The manga adaptation of Alita: Battle Angel could already be regarded as something of an all-star collaboration. The film unites celebrated Avatar and Titanic director James Cameron with Machete and Sin City director Robert Rodriguez. However, in this instance, Cameron takes the back seat as co-writer and producer, while Rodriguez co-writes and directs.
It doesn't end there, though, as Cameron reveals to The National that Oscar-winning Pan's Labyrinth and The Shape of Water director Guillermo del Toro also played a crucial role in the film's gestation, by introducing Cameron to Gunnm, the Japanese comic on which the movie is based.
"I stumbled upon it, actually. My friend, Guillermo del Toro, is a real fan of all things, you know, graphic novels and so on," Cameron says. "He said, 'You've got to check this out.' So I did. And I promptly fell in love with the character and I said, 'Look, I want to do this, I want to make this. You weren't going to do it?' And he said, 'No, you do it.'
“And so it was an instantaneous decision. I went after the rights, got them from the artist, Yukito Kishiro, and I just started to develop it.”
Two decades in the making
That conversation took place 20 years ago, and by 2004, Cameron was still struggling to get his script down to a filmable length. The following year, he was given $10 million (Dh36.7m) by Fox to make a proof of concept clip for Avatar – a film that had been in development for 10 years already – and, as work intensified on what would go on to become the highest-grossing movie ever made, Alita fell by the wayside.
He protected it. Beautifully. And then I thought, 'all right, he knows what to do. He's the guy.' And so, here we are.
That was, at least, until Rodriguez entered the picture. "Robert, who I had known for years, said, 'What are you doing with Alita?' And I gave him the script and he fell in love with it and said, 'I have to do this,'" Cameron says.
"I said 'All right, then you're the guy.' And it was quick. He read it and I said, 'It's way too long.' He said, 'Let me take a crack at it.' We didn't have a deal or anything, it was a handshake. He went off for a couple of months, cut it all down [and took] 50 pages out. I was dreading the read a little bit, because I thought, 'he's going to have taken out everything I loved', but he didn't.
“He protected it. Beautifully. And then I thought, ‘all right, he knows what to do. He’s the guy.’ And so, here we are.”
The appeal of Alita
It is fair to say that, as the director of the two highest-grossing movies in history in Titanic and Avatar, as well as other box office smashes such as Terminator: Judgment Day and Aliens, Cameron could probably receive backing to film any story he chooses, so what was it about Alita that appealed so strongly?
"I can give you an example," the director-producer-writer says. "When she takes her heart out and offers it to her paramour … I want to see that scene. You can't do a love story and not have that scene, right? But that's just an example. Initially, I approached it as kind of Romeo and Juliet; she's a cyborg, he's human. He wrecks cyborgs for a living and she doesn't know that, so they're star-crossed lovers."
Cameron says that the "third vertex" was the parallel storyline involving Alita's father, which appealed to him as the father of a young daughter. "I wanted to tell that story of the female coming of age," he says.
"We all come of age, we all have to deal with that teen angst and that sense of who am I? What am I here for? Do I live up to my parents' expectations, or do I do my own thing? But I think women have a tougher time, in the sense that society tries to press them into a feminised role, as opposed to taking on leadership and authority roles and that sort of thing.
"And so I thought, 'why not do a female empowerment story?' And she becomes this confident, powerful character. But she's not that initially."
Handing over control
It is clear that Cameron feels deeply involved with the story of Alita. But was it challenging to hand the creative control of a project he carried with him for so long over to a third-party director, albeit somebody Cameron has known for years?
"We passed the ball a lot," he says. "He'd be going into a scene saying, 'You know I've got a little problem with this scene.' And I'd say, 'I'll do a couple of pages for you real quick.' And I'd fire that back within an hour or so. And he'd say, 'I like it, but what if I invert this line and that line and just do it' … and I'd say, 'Why didn't I think of that?' And it was like that the whole way through.
"It comes from trust. I'd known him for, I want to say 25 years, and I knew him as an innovator. So it just went very smoothly. Not that you don't have problems, you always have problems on any production, but we solved the problems."
In fact, Cameron insists that when it came to shooting the movie, he took a step back and allowed Rodriguez to get on with the job in hand. "The interesting thing is I never went to the set at all," Cameron says. "He and I worked super-closely all the way through pre [production], but from day one it was his set. We'd talk behind the scenes, and I'd comment on the dailies, send him notes and that sort of thing. But I never went to the set because I wanted the cast and the crew to know that it was his showhat he was the dude."
Desperate to impress
Cameron may have left Rodriguez alone on set to make the film, but there was one person that the producer was desperate to impress with the final product – Gunnm's author Kishiro. "I wasn't there when he saw it the first time," Cameron says. "[Co-producer] Jon Landau took it and showed it to him a few days ago.
So what was Kishiro's reaction when he saw the final film? "He was thrilled. He was thrilled to see it come to life," Cameron says. "And that meant a lot to us. He was honoured that Robert and I took this on and did it.
"That's a mutual adoration society right now. But if you think about it, it was an artistic hand-off – him to me, me to Robert. It really represents all three of our brains kind of thrown into a blender."
Alita: Battle Angel is in UAE cinemas from today
TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
Intercontinental Cup
Namibia v UAE Saturday Sep 16-Tuesday Sep 19
Table 1 Ireland, 89 points; 2 Afghanistan, 81; 3 Netherlands, 52; 4 Papua New Guinea, 40; 5 Hong Kong, 39; 6 Scotland, 37; 7 UAE, 27; 8 Namibia, 27
Copa del Rey
Barcelona v Real Madrid
Semi-final, first leg
Wednesday (midnight UAE)
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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Power: 710bhp
Torque: 770Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 2.9 seconds
Top Speed: 340km/h
Price: Dh1,000,885
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Results
Stage seven
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:20:24
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 5s
General Classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 25:38:16
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 22s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 48s
The specs: 2019 Audi A7 Sportback
Price, base: Dh315,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 335hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy 5.9L / 100km
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
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5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Khalid%20Fahad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Shaima%20Al%20Tayeb%2C%20Wafa%20Muhamad%2C%20Hamss%20Bandar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
Price, base / as tested Dh97,600
Engine 1,745cc Milwaukee-Eight v-twin engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 78hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque 145Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.0L / 100km (estimate)
ARABIAN GULF LEAGUE FIXTURES
Thursday, September 21
Al Dahfra v Sharjah (kick-off 5.35pm)
Al Wasl v Emirates (8.30pm)
Friday, September 22
Dibba v Al Jazira (5.25pm)
Al Nasr v Al Wahda (8.30pm)
Saturday, September 23
Hatta v Al Ain (5.25pm)
Ajman v Shabab Al Ahli (8.30pm)
SERIE A FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
Roma v Udinese (5pm)
SPAL v Napoli (8pm)
Juventus v Torino (10.45pm)
Sunday
Sampdoria v AC Milan (2.30pm)
Inter Milan v Genoa (5pm)
Crotone v Benevento (5pm)
Verona v Lazio (5pm)
Cagliari v Chievo (5pm)
Sassuolo v Bologna (8pm)
Fiorentina v Atalanta (10.45pm)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Hales' batting career
Tests 11; Runs 573; 100s 0; 50s 5; Avg 27.38; Best 94
ODIs 58; Runs 1,957; 100s 5; 50s 11; Avg 36.24; Best 171
T20s 52; Runs 1,456; 100s 1; 50s 7; Avg 31.65; Best 116 not out
TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
Review: Tomb Raider
Dir: Roar Uthaug
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Daniel Wu, Walter Goggins
two stars
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5