Miley Cyrus has detailed how she came to write “Dream as One,” her Golden Globe-nominated ballad that appears during the end credits of her Disney “legend-in-law” James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash, which opened this weekend. She also hinted at how she plans to mark the upcoming 20th anniversary of her own Disney show’s Hannah Montana.

In a new interview with Variety conducted following the world premiere of Avatar: Fire and Ash in Los Angeles, Cyrus shared the story of how her song “Dream as One” ended up in Cameron’s film. She said that while she was backstage last summer at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, the director was ahead of her in line, along with Jamie Lee Curtis and Harrison Ford.

First, Curtis tapped Cyrus for the end credits to The Last Showgirl, which led to the Golden Globe-nominated “Beautiful That Way.” Then, Cyrus — a fan of the Avatar franchise — took a chance for a bucket-list opportunity and asked Cameron about how things were going on Fire and Ice. Turned out, Cameron had already discussed Cyrus with Avatar composer Simon Franglen and the idea of them working together.

Cameron came up with the song’s name, reflecting the film’s finale. Cyrus and collaborators Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt took it from there. “Coming in at the end was actually really helpful, because, when you’ve worked on something for like 20 years, you get so close to it that it’s hard to see it from that outside perspective,” Cyrus said. “I’m just writing it like someone who loves Avatar.”

As for what her plans are for marking the 20th anniversary of Hannah Montana in spring 2026, she told the outlet she hopes to bring an element from Avatar into her approach to the occasion as she considers how she might commemorate it.

“Something that they always say in Avatar is ‘I see you’ — and that’s something really important that I want the fans to feel during the ‘Hannah-versary,’” Cyrus said. “Someone called it the ‘Hannah’ anniversary the other day, and I was like ‘No, no, no, it’s the ‘Hannah-versary,’” she said, adding, “I want the fans to really feel seen. They know that I appreciate them, but I also see like their growth. Because I have these moments all the time where people celebrate my evolution, but I see theirs as much as they see mine.”

When asked whether a celebration might involve in-person events or a concert tour, she teased, “TBD. That’s still in the works.” She added, “Everything takes time. I want to make something that’s meaningful, thoughtful, and really satisfying for the fans.”

Ten Mountain West men’s basketball teams opened conference play on Saturday, and two contenders had statement wins on their home courts. 

To kick off the day, Utah State (10-1, 1-0) hit the century mark in a 100-58 beatdown of Colorado State (9-3, 0-1). The Aggies’ 42-point win was the largest margin of victory in the 87-year history of the matchup. 

Six different Aggies scored in double figures, led by Mason Falslev’s 18 points, four rebounds and two assists. 

“When you blow teams out, your numbers look great,” Utah State head coach Jerrod Calhoun said after the game. “So our guys know, like, we need to beat everybody we can. If we have a lead, we can’t call anything off. You know, that’s the way the analytics world works.”

Colorado State star sophomore forward Kyle Jorgensen suffered an apparent knee injury in the opening minutes of Saturday’s game. He watched the second half from the bench on crutches. 

“First of all, I hope (Jorgensen) is OK,” Calhoun said. “He is, in my opinion, one of the most improved guys in the country. So things changed drastically game plan-wise when he was out.”

Later in the day, Nevada (9-3, 1-0) controlled the action from the opening tip in an 81-66 home victory over Boise State (8-4, 0-1). 

“We worked hard. We knew the magnitude of this game,” Nevada sophomore forward Elijah Price said. “It feels good to start off conference on the right foot. Coach was telling us all week that it was going to be physical, so we practiced for it. We prepared for it and we wanted to hit them first. I think that’s what we did, and that’s why we won.”

Boise State head coach Leon Rice echoed Price’s sentiments. 

“(Steve) Alford knows us and he knows that we’re a physical team,” Rice said. “He got his team ready to go as far as the physicality of the game. They were really physical, and they were the aggressor. Their technique was a little better. When you’re the more physical team, usually you’ve got to come out and hit first. And they did that, they came out and hit us first.”

In its first conference game as a member of the MWC, Grand Canyon (7-4, 1-0) jumped out to a big first-half lead and cruised to an 82-70 road win over Wyoming (9-3, 0-1).

New Mexico (10-2, 1-0) picked up a dominant 88-65 home win over San Jose State (5-7, 0-1) while UNLV (5-6, 1-0) stormed back in the second half to down Fresno State (6-6, 0-1), 84-72. 

