James Cameron is beginning to open up a little about what we can expect from the much-anticipated Avatar this December. For example, he's been talking about the movie it owes a massive debt to: The Wizard of Oz?

Talking to the LA Times, Cameron admitted that Oz's influence may not be entirely intentional:

Yeah. It's my favorite movie; I had to get it in there somewhere. The production designer was Rick Carter, who actually played that out. He thought how it was, in some ways, like Dorothy's journey. I didn't quite get as much of that [when I first wrote it]. You do things sometimes as a writer subconsciously, things you're not even aware of. I'm always comfortable doing things instinctively because I see it as taping into this vein of archetype that works for a broader audience base. I don't question what I'm doing if it feels right. There might be some other references there I might not be aware of.

Avatar will be released December 18th.

James Cameron on 'Avatar': Like 'Matrix,' 'This movie is a doorway' [LA Times/Hero Complex]

Send an email to Graeme McMillan, the author of this post, at graeme@io9.com.