It’s a pretty well known fact that Canadian film director, producer and screenwriter- James Cameron has a love for the Ocean and of Space & Alien life. One of the most well known Celebrity Scuba Divers, his love for these two subjects is apparent in most of his movies right from the ‘Alien’ series, ‘Titanic’, ‘The Abyss’, ‘Volcanoes of the Deep Sea’ and is even clearly seen in his latest blockbuster and superhit movie ‘Avatar’. Now you’re thinking, you get the Alien bit about ‘Avatar’, but you don’t see anything to do with the Ocean, right? Well if you look closely, Cameron’s influence of Scuba diving and love of the sea with it’s fascinating and unique life is deeply embedded in the movie.

Some of the computer generated flora and fauna in the movie Avatar have an uncanny resemblance to marine life which Cameron himself has admitted to being influenced by in interview about this movie and his past work. Remember the scene where Jake Sully (Worthington) wonders off distracted by his surroundings, while Dr. Grace (Sigourney Weaver) and biologist Norm were busy collecting samples,  he comes to a patch of rather tall spiral looking flowers they call ‘Helicoradian flowers’. On his touch the flowers shrink or rather retract into the ground…sound familiar to the Christmas Tree Worm you’ve seen when you went diving? Only the Christmas Tree Worm is a lot smaller than in the movie as seen in the picture above.

How about the seeds of the sacred tree Eyra? Their movement seem strangely familiar to that of jellyfish? Well these similarities to marine life in Cameron’s movie are far from coincidences.

James Cameron has previously been quoted saying-

“I learned to scuba dive in a pool. It wasn’t until I moved to California that I ever even scuba dived in the ocean. But I just loved it. I loved this idea that there was this alien atmosphere right here on planet earth. I knew that I was never going to be an astronaut and visit another star system or land on another planet, but I knew I could explore an alien world right here.”

- James Cameron

When asked about his Aquatic influences in an interview about Avatar, he replied:

“I just swept in every design influence in my life. I’ve always had this deep respect for nature and a lot of my youth was out in the woods hiking around. I was a total science geek. I spent over 2,500 hours underwater and I’ve seen things that are absolutely astonishing on the bottom of the ocean. It really is like an alien planet. I’ve always felt like that’s something I’ve been able to do was live out a science-fiction fantasy adventure for real in my diving work. So yeah, there’s a lot of stuff there. There’s even a lot of stuff in the shallow ocean that’s influenced things. The Banshee wings are based on the colourations of tropical fish, for example. We were a little concerned that these large creatures wouldn’t scale with these incredibly vivid colour patterns, but we managed to make that work.” - James Cameron (see full interview)

It also comes as no shocker that Cameron’s next project is yet another water influenced movie titled ‘The Dive’ based on a true story of a Cuban free diver Francisco “Pipin” Ferreras and Frenchwoman Audrey Mestre who went on to break several world records under his guidance before dying in 2002 while competing. “It’s a drama, a love story,” Cameron said. “This will require underwater photography, which will look gorgeous in 3-D.”

So, we’re certain to see more of Cameron’s scuba diving influences in his future endeavors. And when you watch the much talked about sequel to Avatar which is speculated, keep your eyes peeled for more such similarities to the water world.

*Photo credits: photos by Nick Hobgood, Loimere on flickr

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2010. | James Cameron’s Love for Scuba Diving Shows in Avatar is an original article from Aquaviews.net | 12 comments

Going through withdrawal symptoms waiting until your next diving trip? Can’t wait to submerge into the underwater realm? Well we have compiled a list of Scuba Diving Movies from Hollywood that will help you get through that “dry” spell. Here is Part 2 of our list of Scuba Diving movies; if you missed our first part then you can click here.

Cave (2005)

The Cave is an Action Horror Adventure about bloodthirsty creatures that attack a pack of divers who become trapped in an underwater cave network. Fans of creature movies and cave diving might like this one, but otherwise there is no real ground breaking plot. Overall an average film that  has some good action sequences and plenty of cave diving in it.

