Movie Adaptation of Nick Series Given Go-Ahead

HOLLYWOOD, April 17:
Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies have greenlit the live-action feature
film M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender, an adaptation of Nickelodeon’s hit animated TV
series Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Shyamalan, the creator of
the Oscar-nominated movie The Sixth Sense, Signs and the
upcoming The Happening, will
direct and produce the action-adventure film based on a script that he penned. The
movie is scheduled for a theatrical release on Friday, July 2, 2010.

The live-action feature
film is set in a world where human civilization is divided into four nations:
Water, Earth, Air and Fire. The Fire Nation is waging a ruthless, oppressive
war against the other three nations.
The film's hero, the reluctant young Aang, is the "Last
Airbender”—the Avatar who, according to prophecy, has the ability to
manipulate all of the elements and bring all the nations together. Aided by a
protective teenage Waterbender named Katara and her bull-headed brother Sokka,
Aang proceeds on a perilous journey to restore balance to their war-torn world.

"M. Night Shyamalan's
exciting vision for a film with the potential of The Last Airbender is another perfect fit for the Fourth of July
holiday weekend that we have used to launch such blockbusters as War of the
Worlds and Transformers," said Rob Moore, the vice chairman of
Paramount Pictures.

"I was drawn to the
series because of its influences: one being Hayao Miyazaki,” added Shyamalan.
"I've always been a huge fan of Miyazaki's work. He is one of the greatest
storytellers in the world and makes anime films in Japan. His combination of
spirituality and supernatural elements have brought depth and meaning to his
art form. In The Last Airbender,
I see an opportunity to make a live-action version of a Miyazaki film."

—By Irene Lew