AVATAR 2009 • Spoilers

[bearvomit]

/film has learned a great deal about the upcoming AVATAR 3d all over my face movie. Spoilers ahead:






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[align=left]The details about James Cameron’s Avatar have been closely guarded, to say the least. When I sat down in UbiSoft’s tiny Avatar theater on the E3 show floor, I was treated to far more information about the movie than I expected to get. As Peter mentioned recently, producer Jon Landau was on hand to discuss how the film went from a story written fourteen years ago by Cameron to the cutting edge movie being edited now. But Landau actually explained (more or less) the whole movie to us. That was a surprise, especially since Cameron had just made two public appearances (at the UbiSoft press conference and at a screening of Aliens and The Abyss) and revealed no specifics about Avatar. Want to know more?

The story begins on Earth. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a soldier who hasn’t found anything worth fighting for. Adding injury to insult, he’s lost the use of his legs. So when the opportunity comes to travel to the planet Pandora and work with a mining operation there, Jake accepts.

What’s on Pandora that is so important? A mineral, found nowhere else, that is a game-changer with respect to energy production. Befitting the mineral’s status as a MacGuffin, Landau jokingly called it ‘unobtanium’. Pandora is a lush but harsh planet. The air is poisonous to humans. Plants and creatures alike are predatory and very dangerous. And the natives, ten-foot tall blue humanoids called Na’vi, aren’t exactly pleased about the men and machinery that are scarring the surface and digging to find the unobtanium.

Because the planet is so harsh, traditional armor and envirosuit solutions have been insufficient to protect miners. A sort of clone program has developed in which DNA from humans and Na’vi are combined. The result is essentially a cloned Na’vi that can house the consciousness of an individual with human DNA that matches the original clone material. Jake Sully’s brother had been the original donor and controller for one such avatar. But he’s been killed, so the corporation has asked Jake to come to Pandora to pilot the (very expensive) body, as he’s got matching DNA. The upshot for Jake: he’ll be able to walk again.

So the story flashes forward a few years to the point where Jake has arrived on Pandora. He finds a place of indescribable beauty, where the forests are dense with wild colors and forms, and the flora and fauna bioluminesce at night, creating a dreamlike garden of wonders. Floating mountains dot the sky above 900 foot tall trees. As Jake is working for the mining corporation he has an encounter with a ViperWolf, one of Pandora’s many dangers. Before he can be savaged, an arrow pierces the animal, saving him. It’s been fired by a female Na’vi (Zoe Saldana), though whom Jake begins to learn about the real workings of Pandora.

The Na’vi live in an idealistic harmony with Pandora’s dangers. Through his savior, Jake begins to see the human mining efforts in a new light. He realizes that he’s found something worth fighting for. But joining the Na’vi in a battle against the human invaders comes with a terrible price: he can’t stay within his avatar forever. When the avatar sleeps, Jake wakes up in his human body, and must use an interface to rejoin his consciousness and the avatar. If he joins the Na’vi at war with the humans, he’ll lose the option to rejoin his avatar, and therefore be stuck as an immobile human without that Na’vi he’s grown to love.

So where does this take me? To several conclusions and assumptions:


• Landau said that, if Titanic had more than a bit of Romeo and Juliet in it, Avatar has more than a little bit of Pocahontas. That tells you quite a lot about the nature of the story, if it wasn’t already clear. The movie almost sounds like Cameron’s version of a Terrence Malick movie, with heavy shades of Dances With Wolves. The man versus nature scenario isn’t terribly subtle, nor is the positioning of the Na’vi as analogs for Native Americans. Also apparent is Cameron’s youthful fascination for Edgar Rice Burroughs and the John Carter of Mars books.

• I ran into Landau after the presentation, and only had a moment to ask questions. I asked if there was a contradiction in the way he’d described the film as more of a character story and even a romance than a movie about the planet and technology. If it was really this emotional story at the core, why not make it a decade or more ago, when the story was originally written? His answer confirmed what most of us have assumed: that the real importance here is not the 3D, but the believability of the Na’vi. We have to accept that these beings and all the creatures and plants around them are as real as Sam Worthington’s human character. We have to accept that a largely digital ten-foot blue alien is a creature capable of expressing the range and depth of emotion of a human. Landau claims this has been achieved.

• A handful of scenes from the film (about 25 minutes) have been screened to very select groups of individuals over the last week or two. I’ve talked to several people who saw Fox’s heavily guarded presentation, and though they were very respectful of their NDAs, basic comments were all similar: mind-blowing. Game-changer. Dreamlike. Completely unlike anything they’d seen before. One or two of the people I spoke to are not the most objective when it comes to something like this. But a couple others were people whose opinions I trust almost implicitly. That they were so taken with the footage says a lot.

