James Cameron is targeting a summer 2008 release for his next project, the SF movie "Avatar", and hopes to start shooting a cast of unknown actors on a stage in Los Angeles by February reports Sci-Fi Wire.
"Avatar", which also has gone under the cover title "Project 880", follows a paraplegic war veteran who is brought to another planet inhabited by a humanoid race at odds with Earth's citizens. Cameron added that he is currently auditioning actors for his cast of unknowns.
"Believe it or not, the shooting is a very small part of it. It's a very, very big project where the shooting is like a month and a half--not really very much. There's just so much [computer-generated imagery], and the visual effects are a huge component. A lot of it is performance capture. We use different techniques [from Sony Pictures' upcoming Monster House, for example], but it's the same general idea" says Cameron.
