Filmonic » Sigourney Weaver

James Cameron’s Avatar vision featurette

Liam — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:38:31 +0000

If the release of the new Avatar trailer yesterday was the highlight of your movie week then you will probably love this new Avatar featurette. It’s 4 minutes long and it contains LOTS of new footage (if you want to stay pure until December I would avoid this), along with interviews and sound-bites from James Cameron, Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver.

The scope and scale of this movie is huge!

The marketing will soon kick in and we will get even more footage, the only problem with that is I don’t want to be too spoiled before it’s release in 2 months. If you watch every trailer and TV spot you will become saturated with the imagery and it won’t be as special when you see it on the big screen. When the marketing blitz arrives I will post some stuff, but not everything.

What are your thoughts on the featurette? Should they show more of these or should they keep their Avatarholes shut for the next few months?

Here’s the second Avatar trailer!

Liam — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:20:05 +0000

Got anything planned for the next 30 minutes? No? Good, because you’ll probably end up watching this new trailer for James Cameron’s Avatar on repeat for the foreseeable future. The only word to describe it would be ‘epic’. Watch below:

Here are the download links if you want to see it in HD!

480p

720p

1080p

What are your thought on the new trailer?

A bunch of new Avatar stills online

Liam — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:34:08 +0000

Spoiler TV were sent six super hi-resolution images from James Cameron’s Avatar. I’ve seen a few of the images floating around the net before, but they were scans from magazines and low quality. These, however, are big enough to have as a your desktop wallpaper. The image above shows Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) asking Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) how he likes his eco-friendly space coffee.

Click here to see more images, including a shot of Sigourney Weaver sitting with Joel Moore and Worthington in a lab, while Michelle Rodriguez stands behind them looking all tough.

Here’s the Avatar teaser trailer!

Liam — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:42:24 +0000

Avatar began filming in April 2007 and now we finally have a glimpse of what James Cameron has been working on for the past 2 years. Due to all the special effects work that needs to be done in post-production Cameron and 20th Century Fox haven’t released anything from the film until recently. All we’ve had for the past 2 years are quotes from the actors and people involved, hyping the film up to a level that has never been seen before. James Cameron even said that he fears the hype may kill it. However, we now have a teaser trailer so we can judge for ourselves. Watch below!

I watched it with an open mind and wasn’t expecting to see the ‘greatest movie ever’ like some of the hype suggests. The close up shots of the Na’vi are amazing, and I don’t think some people will take in that 60% of what we see is CGI. Those lucky enough to get tickets for 16 minutes of Avatar footage tomorrow (including myself) will be able to get a bigger picture of what we are actually seeing.

What do you think of the Avatar trailer? Does it meet expectations? Does it blow your mind?

New Avatar images!

Liam — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:28:59 +0000

In a matter of hours the countdown on Apple Trailers will reach zero and we will be rewarded with a brand new trailer for Avatar. To get everyone warmed up 20th Century Fox have released 6 new images featuring Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Lang and Michelle Rodriguez in character. We also have the image above which shows a swarm of war aircraft.

Click here to see the rest, and come back in a few hours to see the trailer!

Avatar footage reactions online

Liam — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:26:42 +0000

We found out yesterday that some lucky people (mostly media people) would be getting an exclusive look at footage from James Cameron’s Avatar. As expected 20th Century Fox had tight security so we have no bootlegs, but we do have some concept art that was projected onto walls during the after party (see above), and reactions from a few anonymous people who saw 24 minutes of footage. Director James Cameron was there to present some scenes, as were cast members Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang and Sigourney Weaver.

