Want a Hollywood deal with James Cameron? Make a donation to his Avatar Foundation

Hollywood insiders have been buzzing since reading the news Wednesday morning that James Cameron only committed to making his "Avatar" sequels after News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox subsidiary agreed to make what the Deadline website called a "huge donation" to Cameron's environmental fund. To say that the news made studio bosses uneasy would be an understatement. Movie studios have made donations to star's pet causes in the past, but as a perk, not as a prerequisite for a gigantic movie deal.

If studios had to make donations to make deals, it would open up a very messy Pandora's box of obligations. Just imagine: If Amy Pascal still wants Angelina Jolie to make "Cleopatra" at Sony, would this mean she'd have to start a string of orphanages around the globe as part of the deal?

Fox is now telling me that the report isn't especially accurate. As it turns out, the studio hasn't earmarked or contributed any money at all yet. Nor has the fund, known as the Avatar Foundation, been formally established. Fox has simply agreed that down the line it will help establish a nonprofit organization (co-funded with Cameron) dedicated to environmental issues, which will allow the "Avatar" sequels to be viewed not just as Hollywood commerce but as good works toward the future of the planet.