James Cameron, the Oscar-winning director whose ecologically minded film “Avatar” has made him a new voice for environmentalism, is scheduled to speak at the American Renewable Energy Day in Aspen in August.
And he’s bringing along the Na’vi, the blue people featured in his film who fought against the greedy corporation plundering their planet.
Cameron plans to screen a shortened version of “Avatar,” reduced to a core environmental message, said AREDay executive director Chip Comins. He joins a lineup of unconventional moguls who have become advocates for the environment and green energy. Also scheduled to appear at the annual event are entertainment mogul Ted Turner, whose private land purchases have preserved extensive wildlife corridors, and oilman T. Boone Pickens, who has become an investor in and a voice for wind power.
“I’m very pleased that what started as a very small community event has grown in stature to become national and even international,” said Comins, speaking by cell phone from Washington, where he was organizing a renewable energy summit.
Cameron’s clout on the heels of “Avatar” has made him a recent spokesman for environmental issues. Last week, Cameron spoke to legislators in Washington and encouraged them to support renewable energy. He reportedly had a private meeting with President Barack Obama to talk about environmental destruction.
Earlier this month, Cameron campaigned on behalf of Brazilian indigenous groups opposing a dam they say would threaten 18 tribes living in the Amazon. The groups reached out to Cameron after leaders watched his blockbuster film. Cameron said he saw direct parallels between his film and the destruction of the Amazon rain forest.
“Avatar is meant to be a warning, a wake-up call — all of which are embedded in entertainment,” Cameron recently told CNBC. “I made this film as a personal statement of what we need to do to take action.”
Cameron has used his film to bring more awareness to environmental issues. The DVD and Blu-ray version of “Avatar” is being released today in honor of Earth Day. CNN reports that its website is being updated to educate fans about environmental issues, and Cameron’s company is sponsoring the planting of a million trees around the world as part of an Earth Day project.
“Avatar” has grossed more than $2.7 billion worldwide, making it the top-grossing film in history, besting Cameron’s “Titanic,” at No. 2.
Comins said he met Cameron at a pre-Oscar party hosted by the group Global Green, and they found common ground in talking about the environment. Cameron had just read the book “Plan B 4.0,” by The World Watch Institute’s Lester Brown, a past speaker at AREDay, Comins said.
“At that point, I invited [Cameron] to come and he said he’d be delighted,” Comins said.
Comins said he believed “Avatar’s” “core message of balance, of connection with the earth, indigenous values” resonated with viewers as much as the film’s groundbreaking special effects.
This year’s AREDay is scheduled to run from Aug. 19-22 with the theme “Creating a New Clean Energy Economy at Speed and Scale.”
“Let’s not for a moment forget that we really are in a race against time here in how carbon is affecting the planet,” Comins said.
And if Cameron has anything to say about it, plundering Pandora won’t be an option.
