by James Cameron says the inspiration and “images” for some of his greatest films came to him in a dream.
The Hollywood director said humans are “always telling each other stories” at night and that a screenwriter’s job is to find a way to “formalize” those stories.
It comes ahead of the release of Avatar: The Way Of Water, the highly anticipated sequel to Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi epic.
When asked on The One Show about finding inspiration in dreams, she said, “(yeah), Terminator, dreams, Avatar… I just think dreams are my private streaming service that runs every night for free.
“I guess I work a lot in my dreams and see a lot of pictures, sometimes get up and write them down sometimes.
“With some of the Avatar stuff when I was in college, I jumped up and painted…so it went on for a while, right.”
The Way Of Water will see the return of characters Jake Sully and Neytiri, played by Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana respectively, as well as their new family.
Previously released trailers showed underwater scenes with colorful jellyfish-like fantasy creatures and great horned whales.
“I’ve always dreamed of being underwater with fantastic animals swimming around and that kind of thing, so it’s just kind of processing all those subconscious images,” Cameron told The One Show.
“I think we are all writers in our heads every night. We are all telling ourselves stories, one part of our brain putting on a show for the other part of the brain.
“I think the writers find a way to formalize it and get it out in the paper.”
When asked if the wait for the third Avatar film will last another 13 years, he added: “Let’s hope not.”
He added that all footage from the film has been captured, but hinted that post-production could take about two years.
It comes as Cameron and the cast of the Avatar sequel kicked off their global press tour with a photoshoot in central London.
Saldana, Kate Winslet and Sigourney Weaver were among the stars who posed for photos on the blue carpet Sunday.
Avatar: The Way Of Water hits theaters on December 16th.
The world premiere will take place on Tuesday 6 December in London’s Leicester Square.