From ComingSoon.net:

In the first scene we see Sam Worthington’s crippled ex-marine Jake Sully, who just arrived on the planet ‘Pandora.’ He’s in a wheelchair and just rolled in to hear Colonel Quaritch, played by the impressive Stephen Lang, talk to the troops. He’s giving a classic speech that every military leader gives at the beginning of a battle. Jake listens as an outsider to this speech. A melancholic smile appears on his face. Although the scene is in 3-D, I haven’t really noticed it. Finally a director who doesn’t feel the need to stick it in the audience’s face with cheap tricks like pointing objects at the camera.
In the second scene Sigourney Weaver’s Dr. Grace Augustine explains to Jake how the process of transporting your mind into an Avatar works. Although the scene is mostly exposition, we’ve got a good look at the lab and more importantly we get a first glimpse of the Avatars, the Na’Vi lookalikes. These tall blue creatures lie in water tanks, waiting for their human to ‘jump’ in their bodies. Besides Weaver and Worthington, the scene introduces Joel Moore’s character Norm Spellman. As is usually the case with Moore, his character is the comic relief.
It’s the third scene where my heart begins to pound like crazy. Jake and Norm will inhabit their Avatar for the first time. They enter some sort of capsule and – flash – their mind enters the blue creatures, now lying on hospital tables. And not before long Avatar Jake wakes up. And it took my breath away. I thought–just like you guys–that I’ve seen it all with Gollum, or The Hulk, but Cameron has done it again. These creatures seem so real, that within minutes you forget you’re watching an enormous and very blue CGI character. Even the eyes are totally convincing. The characters have real personalities and a soul.
In the fourth scene the Avatars of Jake, Norm and Grace explore the jungle of Pandora. The surroundings remind me of a planet that appears briefly in “Revenge of the Sith.” A lot of massive colorful flowers and plants grow everywhere. Jake’s unbridled enthusiasm works on Grace’s nerves. And not before long they have their first confrontation with some creatures. Some sort of rhino with a flower sticking out of his head looks like he will kill Jake, but he’s not scared and he let’s out a scream. The ‘rhino’ runs away, but not because of Jake. A more dangerous creature – a wolf? – jumps at Jake from behind.

Click here to read the rest.

20th Century Fox have said that this footage will not be released online (which is probably a good thing), however we should be getting a trailer in the upcoming weeks.

Sigourney Weaver joins Paul?

Liam — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:39:44 +0000

Last week we heard that Seth Rogen and Jason Batemen would be joining Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in Greg Mottola’s Paul. At that point I didn’t think the cast could get any better, however today is actually might. According to The Playlist Sigourney Weaver (who will next be seen in Avatar) has joined the cast. Ripley will be once again be meeting an alien! The Playlist also have an official synopsis of the film, which will begin filming this summer.

PAUL is the story of Graham Willy (Simon Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Nick Frost), two sci-fi enthusiasts from the UK. The film follows them on a once in a lifetime trip to America, starting with a visit to San Diego Comic Con. Having enjoyed the delights of the convention, the boys set off on a trip to Area 51 for a spot of light UFO tourism. However, their trip takes a sudden and dramatic turn when the boys happen upon a crashed government vehicle containing an Alien called Paul (to be voiced by Seth Rogen). They embark upon an adventure, which sees them accidentally kidnapping a young Christian girl (Kristen Wiig) and paying a surprise visit to an old woman called Tara, who 60 years before pulled a stricken Paul from his crashed ship. Together, this mismatched band struggle to help Paul get home, all the while trying desperately to stay ahead of the tenacious government operative, Agent Lorenzo Zoil (Jason Bateman) and Ruth’s zealous, shot- gun toting, bible bashing father, Moses Behe. This is a comedy about being an alien in America, even if you’re not from outer space.

Sigourney Weaver rehearsed for Avatar in a rainforest

Liam — Sun, 03 May 2009 03:25:03 +0000

THR conducted an interview with Sigourney Weaver and asked her a few questions about Avatar. As expected she didn’t give anything away, although she did speak about her character, called director James Cameron a genius, and revealed that the cast rehearsed in some Hawaiian rainforests in order to get a better grasp at what it would be like to be on a far away planet.

I like Mary McDonnell’s (Battlestar Galactica) reaction. It seems like she is hearing about it for the first time.

Word is something will be released at Comic Con in July. Hopefully whatever it is will come online soon after!

Sigourney Weaver On Avatar: I’m playing James Cameron in the movie

Liam — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:17:56 +0000

Sigourney Weaver recently talked to the United Press about her role in the ‘not soon to be released’, Avatar. Working on the sci-fi epic meant that she would be reunited with director James Cameron, who made Weaver a household name after they worked together on Aliens back in 1986.

