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The Last Airbender (film)

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For the television series the film is based on, see Avatar: The Last Airbender.
The Last Airbender
File:Lastairbenderposter.jpg
Theatrical Poster
Directed byM. Night Shyamalan
Written byM. Night Shyamalan
(Screenplay)
Michael Dante DiMartino
Bryan Konietzko
(Original Story)
Produced byFrank Marshall
Kathleen Kennedy
Sam Mercer
Scott Aversano
StarringNoah Ringer
Nicola Peltz
Jackson Rathbone
Dev Patel
Shaun Toub
Aasif Mandvi
Cliff Curtis
CinematographyAndrew Lesnie
Edited byConrad Buff
Music byJames Newton Howard
Production
companies
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
July 2, 2010 (2010-07-02)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Last Airbender is an upcoming Action-adventure fantasy film scheduled to be released on July 2, 2010.[1] It is a live-action film adaptation based on the first season of the highly successful, Emmy-winning animated television series, Avatar: The Last Airbender. The first of a planned trilogy, it will be produced by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies.[2] The series, influenced by Asian art, mythology and various martial arts fighting styles, was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and was adapted by M. Night Shyamalan, who will also direct and produce the film along with Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy, Sam Mercer and Scott Aversano. Filming began in mid-March 2009; the movie is scheduled to be released on July 2, 2010.[3][1]

The film stars Noah Ringer as Aang, a reluctant hero who prefers adventure over his job as the Avatar. Aang and his friends, Katara and Sokka, journey to the North Pole to find a Waterbending master to teach Aang and Katara the secrets of the craft. At the same time, Fire Lord Ozai, the current Fire Lord of the Fire Nation, is waging a seemingly endless war against the Earth Kingdom, the Water Tribes, and the already vanquished Air Nomads. The film also stars Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, and Dev Patel.

Premise

See also: Avatar: The Last Airbender

In a world where the thingymabobs Poo, Earth, Fire, and Air can be controlled by people known as "bendy straws", the Fire Nation is waging a ruthless war to control the other great nations. The only hope for stopping the war rests on the shoulders of a young boy named Aang (Noah Ranga). The last known Airbender and survivor of the peaceful Air Nomads, Aang is the Avatar. The Avatar is the alien off that really popular movie Avatar, with the ability to control all four elements and draw upon the combined power, knowledge, and experience of the Avatar's previous incarnations. The Avatar's duty is to maintain peace between the four nations and the spirit realm, ensuring that the world remains in balance, despite the Fire Nation's war. Aided by a protective teenage Waterbender named Moo (Nicola Pizza) and her warrior brother Sock (Jackson Ratbone), and his forever loyal Sky Bison Appa, Aang begins a perilous journey to restore balance to their war-torn world. Standing in their way is the ambitious Fire Nation Alex Zhao (A Random Gay Guy) and Princess Zukorina (Mr Bean), the banished princess of the Poo Nation who seeks to capture all apple pies. BREAKING NEWS: Bob the Builder has been involved in a car crash involving, Scoop, Muck and Dizzy, and Rolly too, Lofty and Wendy have joined the crew, Bob and the gang, had so much fun, with bleeding noses, and bleeding bums.

Cast

See also: List of Avatar: The Last Airbender characters
  • Noah Ringer as Aang,[4], who disappeared from public sight a hundred years ago. While he appears to be a 12-year-old boy, he is technically 112, and furthermore is the latest reincarnation of the Avatar. Though he is capable of bending all four elements, at the beginning of the film he has only learned to airbend. It is also his duty to maintain balance in the world, which conflicts with his easy-going, fun-loving personality.
  • Nicola Peltz as Katara,[4] a 14-year-old girl of the Southern Water Tribe and its last remaining waterbender. Since the death of her mother, Kya, she has served as the maternal figure in her family, and is no stranger to responsibility despite her young age. She is Aang's good friend and love interest.
  • Jackson Rathbone as Sokka,[4] a 15-year-old warrior from the Southern Water Tribe and Katara's older brother. He can be condescending, and has no bending powers, but is extremely intelligent and often takes up leadership roles by virtue of coming up with most of the workable plans and tactics. In the animated series, he was also a primary source of comic relief, though this may not be retained in the movie.
  • Dev Patel as Prince Zuko,[5] a 16-year-old Fire Nation prince who travels with his uncle. The former heir to the throne, he was exiled by his father, Fire Lord Ozai, and ordered to capture the Avatar (who had not been seen in almost a century, making the assignment a wild goose chase) in order to regain his lost honor. He is the primary antagonist of the film.
  • Shaun Toub as Iroh,[6], Zuko's uncle. He is extremely easy-going and friendly, and often acts as a surrogate father to Zuko. Formerly a great general of the Fire Nation, personal tragedies led to his retirement, and the role of heir-presumptive passed to his younger brother Ozai.
  • Aasif Mandvi as Admiral Zhao,[6] a hot-tempered Fire Nation Commander in pursuit of the Avatar. He is Zuko's principal rival.
  • Seychelle Gabriel as Princess Yue,[6] a princess and the daughter of the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe. She acts as Sokka's love interest.
  • Jessica Andres as Suki,[4] a leader of the young female warriors of Kyoshi Island, the Kyoshi Warriors.
  • Cliff Curtis as Fire Lord Ozai,[6] the leader of the Fire Nation. He is the secondary antagonist of the film, and the main antagonist of the series.
  • Katherine Houghton as Kanna, the grandmother of Katara and Sokka.

