Cameron to start work on 3D movie

Called Avatar, it uses a mix of live action and computer animation to tell the story of a group of humans battling the population of a distant planet.

Despite a cast of relative unknowns, the film is expected to cost $190m (£98m) to produce.

Titanic, released in 1997, is the most successful movie of all time.

Starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet, it made $1.8bn (£930m) at the global box office and won 11 Academy Awards - including best picture and best director.

But the film's protracted, effects-heavy shoot was troubled, and the budget spiralled to more than $200m (£104m) as the release date slipped.

'No water'

Cameron told trade paper the Hollywood Reporter he hoped to avoid such problems on his next film.

"We are shooting only 31 days of live action, all on-stage," he said.

"It's controllable. No weather conditions. No water on this one."

But Avatar will still be expensive because of the ground-breaking computer animation Cameron hopes to use.

"We're going to blow you to the back wall of the theatre in a way you haven't seen for a long time," the 52-year-old director said.

"My goal is to rekindle those amazing mystical moments my generation felt when we first saw 2001: A Space Odyssey, or the next generation's Star Wars."

Filming is due to begin in April in Los Angeles, with Australian actor Sam Worthington in the lead role as 22-year-old planetary adventurer Jack Sully.

Cameron says he expects there to be 1,000 to 2,000 3D cinemas capable of screening the film when it is released in 2009.

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