From the red carpet of the Seine Musicale cultural complex on the outskirts of Paris, the cast of the third installment of the blockbuster Avatar spoke to EFE about what is real in this fiction: the gradual destruction of the environment and indigenous peoples and the emergence of new wars.
“I am an optimist, I have to be. I am a mother and I cannot be a pessimistic person, I have to give hope to my children because they are the future. The children are the ones who are going to save this world,” Dominican-American Zoé Saldaña, who plays Neytiri, a mother who is a refugee in the Metkayina clan of the Na’vi, told EFE.
At the European premiere of the third part of Avatar, which will arrive in Spain on December 19 under the title ‘Avatar, Fire and Ash’, Paris was decked out to welcome the most visible faces of the film that will be under pressure to surpass at the box office the tremendous success of the previous sagas.
‘The Way of Water’ (2022) grossed $2.32 billion, while the original film, ‘Avatar’ (2009), reached $2.923 billion, making it the highest-grossing film in history.
In this latest installment of the saga, the tension rises in decibels with the conflict that capitalizes the evil Varang, the leader of the People of Ceniza played by Oona Chaplin, who allies with Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) with the goal of subjugating the Metkayina clan and to control, along with humans, the Na’vi species that inhabits the moon Pandora.
The importance of ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’.
The director of the three sagas, James Cameron, sees the attempt to destroy the Metkayina and the surrounding seas, with all the natural species that inhabit them, as a reflection of what is happening on planet Earth today.
“Ocean conservation, protecting the rights of indigenous peoples, these are all themes that have run through the (three) films. So the more fans we have and the more people go (to see them), the more it feels like this message is right. And maybe that makes a little bit of a difference,” Cameron told EFE.
Like much of the U.S. film industry, the director criticized, without citation, Donald Trump’s administration. “We are going in the wrong direction as a society, as a world and, unfortunately, specifically in the United States right now,” he warned.
Sigourney Weaver (76), one of the most recognized actresses in Hollywood, who in this third saga plays Kiri, a Na’vi teenager with supernatural powers, took up the gauntlet of objections to the current policy of her native country.
“The real world I think is very troubling. I don’t remember a time (like that), maybe during the ’70s because of the Vietnam War,” Weaver noted to EFE, who left veiled criticisms of what he believes Washington represents today under the Trump presidency.
“I think denying climate change and not working with the rest of the world to improve that situation…. It’s hard to live in America and read the news, but he’s going to be held back a lot in the courts. So I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to stop everything he wants to do,” he added.
The evil Varang played by Oona Chaplin (36) was one of the highlights of Friday’s crowded press conference at the luxurious Bristol Hotel in Paris.
“I would like many to wonder if Oona is really the devil. The answer is no. It’s just interpretation. She’s actually one of the most wonderful souls I’ve ever met,” Cameron clarified about Chaplin, jokingly.
Charles Chaplin’s granddaughter revealed one of the tricks she used to get into the skin of the ruthless Varang, a renegade of the Na’vi species who worships fire for its destructive power.
“People stick to death metal, but I also listen to a lot of powwow, which is immensely empowering and powerful,” said Oona Chaplin (36), reported Agencia EFE, about the type of music used in the ceremonies of the indigenous peoples of North America that inspired her to play her transgressive role.
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Dona y cambia vidas
Tu donativo brinda terapias, esperanza y un futuro sin límites a niños con discapacidad. Haz la diferencia hoy.
