'Avatar 2' Cast Interview
The stars of James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” including Zoe Saldaña (Neytiri), Sam Worthington (Jake), Kate Winslet (Ronal), Sigourney Weaver (Kiri) and Stephen Lang (Quaritch) discuss the “Avatar” sequel in this interview with CinemaBlend’s Sean O’Connell. Zoe and Sam have hilarious reactions to finding out how many movies they've been in since 2009's "Avatar," Kate talks about what makes her and James Cameron get along so well and much more.
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00:00 You have been in 22 different films since the first Avatar.
00:03 Don't worry, 21 and 1 never came out.
00:05 [laughing]
00:06 Do you guys know how many movies you each have been in
00:15 since the first Avatar film?
00:16 - Oh, no. - No.
00:18 [laughing]
00:19 No, you have been in 24 movies.
00:22 - Wow. - Since that time.
00:23 And I was trying not to work because I kept thinking
00:26 - Avatar is gonna start. - Right.
00:27 And I wanna be ready.
00:29 Um, you know, I wanna be in good shape and everything.
00:32 So that's quite amazing.
00:33 - 38 different films. - 38 films.
00:36 Does it feel that way?
00:37 Yeah, I don't-- Yeah, I don't know how it feels.
00:40 I mean, you know, they're like, uh...
00:43 footsteps on a block of ice on a hot day.
00:45 They just kind of disappear at times to me, you know?
00:49 - Have I been in any good ones? - Terrific ones.
00:51 - 38 terrific films. - I love it.
00:53 - Yes. - Each one a winner.
00:55 You have been in 22 different films since the first Avatar.
00:59 And you have been in 25 different films.
01:00 - Oh, my God. - Since the first Avatar.
01:03 - Jesus. - So...
01:04 - Um, a lot. - Does it feel that way?
01:07 No, no. I thought it was only like five.
01:09 [laughing]
01:10 Don't worry, 21 and one never came out.
01:12 [laughing]
01:13 But there's a great level of gratitude.
01:20 And I know I'm speaking for Sam as well in that sense.
01:23 The Avatar experience has been a gift that keeps on giving.
01:27 It's not just the opportunities that it made for us in our careers,
01:32 but also like just how we evolved as people.
01:35 - Right. - You know, when...
01:36 It goes to show how important it is for young people
01:40 to meet their role models, to work with their idols
01:43 and to learn from them, you know?
01:45 I knew James Cameron before I even knew his face.
01:48 I saw it in Ellen Ripley. I saw it in Sarah Connor.
01:52 And these were the heroines that I held on to when I was six years old.
01:55 And my environment didn't see me or represent me
01:58 by my gender, by my race.
02:01 But if it wasn't for these characters that he created,
02:04 and they're the reason as to why I ended up being an actor.
02:06 And then the fact that the destiny and our journeys brought us together,
02:11 it's kismet.
02:12 So I was never gonna let that opportunity go by
02:16 and not sort of reap the benefit and learn from it and grow.
02:19 The fact that we're able to come back again,
02:22 that just feels like it's too much.
02:24 It's like, "That never happened."
02:25 Right, right, right.
02:27 I was not ready for this movie as a parent.
02:29 -Well, I haven't seen it. -Okay.
02:31 So I'm very excited I'm seeing it on Tuesday night.
02:33 -It has to be. -Can't wait.
02:35 How old are your children?
02:36 They are 18 and 14.
02:38 Ah, wow. Okay.
02:39 And it packs a wallop.
02:40 -Okay, good. -Oh, my gosh.
02:42 I think that was probably the intention.
02:43 Yes, I think so. So brace yourself for it.
02:45 -Good. -I'm curious if you wish
02:48 Mr. Cameron had the tech that's available to him now back on Titanic.
02:52 I think he probably wishes he'd had the tech
02:55 that he has invented and created.
02:56 He's done all of this.
02:58 Yes, you know, Titanic for Jim, I think,
03:01 must have been such a kind of terrifying experience
03:03 because a lot of what he was implementing,
03:06 I'm sure to a certain extent, was a bit experimental, you know,
03:09 and there was no room for error.
03:11 My God, I mean, it was all on him.
03:13 But the way that he has evolved
03:15 and the things that he has done technically since then
03:19 are just phenomenal.
03:20 And being part of Avatar and really seeing that firsthand
03:23 and experiencing it and witnessing the level at which he works
03:27 and the performances by the other actors
03:30 and what they created with the first one
03:32 and were able to share with me, it was an amazing experience.