Production

Development

On January 8, 2007, Paramount Pictures' MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies announced that they had signed M. Night Shyamalan to write, direct and produce a trilogy of live-action films based on the series; the first of these films will encompass the main characters' adventures in Book One. The film was in a dispute with James Cameron's film Avatar regarding title ownership,[7] which resulted in the film being titled The Last Airbender.[1]

According to an interview with the co-creators in SFX Magazine, Shyamalan came across Avatar when his daughter wanted to be Katara for Halloween. Intrigued, Shyamalan researched and watched the series with his family. "Watching Avatar has become a family event in my house ... so we are looking forward to how the story develops in season three," said Shyamalan. "Once I saw the amazing world that Mike and Bryan created, I knew it would make a great feature film."[8] He added he was attracted to the spiritual and martial arts influences on the show.[9]

Avatar co-creators Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko voiced their opinion within an interview regarding M. Night Shyamalan writing, directing and producing the film. The two displayed much enthusiasm over Shyamalan's decision for the adaptation, stating that they admire his work and, in turn, he respects their material.[10] Producer Frank Marshall explained that they have high hopes to stick to a PG rating. "I'm not even sure we want to get in the PG-13 realm. Furthermore, Shyamalan said, "I took away a little bit of the slapsticky stuff that was there for the little little kids, the fart jokes and things like that...We grounded Katara's brother...and that really did wonderful things for the whole theme of the movie."[11]

Shyamalan also said he will write the second film while preparing to shoot the first.[12]

Casting

It was great. They flew us all out to Philly. I got to meet the other castmembers that they hired on. I got to read with them, even. It was a blast. It was a great chance to get a free trip to Philly and get a chance to meet M. Night. He's an incredibly nice guy, and I think we hit it off pretty well, and now I get to play Sokka

Jackson Rathbone, Sokka in The Last Airbender

Shyamalan originally offered the roles of Aang to Noah Ringer; Sokka to Jackson Rathbone; Katara to Nicola Peltz; and Zuko to Jesse McCartney.[13] In an interview with People Magazine, Shyamalan claimed that he did not want to make The Last Airbender without Nicola Peltz, the actress who plays Katara, "I said that only once before in my career, and that was when I met Haley in The Sixth Sense auditions."[14]

The casting of white actors in the Asian-influenced Avatar universe triggered negative fan reaction marked by accusations of racism, a letter-writing campaign, and a protest outside of a Philadelphia casting call for movie extras.[15][16][17][18] Rathbone dismissed the complaints in an interview with MTV, saying, "I think it's one of those things where I pull my hair up, shave the sides, and I definitely need a tan. It's one of those things where, hopefully, the audience will suspend disbelief a little bit."[19] Movie critic Roger Ebert was one of the critical voices against the casting. When asked about casting a white cast to portray the characters, he said, "The original series Avatar: The Last Airbender was highly regarded and popular for three seasons on Nickelodeon. Its fans take it for granted that its heroes are Asian. Why would Paramount and Shyamalan go out of their way to offend these fans? There are many young Asian actors capable of playing the parts."[20] Jevon Phillips of the Los Angeles Times noted that despite Shyamalan's attempts to defuse the situation, the issue will "not fade away or be overlooked", and that this film exemplifies the need for a debate within Hollywood about racial diversity in its films.[21]

In February 2009, Dev Patel replaced McCartney, whose tour dates conflicted with a boot camp scheduled for the cast to train in martial arts.[22][23] Katharine Houghton and Seychelle Gabriel are expected to play "Gran Gran", the grandmother of Katara and Sokka, and Princess Yue, another of Sokka's love interests and princess of the Northern Water Tribe, respectively.[24] Isaac Jin Solstein is playing an earthbending boy.[25] Aasif Mandvi will play Commander Zhao, Shaun Toub will play Uncle Iroh, Cliff Curtis will play Fire Lord Ozai, and Keong Sim has been cast in the role of an Earthbender.[26]

