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Poster Friday: Avatar, Kick-Ass, Lost, Salt & More!

Rob Keyes — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:59:09 +0000

Happy Friday everyone!

We missed last week due to the launch of our sister site, GameRant.com and the fact that there was quite a few less one-sheets than normal so instead, I’ve combined them all from the last two weeks into this edition of Poster Friday.

Screen Rant’s wall this week now includes new one-sheets for Avatar, Precious, Crazy on the Outside, Daybreakers, Lost, Salt, Alice in Wonderland, Crazy Heart, Kick-Ass, The Yellow Handkerchief, Caprica, All About Evil, The Wolfman, Ong Bak 3, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, From Paris with Love and Wonderful World.

In addition to that we have some neat stylistic posters for some popular television shows.

Let’s get to it.

To start, here are a pair of French posters for Avatar, both of these we had lesser quality early looks at before, but now we have the full versions.

http://screenrant.com/wp-admin/media-new.php

Source: Latino Review, /Film

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Avatar Featurette Shows Off Film’s Sci-Fi Tech

Kofi Outlaw — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:42:10 +0000

Most of what we’ve seen so far from James Cameron’s Avatar has had to do with the cat-like alien race, The Na’vi. Not really a surprise, considering that people’s main fascination with this film has been the pioneering digital effects work used to create the Na’vi, however, some of us have been wondering, “What about the humans’ technology?”

It might come as a surprise if you didn’t catch some of the early concept art that leaked during Avatar’s production, but yes! The movie DOES offer more than CGI “Cat-Smurfs.” In fact, there is a whole array of sci-fi tech that the invading human army uses to conquer the alien planet of Pandora – and now you can get a look at all that tech in a new three-minute featurette!

The name of this latest featurette is “Human Hardware” and appropriately so. The video features “the human side” of the cast, including Stephen Lang, who plays the imperial Col. Quaritch, Sigourney Weaver, who plays Dr. Grace Augustine and Giovanni Ribisi, who plays corporate swine Selfridge, along with some of Avatar’s producers, and of course, Cameron himself. Sci-fi fans, you’ll love this video in particular, as it’s basically a step-by-step look at the kind of tech-toys that has made Cameron a revered name in the genre.

Enough talk, onto the video:

For a bigger, hi-res version, head over to Rotten Tomatoes.

I really do like this video, but can’t help but to feel a bit miffed that it took this long for the filmmakers to put it out. If anything, BEFORE we got into the whole hard-to-swallow blue alien business, Cameron could’ve been earning serious cred (and good press) if he just flaunted the things he’s already known to be a master of: big mech suits, futuristic aircraft and weaponry and the awesome visual effects that make it all look real. Everything about Avatar’s ‘great 3D’ and ‘unprecedented CGI’ should’ve been introduced this way, IMHO. Might’ve avoided the whole “It’s going to suck” sentiment that’s now going around like the flu…

Some small gripes about the featurette: “Unobtainium”, the element that the human coporation is mining for on Pandora – our own Paul Young pointed out that’s the same name of the element that was used to construct the deep-drilling vessel in the 2003 film, The Core, and our own Vic Holtreman added that unobtainium is a general term for costly, unusual or downright imaginary material discussed in both science fact and science fiction circles. Second, the bladed bayonets on those mech suits look (to me, at least) like they were lifted right out of Gears of War. Isn’t Avatar supposed to be keeping things “original?” Because it’s starting to feel like a lot of borrowing is going on… I’m not saying, just saying…

What did you think of the “Human Hardware” of Avatar? Cooler than the alien aspect?

Avatar will be in theaters and IMAX on December 18, 2009.

Source: IGN via Rotten Tomatoes

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Zoe Saldana Talks Star Trek, Avatar & The Losers

Rob Frappier — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:59:05 +0000

Since her starring turn as Uhura in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot, the lovely Zoe Saldana has been racking up a number of major films. Besides the inevitable Star Trek sequel, Zaldana will play Aisha in the DC comic book adaptation The Losers, as well as the alien Neytiri in James Cameron’s epic sci-fi (or is it fantasy?) film Avatar. Recently, Coming Soon snagged an interview with the fast-rising actress at the DVD/Blu-ray release party for Star Trek.

In the interview, Saldana explains that, although her busy schedule has her worn out, she hasn’t lost her enthusiasm for any of her upcoming projects.

“I’m feeling great, but there’s a part of me that’s happy it’s almost over so I can finally take off my heels…Between guns, a little dress and heels I’m a little tired physically, but I never get mentally tired of talking about these projects I’ve been a part of because it’s every actor’s dream to work with amazing directors especially for a woman in Hollywood and film.”

Saldana also touched on her upcoming role in The Losers, saying Aisha was a “badass” and a blend of her Star Trek character Uhura and her Avatar character Neytiri. Perhaps the most interesting part of the interview came when Saldana expanded on her feelings about playing Neytiri, saying that taking on the alien role was “the most challenging role I’ve ever played.”

“It just challenged me from head to toe. Not only did I have to become more in tune with my body and train for seven months to do this role, but it was also a mental thing where I had to dehumanize myself because I was playing a different species–not of a different country. I was from a different planet so it took a lot of time and it was the most amazing experience I ever had.”

While she wasn’t my favorite character in the new Star Trek, I thought Saldana did a great job making the character of Uhura her own without disrespecting the Uhura of old. It is interesting to hear Saldana’s comments about her work in Avatar. While I am still hesitant to predict Avatar’s success, (I honestly don’t know what to expect from that movie) I will definitely be keeping a closer eye on her role to see if all her hard work paid off. I’ve always imagined it would be difficult to act in a movie that is filmed entirely in front of a green screen, let alone one that takes place on another planet with a completely imaginary race of creatures.

Speaking of Avatar, USA Today recently released a new image of Saldana as Neytiri. Check it out below.