03:34 I want to talk about him as a screenwriter, though,
03:36 because you are one of the female protagonists
03:38 -that he writes so well. -Yes.
03:39 What's different about his screenplays
03:41 and the characters that he hands to you?
03:43 Well, I think there's...
03:44 They go hand in hand.
03:47 You know, his screenplays are so powerful
03:50 and always because at the heart is a strong woman.
03:54 And it's not just that that woman is emotionally strong,
03:57 she's physically strong, she's resilient, she's a leader,
03:59 she's capable, she's loving, she's welcoming,
04:02 she's kind, she's compassionate.
04:04 And Avatar is just full of female characters like that.
04:07 And that's the world I want to live in.
04:09 -Right. -That's the mother I want to always be.
04:13 -Sure. -So I was very inspired by those themes
04:16 because they really do underpin the narrative.
04:18 They really do pull the audience in.
04:21 And that's the reason that this story, I think,
04:24 is going to resonate so much,
04:25 is because we need family, we need community like that.
04:28 [dramatic music playing]
04:30 The Way of Water connects all things.
04:35 I need you with me.
04:39 And I need you to be strong.
04:42 [dramatic music playing]
04:44 [screaming]
04:46 Stronghold.
04:51 Zoe, you are Mama Bear in this movie,
04:54 and I love it, I love it so much.
04:56 And it leads to some really intense scenes
04:58 in the back half of the movie.
04:59 I'm curious how you worked yourself up to those,
05:00 and more importantly, how you came down after those scenes.
05:03 Um, it's funny.
05:04 I was just sharing this with Jim.
05:06 It was the first time I've seen him in a minute.
05:08 And, um, and I felt that an Avatar Way of Water
05:14 uh, Neytiri challenged me the most,
05:17 'cause Neytiri was challenged the most, you know?
05:20 The first time, she's just fighting what's in her heart.
05:23 [laughs]
05:24 And it's just love, you know, she's falling in love.
05:27 She's falling into this abyss of like,
05:29 the sensation of love and curiosity
05:32 for this other individual.
05:33 In Avatar Way of Water, she's fighting fear.
05:36 Yeah.
05:37 And there's so much anger, you know,
05:39 and unresolved conflict in her heart.
05:42 And in a way, it was a very fantastic year for me,
05:48 as well as a person, where--
05:49 And as a woman, you know, the whole--
05:52 There was just a lot going on.
05:53 And Neytiri and I felt my life were really parallel.
05:57 If it wasn't for Jake, uh, for Sam and Jake,
06:00 you know, talking us off the ledge many times.
06:04 But Jim challenged me.
06:05 He knows where this woman, this creature is,
06:09 and he knows where she needs to end up.
06:11 So we're working backwards.
06:13 And he's not even gonna let me get in her way.
06:15 She has a journey that is very relatable.
06:18 I, um, you know, she's my great-grandmother.
06:22 -Right. -Neytiri's my great-grandmother.
06:24 Just a warrior that had to do so much for her family,
06:28 growing up and raising a family in a time of war.
06:31 And just being so tough sometimes
06:34 that she couldn't really connect with her heart.
06:36 And that's Neytiri.
06:37 But, you know, Jake is her heart.
06:40 Jake is like her rock.
06:42 And we're gonna get to see,
06:43 throughout the transcourse of this saga,
06:46 where they are and then where they end up.
06:49 And it's quite remarkable. It's a full life.
06:52 To that end, Sam, with so much talk about the tech,
06:55 but talk about James as a screenwriter.
06:57 Like, when you got the parts of Jake this time out,
06:59 what surprised you the most about the journey that you--
07:02 James' scripts are always very detailed.
07:03 They detail not only the world, obviously,
07:05 and the vision of the ecosystems and stuff,
07:10 but he's tapping into things that are very personal to him.
07:13 And that comes across in his writing.
07:15 You know, Jim has five children.
07:17 Jim's gone through several marriages.
07:19 And I think Jim's growing as a human.
07:22 And, you know, in how he deals with things.
07:24 And so I think there was a lot of that
07:25 that just pinged off the page.
07:27 - Right. - You know?
07:28 Plus, the guy's got a great track record of sequels,
07:31 of keeping it familiar,
07:32 but just raising the ante just that little bit.
07:34 Yeah, it's hard. You don't bet against him.
07:36 No.
07:37 Jim Cameron's script reads very much like a novel.
07:40 It's not a conventional, you know, film script in a way.
