James Cameron has given Sacha Baron Cohen the green light to mock his Oscar-nominated blockbuster Avatar at the upcoming Oscars — despite organizers quick move to scrap the sketch over fears it would offend the director.
The Borat star had been tipped to present a trophy at this Sunday’s star-studded Academy Awards, but once producers saw the ideas for his sketch — which reportedly included the comic dressing as a blue-skinned female Avatar creature who proclaims she is pregnant with Cameron’s child — the skit was axed.
Cameron, who is up for a Best Director prize, is adamant he will take any joke aimed at his film in good spirits.
He tells E! Online: “I don’t know anything about that… I don’t produce the Oscars. If they want to poke fun at Avatar (on) Sunday, that’s OK by me. The Oscars are a celebration of movies… even the gaffes and out of bounds stuff are all part of the fun.”