So, what do you think of Zoe Saldana? Do you see her having a long and successful career as a Hollywood A-lister?

Source: Coming Soon, USA Today

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South Park Rips on Avatar

Kofi Outlaw — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:07:41 +0000

By now I would hope most of you have seen the latest episode of South Park, entitled “Dances With Smurfs” (if not, you need to go HERE right away and do so!). The episode follows in the show’s great tradition of intelligent inappropriateness, this time lampooning such things as school shootings (really pushing it there), the current political landscape (hilarious) and, in a twist-turn in the final 1/3, James Cameron’s upcoming sci-fi epic, Avatar.

So what do all those random things have in common? Only the minds behind South Park know for sure…

[SPOILER ALERT!!! WATCH THE EPISODE BEFORE YOU READ THIS!!!]

What basically happens is this: Cartman uses his manipulative talents to take over the school announcements job and quickly becomes a Glenn Beck clone, tearing into class president Wendy for being a “Smurf hater” who is trying to turn the school into a “socialist regime” (Beck himself thought the lampooning was pretty funny, BTW). Of course Cartman has no real political agenda – he’s simply trying to use controversy as a form of self-promotion. When President Wendy gets savvy to Cartman’s game, she turns the tables, selling off film rights to a story about Smurf oppression before Cartman can cash-in on it first. The name of Wendy’s movie? AVATAR.

“What?” says an angry Cartman, staring up a theater marquee (see above), “It’s just Dances With Wolves…with Smurfs!”

[END SPOILERS]

Cue me laughing ’til tears are coming out of my eyes.

Poor James Cameron – he’s been touting Avatar as an “original work of his own creation,” but ever since the full trailer came out, and people have gotten a better look at the film’s plot and story, criticisms have been tossed at Cameron left and right, ranging from “Dude, you’re totally re-hashing ideas from like 5 other movies,” to “Dude, you straight-up stole this idea.”

Whatever peoples’ gripes about the story, James Cameron has been working on Avatar for a decade and a half, pretty much just trying to bring us something new and fresh – or at the very least, rekindle that spirit of excitement and awe we remember from the first three Indiana Jones flicks, the first two Terminators or the Star Wars trilogy. And, at the very least, the acclaimed director has (once again) created some revolutionary filmmaking technology likely to bring CGI F/X one step closer to reality. I almost feel bad to see him getting so much flak for his efforts: innovation sure ain’t easy…

Then again, what’s the point of crying about it? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: None of us is safe from mockery so long as South Park exists to slap us down a peg. And, given the show’s history for going to the EXTREME, I say Avatar got off easy.

Avatar will be in theaters on December 18, 2009. South Park airs new episodes on Comedy Central Wednesdays @ 10 p.m. Check out “Dances With Smurfs” and then let us know what you think. Here’s a clip to get you started:

Source: South Park Studios

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Avatar TV Spot 3 = Fantasy Adventure For Kids?

Kofi Outlaw — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:45:21 +0000

Back August I was one of those thousands of people who packed into movie theaters for “Avatar Day”, an event which provided the opportunity to see 15 minutes of footage from James Cameron’s upcoming sci-fi epic in all its IMAX 3D glory.

At the time the Avatar teaser trailer had just dropped to lukewarm reception; readers were waiting for a more in-depth analysis of the film, both on a visual and plot level. After seeing the preview footage, I asserted that Avatar is going to be a great fantasy adventure, but didn’t really feel like the sci-fi epic it had been touted as… Talk about opening a can a worms!

Within hours of posting that story I was being strung up by readers calling me everything from an “idiot” to a “big idiot” for (supposedly) not knowing the difference between the sci-fi and fantasy genres -- “Might as well start calling apples oranges,” some readers said.

Well guys, take a look at the new child-friendly TV spot for Avatar and then tell me what kind of film YOU see being marketed here:

Apples are officially starting to look like oranges! They even have “trailer voice” guy in there doing his thing! And is that Disney theme music playing in the background?

Seriously though, after watching that saccirine-sweet TV spot, does Avatar seem more like Aliens or FernGully to you? Because I gotta say: I definitely got some Gully vibes watching that thing!

Now, this is NOT an attempt to say that this TV spot serves as indisputable evidence that Avatar is a kiddie fantasy film. I REPEAT: this is NOT an attempt to say that this TV spot serves as indisputable evidence that Avatar is a kiddie fantasy film -- quite the contrary. Right now, for instance, our own Vic Holtreman is wondering if 20th Century Fox is in the wrong for trying to sell kids on a movie that’s actually too intense for them (although not yet officially rated, the movie looks to be walking a tight PG-13 line).

What I DEFINITELY AM SAYING, is that my earlier assertion -- that Avatar has many of the tell-tale hallmarks of a fantasy adventure epic -- may not have been as ‘idiotic’ as many readers deemed it.

Oh how sweet this gig is, sometimes…

I’m completely ready to re-open this can of worms and have another fifty rounds of debate on this subject, so lets get to it. Does this latest TV Spot truly paint Avatar in a new portrait, and if so, do you think it’s an accurate portrait of the film, or is Fox just trying to ‘rob the cradle,’ hoping for bigger returns on their risky venture?

Avatar will have to prove itself in theaters (regular and IMAX) on December 18, 2009.

Source: YouTube via Slashfilm

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Is Avatar Too Expensive To Be Successful?

Kofi Outlaw — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:53:34 +0000

Wallets shook in the pant seats of moviegoers (and likely more than a few filmmakers) worldwide this week, as The New York Times released a report tallying the financial costs of James Cameron’s upcoming sci-fi epic, Avatar – and man, just looking at the raw numbers, it’s hard not to start having flashbacks to 1995 when Kevin Costner’s Waterwold topped the hill as the most expensive hype-and-flop flick ever made (did I just horribly date myself with that comment, BTW?).