The Abyss (1989)

This James Cameron 1989 classic is a must watch if you haven’t done so already. Starring Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio  the plot is about a crew of an underwater oil rig divers are enlisted to assist in the rescue of an American nuclear submarine at the height of the Cold War, and they discover a strange and mysterious force living in the deep ocean and their rescue mission becomes an adventure with the unknown. The movie is captivating through-out and the first half of the movie is primarily about the descent into the abyss with special deep diving suits which is both gripping and fun to watch.

The Big Blue (1988)

Starring Jean Reno and Rosanna Arquette, the big blue is one of those movies that you will surprisingly enjoy more for its gorgeous underwater sequences, its exotic ocean-side settings in Greece and Sicily, than for the actual story, which is a romantic quest between two childhood friends Jean and Rosanna who both love the ocean and free diving. Jean constantly pushes the depth limits of free diving with mysterious dolphin like qualities which lead to a very interesting conclusion. The Big Blue is overall a great diving movie for those wanting to get through the off-season.

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Men of Honor (2000)

Men of Honor with its all star cast of Cuba Gooding Jr., Robert De Niro and Charlize Theron is simply a classic must watch diving movie.  Set in the early days of bell suit diving (with hookah air line systems), the story is about Carl Brashear, the first African American, also the first amputee, US Navy Diver and the man who trained him. Definitely an inspirational movie, which also gives a great insight into how much diving, has changed since. If you haven’t watched this DVD yet, then grab a copy from your local video store, and you won’t regret it.

Deep Blue Sea (1999)

Starring Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, Samuel  L . Jackson and LL Cool J, Deep Blue Sea is about a group of research scientists in an isolated facility working on a cure for Alzheimer’s find a way to genetically enlarge shark brains. However the shark subjects get super smart and break out into the open sea. The film is full of unexpected twists but still fails to be frightening. Overall Deep Blue Sea is a fun movie, some thrills and fast paced enough to keep you occupied for a couple of hours.

Continued from: Scuba Diving Movies from Hollywood Part 1

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2009. | Scuba Diving Movies from Hollywood Part 2 is an original article from Aquaviews.net | One comment

Going through withdrawal symptoms waiting until your next Scuba diving trip? Can’t wait to submerge into the underwater realm? Well we have compiled a list of Scuba Diving Movies from Hollywood that will help you get through that “dry” spell. So rush to that video store now and load up these Scuba DVD’s in your player!

Some of the Newer Movies (in no particular order):

Fools Gold (2008)

Starring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson, Fools Gold is a romantic movie combined with a fast paced underwater treasure hunting action adventure built in. Tons of dive scenes and pristine blue water to make you want to go diving immediately after watching. The movie however is very average and we would recommend this movie only for a lazy afternoon viewing simply because of the stunning visuals and locations both underwater and above.

Into the Blue (2005)

The Plot of this movie is about a group of divers that find themselves in deep trouble with a drug lord after they come upon the illicit cargo of a sunken airplane. Starring Paul Walker and Jessica Alba, the movie was shot primarily in the Bahamas and features ample underwater scenes. Overall the movie is once again just average, and if it weren’t for Jessica Alba in a bikini and generous diving scenes, we wouldn’t recommend this movie.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

This adventure comedy starring Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Kate Blanchett and Willem Dafoe is a must watch. The Plot line is about a wild expedition undertaken by Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) after his partner is killed a mythic Jaguar shark, sets off to hunt it down.   The movie is colorful, quirky and bizarre, but nevertheless entertaining with tons of diving scenes.

Open Water (2003)

Based on the true story of two scuba divers accidentally stranded in shark infested waters after their tour boat has left, Open Water is a must watch for any Scuba diver. Financed, directed and produced by avid scuba divers, this movie portrays the perils of getting stranded in the middle of the ocean very realistically. This movie really puts you in the place of the characters and makes you wonder what you would do in their situation.

Continued in: Scuba Diving Movies from Hollywood Part 2

© Aquaviews - SCUBA Blog, 2009. | Scuba Diving Movies from Hollywood Part 1 is an original article from Aquaviews.net | 2 comments