• The point highlighted most often by those who saw the film footage was the incredible look of Pandora at night, when bioluminescent plants and creatures create a totally alien landscape. Not too difficult to see the influence of Cameron’s underwater documentary work there. But I was also reminded of descriptions of Gaspar Noe’s new film that appeared at Cannes, Enter the Void. The selective praise for that movie focused on its first hour, in which a hallucinatory, dreamlike landscape gave audiences a very new and unexpected vision of Tokyo. How amused I’ll be if the Cameron and Noe movies turn out to be spiritually linked based on their dreamlike nighttime wanderings.

• The revelation of the power suit that we’ve been buzzing about for a week is also amusing, as the tech seems more and more like a small part of the film, something that calls back to the familiar Aliens and can ease people into learning about Avatar. I don’t doubt that we’ll see plenty of power suits in the war against the powerful ten-foot Na’vi, but having that be the first big ‘revelation’ of the film’s marketing campaign is really a huge bit of misdirection.

• About the game: it does not follow the movie. You’ll be able to play both a human marine and a Na’vi, through which you’ll explore both the destructive mining and clearing operations and the battles to save Pandora from defilement. The game uses the same creature and vehicle models as the film, and includes both designs developed by Cameron’s crew that went unused in the movie and things that Cameron’s people designed based on the desires of UbiSoft’s team.

• If Avatar succeeds, definitely expect Cameron to live in this universe for a while. The potential for at least one sequel was mentioned more than once, and both film and game are positioned to set off a chain of franchises. Given that this is being called the first massive sci-fi film universe since Star Wars that has been uniquely created by one director, that’s not a surprise.
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James Cameron's AVATAR: http://www.avatarmovie.com

[Emperor's Prize]

Thanks for that ... I'm definitely intrigued by this film. Hope its story is as good as its visuals.

[Zaius]

'Film legend James Cameron reveals some of the first details regarding Avatar: The Game: www.gametrailers.com



[flash width=480 height=392]http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=51324[/flash]

[bearvomit]

24 minutes were screen recently. www.comingsoon.net/news/ has a description:
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[align=left]I've just returned from a preview screening of James Cameron's hugely anticipated movie "Avatar" at the Cinema Expo in Amsterdam and I'm still feeling the after effects of this jaw-dropping experience. First off, I'm really not a fan of the so called 3-D craze, that's currently taking Hollywood by storm. Before the "Avatar" screening, Fox showed us "Ice Age 3" in 3-D and although the movie is pretty entertaining, I don't understand why it has to be in 3-D. What is the added benefit? I just got a headache from the whole experience. For some reason or another, my eyes just can't get used to the 3-D experience. With it comes the fact that 3-D until now has been used as a gimmick.

Would "Avatar" change my mind? With anticipation I directed my attention to the 20th Century Fox show reel. After some pretty disappointing clips from other movies like "Gulliver's Travels" you could feel the tension in the theater. Then it appeared on the screen: AVATAR. After a brief introduction from cast members Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang and Sigourney Weaver, we were asked to put on the 3-D glasses (really uncomfortable, especially if you already wear a pair). Most of the scenes were from the first half of the movie.

In the first scene we see Sam Worthington's crippled ex-marine Jake Sully, who just arrived on the planet 'Pandora.' He's in a wheelchair and just rolled in to hear Colonel Quaritch, played by the impressive Stephen Lang, talk to the troops. He's giving a classic speech that every military leader gives at the beginning of a battle. Jake listens as an outsider to this speech. A melancholic smile appears on his face. Although the scene is in 3-D, I haven't really noticed it. Finally a director who doesn't feel the need to stick it in the audience's face with cheap tricks like pointing objects at the camera.

In the second scene Sigourney Weaver's Dr. Grace Augustine explains to Jake how the process of transporting your mind into an Avatar works. Although the scene is mostly exposition, we've got a good look at the lab and more importantly we get a first glimpse of the Avatars, the Na'Vi lookalikes. These tall blue creatures lie in water tanks, waiting for their human to 'jump' in their bodies. Besides Weaver and Worthington, the scene introduces Joel Moore's character Norm Spellman. As is usually the case with Moore, his character is the comic relief.

It's the third scene where my heart begins to pound like crazy. Jake and Norm will inhabit their Avatar for the first time. They enter some sort of capsule and - flash – their mind enters the blue creatures, now lying on hospital tables. And not before long Avatar Jake wakes up. And it took my breath away. I thought--just like you guys--that I've seen it all with Gollum, or The Hulk, but Cameron has done it again. These creatures seem so real, that within minutes you forget you're watching an enormous and very blue CGI character. Even the eyes are totally convincing. The characters have real personalities and a soul.

In the fourth scene the Avatars of Jake, Norm and Grace explore the jungle of Pandora. The surroundings remind me of a planet that appears briefly in "Revenge of the Sith." A lot of massive colorful flowers and plants grow everywhere. Jake's unbridled enthusiasm works on Grace's nerves. And not before long they have their first confrontation with some creatures. Some sort of rhino with a flower sticking out of his head looks like he will kill Jake, but he's not scared and he let's out a scream. The 'rhino' runs away, but not because of Jake. A more dangerous creature – a wolf? – jumps at Jake from behind.

