‘Sanctum' author retells his own cave diving disaster

Diving buddies with blockbuster filmmaker James Cameron, Wight helped develop the 3-D cameras used in Cameron's "Avatar," then borrowed them for his new feature film, "Sanctum," for which Cameron was executive producer.

The movie, which opens this weekend, is based on Wight's own experience from 1988, when he was diving in the cave system below Nullarbor Plain, Australia. A freak storm sealed the entrance, trapping 15 people underground -- and underwater.

Wight, 51, visited Atlanta recently to show off a few advance clips of "Sanctum," towing a semi-trailer that folds out to become a portable 90-seat theater. After parking at Atlantic Station, Wight took time last week to talk about the real-life disaster that inspired the 3-D movie. With his sweater, jeans, glasses and round face, Wight seems more professorial than swashbuckling, but some of his adventures might have put David Livingston to shame.

About the extreme personality who enjoys scuba diving undergound in absolute darkness:

You don't have to be crazy, but it helps. ... It’s hard to explain to the sensible people in the street, but once you experience going somewhere new, where you get to put your name on it, it’s the kind of experience you need to repeat. ... But it’s a kind of Pandora’s box, because you keep getting drawn to go farther and farther.

About the cave collapse that trapped him under Nullarbor Plain:

We were stuck on a small ledge about the size of a dining room table, with the ceiling gradually sinking lower and boulders the size of SUVs rolling past us, and the metallic scraping of scuba tanks against the cave walls. After about four hours, we realized we were either going to be squashed between the ceiling and that ledge, or make a run for it. ... It was a near-death experience. I thought: This is going to end horribly. Then I wondered: What’s it going to feel like? Then eventually I thought: I ought to start doing something about it. We find that survivors are the ones who do something about it.

About why he kept cave diving, even after the experience:

I kept exploring caves but I came to terms with the fact that the natural world will throw a lot at you. Sharks, storms, crocodiles. They are all beautiful, in a way. The scariest thing on the planet is fellow humans. I think terrorists are much scarier than being chased by something with big teeth that wants to eat you.

On how his high-risk life conforms to his new role as prospective father:

We’re having our first child next month. I got my youthful exuberance out of the way. Hopefully I’ll stick around long enough to see my children grow up, so I can wag my finger at them and say, "Do not do what your father did."

On whether there's anything left to explore:

I’ll never live long enough to go everywhere I want to go.