James Cameron: "Guys, You WILL Lust after Neytiri"

[CapitalRadioTwo]

Yes, the blue alien female lead in Avatar.

From his new interview in Playboy Magazine:

PLAYBOY: So Saldana’s character was specifically designed to appeal to guys’ ids?

CAMERON: And they won’t be able to control themselves. They will have actual lust for a character that consists of pixels of ones and zeros. You’re never going to meet her, and if you did, she’s 10 feet tall and would snap your spine. The point is, 99.9 percent of people aren’t going to meet any of the movie actresses they fall in love with, so it doesn’t matter if it’s Neytiri or Michelle Pfeiffer.

PLAYBOY: We seem to need fantasy icons like Lara Croft and Wonder Woman, despite knowing they mess with our heads.

CAMERON: Most of men’s problems with women probably have to do with realizing women are real and most of them don’t look or act like Vampirella. A big recalibration happens when we’re forced to deal with real women, and there’s a certain geek population that would much rather deal with fantasy women than real women. Let’s face it: Real women are complicated. You can try your whole life and not understand them.

PLAYBOY: How much did you get into calibrating your movie heroine’s hotness?

CAMERON: Right from the beginning I said, “She’s got to have tits,” even though that makes no sense because her race, the Na’vi, aren’t placental mammals. I designed her costumes based on a taparrabo, a loincloth thing worn by Mayan Indians. We go to another planet in this movie, so it would be stupid if she ran around in a Brazilian thong or a fur bikini like Raquel Welch in One Million Years B.C.

PLAYBOY: Are her breasts on view?

CAMERON: I came up with this free—floating, lion’s-mane—like array of feathers, and we strategically lit and angled shots to not draw attention to her breasts, but they’re right there. The animation uses a physics-based sim that takes into consideration gravity, air movement and the momentum of her hair, her top. We had a shot in which Neytiri falls into a specific position, and because she is lit by orange firelight, it lights up the nipples. That was good, except we’re going for a PG-13 rating, so we wound up having to fix it. We’ll have to put it on the special edition DVD; it will be a collector’s item. A Neytiri Playboy Centerfold would have been a good idea.

Well TGWTGers, is she hot?

I have to admit, I think she's beautiful, but I doubt I could really fall in love with her like I have with some characters, even as far as this year is concerned, because they are played by, ya know, actual actresses (and not just voice talent). I will gladly take that back if she manages to level with Penelope Stamp, Shoshanna Dreyfuss, and Summer Finn though.

[Movie-Brat]

Really? He sounded like Frank Miller for a moment.

[CapitalRadioTwo]

Yeah, it sounds weird coming out of James Cameron, but she is really pretty. I will say this, a 10 ft tall, anatomically correct warrior woman, blue as she might be, is more conventionally attractive than say, Princess Sally from Sonic the Hedgehog, and that never stopped anyone with her.

[Movie-Brat]

Still, I wonder if this means James Cameron will become another Frank Miller.

[Instrument]

Most of men’s problems with women probably have to do with realizing women are real and most of them don’t look or act like Vampirella.

What? That's gotta be one of the craziest claims I've ever heard. I'm sure it's true for some, but most of men's problems with women?

Um, I don't care for Neytiri(her blueness, animal features, and her nose bug me) and I don't like it when creators make female characters with fanservice in mind. Really is annoying and happens way too much. Not saying she's destined to suck as a character because of this, characters with fanservice can still be good characters, but it still bugs me.

I'm sure there will be guys who lust over her, but I don't think it will be as much as James Cameron seems to be implying.

[Red Leaves]

I guess she is cute in a vaguely-elfish sort of way. I can see why people might be attracted to her. But she's certainly no Rachel McAdams, and I have never been one to actually lust after CGI.

[hnming]

Cameron is starting to sound infantile, crude, moronic and lacking in class. There are lots of other filmmakers who shot and lensed some of the most beautiful women that ever lived that don't sound like that in any of their interviews. My schadenfreude at wanting this movie to flop just got stronger.

I guess she is cute in a vaguely-elfish sort of way. I can see the attraction. But she's certainly no Rachel McAdams, and I have never been one to actually lust after CGI.

[ZGDK]

I guess she's cute in a strange sort of way, but she isn't real... and I just... I don't know, but this is Jim Cameron who's talking here, is anyone really surprised at what he's saying? This is a man who has been married five times, and none of those marriages have worked out.

[hnming]

Not everyone is the marrying kind (in fact polygamy and nuclear families have been shown only to be far from the norm in history), and if he just didn't talk about it in a way that made him come off completely immature, I would have been happy. But he didn't.