Avatar will reportedly cost 20th Century Fox, James Cameron and all subsequent investors a combined total of $500 million to make and market, leaving, well, MOST OF US wondering if the film – based on a (semi) original story imagined by Cameron) – has a hope of being a box office success story, or the fate of being the next Waterworld.

Now, before I hype this all up as some kind of “all or broke” type scenario, let me just say that the Hollywood power players have indeed learned a thing or two from the days of Waterwold, and have taken some prudent steps to ensure that one carton of spilled milk doesn’t ruin the entire farm. A lot of these new super-big-budget movie ventures are a shared pot: you got the studio, filmmakers with deep pockets (like Cameron) and any private investor interested in the project, all pooling their cash and sharing in the rewards. In the event of a failure, it means that everyone invested feels a little less of the financial blowback (very important in these times of recession).

That all $aid, Avatar has still run up a tab of approx $230 million in production costs (the $500 million figure includes all the pooled investments for production, marketing, distribution, etc.). That 200+ figure is still something of a risky number for an untested property – even Superman’s ‘Return’ was viewed as a short stay when that film took in less than $400 million worldwide to counter-balance its $270 million budget. Considered in those terms, it’s easy to see how the universe Cameron has created for Avatar might go down as the most expensive daydream never to hit the mark.

…Or is it?

You can read the full NY Times article for all the financial ins and outs to this (it’s some excellent reporting). The article describes in detail how this “shared pool” model of financing a film comes with its own kind of safety nets (for instance, if the film flops, Cameron is obligated to pay back the studio out of his own profit share, thereby further insulating the studio). However, one factor that few people seem to have addressed: even if you saw the teaser trailer, and then the full extended trailer and are still of the opinion that Avatar – this alleged industry/technology/art form/experience changing event – will not live up to the hype, you at least better believe that the filmmaking seeds Cameron has sown with this project will bear him many fruits of profit down the line.

Read up on our earlier analysis of the crazy tech Cameron created for Avatar and then tell me that this guy will have to worry about a future revenue stream. Remember how movie f/x entered a new CGI era immediately after T2 shocked our pants off? Well, even if Avatar doesn’t make that kind of craterous dent in the pop-culture landscape, early praise from acclaimed directors clearly indicates that Cameron’s new filming techniques will be in high demand by those looking to set their own films up there where the bar has been notched up.

When you think about it like that, this whole situation suddenly becomes clear (for me, at least): Avatar is already that “Oh yeah, that’s where they first started using [INSERT INNOVATIVE TECH NAME].” Even if the film and the property don’t thrive, James Cameron will still have made a serious (indelible?) mark on the way CGI/action/fantasy/sci-fi movies get made thereafter. And just like T2: What the innovator created will only get better with each follower who expands upon the technique.

But of course, for the record, I must state that this all ‘just my opinion.’

What about you – do you think that Jame Cameron’s Avatar is too expensive (and/or underwhelming) to be a success story? Or, like me, do you believe that too much has been accomplished with this film for it to ever be (completely) written off as a failure?

Source: NY Times

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Poster Friday: Kick-Ass, Avatar, Green Zone, Wolfman & More!

Rob Keyes — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:59:26 +0000

Happy Friday everyone! For our first Friday of November 2009, we’ve again gathered the latest posters to come out for this week’s poster round-up. So, before you head out to see this week’s opening movies, namely The Men Who Star at goats, A Christmas Carol, The Box and The Fourth Kind, check out the latest promo sheets below.

Screen Rant’s wall this week now includes new one-sheets for Kick-Ass, The Wolfman, Conan, The Twilight Saga’s Eclipse, Clash of the Titans, Scream 4, A Single Man, Avatar, Machete, Green Zone, Let Me In, Tell Tale and The Men Who Stare at Goats.

We also have a few bonus items for this year’s Pixar movie, Up.

Let’s get to it.

To start, here’s the first (awesome) batch of Kick-Ass posters that IGN premiered yesterday:

Continue to the next page for the other Kick-Ass posters and more!

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Japanese Avatar Trailer & New TV Spot

Rob Keyes — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:42:04 +0000

A few days back we got a look at the new three-and-a-half minute international trailer for James Cameron’s Avatar and it was incredible.

Not only did it vastly improve over the first theatrical trailer, it provided a much deeper glimpse into the story of the film, its characters and its many awesome action sequences -- all wrapped up in one big beautiful 3D colorful experience.

With the launch of Avatar’s Full-on marketing, we now have two more videos to share with you: The Japanese Avatar trailer and a brand new 30-second TV spot that aired during the final World Series game last night.

To start, here’s the Japanese trailer that’s in English with Japanese subtitles:

Next up, the high-octane TV spot for Avatar which flips through plenty of action scenes along with a few quick scenes of some of the characters:

As I’ve said before, I’m completely sold on this and have been for a long time. I expect seeing this in IMAX 3D will be quite a unique experience and the only way to truely appreciate what the film has set out to do. That’s not to say it won’t be kick-ass movie in regular 3D or even in non-3D screens.

James Cameron’s Avatar cast includes Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana as its stars alongside Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi and CCH Pounder.

If you missed it, check out the behind-the-scenes Avatar featurette.

What do you think of these promo videos and the last trailer?

Avatar brings us all to Pandora December 18, 2009.

Source: MovieWeb

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FOX To Inundate Sunday Sports With ‘Avatar’

Anthony Ocasio — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:22:30 +0000

What’s that? You’re one of the two people (Gary Busey is the other) on the face of the planet that doesn’t know what this little indie film called Avatar from this up and coming production company, FOX, is all about? Well, fear not weary moviegoer for on November 1st, 20th Century FOX proves just how important media dominance is by going for the “world’s largest live trailer viewing” on “one of the biggest sports days of the year.”

