James Cameron may film ‘Avatar 2’ in 2013

James Cameron made a recent public appearance this week at the New Zealand premiere of “The Hobbit” and revealed that actual filming of “Avatar 2” may begin as early as next year.

According to the Agence France-Presse, Cameron spoke with reporters on the red carpet at the premiere and updated them on the current status of the sequels to the highest-grossing film of all time.

“I want to get these scripts nailed down, I don’t want to be writing the movie in postproduction,” Cameron said. He hopes to finish the scripts by February and begin production before the end of next year.

Cameron has said he plans to shoot “Avatar 2” and “Avatar 3” at the same time.

Additionally, Cameron, who moved his family to New Zealand for the sequels, said that he’s looking to see how audiences accept the new 48-frames-per-second projection rate which director Peter Jackson is using on “The Hobbit.” The technique, which Jackson says has “ramifications for the entire industry” is somewhat controversial. After footage from “The Hobbit” using the higher frame rate was screened for journalists and exhibitors earlier this year, many came away unimpressed.

However, Cameron, no stranger to technological innovation, says he’s eager to follow in Jackson’s footsteps.

“It takes that kind of bold move to make change,” he said.

The higher frame rate version of “The Hobbit” will play on just 450 screens out of the more than 4,000 total screens the film is opening on.

“When you have something new, you want to make sure it works,” Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution for Warner Bros. told The Times earlier this month. “This is unique, it’s different and we’ll have to see how people adjust to it.”

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