Kal-El

Didn't he develop his own f/x house, Digital Domain?

Jason Bovberg

Here's a write-up about the footage at Hollywood Elsewhere...

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23 or 24 minutes worth of 3-D Avatar footage were shown at Comic-Con this afternoon. And it should come as no surprise to report that this taste of James Cameron's 3-D action fantasy, set on a foreign planet and involving a primal conflict between militaristic humans and a race of ten-foot-tall aliens called Na'vi, played serious wowser. As in "Jesus, this is something...oh, wow!...crap, this is new...oh, that's cool...this is so friggin' out there and vivid and real...love it all to hell."

Cameron announced at the end of the presentation that the rest of the world will have a chance to sample Avatar in a similar way on Friday, August 21, which he called "Avatar Day." On that day IMAX theatres coast to coast (and, I presume, in various foreign nations) will show about 15 minutes worth of 3-D IMAX footage of Avatar to the public for free. I guess the footage will be shown at successive shows all day and into the night, and that some kind of ticket reservations system will be set up.

20th Century Fox will open Avatar all over on 12.18.09.

The 3-D photography that I saw this afternoon is clean and needle-sharp and easy on the eyes, and the CG animation looks as realistic and organically genuine as anything anyone might imagine, and which certainly seems to represent the best we've seen thus far.

6,000 people watched the show inside the San Diego Convention Center's great Hall H, and then sat for a brief but informative presentation by Cameron, producer Jon Landau and costars Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang with a video apearance by costar Sam Worthington.

Cameron described the film as both a meditation on the wrongness of any effort by any military to conquer and suppress people in their native land, and a sci-fi adventure that will appeal to the proverbial 14 year-old boy in all of us. (Girls too.)

Set in the 22nd Century, Avatar (20th Century Fox, 12.18) is an allegory piece about militaristic/industrial-minded humans messing with and thinking about destroying a race of tall blue warrior aliens called Na'vi, who are peaceful unless attacked. In order to head off conflict between the Na'vi and the U.S. military, Weaver's botanist character invents a technology that genetically engineers human/Na'vi hybrids, called Avatars.

The story involves a crippled Marine named Jake Sully (Worthington) volunteering to be transformed into an Avatar on Pandora in order to mingle with and understand the Na'vi. In so doing he falls in love with a Na'vi princess (Saldana) and gets all caught up in the conflict between her people and the bullshit U.S. military.

I was transported, blown away, melted down, reduced to adolescence, etc. I mean, I saw some truly great stuff.

But I need to share one thing. As drop-dead awesome and mind-blowing as Avatar is in terms of super-sophisticated CG animation -- a realm that looks as real as anything sitting outside your window or on the next block or next continent -- the bulk of it does appear to be happening in an all-animated world.

Which means that after the first-act, live-human footage (i.e., laying out the plot basics, preparation for the Na'vi transformation, etc.) the film seems to basically be a top-of-the-line animated action-thriller.

Which means that once the visual climate and atmosphere of animation begins to settle in, we'll be watching something that's cool but one step removed from a "real" world. Which means that for people like me, Avatar, beginning with the portion of the film in which the animation pretty much takes over, may not finally feel like a really solid and true-blue high-throttle experience because -- yes, I realize this dates me -- it lacks a certain biological completeness and trustworthiness.

To put it another way the visual dazzle element will be wondrous, but the trust element (a reference to Werner Herzog's statement about things have gotten to a point at which audiences don't trust their eyes any more) will be in constant "hold."

I'm saying this knowing, of course, that Avatar appears to do a truly amazing job of bridging the gulf between CG and reality, but for me hard-drive compositions will always be hard-drive compositions -- they aren't what God created on His/ Her own. And never the twain shall meet.

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And more here: http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.co...merons-avatar/

devilshalo

Cameron has since sold off DD and Michael Bay is now owner. Cameron has berated DD for along time, calling the artists idiot savants and that certainly hasn't stopped him from dissing them today. During the panel, he pretty much said that DD was not up to snuff and that the Gollum character animation was what brought him to Weta with this project.

Supermallet

He said he originally wrote Avatar with Digital Domain in mind, but when he brought the script to them, they said they couldn't do it. So he shelved it, and yes, once he saw Gollum, he knew Avatar could be done.

Dr. DVD

While that panel discussion intrigued me, I have to admit this movie seems a little cryptic. When Cameron said he took a bit of a few sci-fi novels and comics for inspiration, he wasn't kidding, as the names of some of the characters mentioned sound like things right out of a sci-fi book; the kind you see in a bookstore that are immensely thick and always have a flashy cover, and you find out it is part of a seven book cycle. I am not saying that I dislike this, quite the opposite. I admire Cameron for taking this on, but I just don't see the kind of people who made Titanic a huge hit getting into this stuff. I would like to think I'm wrong and that people have open minds, but we live in a society where Transformers 2 is on track to be the #1 movie of the year and a great Harry Potter film can get toppled by a bunch of talking guinea pigs. Go figure.

Shannon Nutt

[Harlan Ellison]James Cameron stealing ideas from already-written work? You must be mistaken.[/Harlan Ellison]

Rubix

this sounds a little like robotech/macross.

in robotech though the giant alien shrinks himself to blend in with humans and then falls for a human female. i guess in avatar the human become a giant alien instead... and falls in love.

Dr. DVD

The plot really seems like it was pulled from a Manga/Anime.

Mr. Salty

So what?

