This information is from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Avatar is a 2009 American[6][7] epic science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron, and starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Joel David Moore, Giovanni Ribisi and Sigourney Weaver. The film is set in the mid-22nd century, when humans are mining a precious mineral called unobtanium on Pandora, a lush habitable moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system.[8][9][10]
The expansion of the mining colony threatens the continued existence of a local tribe of Na’vi—a humanoid species indigenous to Pandora. The film’s title refers to the genetically engineered Na’vi-human hybrid bodies used by a team of researchers to interact with the natives of Pandora.[11]
Development of Avatar began in 1994, when Cameron wrote an 80-page scriptment for the film.[12] Filming was supposed to take place after the completion of Cameron’s 1997 film Titanic, for a planned release in 1999,[13] but according to Cameron, the necessary technology was not yet available to achieve his vision of the film.[14]
Work on the language of the film’s extraterrestrial beings began in summer 2005, and Cameron began developing the screenplay and fictional universe in early 2006.[15][16] Avatar was officially budgeted at $237 million.[3] Other estimates put the cost between $280 million and $310 million for production and at $150 million for promotion.[17][18][19] The film made extensive use of cutting edge motion capture filming techniques, and was released for traditional viewing, 3-D viewing (using the RealD 3D, Dolby 3D, XpanD 3D, and IMAX 3D formats), and for “4-D” experiences in select South Korean theaters.[20] The stereoscopic filmmaking was touted as a breakthrough in cinematic technology.[21]
Avatar premiered in London on December 10, 2009, and was internationally released on December 16 and in the United States and Canada on December 18, to critical acclaim[22][23] and commercial success.[24][25][26] The film broke several box office records during its release and became the highest-grossing film of all time in North America[27] and worldwide, surpassing Titanic, which had held the records for the previous twelve years.[28]
It also became the first film to gross more than $2 billion.[29] Avatar was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director,[30] and won three, for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, and Best Art Direction. The film’s home release went on to break opening sales records and became the top-selling Blu-ray of all time. Following the film’s success, Cameron signed with 20th Century Fox to produce two sequels, making Avatar the first of a planned trilogy.[31]
Plot
By 2148, humans have severely depleted Earth’s natural resources. In 2154, the RDA Corporation mines for a valuable mineral – unobtainium – on Pandora, a densely-forested habitable moon of the gas giant Polyphemus in the Alpha Centauri star system.[10] Pandora, whose atmosphere is poisonous to humans, is inhabited by the Na’vi, 10-foot (3.0 m)-tall, blue-skinned, sapient humanoids[32] who live in harmony with nature and worship a mother goddess called Eywa.
To explore Pandora’s biosphere, scientists use Na’vi-human hybrids called ‘avatars’, operated by genetically matched humans; wherefore Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic former marine, replaces his twin brother Tom as an operator thereof. Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), head of the Avatar Program, considers Sully an inadequate replacement and assigns him as a bodyguard. While protecting the avatars of Grace and scientist Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore) as they collect biological data, Jake’s avatar is attacked by a thanator and flees into the forest, where he is rescued by Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a female Na’vi. Upon sight of an auspicious portent, she takes him to her clan, whereupon Neytiri’s mother Mo’at (C. C. H. Pounder), the clan’s spiritual leader, orders her daughter to initiate Jake into their society.
For the rest of this article, please go to the Wiki website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(2009_film)