娱乐英语新闻:James Cameron promotes Avatar in Beijing

BEIJING, Dec. 25 -- Famous Canadian-American film director James Cameron, who made the record-breaking film "Titanic" in 1997, met the Chinese press Wednesday at a promotional event in Beijing for his latest 3-D science fiction fantasy film "Avatar."

    His visit heightened Chinese movie fans' anticipation for the film, which has been labeled a revolution in the movie industry.

    "Avatar" producer Jon Landau, 20th Century Fox Chief Executive James Gianopulos and executives from the China Film Group Corporation attended the event.

    Cameron said starting in 2005, it took his team two years of technical research and development before working with actors to create the techniques necessary to capture the actors' facial expressions and add them to computer-generated characters.

    Cameron also said he was thankful that his film will be released in both 2-D and 3-D in China.

    Speaking about "Avatar's" mixed themes on peace, war and environmental protection, Cameron said, "I think the film is a plea for us to open our eyes to see each other as human beings, for what we are, to see past the cultural differences, to respect nature, respect each other, and to respect other cultures."

    Cameron also confirmed he would make a second "Avatar" film if the first one does well at box offices around the world.

    "Avatar" is Cameron's first heavyweight commercial project in 12 years since his 1997 flick "Titanic," which won a record 11 Oscars and grossed more than 1.8 billion U.S. dollars worldwide.