FOX Sports will take the entire country viewing FOX NFL SUNDAY, America’s No. 1 NFL pre-game show, to Arlington, Texas and the new Cowboys Stadium, where the three minute and thirty second trailer will play live from the enormous Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Vision screen. The crowd attending the Cowboys-Seattle Seahawks game will experience the AVATAR trailer live just minutes prior to the noon (Central) kickoff between the Cowboys and Seahawks, on the enormous, four-sided, high-definition screen that hangs above the Cowboys Stadium playing field. At the same time, millions of others watching FOX NFL SUNDAY will see the trailer on-air – making it the largest live motion picture trailer viewing in history.

Don’t worry if you’re not able to be a part of live motion picture trailer viewing history as FOX plans on airing a ninety-second Avatar commercial spot on all regional games from FOX affiliates, the national game on FOX and the World Series on, you guessed it, NBC – I’m just kidding, it’s FOX (or you could just watch it here).

I don’t mean to burst their bubble over at FOX, but from my experience in high school the last thing football fans are interested in are blue aliens with bows and arrows running around the jungle. I mean, my Quark from Deep Space Nine Halloween costume never got the respect it deserved, so I don’t really see our Titanic-loving director faring that well – it’s not like Avatar has a holodeck or anything.

Also, the whole “world record” attempt does seem a bit underwhelming. The “largest live motion picture trailer viewing” – that does seem quite specific. If FOX is going to play the record card then so can I. Congratulations, reader, you’re now part of the world record for the most amount of Sharpies (3) someone named Anthony can hold in their mouth while writing a story about the “largest live motion picture trailer viewing.” Top That! (Teen Witch style)

For the most part, I’ve taken a back seat approach to the whole Avatar “phenomenon.” I’m not saying that I don’t like it or that I’m not going to like it, I just don’t “get it.” I’ve seen all the trailers, stills, behind the scenes features and I still don’t get what makes this film so amazing. The most that I can tell is that it’s going to be an edgy FernGully: The Last Rainforest and while I’m all for animated Christian Slater, this film has neither – animation or Christian Slater. (Yes, I know CGI is technically animation, but you all know what I’m talking about.)

Sure, the $200 million price tag is a bit intriguing, but don’t forget that Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen and G.I. JOE: The Rise of the Cobra also clocked in at around the same budget. Oh yeah, don’t forget the Steve Carrell led Evan Almighty.

Still, Evan Almighty built an ark. I don’t care who you are, a $200 million arc has to be awesome. The film – maybe not so much.

Avatar opens in theaters December 18.

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Avatar Featurette Looks Behind The Scenes

Paul Young — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:25:43 +0000

All aboard the Avatar train! Next stop Pandora!

I won’t lie: I have been on the skeptical side of the fence when it comes to Avatar. Not because I thought the film was going to be a dud or not fun to watch, but because I didn’t think all the hype was justified. Well, I just watched the International Trailer for Avatar, and I must say, color me impressed. Today, Coming Soon has dropped a new behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of Avatar and it gives some further insight on the film.

Avatar is the 10+ year brainchild of Aliens director James Cameron and is supposed to be the greatest achievement in cinema since the addition of color and sound. The 20^th Century Fox endeavor is reported to have a production budget somewhere between $200 and $300 million, which would make it the most expensive film created to date. There is no shortage of recognizable actors attached to the project: Sam Worhtington (Clash of the Titans), Michelle Rodriguez (Machete), Sigourney Weaver (Paul), Giovanni Ribisi (Public Enemies) and Zoe Saldana (The Losers).

Enjoy the featurette after the jump.

While most of the featurette is dedicated to inflating director James Cameron’s ego by reminding us that it was he who wrote the script and came up with the planet Pandora (or did he?), there are some interesting tidbits on the characters, both human and Na’vi. I would have liked to see more informational background on the human characters but I can understand wanting the focus to be on the CGI heavy Na’vi.

The domestic trailer for Avatar drops today at 1pm EST/10am PST and we’ll have it up as soon as it does but I don’t plan on watching it. At this point in the game I’m excited to see Avatar and I don’t want my experience ruined by trailers or features that give away too much information.

Did you enjoy the Avatar featurette and if you were with me on the skeptical side of the fence does the trailer or featurette sway you to the other side? If not, why?

Avatar drops into theaters December 18^th, 2009.

Source: Coming Soon

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New Avatar International Trailer

Rob Keyes — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:33:23 +0000

This is something you must watch!

The new international trailer for James Cameron’s long-awaited 3D “masterpiece,” Avatar, has made its way online and you can check it out here. It’s in English but there are non-English subtitles. The official release of the domestic version happens tomorrow morning at 10:00am pacific time.

No more talking, check out these three-and-a-half minutes of awesome after the jump.

Not everyone was 100% sold from the first trailer for Avatar, but perhaps this trailer may sway those skeptics over. This promo focuses on more of the human element and story structure which will help connect with mainstream moviegoing audiences.

Watch and enjoy:

EPIC!

I’m biased because I love James Cameron’s previous works and because I was treated to nearly half an hour of footage while at San Diego Comic-Con. So, needless to say, I’m very pumped for this flick. This trailer does however, give away a lot of the film’s story and setup, and I imagine they had to reveal as much in such a lengthy trailer because a lot of regular folks (who don’t read Screen Rant) simply had no idea what the film is about.

After seeing this, they sure as hell do now. Don’t fret if you feel spoiled, I expect there’s some unexpected twists and turns from Avatar waiting us because Cameron emphasized that in the marketing, they’d be saving a lot back for the actual theatrical release.

Did any of you get that 300 vibe from Sam Worthington’s character towards the end?

What do you think of the new footage?

Avatar stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez and Giovanni Ribisi. It opens December 18, 2009 and we’ll be there.

Source: TheMovieBox

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Is The Plot Of James Cameron’s Avatar Plagiarized?