In the next couple of scenes Jake meets Na'Vi Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). Jake finds himself alone at night in the jungle with only a torch as protection against some evil looking dogs. Eager to fight them, Jake says: 'What are you waiting for?' When one of the 'dogs' attacks him he slams the torch in the creature's face. A fight ensues that Jake can't win by himself. Lucky for him, there's Neytiri who with her trusty bow and arrow helps Jake chase away the creatures. Just when Jake wants to offer his gratitude, Neytiri knocks his reached out hand away and says to Jake that killing these creatures is a bad thing. When the scene fades out to black, my mind begins to work overtime. How the hell is it possible that I never once felt like I've been watching a movie where almost everything comes out of a computer?

The most beautiful scene follows directly after the one I've described above. When Jake wants to take his torch with him, Neytiri takes it from him and throws it in the river. Like magic the flowers and plants – even the grassy soil - begin to glow in the night. The beauty completely takes my breath away. Meanwhile we get to learn more about Neytiri and her people. Everybody who knows the story of Native American Pocahontas and John Smith, will recognize a lot of similarities. Before you can sing "Colors of the Wind," Neytiri guides Jake through her world. Mysterious flowing and glowing seeds from a mystic tree appear out of nowhere. To Neytiri's surprise Jake attracts them. She has a look in her eyes like he's the 'chosen one.' And of course she's right. Jake has to lead the Na'Vi into battle against the massive army of Colonel Quaritch.

In the next scene we meet the Banshees. The Na'Vi ride these fierce looking creatures when they hunt. After some exposition, where Neytiri explains to Jake that a Banshee first has to respect you, before you can ride it, she takes flight and another gorgeous scene unspools.

The last scene wasn't completed. What we saw, was sort of a video-game version of the mother of all battles. Countless numbers of Na'Vi riding their Banshees attack Quaritch's fleet. I can't wait to see the battle fully rendered.

Overall I was really impressed by what I saw. The effects are in a league of their own. After some disappointing or even pointless 3-D movies, "Avatar" may be the first movie where 3-D is properly utilized.
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[darthpsychotic]

comingsoon.net



Na'vi

[bearvomit]

On August 21 - 15 minutes of footage will be shown for free - all across the country in IMAX theaters! (www.aintitcool.com)



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James Cameron showed over 20 minutes of select scenes from AVATAR in 3-D to a massive crowd in Hall H. I’m going to try to recap as much as I can on the fly.

The footage opened up with a shot of black military boots walking upon a polished surface. A gruff drill sergeant type (Stephen Lang) is barking at new recruits. We see glimpses of the back of this guy’s shaved head and there are scars that run horizontally across the back of his skull (we don’t see his face). He’s speaking to maybe 15-20 young people, some not looking like they belong there… nerdy types, not all soldiers.

The colonel says that this new planet is not a plaything, that every single indigenous creature wants to kill you. "It is my job to keep you alive. I will not succeed."

When the colonel turns around the scars continue from the back of his head to his face, like it was made from the claws of an animal raked across his entire face.

Sam Worthington rolls up in a wheelchair during this speech and there’s something between the two (maybe some history?), but nothing is said.

Let me take a second to talk about the 3-D in the live action spots here as this scene was the only to not have (obvious) CGI characters. I’ve long been on the record as saying 3-D is fun, but I don’t believe for a second it’s the future of cinema. I think it’s possible a form of 3-D could be in the cards in the future norm, but the problem I have with most 3-D is it dims the picture so badly that you only get half the effect.

Cameron lit his scenes very brightly so things really pop and you can tell a master’s eye went into the framing of every shot, giving real perceptible depth to something as mundane as a military type walking between rows of recruits.

There is a trade-off, though. That means we lose a bit of atmosphere (not a ton... it is a lab afterall) in these military base scenes, but I didn’t mind so much as the blocky structures and architecture already screamed James Cameron to me.

But the 3-D is eye-popping, some of the best use I’ve seen recently… maybe since Captain Eo in my youth. Cameron’s not just content to give you a Viewmaster depth, but he also puts layers on our side of the screen… not so much in the SCTV comin’ atcha way, but in that the only depth isn’t perceived through the window of the screen… it’s also in the audience itself, filling the peripherals as things move by.

After Lang gives his speech to the green nubs we move to Joel Moore and Sam Worthington going to see their Avatars.

If you don’t know the basic story there’s a new planet called Pandora discovered in the near future. On this planet is an element that is so rare it is worth incredible amounts of money on earth. The trouble is that the indigenous people and hostel nature of the planet make it nearly impossible to mine. The main threat are 10 foot tall intelligent blue aliens called Na’vi.

Scientists have figured out a way to grow their own Na’vi (mixing Na'vi and Human DNA) which are completely blank slates and then recruit warriors and scientists to come in and project their consciousness into these creatures, thus allowing them to travel Pandora without causing war with the Na’vi. In fact, Weaver's character is the head of the Avatar project, trying to make peaceful contact with the Na'vi.

