Fun and Surprising AVATAR Trivia
AVATAR is the kind of movie that is packed with fun trivia. For example, the look of the Na’vi was inspired by a dream that James Cameron’s mother had about a 12-foot-tall blue woman. Here are more little-known facts… what can you add?
- Matt Damon and Jake Gyllenhall both turned down the chance to play Jake Sully. “The most interesting part of the story is that Sam Worthington, an unknown actor at the time, was Cameron’s first choice for the role, but he was forced to offer the role to some bigger marketable stars ‘to placate the studio chiefs at Fox,’” reports Slashfilm.
- In an interview with The Arnold Fans, Michael Biehn said he spoke with James Cameron about playing the role that Stephen Lang played as Miles Quaritch, but “he waited a long time to make that official decision. Because once he cast Sigourney Weaver, he kind of thought it might be too much like Aliens to have me in it too.”
- Avatar was originally supposed to be filmed in 1999 but was scrapped due to a lack of funding, according to Bathroom Reader #17.
- The Na’vi language was created by Paul Froemer, the head of the linguistics department at the University of Southern California. In an interview, Cameron explained: “ It would have to be something that was pronounceable by the actors but sounded exotic and not specific to human languages. So he's mixing bits of Polynesian and some African languages, and all this together.”
- James Cameron said at the beginning of 2010 that the plan had always been to make AVATAR a trilogy, and confirmed that there will at least be a sequel.
- AVATAR is currently the most expensive movie ever made, not adjusting for inflation.
- Sigourney Weaver is a Stanford alum, and her AVATAR wears a Stanford tank top through much of the movie. Stanford is one of only two "brands" from our time to be featured in the futuristic drama (the other is the U.S. Marine Corps).
- AVATAR’s code name was Project 880 and promotional materials were shipped to movie theaters under this name.
- Cameron originally intended AVATAR to be 3D-only but not enough theaters had the right projection system to show it.
- Na’vi have four fingers, while human AVATARs have five. Human AVATARs have eyebrows; Na’vi do not.
For more AVATAR trivia, check out the film’s IMDB page.
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What AVATAR trivia can you add?