This overlooked sci-fi performance left Zoe Saldaña disappointed

It would be hard to find an actress today who would be considered more successful than Zoe Saldaña. After starring in Star Trek, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise and, perhaps most importantly, James Cameron’s Avatar films, she has established herself as both a strong performer and someone who is consistently associated with financial success of the highest order. . In short? She is an actress who delivers goodness both on screen and at the box office. But Saldaña remains disappointed with her work in the science fiction genre, and especially with Avatar.

In a recent profile for The IndependentSaldaña discussed her work in widely known as “Emilia Perez”, which appeared on Netflix in November. Saldaña has been in the awards conversation for her work in the film, and while that’s certainly nice, the actress also reflected on being overlooked for her role in 2009’s Avatar and its 2022 follow-up. Avatar: The Way of Water.” In her opinion, the industry is clinging to old ideas, not recognizing motion capture compared to more traditional on-camera shows what she said about it:

“Old habits die hard, and when you have old institutions, it’s very difficult to push through change. And I understand that, so I don’t feel bad about it, but it’s very exhausting when you give 120 percent to something.. I mean, not winning is okay, not being nominated is okay, but if you don’t noticed and then minimized and completely ignored…”

Avatar became the highest-grossing film of all time (twice)with more than $2.9 billion to date. Only Avengers: Endgame ($2.79 billion) came close. It was also nominated for quite a few Academy Awards in its time, including Best Picture, but mostly in technical categories. The actors were closed.

Motion capture has been debated in the industry for decades. Andy Serkis completely changed the game with his performance as Gollum in Lord of the Rings. Serkis later took things to the next level with his role as Caesar in the Planet of the Apes films, and both performances did not receive Oscar nominations, but both films won awards for visual effects.

Do you need very talented technicians to fully bring these performances to life? yes. But there’s a huge difference between a lifeless CGI creation and what Saldaña and others have done in Avatar or other blockbusters that rely on motion-capture execution. “I know the difference between that and what we did,” Saldaña added in the interview.

For my money, Saldaña and the other actors didn’t do justice to those kinds of performances. I would argue that she hasn’t gotten the credit she deserves either her role as Gamora in the Guardians of the Galaxy films.. Fortunately, the industry is changing in some ways. Angela Bassett won Best Supporting Actress for her work in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever , so at least the comic book movies aren’t being overlooked when warranted. Saldaña, going on to say, seems to have come to terms with the lack of critical appreciation for her performance as Neytira:

“At some point you have to ask yourself: Why am I doing what I’m doing? Is it because others can give me approval? Or is it because I don’t want to do anything else?”

Who knows? Maybe by the time Avatar: Fire and Ash hits theaters next yearthe relationship will change a little. For now, Saldaña just has to settle for being in the top three grossing movies of all time and quite a few in the top 20.