Credit: 20th Century Studios
James Cameron shared a letter to theaters about the proper way to present Avatar: Fire and Ash. Although the letter is good-intentioned, it is quickly becoming a meme thanks to a popular SNL sketch.
Why is James Cameron’s letter to theaters becoming a meme?
With Avatar: Fire and Ash debuting nationwide later this week, Cameron sent instructions to theaters on the best way to screen his movie.
“There’s a Projection Specification file and framing chart included with the DCP [Digital Cinema Package], with crucial information regarding light levels, audio configuration, proper framing, etc,” Cameron’s letter reads. “Please go through it, and make sure your picture and sound systems are calibrated and ready to go. I personally mixed the film responsibly, so that it plays perfectly, with full dynamics between quiet dialogue scenes and big action scenes at the reference standard of 7.0 – please don’t set it lower!”
James Cameron instructions. pic.twitter.com/KbZrbo1cCI— Avatar 3: Fire and Ash (@avatar3news) December 15, 2025
Many fans were quick to point out that the letter is written in the font known as Papyrus. In 2017, Ryan Gosling famously starred in a Saturday Night Live sketch about a man obsessed with Papyrus, the font used for the Avatar logo.
“Still using Papyrus,” X user AC wrote with a laughing emoji.
Still using Papyrus ?— AC ? (@agraphicodyssey) December 15, 2025
Kamendi included a gif from Gosling’s sketch with the caption, “Why did he write in Papyrus?”
WHY DID HE WRITE IN PAPYRUS??? https://t.co/FAGlx8TXpo pic.twitter.com/68020pgcrI— Kamendi (@hamyuuuk) December 15, 2025
Other hilarious reactions include a reference to the James Cameron South Park episode from Jameson, while Ray Barca shared a longer gif from the Gosling sketch.
I love him so fucking much pic.twitter.com/BS2n8ATzw3— Jameson ???????? (@Jameson15699) December 15, 2025
Papyrus? pic.twitter.com/PiXoPkVs0p— This is the way (@RayBarca) December 15, 2025
After a three-year wait, fans will return to Pandora this week in Avatar: Fire and Ash. In Cameron’s third Avatar movie, Jake Sully, Neytiri, and their family face a new battle in the form of the aggressive Mangkwan clan, also known as the Ash People.
Cameron directs Avatar 3 from a screenplay he co-wrote with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver.
Avatar: Fire and Ash opens in theaters on December 19, 2025.
