Director Cameron preparing for 'Avatar'

LOS ANGELES, July 10 (UPI) -- Nearly nine years after the release of his last U.S. feature film, director James Cameron is set to return to the big screen with his project, "Avatar."

The Hollywood Reporter said Cameron, whose last foray into motion pictures was 1997's "Titanic," is planning to begin filming this February in Los Angeles once casting is completed.

Cameron said that while he has not discounted the casting of celebrities in the science-fiction film, he likely will cast new talent in "Avatar."

"It's more of a thrill to find people who are just about ready to break and recognizing what they have and then moving them to the next level," Cameron said. "That's more exciting, I think, than just hitching my wagon to Tom Cruise or John Travolta or whatever. They're great guys, I know them, but it's not as interesting to me."

Based around a paraplegic war veteran on another planet inhabited by hostile aliens, "Avatar" will rely heavily on computer-generated images filmed through 3-D HD camera rigs that the director helped create, the Reporter said.