Worthington is a crippled vet, disillusioned, but a warrior at heart. This is the perfect assignment for him as he is freed from the restraints of his broken body.

This shot scared me a bit… when Moore and Worthington are introduced to their Avatars, floating in blue liquid in tubes we get our first look at the Na’vi and… it looked just okay. Because of the liquid the definition of the alien (big, blue, wide-nosed, long pointy ears, thin tail) was at best plain and the real impressiveness of these creatures and the technology used to bring them to life doesn’t crop up until later scenes.

Apparently, this particular Avatar was produced for Huntington’s character’s brother, but is his now.

Now, these Avatars are Na’vi, but share physical characteristics of their users. So, Joel Moore’s Avatar is recognizably Moore in the face as is Worthington’s.

One of the scientists is none other than Dileep Rao, the psychic from DRAG ME TO HELL and another is fan favorite Sigourney Weaver. God, it was so good seeing her in a James Cameron movie again.

In the scene we get of her she’s very no nonsense, getting Worthington situated in his pod (he insists on hoisting himself out of the chair and into his pod without any help). Weaver plays her character a little mother hen as she straps him in and prepares the consciousness transmission.

Another little detail in these scenes that I loved was just how awesome the transparent computer and information screens looked in 3-D. As Worthington slips under and the transfer begins Dileep is monitoring his brain activity on a floating screen. Dileep has to walk, so with a swipe of his hand he moves the screen onto a smaller portable screen that turns the x-ray brainscan around as he examines it.

Dileep walks into check on the two Avatars (Moore and Worthington). We get Sam’s POV as he wakes up in his new body and then our first real look at a Na’vi realized as he wiggles his toes, realizing he has full use of this body. The Worthington Na’vi is definitely excited and against the protests of Dileep he stands, getting used to his body, pulling cords out, knocking over equipment with a wobbly step or with his tail as he turns.

Don’t worry, it’s not a Jar Jar scene, but what’s really cool is that it’s the only time in the footage show we got a real sense of the scale of the Na’vi. It’s easy to say “they’re ten feet tall,” but seeing them stand next to a person and almost double their height, seeing one try to navigate a structure intended for humans… well, it does make them feel like creatures instead of animated humanoids.

From this point on the footage left our world and focused completely on Pandora as the Worthingon Na'vi is wandering alone.

One of the first things we see on the planet is Worthington’s Avatar playing with these tube-snake-like flora. He touches one and it disappears, sucking back into the ground with a FROOMPF. He’s delighted, playing around in this field of tall plants, making them disappear with a touch until he does that to one and it reveals a really pissed off giant rhino lookin’ thing with a hammerhead nose.

It brays at Worthington’s Avatar and stamps its feet, threatening to charge. The Moore Avatar and Sigourney Weaver Avatar are with-in shouting distance and Weaver stops him from using the giant machine gun he’s carrying, saying the hide is too tough and that shooting it will only piss it off.

The Worthington Avatar is unsure of what to do, even thought Weaver is telling him this rhino thing is just putting on a threat display and won’t charge if Worthington stands his ground. There’s a herd of rhino-aliens behind this one, which keeps braying and using his hammerhead horn nose to knock down trees. It shows its displeasure by a colorful ruff raising (like peacocks feathers but armored).

The creature doesn’t seem to know it’s just a territorial threat display and charges Worthington’s Avatar who just charges it right back, screaming. It stops and looks confused, then scarred, turning back and running away with the heard.

Of course that means a slick-skinned panther-like creature is behind Worthington. It leaps over him and charges the bigger game, which runs off… then it turns and realizes there’s another smaller, but just as tasty morsel right in front of him.

There’s a variation of the “Shoot or run?” type scene that plays here as they do both and scatter. Worthington seems to be on his own as he jumps between trees, under the large, gnarled and tangled roots of one old tree, trying to find a safe spot.

The panther-alien rips at the tree’s roots, tearing them away. Worthington’s Avatar shoots at it, causing it to back off before it darts in, bites down on the gun and rips it from his hands.

From here on out it’s a mad scramble to get away from the beast.

A female Na’vi hugs to a branch, sees the intruder and raises a bow and arrow, taking aim. It’s clear there’s poison on the tip of the arrow (mentioned by our colonel in that earlier scene), but just as she gets the arrow pulled taut a creature flutters into her field of vision.

It’s white and moves like a jellyfish in the air, floating as pumps it tendrils lazily… but it doesn’t look organic, more like a dandelion seed. However it obviously has an intelligence and isn’t floating randomly. This female warrior sees this and even in this crazy alien world this is not normal. You can tell by her reaction.

We find out later this is a Wood Sprite, a seedling from a sacred tree. It alights on the arrows tip momentarily before moving on. This Na’vi, Naytiri (Zoe Saldana), relaxes her grip and lets the clueless Worthington Avatar pass.

