The Poster Memorabilia blog

Venturing into My Favorite Director's New World

December 2009, before the world knew — one poster signed by all of Pandora.

By an anonymous Hollywood insider

James Cameron really knocked it out of the park with Avatar. I always love it when a writer-director creates worlds instead of simply adapting them for the screen. It's such a flex of their creativity that I can't help but marvel at their greatness, and Avatar, with its vast world of Pandora and fascinating natives, the Na'vi, is the best of them.

I was all in from the very start, and by that, I mean I went to the movie's Los Angeles premiere back in December of 2009. I didn't care if it was cold outside. I wanted to be there to see all the action. But mostly, to get the director's autograph.

Thanks to my many connections, I scored an early copy of the movie poster, and I wanted to get both the director and the cast to sign it. I was especially gung-ho about getting Cameron's autograph, as I've been a big fan of his since Titanic. Had I been older when that movie came out, I would've been there, too.

Some of you may be surprised to know, but the movie's LA premiere was kinda low-key. It was still a very public event, but it wasn't as massive as the premieres its sequels got in recent years. No one had seen the movie yet, and while many were excited about the whole 3-D thing, most of us didn't know how great it would be beforehand.

That's why it was fairly easy to get their autographs. Well, not very easy, but definitely easier back then than now. There were fewer fans than today, so the cast had all the time in the world to interact with us who were there. This isn't to say the premiere was a ghost town, far from it! But as I said earlier, the first movie's premiere wasn’t as big an event as the sequels.

✦ ✦ ✦

One by one, I asked what I now consider an all-star cast for their autographs. Everyone from Zoë Saldaña and Sam Worthington to Joel David Moore and Laz Alonso signed my poster. It was great, and they were awesome to oblige a weird movie geek collecting autographs that night.

Even Sigourney Weaver, who was already an undeniable icon at that point, signed my poster. Ellen Ripley herself stood right in front of me, smiled brightly, and gave me her autograph. To this day, she remains the biggest celebrity I ever met. The only legend I was privileged enough to meet, let alone get an autograph from.

“Ellen Ripley herself stood right in front of me, smiled brightly, and gave me her autograph.”

And of course, there's James Cameron. I honestly didn't know what to say when I met him. I don't even remember what I said, if I said anything at all. But I did get his autograph. You can see it on the poster. And I do remember that he also smiled at me like Sigourney Weaver, so I must have done something right.

In any case, his autograph sealed the deal for me. This autographed Avatar poster is the best I ever got signed. I've gotten many autographs over the years, but I still come back to this one again and again, just like how I still watch the first Avatar movie every once in a while.

Some things you watch. This one you keep.

Guaranteed authentic for life • 90-day returns, any reason