James Cameron hints at Avatar sequel

Canadian director James Cameron said Wednesday he could be "persuaded" to film a sequel to his record-breaking science-fiction epic "Avatar."

The futuristic 3-D blockbuster reached yet another milestone on Tuesday, when it smashed the North American box office record previously held by Cameron's "Titanic" (1997).

"We might be persuaded. We'll have to see how much money the movie makes first," Cameron told CNN when asked about a possible sequel.

Money should be of no concern, with "Avatar" having already racked up over 2.05 billion dollars worldwide, including over 601.1 million in the United States and Canada, overtaking the 600.8 million "Titanic" earned.

It has also secured nine Oscar nominations, including in the leading categories of best film and best director, as well as several technical achievement categories.

In his first interview since his film earned its massive success, Cameron said he was "absolutely" surprised by the records it has broken.

"And that's not some sort of false humility. We thought it was gonna be a commercial movie, but we didn't think it was gonna do half of what it's done financially," he said.

"I see a very similar pattern, in a sense, between Titanic and Avatar. Not that they are similar films because they are not - totally different subjects - but in both cases, you have people coming back over and over to see the film."

Cameron pointed to an "emotional connection" of the public across cultural boundaries with these films.

Despite not saying a word about the Oscar nominations, he acknowledged that making "Avatar" - believed to be the most expensive motion picture ever - was no easy undertaking.

"I had to keep from putting a pistol in my mouth about 20 times during the making of this film," he said ironically.

"That's the nature of an experimental project. It is like the Lewis and Clark expedition (to the US Pacific coast). They can have a general idea where they are going but there is no way you could predict all twists and turns along the way."