Watch ‘Xenogenesis,’ The James Cameron Short Film That Points Towards ‘Avatar’ Sequels
The day a movie turns a profit, the vultures come out to pick. More often than not when a movie becomes a hit, people accuse the filmmakers of stealing their ideas and sue them for a taste of the profits. A recent example is the highest grossing movie of all time,Avatar. Writer directorJames Cameronand Lightstorm Entertainment are reportedly fighting multiple lawsuits concerning the film, one in particular from a man named Gerald Morawski who accuses Cameron of stealing his pitch about a war between a native tribe and a mining company.
To combat this lawsuit, the filmmaker wrote a 45-page text for the court, nearly a small autobiography, detailing all the points in his life whereAvatarbegan to blossom into an idea. They date back to his childhood. One of the biggest examples, though, isa short film he createdin 1978 calledXenogenesis, which Cameron says in the document, contains material that “may be used in theAvatarsequels.” What could that mean? Watch the film yourself and discuss below.
The Hollywood Reporterposted the full Cameron statement, which we’ve embedded below the video. But here’s the most relevant piece, from paragraph 19:
Jackpot, right? Wrong. Of course this statement doesn’t include those confidential documents. Instead, what we have is the short film version ofXenogenesisvia YouTube.Can you find any clues toAvatar 2in it? I have some theories after the video.
The film is pretty straight forward but I think the idea of a world untouched, that’s sort of become self-sufficient, and then a new race comes into the equation is somethingAvatarplays with and might be explored more deeply in the sequels. The Na’vi going underwater, for example. Also the spider-robot thing is possibly a design idea we’d see in the film. Obviously, the woman’s piloting of that robot much mirrors what Cameron would do both inAliensandAvatar.
More likely, though, is that this version ofXenogenesisdoesn’t have any of the ideas Cameron is talking about. According to an older article on the filmwhich you may read here, the pair were developing a feature length version ofXenogenesisand this was just a short film version to gain more funding. So maybe there’s nothing in there. Either way, it’s pretty spectacular to see Cameron’s work at such a young age is so similar to what he’s doing now.
Here’s the full statement. It’s a fascinating look into the creative mind of the filmmaker. And if you’re lazy, theHollywood Reporterstory has some relevant bulletpoints.
