Some Production Notes about Jake

[aoitennyo]

Disclaimer: Found this link on AF, and while I value this article for much more than just what it says about Jake (he's just a small part about what makes Avatar amazing to me, in fact, my attraction to him is more like a huge added bonus than a main focus) I've been noticing that there's been alot of attention paid to the same crude, minute details of some of his physical features and we really haven't been talked about who he is as a person in a while. Sure, we've already gone over why we like his personality many times, but it's been a while since we have and I've gotten a little tired of the same old popsicle and rope jokes. Don't get me wrong, these discussions are fun, but you don't fall in love with someone because of kinky jokes and not so subtle innuendos.

That being said, I was reading the full production notes and I found some interesting stuff they (being JC and Co) wrote about Jake and his character. It's pretty cool!

despite his broken body, Jake is still a warrior at heart

Jake is a former Marine who places honor and duty above all, but he must eventually choose between his personal honor, in defense of what is right, and his supposed duty to those who have tasked him with his mission.

I love that in a person, willing to give it all, willing to die for a cause bigger than himself. I didn't see much of this conflict in the movie (apparently there were more scenes dealing with his internal struggles that were cut), but it is still an appealing aspect to his character.

Jake becomes the “wrong guy” to have placed in such a volatile position. When he finds himself torn between the Na’vi and the RDA forces that are bent on destroying their ancestral home of 10,000 years, Jake takes action. And all hell breaks loose.

HELL yeah! Take that Selfridge! HA! *fist pump* I loved when he looks up at Jake when the humans are walking onto the shuttle. I can only imagine what was going through his head. I see him smashing his head against the wall repeatedly for allowing Jake to join the avatar program XD. I bet he'd wished that they hadn't been so eager to replace Tom and had actually um, screened Jake, just in case, you know, he fell in love with a Na'vi girl and her culture, "went native" and brought the entire mining operations to ruins. Minor detail.

AVATAR explores the hero’s journey of Jake Sully, a wounded former Marine confined to a wheelchair, whose bravery and destiny help define a world he didn’t even know existed. When Jake is recruited to travel to the moon Pandora to take on an enormous challenge – the details of which he is initially unaware – he barely hesitates. “Jake had joined the Marines for the hardship, to test himself,” says Cameron. “So when he’s asked to travel to Pandora, he picks up his pack and, as the Marines would say, ‘grunts on.’”

Awesome

Jake’s disability, hard-headedness and courage make him an immediately recognizable and relatable figure. “He’s an everyman with an emotional resonance to which audiences can relate,” says Landau

At first I thought of Jake as just an everyman, and he is, but then I started talking with these awesome, crazed fangirls, and I began to see how he could be interpreted as much more. Heck, he may just be an everyman, but it's fun to try to see more .

Jake is a rich and complex character with a rare combination of passion, strength, street smarts and soul. It’s a role requiring a lot from an actor – a fact that Cameron acknowledged when he, Landau and casting director Margery Simkin began their search to fill the part. “The trick about Jake was not writing the character,” says Cameron. “The trick was finding the guy to play him.”

I completely agree about Jake, he is indeed a multi-faceted character (like I've said, skx'awng vs. Toruk Makto), and I can't imagine anyone else playing him. Of course I'm so used to Sam now, but I doubt someone like Matt Damon (nothing against the guy but no, just no) could make me fall in love with the character.

After spending months looking at actors in the U.S. and Europe, Simkin reported to Cameron that she found a candidate…in Australia. Sam Worthington, Simkin told the filmmaker, had a “visceral quality and would make audiences believe that people would follow him. There was an intelligence and intensity in his eyes that never wavered.”

Oh absolutely. We've talked alot about his eyes and their captivating qualities. And yes, I love that "visceral" quality in a man, that kind of physical, aggressive presence.

For Cameron and Landau, Worthington was worth the wait. “I think one of the hardest things to find in an actor of Sam’s age is a combination of sensitivity, vulnerability and strength, and Sam has all of that,” says Landau.

Yes he does! Pretty much sums up what I like about Jake in a nutshell . Vulnerability and strength, light-heartedness/humor and passion, casual goofiness and honor.

There's more to this article about Sam/Jake, and a whole lot more about the movie overall, and I definitely recommend reading it .