NEW YORK (AP) — To Sigourney Weaver , her friendship with James Cameron didn't really start on “Aliens,” the 1986 film Cameron directed her in.
Weaver would come back in an entirely new role: Kiri, the 14-year-old biological daughter of Grace’s avatar. In the film, which opens in theaters Thursday, Weaver plays the Na’vi character, adopted by Jake Sully and Neytiri . It’s not easy logic to parse out. What, exactly, are the reproductive capacities of avatars?
“I had to jump through a few fiery hoops to get her on this movie. Not that she was unwilling, but in terms of narrative logic,” says Cameron. “OK, she’s the daughter of the avatar of Grace Augustine, you know what I mean? So of course she looks like Grace. Makes sense, right? Oh, by the way, you’ve got to be 14 years old.”But the end result of Cameron’s narrative logic is simple enough: Sigourney Weaver is back in the “Avatar” fold.
“I know that no one but Jim would have cast me as a 14-year-old. As he said, people think I’m kind of serious and strong and all those things. He knows that that’s just malarkey,” says Weaver, smiling. “He said, ‘This will be easy for you.’” It required a bit more work than Cameron made out. Like the rest of the cast, to film the movie’s extensive underwater scenes, Weaver trained for the underwater performance capture work by learning how to hold her breath underwater for six minutes. “Six and a half,” Weaver corrects. Getting back into the headspace of a teenager also demanded some immersion. She spent time in high schools, she says. “I needed time to unearth my 14 year old.
It’s not a one-off performance, either. Cameron envisions big things for Kiri in future “Avatar” installments. He’s already filmed the third film, begun shooting the fourth and developed the fifth. Fans of Weaver from “Ghostbusters,” “Working Girl” and “Galaxy Quest” will get one more chance to grow older, again, with the 73-year-old actress.“She’s a very, very important character,” Cameron says.
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