James Cameron MMOG = Avatar?

  • By thorsen-ink, GameSpot
  • Posted Jun 8, 2006 5:43 pm PT

Source: Film-industry blog Movie City News. The official story: See below. What we heard: At the 2005 Game Developers Conference, Cameron was featured in a montage hyping Microsoft's then-unnamed next-generation console. The director caused a bit of stir when he announced his next big-budget...

Source: Film-industry blog Movie City News.

The official story: See below.

What we heard: At the 2005 Game Developers Conference, Cameron was featured in a montage hyping Microsoft's then-unnamed next-generation console. The director caused a bit of stir when he announced his next big-budget blockbuster, his first since 1997's Titanic, would be developed alongside a high-profile game.

"In my next film, I can only tell you what we're planning on doing, which is simultaneously developing a major motion picture and, hopefully, a major game title that coexists in the same world that shares characters," said Cameron. He continued, "Going into that world will actually inform those watching the film and vice versa. I don't want to say anything more than that, because I don't want to give away some of the cool stuff that we're working on."

At the time, comments by Cameron to film site Comingsoon.net indicated the movie/game crossover would be Battle Angel, an adaptation of the popular Japanese manga series Battle Angel Alita, which is set on a postapocalyptic Earth. However, subsequent statements cast doubt on whether or not Cameron's project was something entirely different. Speaking with BusinessWeek earlier this year, Cameron said his next film was code-named "Project 880." He said he was planning a massively multiplayer game that would tie into the film, which he would only describe as "completely crazy, balls-out sci-fi."

The director's failure to mention Battle Angel caused many to wonder if Project 880 was Avatar, a project Cameron had been nurturing for over a decade. Numerous online reports by people who have claimed to read the "scriptment"--a script-treatment hybrid--for Avatar peg the film as a wildly ambitious sci-fi epic about "a love story set against an interplanetary war." The reports also have its plot revolving around the exploration of the nearest solar system to the Sun, Alpha Centauri, and humankind coming into conflict with its inhabitants, the Na'vi.

This week, MCN posted what it claims is a casting notice for Project 880 online. If authentic, the casting notice indicates that Cameron's next movie--and, presumably, its game tie-in--will be Avatar. The casting notice describes Project 880 thusly: "In the future, Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na'vi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture. Those from Earth find themselves at odds with each other and the local culture."

It describes "Jake" as an "angry" but "highly intelligent and creative" twentysomething who is scarred "emotionally and physically" by a "great tragedy." Jake's life is changed by his intimate contact with "Neytiri," a Na'vi female who looks like an "exotic" human female in her 20s and is "lithe as a cat." Interestingly, the casting notice deems it essential that she and all other Na'vi characters have "physical agility and an ear for languages and dialects."

So is the casting notice legit? A rep for LightStorm Entertainment, Cameron's production company, did confirm to GameSpot that a casting notice for Project 880 was recently released but wouldn't comment further on the matter and declined to name a casting director. However, the notice lists Margery Simkin, whose 26-year career has seen her cast everything from Top Gun to xXx: State of the Union, in the position.

Bogus or not bogus?: Looks believable. We'll hopefully know more later this year, when Project 880 is slated to start filming--and presumably development of the MMORPG will kick off, if it hasn't already.

[On a game-related side note, Moby Games has an interesting trivia entry (about half way down the page) on the marked similarities between Avatar and the original Unreal. The two share similar settings and backstories, as well as similar names for creatures, starships, and races. The trivia entry notes that the original Avatar scriptment was finished between 1996-7, before Unreal's 1998 release--but during its development.]