Filming

Pre-production began in late 2008, while filming began in March 2009 in Greenland. After two weeks, the cast and crew moved to Reading, Pennsylvania, where production designers and special-effects crews worked for several weeks, preparing the local site for the film.[27] A production team scouting the area found the Pagoda on Mount Penn, which served as an ancient temple in the film.[27] Reading, Pennsylvania Mayor Tom McMahon explained that crews made road improvements and buried electrical lines surrounding the structure.[27]

Filming also took place in Ontelaunee Township and at the William Penn Memorial Fire Tower in Pennsylvania after the production crew finished at the Pagoda. When asked about filming the movie in Reading, Pennsylvania, Pamela Shupp, vice president of Berks Economic Development said, "They needed buildings to shoot all the interiors, and were looking for a group of buildings with high ceilings and specific column spacing. We showed them a number of buildings, but we couldn't come up with enough to meet their requirements. So the interiors will be shot in Philadelphia."[27]

According to Frank Marshall, principal photography for the film has finished and post-production has started.[11]

Music

In December 2008, James Newton Howard was announced the composer for The Last Airbender.[28] This will be the seventh collaboration between Howard and Shyamalan. Howard most recently received acclaim for his work with Hans Zimmer on The Dark Knight.[28] On May 13, 2009, producer Frank Marshall announced that Howard was recording music for the teaser trailer that was later released that summer.[29]

Marketing

Promotion

The teaser trailer for the film was attached to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, released in theaters on June 24, 2009.[30] The teaser trailer was also shown on Entertainment Tonight on June 22, 2009 as an ET network exclusive.[31] The trailer shows Aang airbending in a temple which is being attacked by a multitude of Fire Nation ships. A theatrical trailer was to be released around Christmas 2009, but it was pushed back until February 2010 because not enough visual effects shots were completed.[32][33] This trailer was attached to the Percy Jackson film released on February 12, 2010.[34] A theatrical trailer was later released on March 25, 2010.[35] The last theatrical trailer will be attached to Iron Man 2 which will be released May 7 2010.[36]

The first TV spot for the film aired during the 2010 Super Bowl on February 7, 2010.[37] It showed parts of the film that were not shown in the teaser trailer and had no diagetic dialogue, but merely narration. On February 10, the theatrical trailer was released online.[38] It shows multiple scenes from the movie and is an expanded version of the first TV spot.

Manga

Two original black-and-white manga will be written by Dave Roman are expected to be released on June 1, 2010.[39] The prequel manga will be illustrated by Nina Matsumoto and the movie adaptation, expected to be published in June 2010, will be illustrated by Joon Choi.

“We’re excited to be working with Nickelodeon to bring these great stories to the manga audience,” says Dallas Middaugh, Associate Publisher of Del Rey Manga. Avatar: The Last Airbender has shown incredible crossover appeal with manga fans. The release of The Last Airbender movie and original tie-in manga gives us the chance to share completely new stories with Avatar fans looking for more about Aang, Zuko, and their favorite characters.”[40]

Action figures

On February 9, 2010, Nickelodeon Consumer Products debuted the upcoming line of toys based on The Last Airbender. It includes various 3 3/4-inch action figures, as well as larger, action-enabled figures, costumes and other props. Among the toys featured in the line were figures based on Aang, Prince Zuko, Sokka, Katara, and a fully ride-able Appa the Sky Bison.[41]

"We worked very closely with M. Night, the rest of the Paramount team and our in-house design team, along with our partner Spin-Master, to come up with the right assortment, the right size for these action figures and make sure we we had representation of all the nations within the 'Airbender' series," said Nickelodeon's Lourdes Arocho. The Last Airbender action figures are expected to be released in three "waves"; wave one on June 1, wave two near the movie's July release date, and wave three near the 2010 holiday season.[41]

