Air, Water, Earth, Fire. Four nations tied by destiny when the Fire Nation launches a brutal war against the others. A century has passed with no hope in sight to change the path of this destruction. Caught between combat and courage, Aang (Noah Ringer) discovers he is the lone Avatar with the power to manipulate all four elements. Aang teams with Katara (Nicola Peltz), a Waterbender, and her brother, Sokka (Jackson Rathbone), to restore balance to their war-torn world. Based on the hugely successful Nickelodeon animated TV series, the live-action feature film “The Last Airbender” is the opening chapter in Aang’s struggle to survive.
Teaser Trailer:
Super Bowl TV Spot:
Theatrical Trailer:
Cast:
Noah Ringer as Aang
Jackson Rathbone as Sokka
Nicola Peltz as Katara
Dev Patelas Zuko
Cliff Curtis as Fire Lord Ozai
Aasif Mandvi as Admiral Zhao
Shaun Toub as Uncle Iroh
Jessica Jade Andres as Suki
Seychelle Gabriel as Princess Yue
Katharine Houghton as Kanna
Additional Crew:
Second Unit Director:John Rusk
Production Design:Philip Messina
Costume Design:Judianna Makovsky
Art Direction:Richard L. Johnson
Set Direction:Larry Dias
Production Updates:
Rehearsals were held at the production office for the live-action film adaptation in Philly.
Filming began mid-March 2009 in Ilulissat, Greenland.
The production returned to Philadelpia in April, where filming is taking place on large sound-stages throughout the city.
One of the sound-stages used for filming is the 180,000-sq-ft former Budd Co. warehouse in East Falls.
An exterior location at the Pagoda in Reading, PA was filmed on April 2nd and April 9th.
On April 7th, filming took place at the Philadelphia Electric Company building. Producer Frank Marshall revealed that the inside of the building is being used as a set, and that they are incorporating all the old machinery of the power plant for filming.
Composer James Newton Howard recorded the score for The Last Airbender teaser trailer in Los Angeles on May 11, 2009. The teaser will be attached to non-IMAX prints of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
The production reached the halfway point a full 2 days ahead of schedule on May 20, 2009.
On Friday May 22, USA TODAY ran an exlusive article featuring the first pictures of Noah Ringer as Aang, and Dev Patel as Zuko.
On Thursday May 28, Filming began at the West Rockhill quarry. A village, a fortress and a castle-like compound are among the large-scale constructions said to be built at the location. Kyoshi Village being amoung one of the sets there.
The Last Airbender announcement:
Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies will release M. Night Shyamalan's live-action bigscreen adaptation of the popular animated TV series "Avatar: The Last Airbender" on July 2, 2010.
Studio has dropped "Avatar" from the title of the action-adventure so as to avoid confusion with James Cameron's 3-D epic "Avatar," which 20th Century Fox opens Dec. 18, 2009.
"Airbender" is the first pic to claim that date.
The creators of the Nick TV series were heavily influenced by Japanese anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. Storyline revolves around a young hero who has the ability to manipulate the elements and stop a ruthless nation from destroying the three other nations.
Shyamalan, who will direct from a script he penned, said Miyazaki is one of the greatest storytellers in the world. "In 'The Last Airbender,' I see an opportunity to make a live-action version of a Miyazaki film," Shyamalan said.
