James Cameron says Avatar largest scale sci-fi project he’s ever attempted

James Cameron was recently interviewed in Los Angeles about his upcoming sci-fi epic Avatar, where he’s been working feverishly on the new film, which is due in theaters on December 18, 2009. According to a story in The Edmonton Post, the director says that his 1997 blockbuster Titanic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, pales in comparison to his latest project.

“It makes Titanic look like a picnic,” Cameron said during the interview. He also says, “…It’s simultaneously the most vexing and the most rewarding type of production that I’ve done yet”.

Avatar is being made in stereoscopic 3-D and combines live action and computer animated elements. The film reunites Cameron with Aliens star Sigourney Weaver, and is described as a futuristic thriller about humans battling an indigenous population on a distant planet. The director says the story was actually written 14 years ago. Sounds short-term, compared to some Hollywood development-hell projects. A three-month live-action shoot has already been completed in New Zealand and work is being done on the other 60% of the film, using cutting-edge techniques.

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