Cameron sets live-action, CG epic for 2009

Cameron sets live-action, CG epic for 2009 - Hollywood Reporter: "James Cameron is set to direct 'Avatar,' his first dramatic feature since the Oscar-winning blockbuster 'Titanic' in 1997.

Fox Filmed Entertainment chairmen Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman said Monday that Cameron will start virtual photography on the sci-fi epic in April, with live-action photography commencing in August, for a summer 2009 release. It will be filmed in a new digital 3-D format for release in 3-D.

The director already has spent years in R&D on the multiple processes needed to create a $190 million hybrid of live action and animation, which he vowed will never pass the $200 million mark. 'I've been the busiest unemployed director in Hollywood,' he said. 'We're going to blow you to the back wall of the theater in a way you haven't seen for a long time. My goal is to rekindle those amazing mystical moments my generation felt when we first saw '2001: A Space Odyssey,' or the next generation's 'Star Wars.' It took me 10 years to find something hard enough to be interesting.'"