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Weta in line for 'Avatar' film sequels

Wednesday 10 November 2010, 1:44PM

By Tourism New Zealand

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WELLINGTON CITY

The New Zealand film industry has been given another major boost with news that two sequels to the world's biggest movie, Avatar, are set to be made in Wellington.

Amid celebrations confirming New Zealand will make The Hobbit movies, Wellington’s Weta Digital announced talks were underway with Avatar director James Cameron for two 3D sequels that have now been given the green light by Twentieth Century Fox.

Cameron used Weta Digital to create the ground-breaking special effects in the first Avatar film, which became the highest-grossing movie of all time and won two Oscars.

Happy experience
Weta Digital boss Joe Letteri confirms that Cameron has made an approach and although it could be a year before the final decision is made, Wellington "definitely has the lead".

But Letteri said it appeared neither Cameron nor Fox wanted to do the movies anywhere else as the first film had been a good experience for everyone.

"We all had a good experience with the first film and they [Fox and Cameron] were pleased with Weta Digital in creating [alien planet] Pandora and the characters. We're in continuing discussions with them over the next two movies."

Letteri says James Cameron has also talked about how much he liked shooting in Wellington.

"We shot the live-action part of the film here as well - and he has expressed that he'd like to come back and shoot two and three here.

"We don't really know at this point what he has in mind for future stories, but we're hoping that since we have the foundation - you know, we have the landscape here, we have everything that went into making up the planet Pandora - that whichever way he decides to go with it, that we are in good shape to continue to work with him and to make that happen."

2014 release
The first Avatar sequel is scheduled for release in December 2014, and the second a year later.

Letteri said there had been a lot of interest in Weta Digital since the original Avatar, with projects like Tintin and now The Hobbit - which would fit in nicely with the Avatar sequels.

"It's great news on both fronts - the news about Hobbit this week and the news about Avatar. I think that means we've got hopefully a good future for filmmaking in Wellington."

The original Avatar film brought more than NZ$307 million into the local economy, New Zealand Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee said earlier this year. More than 1500 people worked on the film throughout New Zealand.

Blu-Ray DVD
Later this month the Avatar Blu-Ray DVD will be released, with extra movie footage and an in-depth look at Weta's role in the making of the film.

Cameron says he’s included a new opening scene, cut from the main movie, to offer something fresh for the three-disc DVD and Blue-ray release.

And online communities have welcomed the confirmation of Avatar sequels with the news fuelling further traffic to sites set up for those who want to learn the Na’vi language used by the fictional people who inhabit the planet of Pandora.

Professor Paul Frommer, who took five years to create the language, says he’s never underestimated the power of the internet. Na’vi was partly based on the Māori language after Frommer heard it spoken in New Zealand.

As well as online communities springing up to teach the language, a US invitation-only convention has attracted fans from across the world with global debate on word translations and interpretations.

An @learnnavi Twitter feed and a free iphone and iPad App have also just been released.