This is a good time to talk about Pandora a bit. Imagine the ocean floor if it would exist above the sea line and you’re close. It’s very much dense jungle, but the alien flora is very reminiscent of anemones. Also like the deep sea lifeforms many of the fauna have their own luminescence.

The sequence where Worthington’s Avatar meets Saldana’s Na’vi is a bit of a rescue scene as Worthington is being hunted by a pack of wild dog-like animals.

The dogs are slickly black skinned, like an eel and have sharp canine-like teeth, but when they snarl the lips pull back much further and are more menacing. The dogs are on him and suddenly Saldana’s character comes out of nowhere, arrows flying killing the dogs, swatting them away with her bow. Worthington takes advantage of the intervention and stabs the dog on top of him.

Happily he goes to thank Saldana’s Na’vi, who speaks English… I didn’t catch how she does, but he does comment on it. Anyway, she ignores him at first, looking sadly down at the dog carcasses. The one she shot with the arrow at the beginning of the rescue is still alive and whimpering. She whispers to it in her native tongue as she puts it out of its misery.

She then turns angrily on Worthington’s Avatar, still trying to thank her. She is angry at having been forced into the position of killing these creatures, saying it is his fault. He is like an ignorant child wandering the woods and if he hadn’t been waving fire around and making so much noise he never would have been in danger and the animals could have gone on living in peace.

As she chastises him, she goes around to all the dead animals and whispers some kind of prayer or saying over them.

She also douses his torch and we come to find that she is right. He doesn’t need it. Not only does the forest glow naturally with its own light, but as Worthington makes his way in the dark trying to follow her he sees that his very own interaction with the world creates a light reaction. When he steps on a moss-covered log the moss turns bright green under his foot and tapers out a few feet from the impact point, when he passes by a plant and brushes the fern it glows in reaction.

Turns out Neytiri sees a good heart inside the bumbling fool and she’s not alone. With a giant grin on his face as he discovers the wonder of this jungle world, the self-luminescence, the Wood Sprite returns… with a few dozen of its brothers and sisters.

Worthington’s Avatar bats one away without a thought and Neytiri acts as if he just broke a cross in half or spit on the Buddha. The little jelly-fish like seeds don’t seem to mind and all alight on him, completely ignoring Neytiri. She tells him (and us) just what these things are and that it is an amazing honor to be chosen by them.

All that is from the first act of the film, by the way.

The final sequence shown is a bit of a training scene as Worthington’s Avatar is now a part of Neytiri’s tribe and going through an important rite of passage.

Gone are his human clothes, replaced by native gear and face paint, like a Native American warrior. He must bond with a winged creature, so the other warriors, there mostly to laugh at Worthington’s sure failure, and Neytiri take him to their nesting ground.

These are reptilian, brightly colored and mean little suckers. Worthington’s Avatar is pushed in, asking over his shoulder how he’ll know which one is his match, the one he was meant to bond with. “He will choose you.” Well, how will Worthington know he is chosen? Easy… the one who chooses him “will try to kill you.”

Cameron draws out the suspense as the creatures see him and back away or fly off, hissing and making territorial displays. Finally the one comes forward, a particularly mean looking creature. The other warriors laugh at Worthington’s Avatar, talking in their tongues together (subtitled) sure he’s going to be killed.

In order for a Na’vi to bond with one of these creatures they must bond, which requires Worthington to take his pony-tail, which has little vermicelli-like strands of nerve bundled up in there, and connect it to one of this beasts’ antennae. It takes some doing, Worthington’s Avatar almost getting flung off a cliff for his trouble, but he comes back, wrestles the beak shut and melds the two pieces together, which naturally entwine.

When that happens the creature’s wild eye goes soft, pupil enlarging. Worthington’s Avatar carefully removes the leather tie around its beak and it stands up, collecting him on its back. Neytiri says he must fly or risk breaking the bond. Their bond can only be concreted if they fly, so she sends the creature off the ledge with Worthington’s Avatar en tow.

They fly recklessly, Worthington's Avatar barely holding on. They crash into cliff walls, fly through waterfalls. The creature, quite dragonlike, actually, squacks and Worthington tells it to shut up and fly straight... And it does. The bond is complete as it glides through the air.

That’s the end of the footage.

All the Pandora stuff that was shown was incredibly detailed, layer upon layer of movement, life, detail. But it seemed to be completely mo-cap and computer animated. While I thought it looked fantastic I think people need to reel in their expectation a bit.

What I saw were glimpses at a fantastic bit of storytelling, a rich fantasy tale, by a master of the artform, but the CGI creatures and characters are just that. They’re amazingly executed, no doubt, but it’s not like when you saw your first CG dinosaur and you said, “This is a game changer” to yourself.

What I hope Cameron gives us is the character work to fill out this highly stylized universe and he hasn’t given me any reason to doubt him yet. This presentation was all about showing off the visual eye-molestation brought to you by Weta Digital, Workshop, Cameron and his talented crew.