07:45 It's very, very detailed, extremely descriptive,
07:48 which I really, really like, you know?
07:51 When it gets into the nuance of the character,
07:53 he can do it in a word.
07:55 He's a good writer, you know?
07:56 He says-- He'll say something like, you know,
07:59 "The set of his jaw is, you know, granite."
08:02 Or that sounds clichéd, but, you know.
08:05 You get-- He conveys things very quickly and very efficiently.
08:10 Plus, when you're working with him, you know,
08:11 we have a pretty good understanding
08:13 of what we're talking about.
08:14 And what was your reaction to--
08:15 'Cause from what I understand, when the script for Two came,
08:18 it came with Two, Three, and Four?
08:19 - Is that correct? - And Five.
08:20 Did that seem not overwhelming,
08:22 but just were you surprised at how far his vision had gone?
08:26 No, not really, knowing Jim.
08:28 I mean, I knew that from the beginning.
08:30 I knew he wasn't going to--
08:31 We weren't gonna begin work until we--
08:33 There was-- 'Til he had an ending.
08:36 Until he had the entire story laid out, you know?
08:40 And that took a while,
08:42 but reading each one was a trip.
08:45 If you want to live here,
08:47 you have to ride.
08:50 I'm wondering what your chief concern was
08:54 when you heard you were going to be going back,
08:56 if you had any, and how it was alleviated.
08:58 Well, I knew Jim and I had met in 2010
09:02 and kind of had lunch and discussed
09:05 the idea of creating a character
09:07 who is related to Grace Augustine,
09:09 but was her own person, her own spirit,
09:12 someone who felt more comfortable in the natural world
09:15 than she does with people, all these things.
09:17 And so they were cooking in me for a while.
09:20 And when he sent me all four scripts,
09:22 which he sent all of them at once to all of us,
09:24 I was just so excited by what he'd created,
09:29 the family, the world, the threats,
09:32 and Carrie and her friend Spider, the human boy,
09:37 they have such a special relationship,
09:39 and Carrie has such a special relationship.
09:42 So my one concern once I read it was,
09:45 I started to reconstruct myself as a 14-year-old
09:50 based on my excruciating memories of being that age.
09:54 And the one concern I had was the voice.
09:57 And I went to a few classes at LaGuardia High School.
10:02 For that age group, and what I discovered
10:04 was that there's such a range.
10:07 Some kids sound like kids, some kids sound like adults,
10:10 and girls and boys, all over the place.
10:13 So then I just let Carrie have the voice that she has,
10:16 and I'd check with Jim every now and then.
10:19 And he was very happy.
10:21 So that was, you know, I had to achieve some things
10:26 and develop them before I got to the set
10:30 to really let go and be that age.
10:33 Dad, I know you think I'm crazy, but I feel her.
10:37 I hear her heartbeat.
10:40 So what does her heartbeat sound like?
10:45 [thunder rumbling]
10:48 Mighty.
10:51 When did you find your in to the character?
10:53 When did you feel you best understood her?
10:56 I think it was as soon as I sat down around a table
10:59 with all the other actors,
11:01 and we just read the script through and shared some thoughts.
11:05 And that's when I realized, my God,
11:07 I'm walking into a world that they have created,
11:10 and I'm honored to be here.
11:12 And I felt so welcomed, I felt so included.
11:16 It's a very, very special thing to be part of the Avatar cast,
11:20 and it's something that I will treasure forever.
11:23 There's something that we stress
11:24 that I don't think other people can understand,
11:26 is that James Cameron had the highest-grossing film
11:28 of all time, and then he beat his own film.
11:30 Yeah, but that's just Jim, isn't it?
11:31 Well, I guess. I mean, how did you feel when that happened?
11:34 Well, it's made me now think, well, okay,
11:35 so if I have got the longest breath hold
11:39 of any known actor out there so far,
11:43 well, then it makes me feel like, well, I've got to go one better.
11:45 If Jim can go one better with Avatar,
11:48 I've got to go one better with the breath hold.
11:50 No, Jim is just such an impressive person.
11:52 I mean, he's a genius,
11:53 and when he sets his mind to something, he's going to do it,
11:56 and he's going to do it to the best of his ability.
11:58 And I try and be a little bit like that myself.
12:02 -Yeah. -So I'm sure that's why we get along so well.
12:04 Wherever we go,
12:09 this family
12:14 is our fortress.
12:17 [CHUCKLES]
12:19 [♪♪♪]
12:21 [♪♪♪]
12:23 (bells chiming)
12:25 (chimes)