Kate Winslet and Marc Maron recall what it was like on Avatar set: ‘What the f*** is happening here?’

Comedian Marc Maron has described his visit to the set of Avatar as “the weirdest thing”.

During an interview on his WTF podcast with Kate Winslet – who is set to star in the forthcoming sequels to James Cameron’s 2009 epic – Maron told the actor that he had once visited the movie’s studio in Manhattan Beach.

“[Cameron] had me come down there to audition for something, to look at me for something,” said Maron. The 57-year-old, however, did not say anything further about the nature of his audition.

He explained: “I had to go down there to that city he built, the Avatar city and it was the weirdest thing.

“I walk in and he was like, ‘We’ve got actors in here working all the time, flying around and stuff. So if you want to come into a set and we’ll just do it.’ I was like, ‘What the f*** is happening here?’”

Winslet, who filmed her scenes for multiple Avatar sequels back in 2018, said that she could relate to Maron’s experience.

Cameron is shooting four sequels to his blockbuster and shot the first two in tandem, meaning that Winslet often did not know which of the movies she was filming scenes for.

She said: “I lost track of how many he is making at once. I did two at once, in tandem with [Cameron]”, adding that it was “an extraordinary experience”.

“You go into this huge aircraft hanger and anything is possible. You want to fly today? You want to do some spear fighting underwater? Sure, we’ll do it,” recalled the actor.

“It was wonderful for me to be a part of such a well-oiled machine, with such great artists and technicians.”

Remembering her first day on set in the Avatar studio, Winslet revealed that Cameron had warned her that everyone had “drunk the Kool-Aid”, so not to be shocked by cast and crew who were speaking the fictional Na’vi language to one another.

It was a “proper immersive experience”, said the Titanic star.

Following multiple delays, Avatar 2 is scheduled to open in theatres on 16 December 2022.

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