64 Comments

  • djleeroy

    Posted Oct 31, 2006 6:28 pm PT

    First I was disappointed to hear that BAA was potentially going to be made into just a 3D movie or some wierd crap which I wouldn't be able to see in the UK, now I hear it isn't going to be made into a game. Gunnm: Martian Memory was a great game but there is only so much japanese I can try to read... An up-to-date (ENGLISH TRANSLATED) 360 game of an epic manga series like Battle Angel Alita which has so much potential as far as gameplay, storyline and content are concerned would be mind blowing to say the least. I can't understand why they would pass this opportunity off. Cameron is one of my favourite directors of all time and likewise for Kishiro as an author. The concept of an MMO in the BAA universe wouldn't be so bad but MMO's have been done to death recently. Though as theshoveller said, it would be nice to have different factions like Hunter Warriors, brain junkies and spine/body part theives, Tipharians, Factory enforcers like The Tuned, Barjack gangs, the list goes on. However as any other fan of the manga, I would really love to play as the crimson eyed battle angel herself, dishing out the pain on cyborgs and people alike using Panzer Kunst. An action adventure rpg telling Alita's story... Cameron would be a fool to throw such an idea away. I for one hope he reconsiders.

  • theshoveller

    Posted Jun 16, 2006 9:52 am PT

    I think the casting call for the lead in the Battle Angel movie came first, or am I mistaken? I personally think an MMO based off of Battle Angel would be pretty cool, what with deciding to be a human, mutant, or cyborg, and then customizing off of that. They could do a World of Warcraft style of "sides", either the Hunter-Warriors or the bad guys (they need a cool name), or do it like RF Online with a third faction (the guys from Tiphares?) Either way, I still think it'll be cool, regardless of whatever movie or game is made first.

  • einexile

    Posted Jun 12, 2006 4:55 am PT

    Was my post deleted for light sarcasm or did I miss a spoonerism somewhere? (Seriously, I didn't keep a copy.)

  • i_love_my_ds

    Posted Jun 10, 2006 2:33 pm PT

    This sounds prety cool...

  • hump

    Posted Jun 10, 2006 8:58 am PT

    Cameron would've been perfect to do rhe battletech movie. the BT universe also wouldve been a perfect setting for a MMOG. Too bad MS is hiding that IP like a red-headed stepchild.

  • ihatethebych

    Posted Jun 10, 2006 7:54 am PT

    On James Camerons IMDB page it says he's doing Avatar and Battle Angel

  • Blackat

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 11:38 pm PT

    Ok I don't see how it could be Halo, Cameron doing Halo would be on my dream list up there with world peace, but I just doubt it because dammit nothing that good would ever be allowed to happen, because it never does

    And to the person who said something about this being Blu Ray's era... well I think you sounded like someone who'd lost the plot a bit.

    But on the other hand, think about getting a movie and a game on one disk, the two integrated perfectly... eh? Well actually I think it sounds a bit gimmicky but since when have big industries been wary of gimmicks.

  • washapa

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 11:13 pm PT

    I would still like to see a GOOD film adaptation of Battle Angel Alita...Avatar sounds interesting though.

  • AzureWind213

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 7:45 pm PT

    Damn! I wanted to see a battle angel movie... i saw one episode once with a friend of mine who's an anime junkie. It definately would have been awesome... i guess I'll just hope that this will be all right.

  • fxmldr999

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 3:46 pm PT

    Nice to know Cameron's going back to Sci-fi and a tie-in game just makes it better.

  • odysseusoftroy

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 2:08 pm PT

    Look guys, since no one in the video game world seems to be connected to the movie world at all I will provide the information you need.

    James Cameron is working on two movie projects at the same time right now. They are going to shoot back to back, and he hasn't decided which one will shoot first yet. Those projects are Avatar (which everyone believes is the Project 880) and the second one is Battle Angel. He is doing them BOTH as movies, and I imagine that Avatar is the one he is doing a game with. Maybe he is going to do one for both, who knows.

    That is the info on the movies, and it is no lie.

    OofT

  • DrKill09

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 1:17 pm PT

    Avatar? You mean he's gonna make a game about gamer pics? Clever!

