娱乐英语新闻:James Cameron to make sequels to "Avatar"

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Academy Award-winning filmmaker James Cameron has agreed to make a pair of sequels to the sci-fi blockbuster "Avatar" next year, after nearly a year of waiting by an expecting public, Fox announced on Wednesday.

In a renewed collaborations with Twentieth Century Fox, Cameron is slated to begin working on scripts of "Avatar 2" and "Avatar 3 " next year, with the first sequel being released in December 2014, Fox said in a press release. He planned to start production later in 2011. The third sequel is tentatively slated for a December 2015 release.

"With two new films on the drawing boards, my company and I are embarking on an epic journey with our partners at Twentieth Century Fox," Cameron said. "Our goal is to meet and exceed the global audience's expectations for the richness of AVATAR's visual world and the power of the storytelling."

"In the second and third films, which will be self contained stories that also fulfill a greater story arc, we will not back off the throttle of AVATAR's visual and emotional horsepower, and will continue to explore its themes and characters, which touched the hearts of audiences in all cultures around the world. I'm looking forward to returning to Pandora, a world where our imaginations can run wild," he added.

Fox Filmed Entertainment, which has reached an agreement with Camoron, has expressed its excitement on the project. "We had no higher priority, and can feel no greater joy, than enabling Jim ( Cameron) to continue and expand his vision of the world of AVATAR, " Chairmen Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman said. "This is a great day in the history of our company."

"Avatar" is the highest grossing film of all time, grossing nearly 2.8 billion dollars in worldwide box office. It also won Golden Globe awards for Best Motion Picture and Best Director and was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

The box office phenomenon has ultimately won Oscars for art direction, visual effects and cinematography, and lost the "Best Director" and "Best Picture" Oscars to "The Hurt Locker," a film directed by Cameron's ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow.