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when we were casting it, i was like, i dont care who walks in my door, whoever is the best for the part [gets it]. im going to figure it out like a chess game, says the helmer. ideally we separate the nations ethnically -- ideally. i didnt know how or what it was going to be, and it was so fluid. theoretically… for example, if you found a great brother and that didnt go with my favorite katara, then we couldnt use him. … or there was an aang that we really loved, but he was like five foot 10. … at one time there was a chinese sokka and katara … one of them was a better actor than the other, so i was gathering my pros and cons. … but i was without an agenda, and just letting it come to the table. … noah is like a photo-double from the cartoon -- hes spot-on. i didnt know their backgrounds, and to me noah has a slightly mixed quality look to him. so i cast the airbenders as all mixed-races. when you see the monks, theyre all mixed, and it kind of goes with the nomadic culture and the idea that over the years all nationalities came together.
production began in march 2009 in greenland before moving to pennsylvania, nice and close to shyamalans hometown of philly where he does all of his films. we visited the set of the production that june, where shyamalan explained that he was being especially careful with the series major plot points -- out of respect for the fans as well as his airbender fanatic kids.
we also got the chance to check out the huge set built for the film, the largest ever constructed on the east coast, in fact. the director was sure to promise lots of martial arts action and only minor story changes (more political drama, less fart jokes).
in our more recent conversation with him, shyamalan also expressed his interest in the spiritual aspects of the franchise.
when my movies go around the world, the spirituality in them [is accepted in some places], he explained. and then in other countries and places its much more, im not getting this. what is this? the united states and the u.k. would fall into a brother/sister category in that reaction, so i know when i come up with an idea thats more spiritually oriented that these are the territories im going to have to be aware of. so in the last airbender its a spiritual movie. theres just no way around it. its really cool but its so meaningful in so many ways. and to make sure that comes through is something that really motivates me, so theres a lot of things that really excite me and make me want to be like the guardian angel of the movie. i feel really protective of it.
the filmmaker is also well into preparing the next chapter in the story, assuming this one does well enough at the box office.
i think sequel is a misnomer for this, and i keep telling the studio that, the director told us with a laugh. im like, is there any way we can talk about this not in terms of a sequel? because this is a story that has a beginning, a middle and an end -- and im telling you the beginning. lord of the rings did that so beautifully. …but you know when [someone] made up another story just because, and you can tell that. this isnt that. … i completely got into this to make a long-form movie.
shyamalan actually started working on the movie before the tv series had even finished, and he recalls that the first conversation he had with the shows creators involved whether or not they planned on actually ending the thing. this has to end, he told them. if it doesnt end, im not onboard. if you dont want to end it, its all good. but it has to end.
they said they saw it as three seasons of each element he has to learn, shyamalan explained. and at that time they hadnt even decided where it was going to end, even like who katara was going to end up with. all that stuff. but we all agreed and shook hands on that it was over. were going to finish the tale. … and the last thing i said as the contract was closing to paramount was three. that way i can put a lot of integrity into it and i know how to press the accelerator on a storyline or pull back. … already ive pulled out a couple things from the first movie that i thought were going to be in [it]. and thats going to affect the draft of the second movie -- like i need to do an introductory scene for this character because we pulled her out of the first [movie].
and as for the famous m. night cameo? he says dont necessarily expect to see one in this film, but theres always part two. his kids have already suggested what part he should take -- the guy who never bathes. he says hes considering it.
the last airbender opens on july 2nd.
(thanks to the last airbender authorities jordan garn and marc loos for their help with this story.)
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The passage contains 12 "x"s.
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