  • einexile

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 11:39 am PT

    Avatar is a pretty old project. The scriptment has been around for maybe 14 years IIRC. Its premise may not be original on the surface, but it's a theme that SF keeps coming back to, and there's no reason a skilled, clever writer like Cameron can't offer an interesting take. Joe Haldeman won the 1998 Hugo and Campbell awards doing precisely that.

    And I'm so tired of seeing the movie industry condescend to video games, which have become the more successful and serious of the two artforms. It's disgusting how they talk & behave as if making a movie from a game uplifts that game to a higher level of legitimacy. How refreshing to finally see a serious genre filmmaker speak of the two forms as equals - and no surprise at all that it's James Cameron. Makes me proud to be an old fan.

  • Renegade47

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 11:23 am PT

    Sounds promising.

  • AlbertWesker316

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 11:18 am PT

    Dam i really wanted battle angel alita!!! oooo well.

  • Flan_Man

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 11:17 am PT

    Halo... a love story? Do the aliens love eating bullets or something?

    Next on the list: Make a massively multiplayer movie that coexists with a 1 1/2 hour long video game.

  • Kwiksilva

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 10:47 am PT

    Cool Movie

  • AlexJ-

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 10:44 am PT

    A massive multiplayer online game, co-exsisting with a movie? To be completely honest, it'd better be a damn good movie, for me to even consider playing the game. That's if this turns out to be true. I have huge doubts; I have my reasons.

  • CCDANMAN

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 9:59 am PT

    Guys Halo isn't a "a love story set against an interplanetary war." like the text said. It isn't Halo because he is making a game that is after the movie. Halo already has 2 games out. So its just a movie they are going to make a game from.

  • Hellisunreal

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 9:05 am PT

    watever as longas he does not redo the manga

  • SpiderFreak

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 8:56 am PT

    Hmm. Sounds kind of interesting, but since I'm not exactly a fan of his movies (The only movie of his I've seen is Titanic...commence laughing now), I don't know if I'll be interested enough to go see it. Quite honestly, it doesn't sound much different than every other sci-fi movie ever made. Humans go to other planets, find aliens, fight, one of the aliens is somehow some hot chick, so the main guy likes her, and the humans either win or they both decide to stop fighting. The End.

    SF

  • daveg1

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 8:28 am PT

    should be good i wonder what it is!?

  • nytrospawn

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 7:52 am PT

    What the hell? What does Land of the Dead have to do with anything? This is James Cameron we're talking about, not some GameFaqs forum user.

  • buruburu

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 7:23 am PT

    Avatar will suck. Here's why: If you've seen the movies Ghost hehhehheh, Avalon(2001), LAIN, GhostInTheShell, LandoftheDead, BodySnatchers... you can probably assemble the scenes for the movie Avatar.

    The most obvious inspirations could be "Outland (1981)" wih Sean Connery - space mining, police story; and "Avalon"(2001) Directed by
    Mamoru Oshii - VR world (gaming) as an economic provider for real life.

    Transcending consciouness to another world for mining??? come on! Cameron's fishing the bottom of the dry water whole. Not even ice in them waters. Battle Angel has more promise. Dr. NOVA!!!! humans have brain or CPU! If James makes the BA a family movie, he's lost his mind.

  • paradyme777

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 6:11 am PT

    Cool, Avatar sounds like a nifty name. The story sounds neat too. Hopefully the movie will be good as well as the game. No offense but I don't really feel like playing as a parapeligic.

  • Maui00

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 5:44 am PT

    Project 880?? interesting...

  • jonnyjd

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 5:35 am PT

    um...okay...

  • Fallout_red

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 5:13 am PT

    Why an MMO? Kan't he just make a regular singleplayer game with multiplayer/online compatiblities?

  • insinuendo

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 5:09 am PT

    Jim Cameron is my all time favourite Sceen writer & director. To hear he is interested in crossing over to a movie/video game proget is very interesting news. Sounds great.

