The co-stars of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender, Nicola Peltz and Jackson Rathbone, were in town to promote the film at the Mall of America yesterday, where they signed autographs, had a Q&A with fans, and even rode some of the roller coasters in Nickelodeon Universe; remember, the film is based on the Nickelodeon animated show Avatar: The Last Airbender. I had the pleasure of sitting down with six other Twin Cities journalists for a round table interview with Nicola and Jackson, where we discussed martial arts training, filming in Greenland, the importance of family, and working with M. Night. Click play and listen to what they had to say below, with more after the break.

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I arrived at MOA around 1:30 pm and most of the commotion from their autograph signing and roller-coaster adventure had died down, but they still had to face the hot seat of the media. Us journalists were then escorted down into the tightly-secured offices located in the chasms of MOA. The room we were in was quite small, but that allowed for our interaction with the two actors to be much more intimate, as we were able to make point-blank eye contact with them while we were asking and while they were answering questions. Here’s a couple larger, higher-res pictures of me, Nicola and Jackson.

Peltz is an absolute cutie pie, and will surely grow into a beautiful young women over the next few years (she’s only 15). Jackson seemed very down-to-Earth and laid back, a kind of Hollywood actor who doesn’t yet seemed phased by success or stardom. The round table discussion lasted just over 20 minutes, but that was plenty of time to get some juicy tidbits on their new film. The Last Airbender opens everywhere July 1st, both in 2D and 3D.

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