Ross Miller — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:46:11 +0000

With the hoopla over James Cameron’s upcoming sci-fi blockbuster Avatar, you wouldn’t expect a spanner to be thrown in the works at this stage in the game, less than two months from its release. But that appears to be the case, with the aforementioned trouble taking the form of an uncanny resemblance between Avatar’s plot and the plot of a 1957 Poul Anderson novella called Call Me Joe.

Some sites – such as over at io9 where this story originated – are asking the question of whether or not Avatar is a rip-off of Anderson’s sci-fi story from over five decades ago. It seems a bit strong to say “rip-off” but the evidence of the similarities between the two plots is undeniable. One of io9’s readers, “Goldfarb,” pointed them toward Call Me Joe – take a look at the plot synopsis for both it and Avatar, along with some artwork for both, and see if you think they bear more than a passing resemblance to one another:

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 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.

Avatar:

In the future, Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na’vi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture. Those from Earth find themselves at odds with each other and the local culture.

Avatar & Call Me Joe - Too close for comfort?

Pretty striking, eh? One of the big things about Avatar – which is one of the biggest selling points for me personally – is the fact that it’s said to be a ‘totally original work from the mind of Cameron,’ the man who brought us such classic sci-fi classics as The Terminator, Terminator 2 and Aliens. There’s no previous brand to build off of, which will make it all the more interesting to see how well Avatar does at the box office when it opens.

But now that there’s a possibility that the plot might not be as original as we were first lead to believe kind of takes some of the wind out of the sails, at least for me. Of course, there are varying opinions on this matter, ranging from if Cameron was even aware of the novella at all when he came up with the story (i.e. it’s just a coincidence); to some saying it’s one influence but not “the” influence; and some are even going as far to say Cameron stole the idea and Anderson deserves a credit on the film.

io9 reminds us that Cameron doesn’t claim to be totally influence-free when it comes to Avatar - he’s cited the likes of Dances With Wolves, Rudyard Kipling and Edgar Rice Burroughs. But as io9 also says, it’s strange that he hasn’t cited Anderson’s Call Me Joe amongst those.

This isn’t the first time Cameron has run into a problem involving accusations of plagiarism: Back when he made The Terminator, writer Harlan Ellison sued the production company claiming the ideas were already in a couple of Outer Limits episodes. The matter was settled out of court, and Ellison got (and still has) a credit on The Terminator.

Apparently this isn’t the first time Avatar has been compared to Call Me Joe, with /Film doing some research that turned up comments from readers that are months old, pointing out similarities between the two. For some reason it’s taken this long for it to bubble to the surface and become a (semi-)real issue.

"Call me Jo...er, Jake -- yes Jake..."

It’s up in the air at this point in time what affect this will have on Avatar, Cameron or 20th Century Fox. My bet is that it will turn out to have been an influence of Cameron’s all along, and they will have the permission to use some of the ideas. Kind of the way things turned out with the whole Pirates of the Caribbean 4 book source mess last month. I really don’t think that with a film as huge as Avatar that Cameron, Fox and everyone else at the top haven’t thoroughly covered their hindquarters.

Do you think Avatar is influenced or even based on the Call Me Joe novella? Are the similarities too great to ignore? What do you think this will mean for the movie, Cameron and 20th Century Fox?

Avatar hits theaters on December 18th, 2009.

Sources: io9 thanks to /Film

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New 3.5 Minute Avatar Trailer Coming This Friday

Ross Miller — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:09:07 +0000

You may remember the first teaser trailer for a little film called Avatar that premiered online a couple of months ago, causing quite a stir both in the split opinion about the trailer itself, as well as some initial difficulties in actually being able to view it on Apple.com. Around these parts we were on the positive side of the fence, and put any flaws the Avatar trailer may have had down to the fact that it was meant to be seen on as big a screen as possible and not on a computer screen.

Our first proper look at Avatar was, in the end, an extended teaser, basically hinting at the visuals that are to come (“This is great,” was the extent of the dialogue). But those wanting a better feel for the story need not fret – a new trailer is on its way. The guys over at ComingSoon.net have learned from 20th Century Fox that a new 3.5 minute trailer will start to be shown in theaters this Friday, October 23rd.

Unfortunately, the new Avatar trailer is not scheduled to appear online until almost a week later, on October 29th, but like the first teaser, I don’t expect online is where the trailer will work best; ComingSoon says it is, “THE trailer, the one that will show you much more story” I’m definitely glad to hear that – we’ve got a good idea of what the visuals will end up being, now I wanna’ see the story.

We heard word of more trailers coming soon at the end of last month, where the guys over at Market Saw managed to talk to someone heavily involved in the marketing for Avatar who said that, “there are more trailers than I can count on 2 hands,” referring to TV spots and featurettes as well as proper trailers. Amongst other things, it was revealed that on top of finding out about the story, we’ll also see more of the cast, including Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang, as well as concentration on “the incredible performance that Sam Worthington gives as Jake.”

Sam Worthington as Jake Sully

The interesting thing to note is not the fact that we’ll soon be getting a new “better” Avatar trailer (wasn’t it inevitable?), but the fact that it’ll be three and a half minutes long. If you’ve been keeping up with all the Avatar news, you remember “Avatar Day” back in August, where across the world approximately 20 minutes of footage was shown from the movie in IMAX 3D, the form it was developed for. Add that to this upcoming 3.5 minute trailer and it shows that director James Cameron isn’t shy of showing a fair bit of footage to get people interested. With Avatar being a new property, Cameron really needs to sell it, especially because of its hefty $200 million-plus budget.

So even though we haven’t got the actual trailer yet, what do you think of a new Avatar trailer showing in theaters from this Friday? Are you surprised that it’ll be 3.5 minutes long? And are you glad it’ll be the one which gives us a feel for the story?

