James Cameron Slams Matt Damon’s Avatar Casting Claim

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Looks like Matt Damon was never getting a trip to Pandora.  

Matt Damon, known for his role in The Martian, previously stated he rejected the lead role in Avatar, potentially missing out on 10% of the film’s profits. Now, director James Cameron is sharing his version of events, and it differs significantly from Damon’s account.

I was reading an interview with James in The Hollywood Reporter the other day, and he cleared something up for me. Apparently, the actor in question was never actually offered the role! James himself couldn’t even recall if he’d sent the script over, and honestly, he didn’t think he had. It’s interesting to hear that directly from him – a lot of the rumors were just assumptions, it seems.

James recalls a conversation from ten years ago about a movie, where Matt – who has four children, Alexia (25), Isabella (19), Gia (17), and Stella (15), with his wife, Luciana Damon – explained that he couldn’t appear in the 2009 film because he was already committed to filming the Bourne action-thriller series.

James remembered a phone call where the person said they’d be very interested in making a film with him, praising his work as a director. However, they explained that they were already committed to the next Jason Bourne movie, creating a scheduling conflict. Because of this prior commitment, they unfortunately had to decline the offer.

While they’ve talked about the movie Titanic, the director wants to clarify that Matt Damon was never actually considered for a role. He explains, “He was never offered the part, and we didn’t even discuss what character he might play. It simply came down to his schedule and availability.”

When asked about it recently, 55-year-old Matt Damon, known for his role in Good Will Hunting, said he declined a $250 million offer – equal to 10% of the movie’s total earnings – to play Jake Sully in Avatar. The part eventually went to Sam Worthington.

Matt recently shared on the July 2023 episode of Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace that he believes he turned down the largest paycheck any actor has ever refused. He explained that he was bound by an existing contract, which prevented him from accepting the offer.

But James, 71, dispelled that claim, as well.

He’s essentially calculated that he should have received 10% of the total revenue from all his movies. He believes that if that had been the deal for Avatar, he wouldn’t have made the film – and he’s certain of it.

James said with a smile, “He’s in the clear now, no need to feel bad. Matt, it’s alright, you didn’t make a mistake.”

For more secrets from the world of Avatar, read on…

The director of Titanic, The Terminator and Aliens had a dream that made him feel blue, in a good way.

In a 2022 interview with GQ, James Cameron described a vivid dream that inspired him. He envisioned a bioluminescent forest filled with trees resembling fiber-optic lamps, a glowing river, and purple moss that lit up when stepped on. He also dreamed of lizards that transformed into spinning, disc-shaped creatures – like living Frisbees – and landed on objects. He said the entire scene played out in his dream.

Cameron began sketching out his ideas – he actually drew Kate Winslet as Rose from Titanic himself – and these drawings ended up being incredibly valuable, preventing around ten potential lawsuits. He explained that with any popular movie, someone always claims the idea was stolen from them.

James Cameron not only wrote the screenplay for the first Avatar movie and initially developed the Na’vi language, but he also provided Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver – a husband-and-wife writing team – with 800 pages of detailed notes that they used to write the sequels.

Josh Friedman is co-writing Avatar 4 with Cameron, and Shane Salerno is working on the script for Avatar 5.

As someone who’s always believed in storytelling with a purpose, I remember facing a real challenge with Avatar. When I first pitched the idea, focusing on environmental conservation and the dangers of exploiting natural resources, the studio executives weren’t exactly thrilled. They actually asked me to remove what they called ‘all the tree-hugging stuff!’ But I stood my ground. I told them, ‘No, that is the reason I’m making this film.’ It was a crucial point – I wasn’t willing to compromise the core message.

During a 2021 interview at the Cannes Film Festival, Damon shared that while filming The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007, he was offered a role in a small film called Avatar. James Cameron even offered him 10% of the movie’s profits. Damon joked that he’s likely the only actor who’s ever turned down that much money, ensuring he’d be remembered for it.

Sam Worthington played Jake Sully in Avatar, which became a massive financial success, earning $2.7 billion globally from a $237 million production cost – something Damon is likely aware of.

In a 2023 interview on Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace, Damon explained why he turned down Avatar. He didn’t want to abandon the Bourne film team by starting another movie too soon.

“I desperately wanted to work with Cameron,” the actor said. “I mean, because he worked so rarely.”

James Cameron explained to the New York Times that the Na’vi, the blue people of Pandora, were heavily inspired by cats – both in how they look and how they act. He even mentioned that they developed a detailed way of describing the movements and expressions of Neytiri’s tail.

Zoe Saldaña plays Neytiri, the 9-foot-tall Na’vi princess, in the Avatar films. Since the first Avatar movie was released, Saldaña has also had three children, appeared in five Marvel movies, and received an Oscar.

Paul Frommer, a retired USC professor, invented the Na’vi language for the film Avatar. Director James Cameron famously used a phrase from this language when accepting his second Golden Globe award in 2010, saying, “I see you, my brother and sisters.”