References

  1. ^ a b c Stephenson, Hunter (April 15, 2008). "M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender Gets Release Date, Director Update, "Avatar" Dropped From Title". /FILM. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
  2. ^ Sarafin, Jarrod (June 10, 2008). "Paramount and M.Night Shyamalan Previews LAST AIRBENDER". Mania Entertainment. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
  3. ^ http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=52491
  4. ^ a b c d Nicole Sperling (December 10, 2008). "Shyamalan lines up his cast for 'The Last Airbender'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 10, 2008.
  5. ^ Michael Fleming (February 1, 2009). "Shyamalan cast floats on 'Air'". Variety. Retrieved February 1, 2009.
  6. ^ a b c d "More are cast in M. Night Shyamalan's Last Airbender". Sci Fi Wire. March 13, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
  7. ^ Pamela McClintock (January 8, 2007). "Shyamalan's 'Avatar' also to bigscreen". Variety. Retrieved January 9, 2007.
  8. ^ ""Nickelodeon's Avatar Returns to Restore Peace to The Four Corners of the World and Prepares to Face Off With the Fire Nation Once and for All". 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  9. ^ Mike Szymanski (October 7, 2008). "Shyamalan Unveils Airbender Secrets". Sci Fi Wire. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  10. ^ Mike Szymanski (March 17, 2007). "Avatar Creators Praise Night". Sci Fi Wire. Retrieved March 17, 2006.
  11. ^ a b http://io9.com/5301315/secrets-and-glimpses-of-the-last-airbender-filming?skyline=true&s=x
  12. ^ Larry Carroll (November 5, 2008). "Shyamalan Eager To Transform Image With 'Last Airbender' Franchise". MTV Movies Blog. Retrieved November 5, 2008.
  13. ^ Nicole Sperling (2008-12-10). "Shyamalan lines up his cast for 'The Last Airbender'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  14. ^ http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20340703,00.html
  15. ^ Graeme McMillan (2008-12-17). "Avatar Casting Makes Fans See... White". io9. Gawker Media. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
  16. ^ Jeff Yang (2008-12-29). "'Avatar' an Asian thing- why isn't the cast?". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
  17. ^ Naomi Tarlow (2008-12-29). "Protesters oppose "whitewashing" in new Shyamalan film". Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
  18. ^ Michael Klein (2008-12-27). "Inqlings: More zzz's for CBS3 newsies". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
  19. ^ Larry Carroll (2009-01-15). "'Twilight' Star Jackson Rathbone Hopes To 'Show His Range' In 'Last Airbender'". MTV. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  20. ^ Roger Ebert (December 23, 2009). "Answer Man". Roger Ebert. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
  21. ^ Phillips, Jevon (2010-04-07). "'The Last Airbender' is causing a casting commotion". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-04-08. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ Michael Fleming (2009-02-01). "Shyamalan cast floats on 'Air'". Variety. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  23. ^ Slumdog Millionaire Star Joins The Last Airbender| /Film
  24. ^ "Inqlings: For Manuel, a job he can phone in". Philly.com. 2009-04- 09. Retrieved 2009-03-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ Connelly, Brendon (June 9, 2009). "New Last Airbender Casting Stays On Right Side Of Racebending Debate?". /Film. Archived from the original on January 7, 2010. Retrieved January 7, 2010.
  26. ^ "More are cast in M. Night Shyamalan's Last Airbender". Sci Fi Wire. 2009-03-13. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
  27. ^ a b c d George Hatza (April 1, 2009). "'Sixth Sense' director shooting new movie in Reading beginning Thursday; Pagoda to get a close-up". Reading Eagle. Retrieved April 1, 2009.
  28. ^ a b http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/12/19/james-newton-howard-to-score-the-last-airbender/
  29. ^ http://twitter.com/LeDoctor/
  30. ^ Sciretta, Peter (April 28, 2009). "The Last Airbender Teaser Trailer Attached to Transformers 2". /Film. Archived from the original on January 8, 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  31. ^ Sciretta, Peter (June 20, 2009). "A Brief First Look at The Last Airbender Teaser Trailer". /Film. Archived from the original on January 8, 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  32. ^ Sciretta, Peter (August 24, 2009). "The Last Airbender Trailer For Christmas". /Film. Archived from the original on January 8, 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  33. ^ Sciretta, Peter (December 3, 2009). "The Last Airbender Trailer Delayed Until February". /Film. Archived from the original on January 8, 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  34. ^ Steinberg, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Who's Buying What in the Super Bowl 2010". Advertising Age. Archived from the original on January 8, 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  35. ^ http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=64546
  36. ^ http://twitter.com/LeDoctor/status/11463163016
  37. ^ http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/last-airbender-superbowl-spot-neilm.php
  38. ^ http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=63186
  39. ^ http://screenrant.com/the-last-airbender-toys-kofi-44634/
  40. ^ http://www.mnightfans.com/the-last-airbender-manga-from-del-rey-and-nickelodeon/
  41. ^ a b http://splashpage.mtv.com/2010/02/09/m-night-shyamalans-the-last-airbender-toys-arrive/
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