The Advanced Imaging Society to Present James Cameron and Jon Landau with the Annual EARTHDAY.ORG “Voices for the Earth” Award at the 13th Annual Lumiere Awards

LOS ANGELES, CA (December 19, 2022)- The Advanced Imaging Society (AIS) and EARTHDAY.ORG (EDO) announced today that Academy Award-winning director, writer, producer James Cameron and Academy Award-winning producer Jon Landau will be presented with the Voices For The Earth Award at the 2023 AIS Lumiere Awards for their transcendent and immersive Avatar: The Way of Water. The 13th annual awards ceremony will take place at a luncheon on Friday, February 10, 2023 at The Beverly Hills Hotel.

“James Cameron and Jon Landau’s first Avatar revolutionized filmmaking technology 13 years ago winning several of our top awards including Best Picture,” said AIS President Jim Chabin. “With Avatar: The Way of Water, these masters of film have again left us awestruck with magnificent characters and stories, but also reminders of just how fragile life and ecosystems are. We are thrilled to honor them and this epic film for being ‘Voices for the Earth’ to millions of movie fans across the world.”

The film re-acquaints viewers with the magical wonders of nature and, through its engaging story of intense environmental and cultural preservation, imparts to viewers the urgency of caring for and preserving the wonders of our natural world now – before it’s too late. The film’s incredible artistry in creating lush jungle landscapes and vibrant oceans teeming with colorful sea life also imparts a profound sense of awe and reverence for the beauty and treasures of our shared natural world. The film highlights – in its gripping character journeys – the vital need to organize against any threats to the vibrant, sentient, and astonishing interconnectedness of our shared planet.

The Voices For The Earth Award celebrates innovation and inspiration in environmental storytelling and acknowledges creatives who have found a unique approach to strengthen the audience’s appreciation for nature and illustrate the importance of taking care of our shared planet.  Academy Award®-nominated Writer/Director Adam McKay received in 2022 the inaugural Voices for the Earth Award for his film Don’t Look Up.

Presenting the award to Cameron and Landau will be Kathleen Rogers, President of EARTHDAY.ORG. Rogers says, “James Cameron’s first Avatar is a testament to extraordinary filmmaking, human ingenuity, and technology. It is also a tribute to nature and ecology. Avatar wasn’t just about our relationship with trees, it was about our utter dependence on them. In 2010 EARTHDAY.ORG joined forces with James Cameron to plant over 1 million trees in vulnerable areas around the world in commemoration of the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day and the release of Avatar. Now more than a decade later, the world is experiencing Avatar: The Way of Water, another extraordinary film focused on our deep and spiritual connections with nature. This extraordinary experience will inspire millions of people to support the protection of water, the very basis of life to all species.  We are proud to present this award to a dedicated filmmaking genius who also shares a deep love for our planet and its species.”  

The Lumiere Awards have been presented over the last decade to the industry’s most respected creative and technical leaders. In addition to awards for motion pictures, episodic and new media content, the society will bestow awards for best musical motion picture, best musical scene or performance, and best immersive audio. 

ABOUT JAMES CAMERON

JAMES CAMERON is an acclaimed filmmaker and explorer. As director, writer and producer, he is responsible for some of the most memorable films of the past three decades: The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, True Lies, Titanic and Avatar.  Avatar is the highest-grossing film in history with more than $2.8 billion in global box office, beating the previous record holder, Cameron’s own film Titanic, which held that record for 12 years. Cameron’s films have also earned numerous nominations and awards, most notably Titanic’s 14 Academy Award® nominations (a record) and 11 Oscars® (also a record), including Cameron’s own three Oscars® for best picture, best direction and best editing. Both Titanic and Avatar won the Golden Globes® for best director and best picture. Avatar was nominated for nine Academy Awards® and won three.

Over the last 17 years, Cameron developed cutting-edge 3D camera systems for movies and documentaries, as well as for broadcast sports and special events. He was at the vanguard of the 3D renaissance that has transformed the movie industry in recent years. He also developed unprecedented deep ocean exploration vehicles, lighting and 3D camera equipment. Most recently Cameron led his eighth deep ocean expedition to some of the deepest trenches in the world. On March 26, 2012, he set the world’s solo deep-diving record of 35,787 feet in the Challenger Deep in a vehicle of his own design.

Cameron is a National Geographic Explorer in Residence, and recipient of its most prestigious award, the Hubbard Medal, as well as the Explorers Club medal for Explorer of the Year. Cameron is also passionately involved in sustainability issues, having founded the Avatar Alliance Foundation to take action on climate change, energy policy, deforestation, indigenous rights, ocean conservation and sustainable agriculture.

His production company, Lightstorm Entertainment, installed a one-megawatt solar array on the roofs of its soundstages at Manhattan Beach Studios to generate all the power for the Avatar sequels. James and Suzy Amis Cameron, both environmental vegans, founded the Plant Power Task Force to promote awareness of the impact of animal agriculture on the environment and climate.

ABOUT JON LANDAU

JON LANDAUis an Academy Award®- and two-􏰀me Golden Globe®-winning producer who holds the distinction of having produced two films that became the highest-grossing movies of all time—Avatar and, prior to that, Titanic. The combination of Landau’s thorough understanding of the most complex state-of-the- art technologies, ability to work hand-in-hand with the highest caliber of creative talent, and motivational ability has enabled him to play a significant role in numerous major motion pictures.

Landau has been James Cameron’s partner at their Lightstorm Entertainment production company for more than two decades. Prior to that role, he served as executive vice president of 20th Century Fox Studios. His other producing credits include Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Dick Tracy and Solaris.

Throughout his career, Landau has also been very instrumental in the licensing and marketing of his films across all platforms globally. He has taken a hands-on approach to bringing innovation, diversity and showmanship to these areas of the process. Never one to rest on his laurels, Landau is proactively working with companies and individuals throughout the entertainment industry to push technologies to new levels that will allow new stories to be told and then presented in more engaging and immersive ways. In 2019 Landau produced Alita: Battle Angel with James Cameron.

ABOUT THE ADVANCED IMAGING SOCIETY

The Advanced Imaging Society was formed more than a decade ago by senior Hollywood executives to identify game-changing filmmaking technologies and foster their deployment to accelerate the success of next-generation consumer experiences. Founders included Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Sony, Paramount, IMAX, Warner Bros. DreamWorks, Dolby, Technicolor and Deluxe. The organization is charged with annually honoring creative and technical professionals for groundbreaking filmmaking and entertainment technology. Through the years, AIS honorees have included Martin Scorsese, Ang Lee, Jennifer Lee, James Mangold, Jon Favreau, James Cameron, Christopher McQuarrie, Victoria Alonso and others. The organization now includes Silicon Valley and tech leaders including Google, NVIDIA, HP, Dell, Epic Games and others. In addition to its annual awards, the Society produces The Insiders Show Podcast, The Remote Control video series and has active chapters in China, India and Japan.

ABOUT EARTHDAY.ORG

EARTHDAY.ORG’s mission is to diversify, educate, and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Growing out of the first Earth Day (1970), EARTHDAY.ORG is the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 150,000 partners in nearly 192 countries to build environmental democracy. More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day actions each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world. Learn more at earthday.org.

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