What Filming ‘Avatar:

The Way of Water’ Actually Looked Like on Set

In this exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” from its upcoming digital release, the film’s cast and crew reveal the multiple innovative methods they deployed to shoot the film, as the production team quite literally learned how to work vis-à-vis the way of water. Going from land to water was a big adjustment for the cast. Stars Zoe Saldaña, Sam Worthington and Kate Winslet discuss having to learn to regulate their bodies and breathing within this unfamiliar layer of the set so they could properly capture the essence of Cameron’s vision.

“There’s not just the physical challenge of holding your breath,” says Winslet, who plays Ronal in the film. “There’s then the added challenge of acting out a scene underwater where everything is very different. You’re having to imagine coral reefs; you’re having to picture other Na’vi swimming around you. Then you have the challenge of your movements are very, very different underwater — finding that serenity and that calm.”

“There’s not just the physical challenge of holding your breath,” says Winslet, who plays Ronal in the film. “There’s then the added challenge of acting out a scene underwater where everything is very different. You’re having to imagine coral reefs; you’re having to picture other Na’vi swimming around you. Then you have the challenge of your movements are very, very different underwater — finding that serenity and that calm.”

The actors swam in performance capture wetsuits and goggles around fully submerged sets. The medium made actors’ movements more fluid, allowing their characters’ actions to appear far more realistic than they would have with the use of wire suspension systems.

As for the technical part of filming, the crew created a series of decks using unistrut systems hooked up to gantries and chain motors that could be lifted out of the water. Sets could be built above the water and then lowered down when it came time to film. The creation of such adaptable systems allowed for immense mobility of the set, allowing platforms to be titled to allow for better interaction between actor and animated topography.

Thanks to these intensive efforts from cast and crew, “Avatar: The Way of Water” — which debuts on digital on March 28 — was able to emulate the spirit of the sea. “If we tried to do this any other way instead of being legit, it wouldn’t be a James Cameron film,” said Worthington.

Released in April 200

In the year 2008, moviegoers all across the nation saw what many consider to be the greatest comic book movie of all time. Released to critical acclaim and record-breaking box office numbers, this film took the superhero genre to brand new heights- It was adapted from a phenomenal screenplay and featured breathtaking visual effects, cinematography, action sequences, and direction.

That film in question was… “The Dark Knight”, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman. While this film is held in very high regard, and rightly so, it is often overshadowed by another comic book movie that was released that same year. Among a seemingly endless bombardment of mediocre, cookie-cutter superhero sequels that have been pumped out en masse for the past few decades, Marvel Studios’ “Iron Man” remains a breath of fresh air. While not nearly as gritty or mature as “The Dark Knight”, “Iron Man” shines due to its self-awareness, humor, and respect for the source material. It also set the standard for every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie that followed it, while launching Robert Downey Jr.’s career into the stratosphere.

The film follows Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist, genius inventor, arms dealer, and hedonistic playboy who’s living his best life in Malibu, California until he is suddenly kidnapped by a terrorist organization and forced to take responsibility for all the damage he has unwittingly caused. From the first few minutes of this two-hour long runtime, “Iron Man” masterfully establishes its tone and its protagonist’s personality in the opening scene. Sure, the sight of a long motorcade of military-grade Humvees driving across a barren desert landscape may give off a more serious tone. Seeing them drive while the diagetic sound of ACDC’s “Back in Black” blares through what appears to be Tony’s own radio, however, might result in some tonal whiplash. As jarring as it may appear, this scene quickly establishes Tony as eccentric, juxtaposing loud rock music with a shot of a wealthy man in a dapper suit, holding an ice-

From a narrative standpoint, “Iron Man” effectively utilizes the “show, don’t tell” rule- a concept in filmmaking that is often ignored by the average summer blockbuster. Case in point, the scene where Tony’s business partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) accepts Tony’s apogee award on his behalf. By this point in time, the screenwriters have already given the audience an exposition dump regarding Tony’s backstory, so they could have simply followed this up by having Tony’s best friend, Lt. James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Terrence Howard) chastise him for skipping the presentation to go gambling. Rhodey himself could have further established Tony’s flaws by outright telling him that he’s an irresponsible, womanizing slacker who doesn’t appreciate the people in his life- straight to his, and the audience’s, face. Instead, this film respects the audience’s intelligence by showing that Tony is an irresponsible, womanizing slacker through clever editing and dialogue. Immediately after Obadiah tells the crowd that Tony is always “working”, the scene humorously cuts to a shot of Tony tossing a pair of dice at Caesar’s Palace, surrounded by gawking fans, women, and paparazzi, while exclaiming, “yeah! Work it, work it!”. Scenes like this help move the plot along while cutting out unnecessary details.

Robert Downey Jr. almost embodies the role of Tony Stark, maintaining a sense of self-assured arrogance, along with charming wit all throughout. Charisma and interesting banter come quite naturally for him, so it wouldn’t be all that surprising if most of Tony’s dialogue was ad-libbed on the spot, and these are some of Downey’s natural reactions to what is happening in the movie.

