James Cameron To Dive The Mariana Trench To Film AVATAR 2: Only Second Team To EVER Do It; Last Time Was 1960!

James Cameron and one other (lucky?) soul will travel to the deepest area on Earth to shoot elements of AVATAR's sequel! No joke.

The first thought I had is wow - does Jim Cameron have a death wish? Going to the bottom of the world in the Mariana Trench is not to be taken lightly. After hearing about his prep work however, I have come to the conclusion that the shots they will capture down there will be singularly unique and perfect for Pandora.

From Canoe.ca (emphasis is mine): "...(Cameron) is commissioning engineers to build a special vessel to travel 10,972m to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific. The two-seater submersible will be fitted with a heating system and 3D cameras to capture pictures of the depths for the movie, expected to hit theatres in 2014. Cameron, who has long had a passion for diving, is hoping to begin preparing for his mission later this year. He says, "We are building a vehicle to do the dive. It's about half-completed in Australia." If he is successful, Cameron's team will be only the second to ever visit the Mariana Trench. In 1960, it took a scientist and a navy lieutenant five hours to descend to the floor, where they spent just 20 minutes before re-emerging."

Yikes. Can you see part of what sets Cameron apart from so much of Hollywood? He is a true adventurer and willing to place his life in jeopardy to achieve something remarkable. The shots will have immense scientific value as well. This is right up his alley - I hope it all goes off without a hitch and we get to see his vision exactly as he wants it. Is someone going to tell him "No, you can't do that Jim"? Not lately... :-)