Zoe Saldana says ‘Avatar 3’ is going to be amazing and ‘Avatar 4’ gets crazy

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• Special Ops: Sherni is a spy thriller series based on the real-life Sherni program, following a covert CIA team of women in Syria.
• Zoe Saldana discusses the collaborative experience of working on the series and her hopes for Season 2.
• Saldana shared her favorite episodes of the season and talked about the challenges of morally disagreeing with her character.

In another poignant series from the creator taylor sheridanof Paramount+ Special Ops: Lioness is a spy thriller starring zoe saldana Jo McNamara as Marine, the leader of this secret CIA team of women. Based loosely on the real Lionesses program, Sheridan’s series takes viewers into the Syrian desert where these agents work to sway women’s loyalty to terrorist leaders as well as into the home lives of the Lionesses themselves. We see the turmoil and pressures of the job that fall on Joe, but we also see the humans behind the task force.

In this interview with Collider steve weintraubSaldana talks about what makes her tick Lioness So special, from the filming on location to the narrative magic that has earned Sheridan’s show a massive following. The series star discussed her hopes for Season 2, what it’s like to morally disagree with her character and still serve the story, and which episodes were her favorites. Read the full transcript below to learn more about Saldana’s upcoming film Emilia Perezwhat does he have to say about James Cameron‘S avatar 3How else avatar 4 And avatar 5 “goes crazy.”

Special Ops: Lioness even the stars nicole kidman, michael kelly, Lesla de Oliveiraeven more. Special Ops: Lioness Season 1 is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

Collider: You’ve done a lot of good things in your career. If someone has never seen anything you’ve done before, what’s the first thing you’d want them to see and why?

Zoey Saldaa: Oh my God, I would say two things because I’m really proud of these decisions that I’ve made. was like an opportunity of a lifetime, which is Avatar, which is like, they tell you that if you book a movie like that and you work for a director like that, you’ve not only made a good start, but you’ve made it. That was my first moment where I felt really seen, so it was amazing and special. and i would say Lioness, because it was an experience where you saw a very experienced writer-producer. And it’s not like, “Oh yes, you will.” It’s like, “No, I’ll write this for you and I really want it to work, and I want you to be proud of it. I want you to produce it with me.’” The experience was extremely collaborative because Taylor Sheridan allows you to collaborate. (laughs) But it was extremely collaborative, and it was an amazing experience.

Zoe Saldana wants to see ‘Special Ops: Lioness’ season 2

Do you think there will be another season? Lioness, did you hear anything?

SALDAO: Oh God, I don’t know. I hope so. I really do.

The problem with Taylor is that she’s involved in 72 different projects, so I have no idea what’s going to happen next.

SALDAO: But wasn’t Mr. Spelling also involved in several projects? And during that time it seemed as if he was in his golden age. Taylor has a lot of material, but not all of her material is sticky. People love their stuff. And I think we need good writers. We need good filmmakers, good producers who come with a good team and execute well. I feel like you see me Lawman: Bass Reeves And 1923and you keep watching yellowstone and you keep watching Lioness, you kind of say, “You know what? He’s throwing spaghetti and she’s sticking it on that wall.” (laughs)

Did you find a favorite episode of the season?

Saldao: I had some favorite episodes. I loved the fact that the McNamara family, which is Joe’s family, did everything they could to hold on to each other. I like the fact that there’s a real love story between Jo and her husband, and we’re not used to seeing that. We’re used to seeing people who live very bad lives in the service, and they don’t eat good food and they don’t live in a good environment, and they spend all their time in their work, and Taylor didn’t want that. . So I would say the episodes that were with our daughter, like there’s episode 7, there’s episode 4, I believe that’s the car accident, and I think there’s episode 7, which is the episode before she goes, Were too powerful for us.

What’s it like playing someone who is saying or doing things that you may completely disagree with? Is it fun or is it depressing?

SALDAO: It’s contradictory. If I get personally involved, e.g. As I’m putting together a character and I realize this character has a completely different set of core values ​​to mine, there’s a little bit of a struggle but it becomes fun., It becomes fun to navigate safely inside the mind of someone who is very different from yours, you know?

No, completely. Did Joe do anything that you completely disagreed with?