Unlike numerous other superhero flicks, “Iron Man” is not, by any means, a power fantasy. Tony has several moments of weakness, and his numerous shortcomings are laid bare. Before he is captured by the Ten Rings, Tony suffers a near-fatal wound, as he is given a chest full of shrapnel by a bomb with a harrowing

“STARK INDUSTRIES” proudly sprayed onto its shell.

Tony and his fellow prisoner Ho Yinsen (Shaun Toub) spend a significant amount of time locked inside of a dingy cell, trying to keep their science project a secret as the terrorists watch their every move. Through his struggles, Tony ultimately “earns” the iconic scene where he puts on his Mark I Iron Man suit for the first time, destroys his stolen weaponry, and escapes from the cave. Going hand-in-hand with the suit itself, the film takes a minimalist approach to this first action sequence. Seeing as how it was built from discarded machine parts and scrap metal, Tony’s first suit of armor is noticeably sluggish and bulky. Whenever the terrorists are shooting at Tony, the audience can clearly see him flinch when bullets ricochet off of the suit, reminding them that it’s not fully impenetrable.

In his final battle with a deranged Obadiah, Tony even enlists the help of his assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) to deal the finishing blow. Every victory and triumph Tony achieves feels earned, because instead of just shooting lasers out of his eyes whenever he’s in trouble, Tony uses his own ingenuity to find a new angle and save the day.

In stark contrast to its sleek appearance in the source material, the Mark III Iron Man Armor looks much more mechanical, and, in turn, realistic in its live-action form. Every once in a while, a close-up shot will reveal the many intricacies that lie beneath the suit’s flashy red-and-gold exterior, showing off just how much work the visual effects team put into designing every nook and cranny. Watching hundreds of motorized ac- tuators lock and shift into place is a testosterone-pumping joy to watch, and the action sequences that follow are even cooler.

This film’s only major shortcoming would have to be the events that transpire during the final act, when Jeff Bridges’ big bad villain character makes a number of irrational decisions in his plot to kill Tony and take over Stark Industries. However, the well-choreographed “final battle” between him and Tony effectively makes up for it.

Above all else, “Iron Man” is thoroughly fun to watch, thanks in part to Jon Favreau’s direction. Very few actors can master the art of performing comedic scenes completely alone quite like Robert Downey Jr. can. This is exemplified during the moments where Tony is constructing a second iron man suit. Like engineering in real life, Tony innovates his design of the Iron Man armor through trial and error. Every time his rocket boots malfunction, he makes some adjustments and tests them out again. As previously stated, “Iron Man” strikes a nearly perfect balance of buildup and reward, or in simpler terms, slow-paced contemplative moments and pulse-pounding action. It’s no wonder that Iron Man’s critical and commercial success launched the entertainment powerhouse that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is today. Just like Tony Stark himself, Marvel Studios was able to build it in a cave, with a box of scraps.

It’s-a blockbuster! “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” an animated adventure based on the classic video game, crushed the competition with its jaw-dropping $204.6 million domestic and $377 million global debut over the long Easter weekend. Those results far exceeded expectations and even surpassed the starts of recent installments in Universal’s biggest franchises, like “Jurassic World Dominion” ($145 million domestically) and “Fast and Furious 9” ($70 million). So, expect a sequel to be announced faster than you can say “Let’s-a go!” “The box office just kept growing and growing,” marvels Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic distribution. “It’s a tremendous worldwide debut, and the movie has a clear runway.”’

The PG film, which cost Universal, Illumination and Nintendo roughly $100 million to bring to the big screen, thrived as the de facto choice among family crowds, who have been starved of compelling theatrical offerings since last December’s release, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.”

But the kid-friendly film also managed to expand its reach beyond parents with young ones. Thanks to a heaping dose of nostalgia and positive word-of-mouth (reviews… not so much), “Mario” turned into a four-quadrant blockbuster — resonating with males and females, young and old, who grew up with Mario, Luigi and other inhabitants of the fantastical Mushroom Kingdom. “The film is based on incredible IP, which is beloved by people of different generations,” says Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, president of distribution for Universal Pictures International.

Just because “Mario” is adapted from one of the most popular video games doesn’t mean the film was preordained for blockbuster

‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Box Office: All the Records Smashed on Opening Weekend

status. In fact, 1993’s disastrous live-action “Super Mario Bros,” starring Bob Hoskins as Mario and John Leguizamo as Luigi, has become a legendary example of Hollywood’s failure to properly translate video game stories from consoles to cinemas. In fact, 1993’s disastrous live-action “Super Mario Bros,” starring Bob Hoskins as Mario and John Leguizamo as Luigi, has become a legendary example of Hollywood’s failure to properly translate video game stories from consoles to cinemas. Even though critics were mixed on the new adaptation, opening weekend audiences were enthusiastic and awarded the film an “A” CinemaScore.