The Last Airbender
Short description
The Last Airbender is a fantasy adventure set in a world divided into four nations tied to the elements: air, water, earth and fire. The Fire Nation has spent a century waging war to dominate the others, and its forces have wiped out the airbenders. Two siblings of the Water Tribe, Katara and her brother Sokka, discover a boy frozen in ice: Aang, the long-missing Avatar, the only person able to master all four elements. Aang must develop that power and restore balance, while the exiled Prince Zuko hunts him in the hope of reclaiming his honor.
The film was released in 2010 and runs 103 minutes. M. Night Shyamalan directed and wrote the screenplay, working from the animated television series; he also produced alongside Sam Mercer and Frank Marshall, with Paramount, Nickelodeon Movies, The Kennedy/Marshall Company and Blinding Edge Pictures behind it. It was his seventh film as director, following The Happening and preceding After Earth. Noah Ringer plays Aang, with Dev Patel as Zuko, Nicola Peltz Beckham as Katara, Jackson Rathbone as Sokka, Shaun Toub as Uncle Iroh and Aasif Mandvi as Commander Zhao, among a credited cast of 37.
Made for about 150 million dollars, the film took roughly 320 million dollars worldwide, a modest return on its cost. Audiences rated it poorly: on IMDb it holds 3.9 out of 10 from about 181,000 votes, and on TMDB 4.6 out of 10 from over 4,300 votes. A critics' rating of 2.9 out of 10 from 192 reviews is lower still, leaving the film with weak marks from both reviewers and viewers.
What's left behind the scenes
- Actress Jessica Andres was chosen for the role of Suki, the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors. Scenes with her were filmed, but did not make it into the final cut of the film.
- The film was originally titled "Avatar: The Last Airbender." However, long before work began on the project, James Cameron had already bought the rights to use the word "Avatar."
- Singer and actor Jesse McCartney was supposed to play Prince Zuko, but was unable to coordinate the film's shooting schedule with his tour dates.
- Noah Ringer, who played Aang, landed the lead role through an online casting call. He submitted a video of his Taekwondo performance on DVD and was approved.
- The film is based on the first season of the animated series "Avatar: The Last Airbender" (2005 – 2008).
- The director deliberately made some of the saga's characters older in order to broaden the film's target audience.
- Since Noah Ringer was 12 years old during filming, he was not allowed to be on set around the clock. The filmmakers used a trick, hiring another boy with a similar build, so in some shots of Aang standing with his back to the camera, a certain Eric Jewell performed the role.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
