CAMERON DISCUSSES NEW FOOTAGE FOR AVATAR

James Cameron says that he is bringing Avatar back to theaters on Friday because it was forced out of them earlier this year due to competition for a limited number of 3D screens. In an interview with the Associated Press, Cameron said that there were “hundreds of thousands, if not millions” of people who wanted to see the 3D version earlier this year and will now have the chance since the number of 3D screens has doubled internationally since Avatar was yanked. He also indicated that the 9 minutes of new footage that has been added to the film are scattered throughout. “We do see a little bit more between Jake and Neytiri on their night of romance, though it’s absolutely nothing that changes the rating,” Cameron said in a separate interview with the New York Post. “To be honest, there wasn’t much more to show — we’re pretty much putting in every frame, and it’s only an additional 20 seconds.” The most significant addition, he indicated, will be an extended sequence dealing with the death of Na’vi tribesman Tsu’tey. “It’s this incredibly powerful scene. In fact, I was practically booed out of the room when I told everybody I was going to take it out of the movie in the first place.” Cameron indicated that the DVD being released around Christmas will run an additional seven minutes. He told the A.P. that he was releasing the various versions — a 3D Blu-ray Disc is due to be released next year — “to keep people interested and enthused about the Avatar universe, because it’s going to be a long time before we get another Avatar movie done.”