Paramount To Release James Cameron And Andrew Adamson's Cirque Du Soleil Movie

James Cameron likes to work with the biggest possible canvas in whatever narrative mode he's in, as evidenced by the expanding scope of his Terminator films, then movies like Titanic and Avatar. As far as physical performance goes, you don't get much bigger than Cirque Du Soleil (as far as name recognition goes, at least) and so Cameron working with the company seems pretty natural.

You might remember that James Cameron was working as producer and 3D consultant on a filmed Cirque Du Soleil feature that Andrew Adamson (Shrek, The Chronicles of Narnia) was writing and directing. We first heard about this way back in December of 2010, and news has been quiet on the project since then.

Now there is some new info, primarily that Paramount has picked up worldwide rights to the film. The studio press release is below.

The info that isn't in the press release is that some Cirque Du Soleil performances in Vegas were filmed to be part of "a magical world where the film's lead character has been transported," and that as of December 2010 Adamson was shooting other live-action narrative material in New Zealand. So this won't just be a big stage performance — there is an actual story here, in some fashion.

HOLLYWOOD, CA (January 10, 2012) – Paramount Pictures and Cirque du Soleil jointly announced today that the studio has acquired worldwide distribution rights to the Cirque du Soleil 3D feature film entitled "Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away". Written and directed by Andrew Adamson ("Shrek," "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"), and executive produced by Academy Award ® winning filmmaker James Cameron, the 3D film event features artistic and acrobatic performances from some of the most elaborate Cirque du Soleil productions. The film was produced by Adamson, Aron Warner, Cirque's Martin Bolduc and Ed Jones and Cary Granat. Vince Pace oversaw the 3D stereo production aspect of the film.A number of production companies collaborated to bring the film to life. In addition to Cirque, Warner and Adamson's Strange Weather Productions, Reel FX and Cameron Pace Group all contributed to this groundbreaking production."The coupling of filmmaker James Cameron's groundbreaking 3D visual accomplishments and Andrew Adamson's beautiful direction, combined with a timeless original story written especially for this movie, will make for a truly

amazing moviegoeing experience for audiences of all ages " said Rob Moore, Vice Chairman of Paramount Pictures.

Said Jacques Méthé, Executive Producer, General Manager, Images, Events, Lifestyle of Cirque du Soleil, "This 3D event brings the spectator beyond what they could see at a show, it takes them on the stage. This unique point of view allows the audience to discover the artistic details of our productions and reveal the human spirit that our artists bring to the audience in their performances. Jim and Andrew have masterfully captured what a Cirque du Soleil 3D experience could offer and Paramount will present it to the world.