I can say that Sam Worthington seems to giving his best, most relaxed and natural performance in this one, based on the footage I saw of him and the voicing of his fake Na’vi counterpart. At the very least his accent is consistent.

All in all this was a tech demonstration. The 3-D was a stand-out, but Cameron’s collaboration with Weta Digital and Workshop I think is going to yield a dense, sci-fi fantasy flick with hopefully lots of military on Na’vi battles… I just want to see one that goddamn Power Suit in action!

Honestly, I’ve never had a picture of this movie in my head. The plot has been vague, the details minimal… so I’ve only ever hoped to see a fun, kick-ass James Cameron movie. On that level, I’m positive the eye-candy will be there for me come December. But I will say lower those expectations. The footage was good, layered, incredibly detailed and full of imagination and incredible imagery, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s the next quantum leap forward in filmmaking. However there's no doubt Cameron's pushing the limits. Just don't expect to have your head blown out your asshole or eyeballs raped or whatever the newest talkback thing is.

No, what this presentation convinced me of is that AVATAR will be a strong return to narrative filmmaking from one of the best filmmakers of the last 30 years. Once we see the whole picture it might be more than that because I have a feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg. [/align]
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Avatar footage was just shown at Comic Con.

[Zaius]

Empire Magazine Video Interview: James Cameron

[flash width=486 height=412]http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?&width=486&height=412&flashID=myExperience30692204001&bgcolor=%23FFFFFF&playerID=1858324737&publisherID=494806221&isVid=true&%40videoPlayer=30692204001&autoStart=[/flash]

Another JC interview ... AICN

[darthpsychotic]

aintitcool.com



Since Avatar is coming out in December - could really use some video from it about now.

[bearvomit]

have to wait a few more weeks till "avatar day" for that video.

did you notice how the face design has changed from the ComicCon banner you posted earlier and the new one? less human looking.

[Benovite]

OMG collagen lip injection! The movie hasn't even come out and the bitch is trying to look like Angelina Jolie already forfucksake!

Also had some cheek work done there. Wonder who her Beverly Hills sculptor is.

[darthpsychotic]

Two new images.




TOP: Sam Worthington
BOTTOM: James Cameron

This upcoming Thursday or Friday the trailer is released. Also how did Worthington get to be in all these top movies?

[Benovite]

These are the moments in an actors life, usually early on, when their name alone can get them roles in big movies. But that doesn't always result in a successful career. A big movie today can be a small movie tomorrow.

[Chostomo]

Don't know if it's already been commented here, but Cameron is preparing AVATAR Day on August 21st. where he'll show some footage in selected IMAX theaters.

Don't know if it's going to be just the trailer or some more footage.

(from avatarmovie.com)

[darthpsychotic]

Trailer is up: apple.com /trailers/fox/avatar/

• 480p
• 720p
• 1080p

[Hige]

I'm not impressed at all. Maybe the trailer and film will work in a proper cinema, but I think it looks cheep and more like FMV's from an advanced video game opposed to the next generation in filmmaking.

[Benovite]

It looks like Aliens mixed with Matrix Revolution(mechanical walker thingies) mixed with Revenge of the Sith's Wookie jungle planet clonetrooper orgy.

There's probably a bit of E.T. in there somewhere too.

[bearvomit]

Pocahontas mixed with Matrix Revolutions by way of tall Smurfs. It's obvious this thing's big hat trick is the 3d aspect. Meaning that being viewed WITHOUT 3d is going to be pretty boring.

[Topeka]

Oh, man. That trailer is incredibly underwhelming. I didn't see anything that hasn't been done before in other films. For all the hype this movie is getting, there had better be some dramatic storytelling to go along with the 3D.

[Evil_Elvis]

I have to admit to being fairly underwhelmed by my initial viewing of this in QT, however BBC news has just run a feature on this and showed pretty much all of the trailer (out of sync) and the depth of field and CGI certainly look more effective on a larger screen. I'm still not entirely convinced that I would care about the story based on what I've read but for now I'm in the cautiously curious camp.

Towards the end of their feature the journo was watching tomorrow's 3D IMAX preview, they didn't show anything that was on screen but he did say the 3D effect on this thing was staggering and very immersive.

[ETandElliott]

CGI catastrophe.

[bearvomit]

Cameron would shit a brick if the bootleggers got two cameras, maybe 6 inches apart..

[Google]

The trailer teased me enough to keep my interest. I look forward to a full trailer to find more about the details of the movie.

[JohnS]

I have to say, seeing it in 3D IMAX is much better then the trailer. It's like two different movies. I was blown away. Maybe because I disliked the trailer so my expectations were less.

[darthpsychotic]

marketsaw has some scans from Empire Magazine's Avatar spread.






I was hoping the IMAX footage would have been pirated by now.