SALDAO: Oh my God, the killings are justified. I understand that those who serve know much more than us, like we ordinary citizens will ever know, and thanks to them we can safely take our kids to school and, well, we can go to the mall. Can and can be cured. There’s a lot of things we can do that are safe because these guys are out there doing real work, but I’m like Cruz, I don’t know if I would have the heart, the brains, the chutzpah, whatever you call it. I don’t know if I’ll have it or not.

Zoe Saldana shares the secrets of Taylor Sheridan’s success

How long did it actually take you to create the series? Was it really one of those long shots?

Saldaoa: It took six months because we started in September and then we did it in four different countries. Obviously, you have to take a break for Christmas and Thanksgiving, and I traveled the world Avatar To do at that time, and I was also promoting it from the beginning. I did a lot of that that fall, but then we finished in March. So yes, it was six months.

I think that’s why people respond to Taylor’s shows because they’re not sound studio shows. They are on location and sometimes they like movies more.

SALDAO: Yes. It’s good when you are the producer, your writer is the actor first. There is a level of compassion in that. He identifies what filmmakers need from actors to deliver really good performances. Keep in mind, I’m also a fan of green screens. My imagination is very big. Give me a chair and a close-up and I’ll be fine for a while, but nothing beats locations. And yes, it is hard. I am also a full-time mother. I am a traveling circus. My children are always with me. So when I come home after spending 14 hours on set, I do real work at home and there’s nothing better than that. I’ll still travel and be in places if it means that what we’re giving our fans and viewers is something that lasts even after an episode is over, that the experience becomes an experiential material that can be consumed. They are consuming. To me this is amazing.

Filming ‘Emilia Perez’ was the most enjoyable for Zoe Saldana

I’d like to ask you about a different project, but it’s not Avatar, I was reading the summary for this Emilia Perezand the summary was No What was I expecting? Is this what attracted you to this project and what can you say about it?

Saldaoa: I hope you understand that, the projects I choose and the ones I get cast for, I have a particular perspective on what I like and what I watch in my free time. . Jacques Audiard is a filmmaker I’ve looked up to since the beginning, and France has always been a country whose cinema, in my opinion, is excellent, from the funniest films about relationships to the big dramas. And The fact that Jacques came up with this concept from a short story and decided to make it into an opera, and to do it in a language that is not his own, knowing that his audience would be so small, It means that it was so important to him and he didn’t care what other people thought, And I think everything about it made me feel so privileged, so honored that he wanted me to play Rita Emilia Perez, I also got a chance to sing and speak in my mother tongue. I had the opportunity to work with amazing independent filmmakers. everything about Emilia PerezI wanted it so badly, and I worked so hard for it. i really wrapped up Lioness in Morocco, and a week later I was recording music in a studio in Paris Emilia, and the happiest I’ve ever been. So, I am really looking forward to watching the film and sharing it with everyone.

The craze for ‘Avatar 4’ and ‘5’ is increasing, says star Zoe Saldana

I’m about to dive into a two-parter. How many songs do you sing in the movie, and two, I talked to Sam Worthington and Jon Landau and James Cameron, and they’ve teased me about this avatar 3 How else avatar 4 goes crazy. What can you tease about the upcoming movies?

SALDAO: It’s going to be amazing. avatar 3It’s going to be amazing, and avatar 4 And 5, it just goes crazy. This is true. It actually happens. He blew our minds. This is his legacy project. we all thought it was titanicAnd that’s how it turned out Avatar That’s their legacy, and for us to be a part of something so unprecedented and groundbreaking, it feels like it’s a legacy for us too., So I’m excited to go back. We go back to work next week, so I’m really looking forward to meeting everyone.

Can you really answer how many songs you sing? Emilia Perez,

SALDAO: I probably sing about six or seven or eight songs.

Oh wow. This is a big thing.

SALDAO: And I’m also dancing, so I’m going back to my roots of dance. I worked with an amazing choreographer, Damien Jaillet, and I worked with amazing composers who put everything together, and it was Jacques Audiard and a great production company. everything about Emilia Perez It was just a crazy roller coaster I can’t wait to share,

I really can’t wait to see it. I feel like this might be a project we’ll see at the Toronto Film Festival or Cannes.

SALDAO: I would love that. I definitely feel like this is definitely a project for the festival circuit.

Special Ops: Lioness Season 1 is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

Watch on Paramount