The somersaults, the jumps, the riding ability and the perfectly choreographed martial arts moves displayed by Dominican-American actress Zoé Saldaña in the movie “Avatar” are not fortuitous, nor are they the mere result of the use of state-of-the-art effects used in this successful motion picture.

In order to give life to Princess Neytiri, of the Omaticaya clan of the humanoid alien-aboriginals of the Na’vi race, Saldaña had to undergo a rigorous training program that included martial arts, archery and horse riding. All this, along with her previous dancing training, gave birth to one of the most exquisite characters in the big screen in recent memory.

Judging by the accolades she has been receiving, Saldaña’s effort was worth it.

“I feel privileged to receive so many positive comments about my participation in the film,” Saldaña said, “and even though in the beginning of the preparation we had our difficulties, the result has been indescribable.”

Sports training is not something new for this New York-born actress, who comes from a Dominican family. And this is because she played volleyball in her childhood along with her sisters Mariel and Cisely, and she practiced archery in her spare time.

“The love of archery is one of the passions that Avatar inspired in me,” Saldaña said. “I am very active. I enjoy being constantly moving around. If I had more time, I would love to play volleyball again.”

Extra points with Saldaña:

• A dream to fulfill: “I would love to be the spokesperson for a campaign for autistic children, women who are victims of domestic violence, or for the soldiers who have fought in Iraq.”

• A weakness: “I am allergic to product with too much perfume.”

• On her new-found celebrity: “I ignore the negative comments that don’t help me to grow, and I always focus on giving the best of me.”

• Immediate plans: “To continue working and spending more time with my family.”

From ESPN

Warner Bros. Pictures has announced new release date for “The Losers”. As reported by Box Office Mojo, the action drama film which was originally scheduled for April 9 release is bumped back for almost two months as it is now set to hit U.S. theaters on June 4. This flick now will arrive in theaters just one week earlier than similar former-soldiers-themed movie, “The A-Team”, which will be dropped by The 20th Century Fox on June 11.

It is possible that “The Losers” is moved to give more space to another Warner Bros.’ film, “Clash of the Titans”, which has been recently pushed back to April 2. This Sam Worthington’s epic movie was initially slated for March 26 U.S. release but the studio needs more time in pre-production since they have just decided to convert the film into 3-D.

Based on comic book series of the same name, “The Losers” revolves around a band of CIA black ops team. After being betrayed and left for dead, they join forces in an attempt to take down Max, the man responsible for their collective misfortunes. It has Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans, Columbus Short and Oscar Jaenada starring as the members of the team, while Sylvain White serves behind the lens.

From Ace Showbiz

Vanity Fair drew some flack last week for its lack of diversity on the cover of their annual Hollywood issue with many wondering why actresses like Zoe Saldana or Gabourey Sidibe failed to make the cut. Access Hollywood caught up with the “Avatar” star on Tuesday night and the actress weighed in on the uproar.

“I feel like we can spend a lot of time bashing our beautiful country, but we don’t give it enough credit,” Zoe told Access at the Cinema Society and HBO screening of HBO’s “How To Make It In America” in New York City.

The actress explained that though the magazine might not be the best representation of Hollywood, she’s hopeful the media will catch up with the reality of what constitutes the fabric of the country.

“Our pace might be a little slow and it might not be on par to how we, as American civilians, would like it to be, but it is still an amazing country,” Zoe continued. “So, when I look at magazines like Vanity Fair and Vogue, I know that it’s just a matter of time, the same way Obama took his time and he got to office and became President… it’s just a matter of time until magazines, the media, our art, our culture, our colloquial lifestyle, tags along to our today reality.”

Zoe said despite our cultural shortcomings, she’s proud to call America home.

“I’m a first generation American,” she explained. “I was taught by my mother, who was an immigrant, to be very grateful to this country. It is no different than when you have a dysfunctional family – it can be very dysfunctional –but it is still your family… and America is still ours. I think we can waste a lot time throwing it down the drain and not knowing the amazing things about this country.”

From Access Hollywood

Avatar actress Zoe Saldana says she is glad there will be a sequel to the movie as she knows she still has a job.

The 31-year-old plays the role of Na’vi princess Neytiri in James Cameron’s new movie and the director has confirmed that there will be a sequel.

Saldana also starred as Uhura in the Star Trek re-make earlier this year and that has also had a sequel confirmed.

She told E! Online: ‘I mean, I’m just grateful that between Star Trek II and Avatar II, I’m employed.

‘Jim [Cameron] has proven once again that even though he takes a decade between his projects, he promises to deliver you the most amazing adventure ever.’

From Monsters and Critics

Well, James Cameron thinks so at least. Sure most of us would agree that if honors were being handed out for Avatar’s acting, then obviously Michelle Rodriguez’s five-line cameo deserves to be the front-runner. But Cameron’s likely pleading his case with thesp Zoe Saldana in mind, arguing that despite being made up, Photoshopped, and CGI’ed, Saldana’s ability to remind all of us that inside our organs, there lies something squishier–feelings!–should’ve earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination.

Cameron tells the New York Daily News, “People confuse what we have done with animation. It’s nothing like animation. The creator here is the actor, not the unseen hand of an animator.” (Slate wondered, pointedly, yesterday, ”How is Avatar not an animated film?”) It sort of sounds like Cameron’s saying the audience couldn’t separate actual actors from animated characters, rather than thinking maybe the acting wasn’t exactly Avatar’s strength.

At the same time, Cameron’s staying realistic about Avatar taking home any of the nine prizes it’s nominated for. “If we get nominated, I believe it’s very unlikely that we will win because I made such a jackass of myself last time. Although there might be some curiosity about what I might do,” he says. Last time, you’ll recall, there was talk about being the king of the world and the world was like, “Wrap it up, Jimmy, these quaaludes are starting to kick in.”

But here’s another possibility: Maybe Avatar is getting some version of the Lord of the Rings treatment–that is, upon getting wind that this could become the first big franchise of this decade, the Academy has decided to hold off on acting prizes. But that’s still inconsistent with the film’s possibly undeserved Best Picture nomination. LOTR didn’t enjoy that until after the series had wrapped with The Return of the King. Awards or not, Avatar–Cameron’s labor of love for nearly 15 years–is getting one thing that many Oscar nominees, post-telecast, will fail to enjoy: Major box office $ucce$$.

From BlackBook