[Jinh Warrior]

I was mildly impressed (because the trailer didn't reveal too much) though it has some Aliens,Matrix,Kashyyyk in it doesn't mean I find it unworthy for being a classic movie, I taste something new here, I don't know what it is yet, It reminds me of "final fantasy the spirit within", the mixture between reality and CGi has been done well here (so far), It reminds of "Apocalypto" in a way also.

[CoGro]

My first impression is: so what?

It's basically a mix of concepts, ideas and imagery we've all seen before. Nothing really feels 'original' and anything that resembles creativity feels original for the sake of it, almost tacky.

Will it be cool? Yes, probably. I'm a big Cameron fan but from what I've seen I think this project is being overhyped.

[Zaius]

A profile of Cameron from the New Yorker ...

[bearvomit]

the new 3 min trailer is suppose to come out friday. and not until next week online supposedly but you know how that works out for them

what did I tell ya? It's dark, but it's here: *updated with new link
[spoil][flash width=425 height=350]http://v4.tinypic.com/player.swf?file=4hawwj&s=4[/flash][/spoil]
looks MUCH better. great music. seems they're throwing every color possible into the alien planet and it looks beautiful even in this shitty quality bootleg. My opinion just went up on this.

[Topeka]

Here are the wallpapers taken from the Windows 7 theme. I wonder how many hours of coding it took to keep those feathers over her nipples.

[bearvomit]

/film.com
[align=left][/align]
[spoil]
[align=left]The line between deliberate rip-off and unintentional reflection is thin and blurry. There’s now an accusation that James Cameron’s upcoming Avatar might sit somewhere uncomfortably close to that line. Seems that the film bears an uncanny resemblance to Poul Anderson’s 1957 short story Call Me Joe.


Call Me Joe centers on a paraplegic — Ed Anglesey — who telepathically connects with an artificially created life form in order to explore a harsh planet (in this case, Jupiter). Anglesey, like Avatar’s Jake Sully, revels in the freedom and strength of his artificial created body, battles predators on the surface of Jupiter, and gradually goes native as he spends more time connected to his artificial body.

That’s a pretty striking similarity, and there’s also the case of the cover art associated with the Poul Anderson short story collection that reprints the story: giant blue spear-carrying alien? Uh-oh.

This might seem less striking if Cameron hadn’t faced a charge of plagiarism once before. Harlan Ellison — hardly the shrinking violent of science fiction — accused Cameron of lifting some of The Terminator’s ideas from two Ellison-penned Outer Limits episodes. That case was eventually settled out of court, and Ellison now has a credit in the film.

Not having seen Avatar in full, it’s possible that there is an acknowledgment credit for Anderson in the movie — you’d expect Fox’s legal team to catch something like this and pre-emptively head off any problem. But the fact that we haven’t heard about it until now suggests that’s not the case.
[/align][/spoil]

James Cameron is an idea stealing HACK!

[darthpsychotic]

Theatrical Trailer Redux (below)

[flash width=599 height=306]http://www.traileraddict.com/emd/15437[/flash]

[VizAg]

1080p Quicktime : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=M74NUYKS

[CoGro]

The film might be good and all, but the subject matter is one giant meh to me. I'm not particularly impressed by the creature effects at all.

[darthpsychotic]

HD LINKS

• 480p
• 720p
• 1080p

Theatrical Trailer Redux Redux movies.yahoo.com

[flash width=576 height=358]http://d.yimg.com/m/up/ypp/movies/player.swf?flashVars&vid=16357477&repeat=1[/flash]

I could have done without the now ubiquotious presence of Requiem For A Dream's Lux Aeterna track.

[CoGro]

Can someone explain to me how this is the pinnacle of Cameron's creativity? It's a hodgepodge of unoriginal ideas - mechwarrior/Aliens walking machines, marines, creatures that look like something out of dozens of different movies, forest worlds, the same tired themes and ideas...

Over-fucking-rated by any measure.

[ETandElliott]

I don't see the appeal of this movie at all.

[Emperor's Prize]

It's got pretty colors.

[bearvomit]

Here is a bootleg of a 4 minute scene from something called the "Thantor" chase. The lip synching is a little off and MANY parts look right out of a PS3 cutscene!

01 - You Don't Dream In Cryo
02 - Jake Enters His Avatar World
03 - Pure Spirits Of The Forest
04 - The Bioluminescence Of The Night
05 - Becoming One Of The People, Becoming One With Neytiri
06 - Climbing Up Iknimaya - The Path To Heaven
07 - Jake's First Flight
08 - Scorched Earth
09 - Quaritch
10 - The Destruction Of Hometree
11 - Shutting Down Grace's Lab
12 - Gathering All The Navi Clans For Battle
13 - War
14 - I See You (Theme From Avatar)

Soundtrack tracklisting here: http://www.avatarscore.com/

[darthpsychotic]

Since the flash in Bear's post is gone - here is the leaked Avatar Day footage: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1MQCAT7S

Kamonian's versus Reek-Rancor on Felucia-Endor!
[spoil]
[flash width=599 height=330]http://www.megavideo.com/v/ZD3EZEK71228ebcf3bfff8dcae5208612ec0f4ad[/flash]
[/spoil]



Zoe Saldana's character Neytiri from USAToday

[Emperor's Prize]

Thanks for both of those. It still looks cartoonish, though. Certainly, it's a highly detailed, very complex cartoon -- but a cartoon nonetheless. Not that cartoons necessarily make bad movies, but this is far from the "visual revolution" that it was advertised as being.

