Director James Cameron says he cut out several minutes from his new movie “Avatar: The Way of Water” involving guns, due to concerns it might “fetishize” firearms.
During an interview with Esquire Middle East, Cameron said, “I actually cut about 10 minutes of the movie targeting gunplay action. I wanted to get rid of some of the ugliness, to find a balance between light and dark.”
“You have to have conflict, of course. Violence and action are the same thing, depending on how you look at it. This is the dilemma of every action filmmaker, and I’m known as an action filmmaker,” he continued.
James Cameron Cut Out 10 Minutes of #Avatar2 Gun Violence Because It Made His Stomach Sick: ‘I Don’t Want to Fetishize Guns’ Anymore https://t.co/QyO53fCarW
— Variety (@Variety) December 27, 2022
On top of limiting the amount of scenes involving guns in his latest film, Cameron says he is not sure he would make some of his older action films today.
“I look back on some films that I’ve made, and I don’t know if I would want to make that film now. I don’t know if I would want to fetishize the gun, like I did on a couple of Terminator movies 30+ years ago, in our current world. What’s happening with guns in our society turns my stomach,” he said.
Cameron added, “I’m happy to be living in New Zealand where they just banned all assault rifles two weeks after that horrific mosque shooting a couple of years ago.”
His interview comes as “Avatar: The Way of Water” has raked in more than $900 million globally at the box office since it hit theaters earlier this month.
He previously predicted it would need to bring in at least $2 billion just to break even.
The first “Avatar,” released in 2009, still sits at the top of the most-grossing movies as it brought in $2.9 billion.
Cameron’s sequel to his 2009 blockbuster has faced some controversy, as IJR reported.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) criticized him for comments he made during a press conference promoting the film in Japan.
The event featured clips of the movie and also a person performing stunts on a dolphin.
“I love these animals. I love their intelligence. I love their sociability, their ability to connect with us and to interact with us and learn from us,” Cameron said, adding, “And I’m sure everybody asked their permission to be in the show.”
However, PETA wrote on Twitter, “Honestly, [Jim Cameron]? No, no one asked the dolphin’s permission to be in the show.”
Honestly, @JimCameron? No, no one asked the dolphin’s permission to be in the show. #AvatarTheWayOfWater pic.twitter.com/vsp1blqs5n
— PETA Asia (@PETAAsia) December 13, 2022
Meanwhile, film critic Kathia Woods ripped the movie as she claimed there was cultural appropriation in it because “white actors are cos playing as [people of color].”