“It was great,” Weaver told reporters in New York Monday. “I’m so fond of him personally. He loves actors; he’s such a good director. … I can’t believe it’s been 20 years. We picked up like we’d never been apart, like an old married couple.”
“We had a long talk about what he had not been doing and what he had been doing and how he really wanted me to do this character,” Weaver recalled. “He had thought about making it a man, as well, but had decided, in the end, that he wanted it to be a woman and he wanted it to be me.
“And it’s such a great — like all of his women characters — it was a great woman character and I teased him because, to me, I’m playing James Cameron in the movie … with his kind of brilliant, scientific approach, driven, idealistic, perfectionistic, but with great heart underneath.”

The character of Ripley in the Alien movies is considered to be one of the most kick ass female characters of all time. Cameron knows how to make his female characters more then just a girl who needs to be saved, or the girl who screams constantly. The fact that Cameron could easily have made the role a man, suggests that Dr. Grace Augustine will not need any help if she is confronted by any aliens in Avatar.

Sigourney Weaver Talks Avatar!

Liam — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:12:49 +0000

Yesterday, James Cameron spoke about the film that we will not be seeing for 22 months, and today is the turn of leading lady Sigourney Weaver. She spoke to Premiere magazine in this interview, so head over there is you want to read all of it, but here are the Avatar bits:

How much screentime will you have in Avatar? Would you describe your part there as a supporting role?
No, I have the female lead. You know, live action. I guess I would have to say that Sam and Zoe play the romantic leads, but I probably have the next biggest, or as big a part.
Has Jim mellowed any? Is that possible?
I think, you know, he gets impatient trying to get his ideas across to people, but I think he’s very mellowed. He was always a sweetheart. [She responds to my raised-eyebrow look] He really was always a sweetheart! He can get impatient with people. I think as long as you don’t take it personally… so that hasn’t changed. And he always puts so much on himself — in this case, he invented the cameras, he did the sets, he designed the guns, he designed a lot of the creatures that are going to be in this other world — it’s all from his head. He’s operating the camera. Because people can’t read his mind, that makes him a little impatient. I think, considering what he’s taken on, he’s quite angelic, actually.
Did you guys spend a lot of time talking about the old days, or was it down to business?
Well, it’s both. We’re very fond of each other because that was quite an experience in itself. So there definitely is a happy vibe working together and then we do try to get on with it. I mean, he created a wonderful character for me. She’s a lot like him — she’s very impatient, she’s very driven, she’s got a big heart, she’s very complicated and you see very different people in the human world and in the avatar world. It’s a fantastic canvas for me to paint on — it’s certainly not a supporting role in any way.
Has he let you read the whole Avatar script? Is he keeping it to himself?
Oh no, I’ve read the whole script.
What would you compare it to?
I can’t think of anything, frankly. I can’t think of anything. It’s gonna blow the mind of this industry, I think. It’s gonna be an experience for people. I don’t think they’re going to want to come out of the theater. I think kids will want to stay in the theater with their sleeping bags so they don’t have to go out into the real world. It’s about something. It’s about ecology in a lot of ways. About greed.
Imperialism?
Yeah. About love. About becoming a man. You know, a lot of his favorite themes. It’s a very dense piece of work. I’ve only seen the motion-capture 40 percent done, but it’s pretty awesome. The live action I’ve seen almost all of, and it’s a very affecting story. When you see scenes that are very affecting in 3D, you can’t keep them out.
The movie isn’t slated for release until December ‘09, but it sounds like you’ve seen a lot of completed work. I imagined it was mostly not done yet.
Oh, it is mostly not done yet. I saw something someone else had edited of my scenes. For some reason, they wanted me to see most of my scenes before I left, so I was forced to do that. I think he’s very proud of how it’s going. Then I got to see certain scenes that are in the script at Weta, when I was over there talking to the animators about Grace, my character. They’re just doing a fabulous job. Everyone is going to want to go to this place.
What does Grace look like, by the way?
She’s got beautiful, bright red hair and big eyelashes. No make-up. She’s a scientist, and she’s an attractive woman who has given up a normal life to devote herself to this planet and fight this fight. She learns a lot over the course of the story.