Filmmaker James Cameron talked about his journey with the Avatar franchise and Avatar: Fire and Ash at the latter film's world premiere in Los Angeles the other day. Speaking to Extra, Cameron said that Fire and Ash has the kind of depth of emotions and heartbreak that audiences have not seen ever since Titanic. "I am serious about that," Cameron said. The filmmaker's wife Suzy Amis Cameron also backed this view, as she told the Extra reporter, "Get some tissues and put them in your bag."
Meanwhile, Cameron reiterated that the emotions in the film will only make the audience feel good and suggested that they are not depressing. "The movie is also hopeful, and it really doubles down on the strength and importance of family. You will see all the conflicts, dysfunction and all that. But when the chips are down, the Sullys stick to together," Cameron said.
The filmmaker also expressed pride in the range of emotions that ebb and flow in the film. "It goes from ecstatic and triumphant to defeated and crushed and terrified and everything in between constantly for three hours straight," he revealed.
Cameron said that he values the audience's response to the film's themes and emotions more than its box office performance. "As an artist, it is going to do what it is going to do. That is above my paygrade. Movies are a depressed industry right now. We are coming off a terrible year and started to uptick a little bit. With Wicked: For Good and Zootopia 2, we have started to see some glimmers of light at the end of the year. But it has been a rough year and has been a rough five years since COVID," he said. He added that with the proliferation of streaming platforms, today's audiences are looking for a "powerful" cinematic experience in theatres and argued that Avatar: Fire and Ash ticks that box.