As stated, the second Avatar trailer will start showing in theaters this Friday, October 23rd. Avatar hits theaters everywhere on December 18th, 2009.

Source: ComingSoon

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Six New High-Res Avatar Images

Ross Miller — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:44:55 +0000

Before the second Avatar trailer hits (which is apparently “soon”), we have six new high-res images from the film, by way of SpoilerTV, for your viewing pleasure. Even if some people were left disappointed by our first proper look at Avatar by way of the first ever trailer released in August (let’s try and forget the trailer accessibility fiasco…), I am still on the “Avatar looks great” bandwagon and these latest images only further that feeling.

The six new Avatar images are mostly shots of the blue Na’vi creatures which inhabit Avatar’s planet, Pandora, as well as Sam Worthington’s Jake Skully as his Avatar. But it’s always great to see more and/or better shots of them in all their CGI glory (get past the strangeness… they look awesome, people!). On top of those, there are also a couple of new non-CGI images which show off some of the human cast which includes Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Rodriguez.

Anyway, enough from me, check out the six images below that (according to our own Kofi Outlaw) are taken straight from the footage shown on “Avatar Day” (click for high-res version at SpoilerTV, once there if you click AGAIN you’ll get SUPER hi-res versions):

Click for more Avatar images

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Avatar Producer Talks Sequel and Cameron’s Upcoming Projects

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:19:53 +0000

Avatar 2, Battle Angel (see above) and The Dive - three movie titles that have one thing in common: they’re all on the slate of upcoming projects for director James Cameron. Recently, Avatar producer (and longtime Cameron collaborator) Jon Landau (Titanic) sat down with French magazine Le Film to talk about the acclaimed director’s Avatar project, and (more importantly) the rumored projects Cameron will be working on down the line.

Special thanks to the guys over at Slash Film, who have done the legwork of translating of the quotes that Landau gave to Le Film. I guess the best place to start would be with the possibility of an Avatar sequel:

Said Landau:

If the public likes Avatar, it’s a possibility. After all, here we are exploring the surface of the planet Pandora. The interior remains to be seen.

That statement is pretty intriguing: we know that Cameron has had a lot of the vision for Avatar bouncing around his head for about a decade and a half, so it seems pretty likely that he would’ve conceived a much more expansive vision of the Na’vi (Avatar’s resident aliens) and their home planet, Pandora, than one movie could contain.

So what might be hiding beneath the surface of Pandora? Dude, I haven’t even seen Avatar yet (just a preview)! Can’t run before I walk! Yeeesh…

Of course all this Avatar 2 talk is a bit premature, as the film has to first live up to its hype (and swollen budget) and fill those theater seats (repeatedly) this December, before any studio is going to back a sequel. So let’s just pump the breaks for now and put Avatar 2 on the back burner where it belongs.

‘BATTLE ANGEL’ AND ‘THE DIVE’

Can you imagine a live action Battle Angel? (click image for source)

Somehow we’ve yet to cover Cameron’s adaptation of the popular manga/anime Battle Angel Alita here at Screen Rant (hey, it’s not like we cover sci-fi/comic book movie news….oh, wait…).

However, that may all change now that Landau has let it be known that Battle Angel is still very much in the works. The manga/anime focused on a young teenage cyborg girl who was built to basically be a cyborg-killer; a whole lot of ass-kicking ensued thereafter. Battle Angel still remains one my favorite anime flicks, up there with Ninja Scroll and Akira. Glad to hear Cameron is pushing forward with the project.

If you’ve never seen the anime, have a look at it here.

Along with the Battle Angel update, we learn from Landau that Cameron has yet another underwater movie in the works, entitled The Dive. Check out the quote from Landau:

We’ll go on to Battle Angel Alita and The Dive, a love story in the middle of a dive. James is directing both projects.

Is it me, or does James Cameron have some kind of strange water fixation? We all know his classic underwater sci-fi flick The Abyss, of course there’s Titanic and earlier this month we reported on another underwater flick Cameron is producing, entitled Sanctum. Guess some people are just fish at heart…

Gotta be honest, though: The Dive doesn’t sound the least bit interesting to me – at least not the way Landau pitches it. However, it is James Cameron, so who knows what the movie will be in the end.

What do you think about all this talk of James Cameron’s upcoming projects? Do you think Avatar will do well enough financially to warrant a sequel? And if you had to choose which film would be made first, would you go with Battle Angel or The Dive?

Avatar will be in theaters on December 18, 2009. No word on release dates yet for the other projects.

Sources: Le Film & Slash Film

Header Image Source: Market Saw

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Second Avatar Trailer Coming…Soon

Paul Young — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:26:11 +0000

In what has to be the most hyped movie in history, 20^th Century Fox is giving the world a heads-up that a new trailer for Avatar “could be coming soon.” The great guys at Cinema Blend pointed us to a story by Market Saw, where one of their guys talked to another guy heavily involved in Avatar’s propaganda promotional campaign.

“…, there are more trailers than I can count on 2 hands. (TV spots) (featurettes) (Ubisoft promo reels) etc, etc, and yes “exclusive” content will be available on avtr.com”.

And what will these new trailers and spots include, exactly? According to the source, we will hear “more than 3 lines of dialog” and Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver and the Na’vi will be of greater focus, as will the planet Pandora’s nightlife. Also included will be glimpses of Earth in the future and in one trailer, labeled the “Story Trailer”, there will be attention given to the “incredible performance that Sam Worthington gives as Jake.”

Later on in the super-secret interview (most likely held on untraceable cell phones) the source adds:

“I have no solid date to give you on the 2nd trailer front other than to say that it is coming *soon*”

Well thanks a lot for nothing, Mr. Super-Secret Source! He sounds like one of those typical Hollywood producers that try to assure you their movie is going to be ridiculously awesome, but when the footage actually comes out – it’s just ridiculous. Let’s just recap what has happened up to this point in the promotional life of the $234 million dollar Avatar project:

First, James Cameron previewed 24 minutes of Avatar footage to a group of select critics and movie news sites in June, six months before the film is to be released. It was apparently well-received because the web was filled for days after with the worshipful ramblings of bloggers and critics alike.

