Leading lady Zoe Saldana, of recently released Avatar, explains her part as a “revolutionary experience in Hollywood.” Her role as Neytiri was surely a demanding one. Having to learn a conceptual language for the alien Na’vi tribe was one of the hardest things she had to do for the film; but being apart of a household with native Spanish speaking parents made it a bit easier for her than others on set to take in the Na’vi tongue.

Zoe also was challenged physically throughout the making of the film. Her character, being a warrior, held for some months of extensive training of martial arts and archery as well. It wasn’t just about molding herself to sound the part, but she had to literally learn to be the part of alien Neytiri. Although Zoe is not the true face of her character as mentioned in a previous Latinaroom post, every ounce of motion, facial gestures and acting seen on screen was created through Zoe on set, which is more than what most animated films have incorporated in the past. A hundred percent of what was played out for the film was used, frame-by-frame. Writer and director James Cameron stresses that the film isn’t an animated film, but a “captured performance.”

The film cost 250 million to bring to life the world of Pandora in which the Na’vi live. The movie was released last Friday, December 18th and after the weekend has already grossed $73 million in U.S. ticket sales – 232 million worldwide so far.