On December 18, James Cameron unleashes "Avatar" on the world. The 3-D sci-fi epic has been an in-the-making project for more than a decade, with Cameron's first script treatment written in 1994. He's been out of the director's chair -- for features anyway -- since "Titanic," released in 1997, so the release of "Avatar" is a fairly enormous happening within the culture of mass media entertainment.
Today, Atlantic Records issued the first details about the score. There are 13 tracks from composer James Horner comprising the pure score. The final track, titled "I See You (Theme From 'Avatar')," features vocals from Grammy-nominated singer Leona Lewis. The score drops on December 15, three days shy of the movie.
Over on Cinema Blend, Katey Rich ponders whether "Leona Lewis Will Be The Celine Dion Of Avatar." For those who need some context: the score from "Titanic" featured a single vocal track -- "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion -- and it proceeded to become a global adult contemporary smash hit.
Katey very rightly sees a parallel between the Dion song and the Lewis track from "Avatar." Not only is "I See You" the only vocal track on the album, it's also the product of a collaboration between Horner and Simon Franglen, with Lewis. Those two also worked with Dion on "My Heart." It's impossible to guess how the new song will perform, especially with the face of the music and radio industry having changed so much in the intervening years since the release of "Titanic."
Really though, the point here is that Cameron is returning to what worked in "Titanic." Whether that's because he's as savvy a businessman as he is a filmmaker or simply a sign of his auteurist tendencies is anyone's guess. I would say it's probably a little from column A, a little from column B.
What do you think? Is Cameron looking for a second lightning strike with "I See You"? Is this a sign of the director's identifying characteristics as an auteur? A little of both? Something else?
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