  • thefjk

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 4:24 am PT

    WhAT

  • castlevaniaX

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 4:23 am PT

    Hi,

    Finally, Sony's vision is about to come real !!! this was what sony planed for.

    Now!! Merge Videogames' market with Movies' market !!

    It's Blueray's era

  • AncientDozer

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 2:11 am PT

    How do we go from Jake and Avatar to Halo? Is that some. . . strange joke I'm not getting? Or are you guys just. . . well. . . dumb. I, for one, and interested to some degree and I'd like to throw my support behind the statement made by Einexile.

    "Starwars without the lightsabers"? Come on, now. Don't ever let anyone catch you guys saying that or they may hurt you.

  • 98abaile2

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 1:10 am PT

    It'll be a good thing if its not battle angel, America seems to have a reputation for screwing up and ruining Japanese exports, just look at "The Ring", "Godzilla" and most famously "One Piece".

  • orangebrat

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 1:07 am PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • OmegaDark

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 12:35 am PT

    hmm...Halo.
    Interesting, I was just thinking the same thing while reading thru the article.

  • nutzelfutz

    Posted Jun 9, 2006 12:34 am PT

    Good grief...this news headline weirded me out. At least over here in Germany, there is a cartoon running that goes by the name of 'Avatar'. It's about a kid with supernatural powers riding on a giant flyin' bison or something, trying to save the world from other weird guys that control fire...or was it water?
    Good this one isn't it.

  • italianprboy

    Posted Jun 8, 2006 11:31 pm PT

    ITS HALO
    NOT AQUAMAN
    OR
    BATTLE ANGEL ATILA

  • soniqstylz

    Posted Jun 8, 2006 11:16 pm PT

    It's Aquaman.

    Duh.

  • tcampbell1976

    Posted Jun 8, 2006 10:56 pm PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • hsvclubsport_r8

    Posted Jun 8, 2006 8:47 pm PT

    bring back DARK ANGEL dammit!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • joeamis

    Posted Jun 8, 2006 8:45 pm PT

    Sounds interesting, I hope it turns out well, but I will probably never play it if it requires a subscription, and if I don't play it and the movie + game are intrincately linked, then I shouldn't bother watching the movie either.......
    And I don't understand how people do not understand this article, it made perfect sense.

  • serioustom

    Posted Jun 8, 2006 8:42 pm PT

    ok. i guess time will tell what real going on. i give it a year or 2 till he tell people what he real working on.

  • einexile

    Posted Jun 8, 2006 8:02 pm PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • italianprboy

    Posted Jun 8, 2006 7:58 pm PT

    I personally think that it isnt Battle Angel Atila, I think its Halo.

    If hes talkn about Halo, he isnt a bad choice to direct it due to his extensive background with his Titanic in scale and his Terminator 2 in action. Halo combines both.

    - his comment on making a movie and game based on the same setting and characters also could be based on the Halo game.

    James Cameron for Halo !

  • Moltdar

    Posted Jun 8, 2006 7:40 pm PT

    DON'T DO AVATAR!! DO GUNMM!!! (Battle Angel Alita) It's the best manga ever.... EVER!

  • Cartman86

    Posted Jun 8, 2006 7:23 pm PT

    Glad Avatar is finally starting up.The Unreal similarities are just small little things that have been used in previous stories. Its call post-modernism.

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Jun 8, 2006 7:12 pm PT

    maybe

  • woohooforme

    Posted Jun 8, 2006 6:54 pm PT

    I don't understand this story, so I won't give my opinion on it.

  • blackIceJoe

    Posted Jun 8, 2006 6:33 pm PT

    This would be a pretty wicked movie and game I can't wait to see how this will turn out in the end and if true.

  • rbarahona

    Posted Jun 8, 2006 6:31 pm PT

    Let's see what Cameron can make to combine the experience of movies and videogames. The Matrix game tried to do something similar, but I really hope that they can refine the concept.

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