According to Paul Frommer, the language of the Na’vi needed to be completely original and pleasing to the ear, while also building on the thirty or so words that James Cameron had already created, mostly for character and creature names. He shared this with Campfire Writing in 2024.

Okay, so when Paul Frommer created the Na’vi language for Avatar, it absolutely had to be something a person could actually learn – and some people do learn it, which is amazing! He really thought about it, knowing a lot of us would be completely obsessed with the movie, and he wanted to make sure the language wasn’t just some gibberish. He wanted it to be complex, unique, and actually make sense if you really dug into it. It was important to him that it held up to real linguistic analysis, you know? He just knew people would be fascinated!

The professor created workbooks with detailed notes, including a direct translation and a pronunciation guide that some actors found helpful. However, the most important resource was the set of MP3 recordings, which students could download and practice with.

I was so fascinated to hear how he actually worked with the actors one-on-one! He’d really focus on getting the pronunciation just right and making sure how they said things felt natural. It was incredible – sometimes a little sound an actor would just come up with on the spot would actually become a famous battle cry! And get this, once an actor accidentally created an entirely new word that everyone started using!

As a huge Avatar fan, I was fascinated to learn that James Cameron invested a reported $16 million back in 2012 to buy 2,500 acres of farmland near Lake Pounui in New Zealand’s Wairarapa Valley. He envisioned it as his home base while filming the four Avatar sequels he’s still working on, and it’s amazing to think that’s where so much of the magic will happen!

Cameron mentioned he was just beginning work on the second and third Avatar movies. He explained to TopMob News that the team had spent the previous two years developing the necessary tools and software to ensure a streamlined process for what he anticipated would be a complex and challenging undertaking.

Before the title Avatar: The Way of Water was announced, the leading expert in underwater exploration hinted that the next Avatar movie would take place in the oceans of Pandora.

As a huge fan, I remember Cameron saying in an interview a few years ago that adding water to any challenge just makes it exponentially more difficult. And honestly, that’s been so true with this project! He and the team have really thrown everything they have – incredible resources, groundbreaking ideas, and tons of new technology – at figuring things out. It’s taken them about a year and a half to finally nail down how to make it all work, but I have complete faith it will be worth the wait.

Following 18 months of capturing performance data in Los Angeles, which concluded in November 2019, James Cameron intended to begin live-action filming in New Zealand in early 2020. However, production was halted in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming later resumed in June and finished in September 2020.

Worthington believes quality work takes time, something Jim Cameron clearly understands. Speaking to TopMob News before the 2022 release of Avatar: The Way of Water, he explained that playing Jake, the paraplegic ex-Marine turned Na’vi warrior, has been a twenty-year passion project for Cameron. He described it as Cameron’s ‘labor of love’.

In 2013, when James Cameron explained his vision for the next movie, Zoe Saldaña, who plays Neytiri, pointed out that it had only been three years since the first film came out.

You know, what I really admire about James Cameron is his genuine respect for his audience. He easily could have rushed a sequel to Avatar just to capitalize on the first film’s success. But he didn’t! He understood that doing so would have compromised the very thing that made Avatar so special. It just proves that truly great work takes time, and sometimes you need to step away and recharge to do it right.

Saldana recalled Cameron calling them to his studio in 2015 to share the rest of his plan.

She explained to TopMob that this wasn’t just a continuation of the story, but rather four new installments in what she called a wonderful series.

James Cameron explained to GQ in 2022 that given the enormous cost of making Avatar: The Way of Water, the film needed to be among the top three or four highest-grossing movies ever just to cover its expenses. He stated that reaching that level of success was the minimum requirement for the film to break even.

According to sources at The Hollywood Reporter, making the sequel cost between $350 million and $400 million. When you add in marketing expenses, the total cost of the film exceeded $1 billion.

Despite everything, the film still earned $2.34 billion, making it the third highest-grossing movie of all time. Only the original Avatar ($2.9 billion, including money earned from re-releases) and Avengers: Endgame ($2.8 billion) have made more.

The original Avatar film featured around 2,500 visual effects shots. Its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), included even more – 3,250 shots – created by a team of 1,300 artists.

The movies begin filming in the Los Angeles area, home to Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment. There, Cameron directs the lighting, acting, and camera work. Then, a team from Weta FX, a special effects company based in Wellington, New Zealand and formerly known as Weta Digital, takes over to create the visual effects.

As a huge fan, I was really fascinated to hear James Cameron explain how he approaches performance capture. He clarified it’s not like creating characters from scratch, as Pixar does. Instead, the actors’ performances are the foundation, but that performance data needs to be carefully converted into the 3D characters we see on screen. He also mentioned that artificial intelligence plays a big role in that translation process – there are a lot of AI steps involved in bringing those performances to life!

And, suffice it to say, Avatar: Fire and Ash blows both out of the water, effects-wise.

In a 2022 interview with the South China Morning Post, Cameron explained he’d much rather discuss the story and performances in his films than the technology behind them. He emphasized his passion as a writer lies in exploring the characters, the actors who portray them, and the emotional effect of their interpretations.