I guess she's cute in a strange sort of way, but she isn't real... and I just... I don't know, but this is Jim Cameron who's talking here, is anyone really surprised at what he's saying? This is a man who has been married five times, and none of those marriages have worked out.

[DesertEagle]

(in fact polygamy and nuclear families have been shown only to be far from the norm in history)

What? This is a very thing to add in your response to ZGDK's post and makes no sense. What does polygamy have to do with anything and a 'nuclear family' is a loosely defined term which may or may not describe a family with a married couple. But whatever we are getting off-topic.

Oh but one more thing. The man did marry five times - so how is he not marrying type?

I think Carmen here is selling a product. Guys like to see sexy girls on screen and alien babes have filled that role in the past (Star Trek anyone?). Either he genuienly wants guys to go ga-ga over Neytiri or he is joking around with the concept of an alien babe or both. Also keep in mind this interview was done for playboy magazine.

As for my thoughts on her? She's blue and ten feet tall and has a tail. Pretty but not something I see myself drooling over.

[Herr Wozzeck]

She looks pretty cute... But...

I think we should all calm down. This is a CGI effect we're talking about here, not Megan Fox. (I know, I know, but seriously, this is beginning to sound like a back and forth similar to what can be read about Megan Fox on these forums.) I only hope frat boys everywhere understand that before they go to distant planets trying to find women to rape.

[PenguinKing]

I think James Cameron has overestimated the amout of guys who will be attracted to a creepy looking blue alien thing (if he wanted hot blue alien thing he should have nicked the Asari from Mass effect)

[laurelin_kit]

Right from the beginning I said, “She’s got to have tits,”

We had a shot in which Neytiri falls into a specific position, and because she is lit by orange firelight, it lights up the nipples.

A big recalibration happens when we’re forced to deal with real women

Oh goddammit, Cameron. This insults everyone's intelligence. Think, man! Think!

[Jonny78]

Not interested.

[ZGDK]

(in fact polygamy and nuclear families have been shown only to be far from the norm in history)

What? This is a very thing to add in your response to ZGDK's post and makes no sense. What does polygamy have to do with anything and a 'nuclear family' is a loosely defined term which may or may not describe a family with a married couple. But whatever we are getting off-topic.

Oh but one more thing. The man did marry five times - so how is he not marrying type?

I think Carmen here is selling a product. Guys like to see sexy girls on screen and alien babes have filled that role in the past (Star Trek anyone?). Either he genuienly wants guys to go ga-ga over Neytiri or he is joking around with the concept of an alien babe or both. Also keep in mind this interview was done for playboy magazine.

As for my thoughts on her? She's blue and ten feet tall and has a tail. Pretty but not something I see myself drooling over.

I should clarify a bit, perhaps the reason he's making these comments is because of the failure he's encountered throughout his relationships.

[laurelin_kit]

Isn't it kind of a boner-killer to be like, FORCED to be attracted to a character/person? There's an element of "trying too hard" that's just unappealing. See: Megan Fox. It's this kind of forced sexy. I'm trying to think of a male example but all I can come up with is Patrick Dempsey. Who does not appeal to me.

[Herr Wozzeck]

I'm trying to think of a male example but all I can come up with is Patrick Dempsey. Who does not appeal to me.

*snaps fingers*

Robert Pattison. I'm surprised he didn't come to mind...

[Instrument]

Isn't it kind of a boner-killer to be like, FORCED to be attracted to a character/person? There's an element of "trying too hard" that's just unappealing. See: Megan Fox. It's this kind of forced sexy. I'm trying to think of a male example but all I can come up with is Patrick Dempsey. Who does not appeal to me.

Maybe to you it is a boner-killer, but there are quite a few people who fall for the intention. I can't count the number of times guys have told me Megan Fox is hot in both Transformers.
Can it be unattractive to do this? Maybe, especially if done way too far(Like some of Rob Leifeld's females), but for the most part I'd say no.

[laurelin_kit]

Conversely, a lot of my male friends don't find her attractive at all. So I guess what turns some people off works for others.

[Rollo_T]

Blue chicks? Done before! I'll take my Asari and Twi'lek over this freakshow any day!


I kid (maybe), but this Neytiri chick doesn't just ooze sexual magnatism. Maybe I need to see the movie. I mean that figuratively--Avatar looks awful. I just find it funny that James Cameron is bragging about the breast physics as though he had just finished making Dead or Alive: Extreme Beach Volleyball 3.