James Cameron's Avatar Phone Policy Was More Than Extreme
Say what you may about "Avatar" — no, it doesn't have the most complex story out there and its environmental message couldn't be more transparent — but there's no denying that the film gave audiences a much-needed sense of escapism that no movie had quite matched up to that point. The James Cameron-directed epic broke new ground when it arrived in late 2009, changing the game for motion capture technology, digital filmmaking and 3D presentation.
But perhaps its greatest accomplishment was the film's organic world-building, introducing audiences to a vibrant, fantastical setting bursting with imagination. The world of Pandora offered sweeping vistas, strange creatures, and a rich culture that was thought out in painstaking detail, only adding to the all-encompassing experience that the film provided to surprised and captivated audiences.
But that immersion into the world of "Avatar" wasn't only limited to those who watched the film. James Cameron, being the perfectionist he is, not only aimed to push the limits of the filmmaking craft with "Avatar," but also made efforts to immerse his cast and crew into the spirit of his sci-fi fantasy world as much as possible — by any means necessary.
Cameron's nail gun allegations might have been exaggerated
James Cameron is known for the obsessive control he demands on set (via The Independent), so it's no surprise that when making an imagination-heavy film such as "Avatar," Cameron wanted to have his cast and crew fully versed in the way of the Na'vi.
From making his cast trek through the wilderness (via Starpulse) to only providing vegan meals on set (per Vegan First), Cameron aimed to have his environment-obsessed mindset permeate throughout the rest of the team. But it didn't stop there. Actor Sam Worthington, who portrays Jake Sully, told Express, "If a mobile phone goes off [Cameron would] nail it to the wall with a nail gun." Rumors have existed of such behavior since 2011 (via ABC News), but this is the first time anyone on the team had confirmed it.
What has Cameron's response been to these allegations? As the director told Express, "Would I nail a cellphone to the wall with a nail gun? Absolutely, if it went off in the middle of a take. But it doesn't mean I would be emotionally enraged." However, while this never came to fruition on set and only amounted to the director giving warnings about mobile phone use to his team, he did commit the action in one instance, telling Express, "I did once nail gun 20 mobile phones to a wall on the Jay Leno Show, but I swear it was the first time I'd ever done it."