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Kate Winslet Works with James Cameron Again in ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’

Music Observer Staff on January 2, 2023

Nearly 30 years after the iconic Titanic, it seemed unlikely that Kate Winslet and James Cameron would be together again in a project.

Fans were thrilled to see history repeat itself with two of today’s most acclaimed figures.

At the start of the film partnership in 1997, the 22-year-old actress said: “You’d have to pay me a lot of money to work with Jim again.”

After a quarter century of difference, Avatar: The Way of Water brought together two creative forces that have evolved significantly in the 26 years since Titanic. The theatrical release is expected soon.

“You couldn’t compare the two. The two films are so different,” Winslet shared with EW when queried about collaborating with Cameron again.

“Literally, the only common thread is there’s water in both of them, but the water that is there for different reasons behaves in totally different ways. These experiences were so far apart.”

Winslet’s connection to the iconic Titanic movie may feel like old history, but it’s actually only been 26 years since its debut. An impressive feat considering how long we’ve felt it’s been a part of our lives.

“I turned 21 on that shoot. I am now 47 years old. It’s a very, very, very long time ago,” she stated.

“Jim, as a director, as a person, you know, we are just both different, older, [and] have hopefully learned a lot more in terms of how to tell stories and be creative contributors and collaborators.”

Come back Collaboration

Cameron and Winslet were anxious to work together in the wake of Titanic’s mega-success, but longed to reunite their powers over the years.

Now Cameron, 68, and Winslet, 47, the dynamic duo have decided to reunite despite the inevitable passage of time.

Disney and 20th Century’s Avatar: The Way of Water was unlike any other project, as it got further along the production line than we’ve ever seen before. With up to four sequel films on the horizon, this franchise is sure to be a blockbuster.

“I feel like he’s always checked in with me. ‘Are you busy right now?’ or ‘What’s going on? I may have something,'” Winslet recounted.

“Then I wouldn’t hear for a while, and I think he’s drifted off that idea. Then he’d be floating back in with another one. And then in 2014, he did say to me, ‘I’m gonna get you big and blue.'”

This Friday, movie-goers can experience an adventure of epic proportions.

At the helm are Winslet and Cliff Curtis as Ronal and Tonowari – two powerful leaders who must protect their Na’vi water tribe. Avatar: The Way of Water will surely provide thrilling thrills with a splash of drama.

An intrepid leader, Winslet’s character strikes an impressive balance between preserving her clan’s ancient customs and safeguarding their future with her warrior prowess.

Winslet Applauds Cameron

Winslet was in awe of Cameron’s mastery and understanding of the intricate mythos behind Avatar – an accomplishment that certainly did not go unrecognized.

“He knows every inch of it,” she stated. “He created a whole language. He created a set of intentions for these people: how they live and how they move and how they breathe and think and speak and eat and love and cherish. He did all that.”

She compares the filmmaker to a master in the kitchen, crafting an artful film dish that captivates viewers.

“A chef is never gonna send a great dish out to the table if he’s not happy with that plate.” She gives an example.

“He told me that, I think, he spent a year writing the first pass of the second [film] and then just hated it all and was like, ‘This is just s—. I’m gonna start again,'” Winslet reminisced.

“I’ve started building characters before and thought, ‘Hang on a minute. This is not what I’m meant to be doing at all. Okay, start again.’ It’s always a really terrifying moment.”

Reading the script for Titanic was an incredible experience for Winslet, who couldn’t believe how much secrecy shrouded its storyline.

“I definitely was given the bare minimum, initially. Very much character descriptions, a general sense of [Ronal], and the role that she played within her community. But it wasn’t until I read the script and discovered, obviously, all of the other elements that he had built in,” she stated.

“It’s a phenomenal experience reading a Jim Cameron script because it’s just so thorough. The guy is such a perfectionist.”

Avatar in the Film Industry

In 2009, James Cameron revolutionized the movie industry with Avatar, shattering box office records and cementing its place in film history.

Fast forward to 2021: audiences can expect a revival of this beloved saga – the next installment being Avatar 2: The Way of Water – just one part of four new films set for release.

Jake Sully, our heroic former Marine who traded his human body for that of a Na’vi on Pandora’s moon and found love with Neytiri, has created an entirely new life. He traded in the lush rainforests he once knew to raise their own family among sparkling oceans.

In the long-awaited sequel to James Cameron’s Avatar, tensions remain high between humanity and the Na’vi of Pandora. Stephen Lang reprises his role as Col. Quaritch – this time in a most formidable form.

The militarized organization RDA still poses a significant threat all these years later.

James Cameron Divulges the Time DiCaprio Almost Lost ‘Titanic’ Role

Music Observer Staff on November 28, 2022

Leonardo DiCaprio will always be Jack Dawson. And Jack Dawson will always be Leonardo DiCaprio. Facts will always be facts. And that’s how it is.

However, James Cameron recently revealed that DiCaprio’s newfound attitude to the limelight nearly cost him the role that made him a movie sensation.

