Wellington became Pandora as the stars of Avatar: Fire and Ash hit the capital for the premiere of the film franchise’s third instalment.
Oscar-winning director James Cameron attended the special New Zealand red-carpet event at the Embassy Theatre, situated at the eastern end of Courtenay Place, in Wellington, on Saturday night.
Fans lined up at the red carpet, eagerly trying to catch a glimpse of the movie’s big stars, including lead Sam Worthington (Jake Sully), Cliff Curtis (Tonowari) and Jack Champion (Spider), who attended.
The film’s cast and crew started arriving after 5pm.
The Herald was there for all the action from the red carpet as Avatar: Fire and Ash was screened for the first time ahead of its nationwide cinematic release on December 18.
Star director Cameron stood up on the barricades so all the fans could see him, sparking applause and cheers.
He was also seen waving his New Zealand passport as fans cheered him on with thunderous support and he spoke to the crowd.
“There’s a lot of pride in what we do here in Wellington,” he told the Herald on the carpet.
“We’re not just the capital of the country, we’re the film capital of the country for sure. Not to put down Auckland at all or some of the other places, but you know, we’ve got all the people from Wētā here, Wētā Workshop, Wētā FX, and all the tradespeople, all the crew people who have worked on these films. We do the live action here and we also do the VFX here.”
Cliff Curtis said that, at the heart of the movie, it’s about whānau.
“It’s about family, it’s about the next generation, sorting out the challenges that lie ahead of us,” Curtis said.
“It’s so big I had to go watch it again. It’s a lot to take in, it’s emotional. It’s a beast.”
Nicola Willis, the Minister of Finance as well as Minister for Economic Growth and Minister for Social Investment, joined the stars on the red carpet.
“Our Government’s right behind this industry. We made huge investment in film in our most recent Budget and we’ve changed the settings on our film rebate so we can attract more international productions here, and what we hear is that it’s got studios around the world coming and taking a look because we’ve got the talent, we’ve got the technical capability and we are a beautiful country.”
Filming for the movie finished in December 2020 and was pieced together over a three-year period, and filmed alongside Avatar: The Way of Water, which was released in 2022. The film’s theatrical release has been subject to nine delays.
The plot takes audiences back to the planet of Pandora in an immersive new adventure with Marine, turned Na’vi leader, Jake Sully, played by Worthington.
The film also stars Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Oona Chaplin, Kate Winslet, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement and Giovanni Ribisi.
In 2013, the New Zealand Government signed an agreement with Lightstorm Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox to ensure three Avatar films were made in New Zealand. In exchange for tax breaks, the deal required one world premiere to be held in Wellington and at least $500 million to be spent on production activity in New Zealand.
The Avatar franchise began with the eponymous film, released in 2009, which went on to become the highest-grossing motion picture of all time. With the first film and its four sequels having a combined budget estimated at US$1 billion ($1.72b), the franchise is one of the most expensive franchises ever created. It has grossed more than US$5.2b worldwide.