San Diego State (6-4, 1-0) played a strong first half at Arizona before eventually falling in the non-conference game, 68-45. 

Thirteen miles down an unmarked dirt road quietly sits the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, along the Chama River in Northern New Mexico. The monastery is home to 15 monks, some livestock, and a guesthouse for people looking for a little quiet in this turbulent world.

“The silence here is deafening,” said Brother John Chrysostom. “No sirens. There’s no electrical buzz or anything. You have no cell phone connection here. The silence allows you the opportunity to hear that which you are to hear.”

That is, the sound of bells, and the sound of voices chanting seven times a day.

“When you chant, that is prayer,” Chrysostom said. “And what any monk probably aspires to do is that he doesn’t want to just chant the Psalm, but one day he wants to be the Psalm. He wants it to be a part of who he is as a human being.”

This part of the world has always drawn people seeking. It drew artist Georgia O’Keeffe to settle just down the road, and in 1964 it drew Father Aelred Wall, a monk, to found a Benedictine monastery here. Famed architect and furnituremaker George Nakashima designed its church.

When we visited, Chrysostom was our “guestmaster,” welcoming us among this order of Benedictine monks. “As guestmaster, I keep this rule: basically we were to treat guests as if they are Christ,” he said.

The brother happens to hold an undergraduate degree from MIT, an MBA, three more Master’s degrees, and a Ph.D. in political science. He was a professor, and also: “I was an investment banker for a while,” he said. “That’s not a very peaceful existence even in the best of times!”

But it was on a pilgrimage, the famous Camino de Santiago, that Chrysostom heard a voice calling him here. Anyone can visit, for a suggested donation and a willingness to participate in the silence.

Here the monks follow the Rule of St. Benedict – Ora et Labora, Latin for prayer and, well, work, which of course you’ll find on YouTube, posted by Brother David. Online, he calls himself The Desert Monk.

And his work around the monastery is never done. “The gist of the message is, in everything that you do, the work is for God,” he said.

When Charles Osgood reported on the monastery in the 1990s, the monks had just begun working with a new invention called the Internet – a union of “inner space with cyberspace.”

Watch the 1996 “Sunday Morning” report: A New Mexico monastery meets the internet (Video)

Today, guests Mary and Joseph Roy, from Washington State, have found something here a five-star hotel cannot offer. “Sun on the red rocks and the River Chama flowing by,” Mary said. “It’s a good way to listen to God, to listen to nature.”

Asked what he takes away from his visit there, Joseph said, “For me, being more aware, listening to that of God in each person, as we talk, as I experience their story and their life.”

The monks ask guests to help with the running of the monastery, if they can, and Brother Chrysostom says their guests’ presence is fundamental to the monks’ calling: “We need the world as much as the world needs us,” he said. “Don’t think we’re escaping or moving away from the world because we don’t need the world. We need the world.”

I asked, “Do you need the world because it helps you feel like you’re fulfilling what God wants you to do?”

“I guess it hearkens back to the desert fathers, the early monks who lived in the Egyptian desert,” Chrysostom said. “You had monks living these holy lives praying, and lives of asceticism, and forgoing eating. It was remarked once like, ‘Okay, you’re doing all this. But whose feet will you wash out here in the desert?’ So, you’re doing these things for someone as well, and with someone.”

But the monks ask no questions of those who wish to become their guests. “No, you just show up as you are,” Chrysostom said. “And you’re not required to do anything while you’re here. You’re just required to be. You can pray with us if you want, you can eat with us if you want. Or you can hike. We ask that maybe, if you’ve chosen to come here, that you spend some time with us getting to know the community and the place. But our schedule’s not your schedule!”

Maybe the quiet of places like Christ in the Dessert isn’t an end in and of itself. But by making space for a little silence, you hear your calling … a little louder.

As Chrysostom pointed out, “One thing you’ll notice that we are in a canyon. So, we’re at 6,600 feet above sea level right now. And so, these hills and the cliffs stretch another 1,000 up and everything. These are all false horizons. Basically, when you get up to the top of these hills, or what you think is the top, you’re just beginning to go up. It continues on. So, this is a false horizon. This is not the top; it’s just the beginning of something which is even higher.”

Perhaps a lesson for all of us on our own spiritual journeys.

     
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Story produced by Anthony Laudato. Editor: Chad Cardin.