In 1995, the Titanic posed a huge risk to Cameron as he searched for his doomed lovers. He was thinking about Gwyneth Paltrow for Rose DeWitt Bukater until he ran into Kate Winslet. The director described Winslet as “fantastic.”

Meanwhile, DiCaprio was on the actor list and he tops that list.

“There was a meeting with Leo. And there was a screen test with Leo,” Cameron said in an interview with GQ.

“The meeting was funny because I am sitting in my conference room, waiting to meet an actor. And I look around, and all the women in the entire office are in the meeting for some reason.”

“There’s a female executive producer, okay, fine, but our accountant? They all wanted to meet Leo. It was hysterical. I looked around, and I went, ‘I think I already know the answer to the question here.’”

DiCaprio Felt Unstoppable

Although DiCaprio charmed everyone, Cameron wondered if he and Winslet had the kind of chemistry that drawing nude figures could sell.

DiCaprio went back, believing he would meet his leading lady. However, Cameron wanted him to only read for the part. He who was the Oscar-nominated actor in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, who drew much attention as Romeo in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet?

According to Cameron, DiCaprio told him, “Oh, I don’t read.” So Cameron shook the booming heartthrob’s hand and stated, “Well, thanks for coming by.”

The director said a surprised DiCaprio responded, “Wait, wait, wait, if I don’t read, I don’t get the part. Just like that?”

Cameron said he told DiCaprio what it was for him and the director after Titanic was completed.

The film was “a giant movie that is going to take two years of my life. And you’ll be gone doing five other things while I’m doing post-production. So, I’m not going to f— up by making the wrong decision in casting. So, you’re going to read, or you’re not going to get the part,” he said.

Then, DiCaprio had no choice but to drag his bangs to the screen test.

According to Cameron, “every ounce of his entire being is entirely negative right up until I said, ‘Action.’ And he turned into Jack. And Kate just lit up. And they went into this whole thing, and he played the scene. Dark clouds had opened up, a ray of sun came down and lit up Jack. I’m like, ‘All right, he’s the guy.’”

From then on, history unfolded. And as Celine Dion sings it, it “will go on and on and on.”

James Cameron Concerned that Avatar Would be ‘Cringe-Worthy’

Music Observer Staff on September 26, 2022

The visual effects of the upcoming Avatar sequels are impressive, according to director James Cameron. He is worried that they will make the original film (2009) look out of date.

But thankfully, the first film was given a makeover before its recent release, less than three months before the highly anticipated sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, which opens in theaters on December 16.

The latest version of Avatar is visually significantly better than 13 years ago thanks to the 4K High Dynamic Range upgrade.

“I went into that screening worried that it was going to be a bit cringe-worthy relative to the new film, which looks pretty spectacular,” Cameron said in an interview with EW of his experience watching the original movie remastered for the first time.

“As the film ended, I went, ‘Hmm, I don’t know. I’m now worried about the new film,'” the director jested, ahead of getting the records straight, “That’s not true. I’m not worried about the new film. It looks pretty amazing. But I am hopeful that people will get out to the cinema and either discover or rediscover that experience so that they know what an Avatar movie’s all about.”

Some of those who saw the remastered film were Cameron’s children.

“I got to watch it with my kids, who are 15, 18, and 21, recently. And they hadn’t seen it in 3D in a theater, certainly not in the state that it’s in right now because it’s more gorgeous than it’s ever been.”

Watching the film again today, the filmmaker feels a renewed sense of gratitude for what he and his team accomplished back then.

“It’s remastered in 4K, it’s remastered in an Atmos 9.1 sound, which wasn’t available at the time. We judiciously used high frame rates to smooth out some of the 3D. So, it looks better than I’ve ever seen it. I was sitting there going, ‘We did that? Wow,'” Cameron said.

Despite Avatar’s commercial and critical success in 2009, Cameron said the sequel was even “more ambitious” than the original.

“Certainly, water is much more difficult to realize in CG,” he emphasized. “And our water is mostly CG water, but you won’t be able to tell. It looks photo-real. It looks like we just went out to the ocean in Pandora and shot it.”

Cameron Believes Sequel Feels Like A Dream

In Cameron’s view, the objective of the visual effect is for the crowd to feel like they are in a dream.

“In dreams, we believe we’re in the situation while we’re dreaming,” the director elaborated. “And that’s what I wanted to accomplish with the new film. That’s what I wanted to accomplish with the first Avatar and what I think we did.”

He further said, “Through the world-building and through the presentation and bright laser 3D and so on, you’re there. You can see every leaf on the tree. You feel like you can reach out and touch it. But it’s a new story with new characters, new stakes, new jeopardy, et cetera.”

While visuals are crucial for Cameron and Avatar, storytelling is the most important aspect of any movie.

“It’s all about: Do I care about these people?” Cameron asked.

“It doesn’t matter how beautiful the film is, how breathtaking the visuals are. Do I care? Am I having an emotional reaction? Resonating with their sense of loss or tragedy or love or whatever it is? That’s what movies are all about. It doesn’t matter how big or how small they are – they have succeed on that level first.”

The remastered Avatar premiered globally on September 23 ahead of Avatar: The way of Water on December 16.