Noah Ringer plays Aang in the Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Movies adventure, The Last Airbender. (Photo: Copyright © 2010 Paramount Pictures Corps. All Rights Reserved.)
The Premiere of The Last Airbender
Live-action movie opens July 2
Helping create The Last Airbender was like creating a piece of art said one of the movie's producers Sam Mercer. Mercer joined Director M. Night Shyamalan and a variety of actors at the red-carpet premiere of the movie in New York on Wednesday. The Last Airbender opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, July 2.
The movie is based on Nickelodeon's animated series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and brings the illustrated Northern Water Tribe Village, the Air Temple, and the Fire Nation to life in 3-D.
On the red carpet, the very real actors talked to the Scholastic Kids Press Corps about bringing the animated series to the big screen as a live-action movie.
When asked about her favorite scene in the movie, Seychelle Gabriel, who plays Princess Yue, gave a guarded answer. She didn't want to give away any surprises, so this Kid Reporter won't either.
Noah Ringer who plays Aang said his most challenging scene was where he and Prince Zuko (played by Dev Patel) are fighting. It was a hard scene with a lot of action and breaking pots.
Jackson Rathbone, who plays Sokka, remembered filming the scene when he, Katara and Aang are captured by the Fire Nation. The scene lasts eight minutes, but took much longer to film because there is so much action.
"I got to use my boomerang!" he said with a totally Sokka smile.
Creating a live-action movie from an animated series was not as hard as it could have been, said director Shyamalan, because the writers "think in movie terms." He created a blue spirit in one scene exactly as it appeared in the animated show.
Before the movie began, Shyamalan came out on stage to talk about how making this movie was a dream come true for him. He said the first time he watched the animated show he was so hooked that he couldn't move.
"I didn't even eat," he added.
He knew right away he wanted to make a movie of this story. When selecting the actors, he turned to Youtube.com for the very first time, where he saw Noah Ringer.
"I knew I had to meet him," he said. "I met this boy who took martial arts, and was home schooled, and there was a unique sweetness about him. I knew he had to play Aang!"
The results are the The Last Airbender, the story of a lone Avatar who can control the four basic elements of life.
NEWS FOR KIDS, BY KIDS
Get the latest on national and international events, movies, television, music, sports, and more from the Scholastic Kids Press Corps.
Danielle Azzolina is a member of the Scholastic Kids Press Corps.
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My All Time Top 5
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My All Time Top 5
It's come to our attention that tween girls have opinions. Lots of them. My All - Time Top 5 is a unique opportunity to inmortalize those opinions in list form: lists of favorites, un - favorites, pet peeves, proudest achievements, weirdest phobias, secret crushes, wildest ambitions, and much more.
The book features 60 pages of list ideas, games, and activities ranging from thought - provoking to just plain goofy. it's divided into five sections (Me & My Deep Thoughts, Boys & Other Animals, etc.), each with a different illustrator. Turns out that making list lends lends itself equally well to quiet contemplation or group giggles, depending on the day's mood.
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Components:
$16.95- Custom - designed sharpened pencil
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books;interactive and novelty books;klutz activity books | Ages 8-12
Ages 8-12 $16.95
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Bead Loom Bracelets
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Bead Loom Bracelets
Bead Loom Bracelets features detailed instructions and step-by-step illustrations for making seven different bracelets. All of them are surprisingly simple to make, with exceedingly show-off-able results. The books comes with all the supplies you need, including beading floss, needles, and literally thousands of sparkling seed beads, bugle beads, and specialty beads.
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arts and crafts;craft kits;klutz activity kits | Age 12
Age 12 $24.95