And it’s a family that was at the heart of this ocean tale.

Cameron explained to GQ that Avatar: The Way of Water explores what happens when fearless warriors like Jake and Neytiri become parents. He wondered how their natural instinct to take risks and be daring changes when they have four children. How do you maintain that ‘jump off cliffs, dive into danger’ attitude when you’re responsible for a family?

As someone who’s spent years on set, let me tell you, we really take our time when it comes to performance capture. We don’t rush things! It’s not about hitting a checklist of shots or worrying about technical details like cameras and lighting. For me, it’s all about diving deep and capturing the true emotion of the scene. I’ve even heard people say it’s not ‘real’ acting, and honestly, that’s just ridiculous. It’s as valid as any other form – it’s not about projecting to the back row like traditional stage work, it’s about genuine connection and believable performance.

To create realistic performances, actors wear tight-fitting spandex suits and have small dots placed on their faces. Cameras mounted on helmets capture their expressions, and this information is used by a computer program to transform them into their Na’vi character counterparts.

Oscar awards went to Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water for their stunning visual effects. The first Avatar film also won Oscars for art direction and Mauro Fiore’s beautiful cinematography.

Kate Winslet trained to become a free diver to play the Metkayina warrior Ronal in Avatar: The Way of Water. She was able to hold her breath underwater for an incredible seven minutes and 14 seconds, breaking a film record previously held by Tom Cruise, who held his breath for six minutes while filming Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation in 2015.

Kate Winslet explained to ScreenRant that she couldn’t refuse the opportunity to work with James Cameron again after twenty years since Titanic. When he approached her about the role, he described Ronal as the powerful, female leader and protector of her people—a type of character Winslet noted isn’t often written for women. She was particularly impressed that Cameron envisioned these women as incredibly strong and physically capable.

As many of you know, losing someone close is incredibly difficult. When my longtime friend and colleague Jon Landau sadly passed away earlier this year, it hit us all hard. Kate Winslet, who’s returning for Avatar: Fire and Ash, was so kind – she immediately offered to help in any way she could. Jon’s request was simple, yet meant the world: he asked Kate to view an early cut of the film and share her honest feedback. It was a beautiful gesture, and speaks volumes about the collaborative spirit we have on this project.

The actress told the New York Times that this version of Jim was a welcome change. Compared to when they worked on Titanic, she said he’s now much more receptive and willing to consider suggestions for improving his work.

The death of Rick Landau deeply affected James Cameron, who told The Hollywood Reporter it felt similar to losing his parents. He explained it as feeling like he’d lost the last people who could both inspire pride and hold him accountable.

The new film, Fire and Ash, continues the story of Jake and Neytiri following the loss of their son Neteyam (played by Jamie Flatters) in the previous movie, and is a tribute to a producer who recently passed away.

The franchise mourns the loss of John Refoua, a talented editor who received an Oscar nomination and continued working on Avatar: Fire and Ash until just before his death from bile cancer in May 2023, as shared by his wife.

Cameron remembered working on the visual effects for Apollo 13 alongside director Ron Howard. He told GQ that Howard was a genuinely kind person, and it made him realize he needed to be more like him. He joked, ‘I realized I was a bit of a jerk compared to Ron Howard, and I needed to work on being a better person.’

He acknowledged he used to have a reputation for being quick-tempered on set, but said that now he rarely gets upset – maybe a couple of times a year, compared to every few weeks like he used to.

Following the huge success of Avatar, Cameron initially wasn’t certain he wanted to dedicate years of his life to creating another film, especially not four sequels.

Let me tell you, when you pour yourself into a massive project, it really takes over everything. I experienced this firsthand with a film that ended up being huge – it completely consumed four years of my life. After that, I seriously questioned whether I wanted to repeat the process. It was the highest-grossing movie ever, and honestly, a part of me just wanted to enjoy that success and move on to something different. It’s a big decision when something takes over your life like that!

He still had more to explain, so he felt driven to continue. As Cameron put it, he could explore important topics like protecting the environment, the benefits and drawbacks of technology, and the future of humanity within the larger story he was building.

Cameron hinted that the upcoming Avatar 3 could be the last film in the series, depending on its performance in theaters. He explained to THR that the film’s success will help determine if audiences still value the cinematic experience, as there’s one remaining plot point to resolve. He’s unsure if people will still go to theaters for big-budget films like Avatar, or if that kind of experience is declining, and sees the film’s reception as a ‘coin toss’ for understanding the future of cinema.

Meaning, Disney will see how much money it makes and then decide on the fate of Avatar 4.

If the project is approved, Cameron told The Hollywood Reporter that he doesn’t want to spend years focusing solely on Avatar sequels. He’s looking for a more collaborative approach and plans to step back from directing with such intense involvement in every detail, though he won’t necessarily stop directing altogether.

A different Jim, indeed.

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2025-12-20 18:49