MOVIES & TV

Embracing James Cameron’s obsession with innovation

By JERHOW

1 November 2016

James Cameron seems to be making it clear we’ll only see Avatar 2 in theatres when the technology has been realized that can put his vision on screen.

Until then, Cameron does what he does best: Development, research, tinkering, pioneering.

These sequels could have been made using today’s technology to deliver a product more visually impressive than the first Avatar. But that’s not what he’s aiming for. He’s going for “wow” factor. He’s looking to push the envelope. He is driven, perhaps to the point of obsession, to move special effects and technology forward, to create magic on screen.

Speaking at the Sociey of Motion Picture and Television Engineers’ Centennial Gala, where he accepted an honorary membership, Cameron said this of his Avatar sequels:

“I’m going to push…(movie) magic has to amaze…and that involves constant creation of new tools and techniques. The audience’s eyes adjust to what we did, and so we need to up our work.”

Right abot now, years after the first Avatar was released, when the rest of us are saying, “Are these sequels ever going to get made?” Cameron seems perfectly at ease in his own comfort zone. It’s what he’s always done. Do we doubt him?

The body of work speaks for itself. And the results always show up on screen.

Terminator 2 ushered in a new era of special effects technology and was a juggernaut for its time.

The Titanic going down is one of the most epic sequences ever created for a movie.

And in Avatar, my jaw was dropped when I experienced hundreds of flying banshee dragons immersed in an aerial dogfight with futuristic military choppers.

We simply had never seen anything like any of these films prior to their release, and it’s the reason Cameron is a visionary.

He may be keeping us waiting for the Avatar sequels. His obsession with innovation may be borderline mad scientist. But Cameron is currently the biggest magician in all of Hollywood. His experiences always prove to be well worth the wait. And we will be there when the time comes.

by JERHOW

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