatar trailer (1)
• Relive James Cameron’s live facebook interview (2)

Related posts

• Welcome to Pandora – a video introduction (7)
• Short preview of new Avatar trailer (1)
• Relive James Cameron’s live facebook interview (2)
• Old Avatar on set photo in new high resolution version (4)
• Navi photo from Avatar (0)