Ash Ketchum

The implication is that AVATAR, with a budget reportedly in the $250-300 million range, will have to pull in TITANIC audiences (or at least TRANSFORMERS 2 audiences) in order to make back its money and justify the expense lavished on this film. Sure, it's got the dazzle to ignite the fanboys, geeks, sci-fi crowd, ComicCon attendees and members of this forum, but does it have anything of interest for Mr. & Mrs. Joe Multiplex and their families?

That's what.

P.S. Here's what Anne Thompson has to say from ComicCon (http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsono...k-future.html):

(Avatar went over well, but it was not the best-received footage in San Diego. Cameron sets a high bar. And the film plays very sci-fi.)

Supermallet

That's unfair. The panel right before it was Twilight, so of course that footage would be incredibly well received by the 12-year olds crowding the hall. And then something like Iron Man, which is now a known quantity, is also going to be incredibly well received. I was in Hall H for the Avatar panel and people around me were going nuts for that footage.

I don't see why you're determined to prove this movie will fail.

Ash Ketchum

A healthy dose of skepticism is all I'm selling. Besides I was quoting Anne Thompson (whose blog I linked to) and she's a much bigger fan of Cameron than I am.

Blu Man

It's ok, I think Ash Ketchum hates all American movies. He even hated The Shawshank Redemption. When it comes to blockbuster and Epic films, I wouldn't pay much attention to his criticism.

rexinnih

Sounds like an interesting result. Look forward to seeing some footage.

dsa_shea

Why do we really care whether or not this movie succeeds? It is not like it will affect us personally either way. I am skeptical about the world that they created not being organic enough and taking me out of the movie. You can have the greatest special effects of all time but if the story, characters and setting do not draw you in then the movie will not do much for you. I guess we will have to wait and see how the final version makes you feel once you walk out of the cinema.

Solid Snake

This coming from the guy that wanted Jurassic Park to be on a list, that really doesn't matter cuz it's, on IMDB

On topic: I'm happy for a Cameron film, I've liked them all...well since Terminator onward, not so much Titanic but it was good..just not LA Confidential good. He's always pretty good on the action...as much as I saw from the videos...I can only imagine wtf it looks like. I'd love to see a trailer or footage of the film itself. Something to ease my curiosity

Dr. DVD

Pretty much my point. FWIW, I'm a fairly open minded guy when it comes to movies like this, but if I feel like I need a dictionary to fully enjoy it (a las Dune in 1984) , then it's not a well made movie. Sort of like Watchmen was IMO. I liked it, but had I not read the source material, I would have found it quite tedious.

In short: if I start yawning/falling asleep, the movie has failed.

Blu Man

Anyone else feel like the CGI is going to be dissapointing? After reading and watching some people's impressions on the CG after Comic Con, it doesn't sound like it will be any better then Transformers and Davy Jones. I dunno, guess i'll have to wait. I just can't see WETA out doing ILM. I just don't see it happening anytime soon.

devilshalo

Apples and oranges... ILM: Transformers=giant robots... Davy Jones=face covered with tentacles. Weta: Na'vi=10 foot tall, half naked humanoids. We're not talking gungans.. we're talking about humanoids that have human-like musculature and facial expressions much like Gollum. That is the "idea" of performance capture.

There's no concern about the level of CG, but more of how the general acceptance or the willingness to accept a CG feature that tries to mimic live action (ie. Beowulf, Polar Express, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within) will be by the general public.

Ash Ketchum

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/hero...-doorway-.html

This link is to an interview with Cameron that I found interesting. He's clearly aware of the hurdles he faces in getting people interested in the film but also understands that, since it's an original, there are no preconceptions about the material to get in the way of the audience. The interviewer mentions THE MATRIX as a model. As someone who remembers the excitement of THE MATRIX on opening night at a packed Times Square movie theater, where everyone sat hushed, even during the extensive exposition, I would say that AVATAR has some big shoes to fill to match THE MATRIX's achievement.

One thing that gives me pause. The interviewer used the word, "compelling" as his only adjective to describe the movie to Cameron. That seems like a fancy way of saying something was "interesting," when you don't want to criticize something. People have to love this film for it to be the hit it needs to be. "Compelling" doesn't connote those kinds of feelings. People went to THE MATRIX because they found it exciting and stimulating and exhilarating and full of fresh things they hadn't seen before. And they had a strong identification figure in Neo to guide them through it. People loved THE MATRIX and that's why it was such a hit. AVATAR will have to hit those same notes and be something more than "compelling" to a mass audience. Are those elements there? We don't know yet. All I can say is that THE MATRIX appealed to me far more than any of Cameron's films ever did.

Still, I admire Cameron's plain-spoken remarks in the interview.

Blu Man

Honestly, seriously, let's be honest with ourselves, Unfortunately I don't think it will break any records at the box office. The movie will appeal to Sci Fi fans, Fantasy fans, and James Cameron fans. But unfortunately that's not enough to beat a movie like Transformers at the box office. I will encourage my friends to see it, and who knows, if they start a huge internet and TV campaign showing off the special effect, it might do well. But to be successful, they have to show off the CGI, not the storyline, which is unfortunate.

Supermallet

"Compelling" isn't a word I hear people use when they have reservations about something.

And while I can't say for sure that this is going to be a success, let's not forget the word of mouth on Titanic before it opened.

Blu Man

And Lord of the Rings. When those movies came out something tells me that the books weren't flying off the shelves like Harry Potter.

The Bus

If only Avatar was a Western or some kind of realistic historical period piece... But the audiences of the past two decades would have no interest in seeing James Cameron direct a movie set in the past.

devilshalo

You really believe that tweens are going to flock to see this film dozens of times over? They aren't seeing Twilight enough to push it anywhere near what Titanic made. I highly doubt a pair of CG characters are going to evoke the same emotion that it got Jack and Rose.