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James Cameron is making a documentary series about the ocean for National Geographic
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US film director James Cameron poses for photographers upon arrival to attend the world premiere of the film 'Alita: Battle Angel' in London on January 31, 2019.
(AFP/Daniel Leal-Olivas)
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fter "Deepsea Challenge," the director of "Titanic" is again teaming up with National Geographic for a documentary series called "Mission OceanX," according to entertainment publication Variety. James Cameron will follow a team of scientists to the heart of the Indian Ocean aboard an ultra-sophisticated submarine.
James Cameron has once more given in to the appeal of the deep blue. A passionate observer of the ocean floor, the director of "Titanic" is preparing another documentary series for National Geographic.
Entitled "Mission OceanX," the series will document an expedition aboard the OceanX organization's ultra-sophisticated Alucia 2 submarine. Its team of qualified scientists will themselves play an important part in the documentary while they explore the ocean bottom. The "Abyss" director has decided to emphasize the crew's experience more than just the scientific discoveries in themselves, as in most documentaries.
"One of the things I have pushed everybody towards, maybe even a little bit to the extent [that] they are outside of their comfort zones, was to make it kind of reality TV, meaning I want to follow these people. I want to know how they think; I want to understand their passion as explorers and as ocean scientists...that burning curiosity," explained Cameron in an exclusive interview with Variety.
Read also: Disney's 'Lion King' roars as Cameron salutes new 'Avengers' record
Out in mid-2020
The expedition's ship is slated to head for the Indian Ocean in mid-2020. National Geographic has launched a campaign on social media for the public to help find a new name for the submarine which will carry the explorers.
It's an expedition with a dash of mystery, since any discoveries will only be made once arriving at the very bottom. "That's part of the excitement -- you go out there and you don't know what's going to happen. The ocean hasn't read your script and there's no Take 2," Cameron said. Thanks to advanced techniques, the first images from the expedition will be edited from the middle of the ocean in order to offer a preview of the upcoming series.
Due to his complicated filming schedule for the upcoming chapters of the "Avatar" saga, Cameron will not be present for the entire expedition but will join at key moments and perhaps even take another deep-sea dive. It's a project that is close to the heart of this avid fan of the oceans, who paid tribute to Jacques Cousteau: "One of the key goals of the series is to inspire up-and-coming explorers and filmmakers and scientists in same way I was inspired by Jacques Cousteau. I want to pass that on," he said.
The filmmaker co-produced the documentary "Deepsea Challenge 3D" with National Geographic in 2012. During that project he solo-piloted a submarine nearly 11,000 meters deep to explore the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench.