Next came Comic-Con in July, and Screen Rant’s Rob Keyes, along with thousands of lucky Hall H attendees, got to watch 25 minutes of footage from Avatar - and Rob had nothing but good things to say about it. Soon after, Fox announced an official “Avatar Day” on August 21^st , where they showed (for free!) 15 minutes of extended footage from the movie in 3-D at various IMAX theaters (our own Kofi Outlaw was lucky enough to watch it). The arguably underwhelming trailer was also released online that same day.

Since then, several pictures of toys, interviews, and artwork from the film have come out. The tickets have even gone on sale three and a half months before the released date! Most recently 3 minutes of video game footage was released and it looks pretty good.

(But is Avatar worth the hype? Continue to pg. 2…)

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Ubisoft Shows Off Three Minutes Of Avatar Game

Rob Keyes — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:19:00 +0000

Ubisoft is excited to finally be able to demonstrate some gameplay footage for their upcoming video game tie-in for James Cameron’s Avatar and they want to know what you think!

The tweeted the announcement earlier today and linked to the video which you can watch below. The footage is introduced by Ubisoft Executive Producer, Patrick Naud.

Check it out after the jump!

The intro reads as follows:

Today, were throwing you into the Pandora rain forest, one of 16 different environments in the game, as a member of the Resources Development Administration, or RDA military.

I’m glad Ubisoft is making this tie-in. As we know, the vast majority of movie-based games tend to fall on the side of suck but this looks good. Ubisoft is known for making beautiful looking games and I expect the same from them here. That and the fact that it’s based on James Cameron’s largest and most anticipated project ever -- they want it done right.

As for the footage, the graphics are certainly up there but I wonder how much of a system hog it’ll be on the PC. The gameplay wasn’t anything new, nor was the dodge-and-shoot basic boss battle. The scenes hint at what we can expect from the movie in that bad people will be killing life on the planet, Pandora.

We also get a good luck at the robot and its weapons, along with a Hornet chopper which is flyable in the game.

Poor indigenous creatures, what did they do to you?

What do you think of the footage?

Source: Ubisoft

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Screen Rant’s 2009 Fall Movie Preview

Mike Wilkerson — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 03:01:23 +0000

As the days become shorter, and the nights become cooler, there is one thing on the horizon that all of us are quickly becoming aware of – the arrival of a slew of exciting 2009 Fall Movies. What’s always been great about this time of year is that it’s not just about “horror films” or movies that are made to touch the holiday hearts that burgeon each year as turkey, Santa and New Year’s Eve stretch into the new year and beyond.

The menu is varied, wide open and we hope – satisfying. While we couldn’t list them all, please join us as we quickly chronicle what lies ahead in Screen Rant’s 2009 Fall Movie Preview!

SEPTEMBER – 2009

Whiteout
September 11th, 2009
The Scoop: Pretty little starlet Kate Beckinsale takes on this graphic novel turned killer-thriller. Beckinsale plays a U.S. Marshall investigating Antarctica’s first homicide as the sun sets for six entire months. Will she find the killer in the cold dark before he finds her?

SR Says: The trailer paints this movie as more X-Files than detective story, which could confuse some on the premise. However, cold weather and hot Beckinsale = worth the ticket price?

See it? Maybe.

The Informant!
September 18, 2009
The Scoop: Director Steven Soderbergh helms an all-star cast providing you “a mix of A Beautiful Mind and The Insider.” Damon plays the exec of a agri-business giant who goes overboard working as a snitch for the Feds. It’s bi-polar, whistle-blowing storytelling at it’s best!

SR Says: It’s going to be amazing to see what this cast can pull off under Soderbergh’s direction with such an involved script.

See it? Yes.

Jennifer’s Body
September 18, 2009
The Scoop: Megan Fox plays a possessed cheerleader, with a fetish for feasting on boys (and girls). Hot sexy teens, girl on girl kissing/rubbing and more social satire from Juno writer Diablo Cody.

SR Says: Depends on how you feel about Megan Fox looking both sexy and grotesque in one film.

See it? If you like teen horror flicks, or are a devotee of Cody.

Pandorum
September 25, 2009
The Scoop: Ben Foster and Dennis Quaid star as two astronauts who wake up on an abandoned future spacecraft and have no idea what’s happened. As with all things in movies, time unveils the “truth” of what they face – a ship full of crazy space monsters.

SR Says: Dennis Quaid has had some woofers lately, but Ben Foster always offers something unique. MMA fans may recognize cast member Cung Le as the current Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, which guarantees at least two raucous fights in this thriller.

See it? Yes.

Surrogates
September 25th, 2009
The Scoop: In a future where people live life through robotic surrogates, Bruce Willis plays a cop who must venture back into the real world to investigate a string of crimes involving people dying while connected to their Surrogates.

SR Says: Jonathan Mostow is an underrated director, and seeing Bruce “alive” again, with great f/x and a bit of gravitas sounds like a great combination.

See it? Absolutely.

(Continue to page 2 for October’s Movie Preview)

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Del Toro On The Hobbit In 3D, Casting Rumors And Avatar

Ross Miller — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:21:20 +0000

There have been a lot of rumors flying around about the upcoming Guillermo del Toro directed, Peter Jackson produced, two-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic book, The Hobbit. Everything from casting rumors – Daniel Radcliffe, David Tennant or James McAvoy to play Bilbo? – to word of a third, “bridge” movie being made the would link the two Hobbit films to the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Just as quick as these rumors surface, del Toro himself has been there to dispel them. And that has happened again recently when rumors surfaced that The Hobbit would be in 3D. By way of TheOneRing.net’s forum, del Toro himself has let fans know just what is true and what isn’t, including confirming who will be the Director of Photography for The Hobbit:

“As a co-writer and director of this film (who works with the design teams, costume teams, creature teams, VFX teams every day of the week), let me be very clear one more time: we are not talking about 3D, we are NOT writing the screenplay for 3D right now- we are hiring my DoP Guillermo Navarro to shoot the film and we are not discussing 3D with him either or with WETA digital or WB or anyone else. That should be a little less sidestepping, I hope.