[bearvomit]

/film.com

20 days out and 30 minutes of the movie is still not finished!

[hr]
The World Premiere of James Cameron’s Avatar is set for December 10th, just 20 days from now but as of Wednesday, “around 30 minutes of the movie remain incomplete”. Cause for concern?

According to Jon Landau, the film’s producer, the scenes need work ranging from sound mixing through colour timing along to visual effects. What isn’t clear is how many minutes of FX work need to be locked, and how much of that floating half hour is requiring the more final post production polish only.

Landau’s big argument, though is that on a film like Avatar, there’s ” little meaningful difference between principal photography and special effects” - that’s The Wall Street Journal paraphrasing him, but the point stands. There really weren’t any non-FX shots, so of course the schedule will include FX work down to the wire. Imagine the editing room a couple of weeks from completion on a Pixar film - it’s not film editing their doing, but image rendering and sound mixing. The cutting on films so heavily CG reliant needs to be done at an earlier stage.

Marketsaw have reported that Weta have completed their work on the film. If that’s true, it indicates another reason to be sit back and be cool.

Besides the New Zealand masters there are six other FX houses working on the film which proves an awareness in the production that the load needed to be shared. Once again, nothing that alarms me.

For me, the key quote in the article comes when Landau says “Every shot we get back raises the standard for what follows”.

If that’s true, and I’m happy to take it on face value, then I find it hugely encouraging. Even under the big Fox gun and up against the tyranny of a rapidly approaching release date, the production are feeling inspired by their own work. They like what they see, and they want to keep their standards on an upwards curve. Isn’t that what we want our filmmakers to be like?

Another juicy nugget at the foot of the article claims that “Mr. Cameron and a business partner also covered some of those costs out of their own pockets”, further compounding the filmmaker’s faith in what they’re creating.

The article tells us that the film is expected to run between 2hrs 30 and 40, before credits. This error margin almost certainly won’t be down to unfinished assemblies of individual scenes, for reasons I explained above, but because of the possibility of whole scenes being left in or pushed out.

[ETandElliott]

Probably a scam to release the film "incomplete" and then add in the remaining footage on the exclusive 4-disc DVD/Blu-ray a couple months later. I maintain this movie looks horrible.

[Obi-Wan Starkiller]

I don't think it looks horrible, I just think it looks uninteresting. Nothing about it peaks my interest. Maybe when some reviews come around that are gushing I'll change my mind.

[Joe1138]

I don't think it looks horrible, I just think it looks uninteresting.

Yeah, from everything I've seen it just as the feel of "been there, done that." Still, the man's track record speaks for itself. It'll be interesting to see what he can do with the IMAX 3D process. Zemeckis is the guy to beat right now. Even though I didn't much care for "A Christmas Carol" as a film, the 3D work was the best I've seen in a feature film yet ("U2 3D" still tops out as the best overall 3D experience I've ever seen).

[Cryostar]

They have a 3d trailer in front of Christmas Carol (Just saw it tonight). I think I'll see it based on that. It looked fscking awesome in 3d.

[darthpsychotic]

60minutes Footage:

[flash width=425 height=324]http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/player-dest.swf?FlashVars=linkUrl=http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5737218n&releaseURL=http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/player-dest.swf&videoId=50079890&partner=news&vert=News&si=254&autoPlayVid=false&name=cbsPlayer&allowScriptAccess=always&wmode=transparent&embedded=y&scale=noscale&rv=n&salign=tl[/flash]

[Benovite]

That was cool, although I don't envy Cameron having to look at Morley Schaeffer that close up. You can see in his eyes in the beginning that he was grappling with trying to make out the twisted and contorted crevices with eyes that is Morley's fac.

[Emperor's Prize]

Not a bad special or perspective and I really liked the otherworldly setting ... but I wonder if this really will be the revolution everyone is counting on.

[Benovite]

The 3-D thing is still gimmicky though. =/

[Zaius]

[spoil]
[flash width=599 height=306]http://www.traileraddict.com/emd/16445[/flash]

[flash width=599 height=306]http://www.traileraddict.com/emd/16446[/flash]

[flash width=599 height=306]http://www.traileraddict.com/emd/16447[/flash]

[flash width=599 height=306]http://www.traileraddict.com/emd/16450[/flash]

[flash width=599 height=306]http://www.traileraddict.com/emd/16449[/flash]
[/spoil]



www.slashfilm.com /six-new-avatar-tv-spots/