If after AVATAR the market may change and demands are put upon us, etc that is in the future. But if such things happen and we start discussing 3D down the line, I’ll let it be know here at TORN because that’s the proper way of doing things. But make no mistake- I’ve been living in NZ for almost a year now and we have not been discussing 3D. When we do, I’ll make sure your source finds out. Thank You, Guillermo.”

On top of labeling the 3D rumors as untrue, del Toro also popped into another part of the forum to deny certain casting rumors that have been floating around (Tom Cruise has even been rumored as a possible Bilbo Baggins, after he made a trip to New Zealand for a meeting with del Toro recently), as well as giving his thoughts (read: praise) about James Cameron’s Avatar:

“…is dead-on about the imminent conversion of film into an expanding 3-D field – at least in most blockbusters and I know of, at least, 4 or 5 major filmmakers preparing 3D films right now. Some of them seriously artistic and ungimmicky!! I’ve seen AVATAR and I was absolutely blow away by it!! I myself expect to explore 3D soon enough- it is the future, just not my immediate future. And no- neither David Tennant nor Tom Cruise are Bilbo and we are not redesigning Gollum.”

I notice that del Toro leaves Mr. McAvoy out of the discussion. Is it a sign that the actor is in the running, or did it simply slip his mind? Interesting…

Will James McAvoy play Bilbo Baggins?

I’m really glad that the 3D rumors about The Hobbit have turned out untrue (keeping in line with most of the other rumors about the project). When 3D is used right (i.e. in a non-gimmicky way), it can totally immerse you in the world of the movie, and I’m sure if it WERE to be employed for The Hobbit, that’s exactly what would happen. But I would like these movies to be a proper prequel to the Lord of the Rings series, shot in the same format (and yes, I realize 3D movies can be seen in 2D as well, but the shooting style is often still “3D gimmicky”).

It’s interesting to note that Guillermo Navarro is going to be the Director of Photography for The Hobbit, which will give it a bit of a different look and feel to the LOTR trilogy (which had Andrew Lesnie as the Cinematographer). Navarro has worked with del Toro since the start of his feature-length filmmaking career with Cronos, and has worked on other such projects as Jackie Brown, Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn and Spawn.

The script for The Hobbit Parts 1 and 2 is still being worked on, and we’re a long way away from the actual release (well over 2 years), so the amount of rumors and speculation is not only understandable (because of the anticipation for it) but inevitable. Until we get a bit closer to the finished product, we can expect even more of these rumors, and it’s nice to see the director taking time out of his hectic schedule to keep us informed.

What do you think about what del Toro has said? Are you glad The Hobbit movies won’t be in 3D?

Part 1 of The Hobbit is scheduled to hit theaters in December, 2011, with Part 2 following a year later in December, 2012.

Sources: TheOneRing.net and /Film

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Avatar Opening Day IMAX Tickets Already On Sale!

Ross Miller — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:04:18 +0000

On August 21st this year, audiences around the world were treated to a special sneak preview of approximately 20 minutes of footage from James Cameron’s Avatar. The extended preview was an unprecedented event, but one that would allow a wider audience than just those reading the hype online to get a look at the Titanic director’s first film in over 12 years.

However, the event that was being referred to as “Avatar Day” reportedly didn’t even get close to selling out its screenings; early opinion was that interest in the film wasn’t as strong as was first surmised. However, I’m going to chalk the low turnout up to the fact that people (en masse) weren’t interested in seeing just part of the movie, when in a few months the whole thing will be available on a wider, more easily accessible level.

Speaking of which, the tickets for the 3D IMAX midnight screenings of Avatar have now gone on sale at Fandango and Movietickets.com. Yes, they’re selling tickets for a movie that is still over three and a half months away. I don’t know about you but that seems a bit premature, even for a movie on the scale of Avatar.

Even if Avatar Day wasn’t the success that it was suppossed to be, nonetheless, four million viewings of the Avatar trailer on Apple.com show there’s interest in the film out there (let’s try and forget about the fiasco of people being unable to view the trailer straight away due to an Apple server error…). I’ll also re-posit the theory that it was probably the disinterest in seeing just 20 minutes of a movie that led Avatar Day to not completely selling out.

The Avatar trailer disappointed some people, but I personally thought it looked quite stunning. Our own Kofi Outlaw was lucky enough to snag an Avatar Day ticket and he has said the fantasy element of the film (its aliens) is, “brought closer to life than ever before.” The fantasy aspect is one of the key things I hope Cameron has gotten right, and it’s great to hear that’s even more than the case.

Avatar is a movie built for the biggest screen possible, and the lack of impact the trailer may have had for some people could be due to the fact that a computer screen doesn’t do it justice. I’m expecting that when we finally get to see Avatar on the big-big screen it was meant for, it will truly be a sight to behold.

What do you think about the midnight screening tickets for Avatar going on sale already? Will you be buying them this soon for the earliest screening possible, or will you wait a couple of months before you even think about ordering tickets?

As stated, midnight tickets for Avatar are already on sale and can be purchased from Fandango and Movietickets.com. But if you’re planning on purchasing them at this early stage, I’d do it quick as tickets are likely to sell out pretty fast (we’ll keep you posted on that front).

Avatar hits 3D and regular theaters on December 18th, 2009.

Source: Collider

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