3D fans will be happy to learn that James Cameron has announced in a USA Today interview that Titanic will be released in a new 3D version and gave an estimated release frame: "We're targeting spring of 2012 for the release of a 3D version of Titanic, which is the 100 year anniversary of the sailing of the ship" Cameron said in an interview about 3D technology at theaters and in the home.
He added that Avatar may return to 3D theaters this fall with extra footage and also talked about the awaited 3D Blu-ray of Avatar: "We're not officially announcing it right now but I'm hoping for fall. The wildcard is that we might be re-releasing the movie this fall. It's kind of gjavascript:void(0)otten stomped out (in theaters) because of 'Alice in Wonderland.' The word we're getting back from exhibitors is we probably left a couple of hundred million dollars on the table as a result. The question is the appetite still going to be there after the summer glut of movies. We're going to assess that. We're talking about maybe adding in additional footage and doing something creative."
You can read the full Cameron interview on USA Today HERE.
If you've seen Avatar - and loved it as much as i did - and are living in a country where you couldn't watch the Golden Globes Awards event last night, here is the video of James Cameron receiving the Best Motion Picture Golden Globe Award for Avatar. James Cameron also won last night the best movie director award.
Will Avatar also win the Best Picture Academy Award too? We'll check this on March 7!
I must add that Avatar worldwide box-office is now $1,615,468,000. Considering that Avatar was released just one month ago on Dec 17th, there is no doubt that Avatar will beat Titanic record ($1,842,879,955). And, just in case you're not aware about it , James Cameron has announced that TWO sequels of Avatar will be released in the future.
NOTE: The first video embedded was removed from Youtube. I've found a new video - same sequence - not removed yet. So, watch it while it's still available!
James Cameron's Avatar world wide box office has reached $760 Million in only two weeks, which is simply phenomenal. If you have not seen Avatar yet, go to see it as the movie is fantastic, really. Some complains that the story has nothing special, but that's not the point. You must watch Avatar with the heart, not only with the mind, then you will enter the world of Pandora and the movie will look like a dream...
However, if you live in the U.S where Princess and the Frog is already released, go to watch it too! So many people went to Avatar that Princess and the Frog is not doing that well at U.S box-office... It would not be that dramatic if the movie was not 2D animation. And you know how executives are, they believe only in numbers... so, if "Princess and the Frog" box office don't reach their expectations they may think that it's the 2D animation which is responsible. Of course it will be absurd but if you want Disney traditional animation to survive give it a little help, just go to see Princess and the Frog, which, by the way, is a wonderful movie.
Let's come back to Avatar now or more precisely to the Mattel toys inspired by the movie - as they introduce for the first time "augmented reality" in merchandise products. Each box of the Mattel toy line include "iTags" to use with your computer and webcam to deliver hi-tech features. How does it works? It couldn't be more simple, all what you have to do is to place the iTags in front of your webcam to see Avatar's creatures or machines appearing on your computer screen. It's pretty cool, and the best is that you have a look at the videos below which will show you more about this in details.
Isn't it cool? Now, all this leads me to this question: what the hell Disney is waiting for to introduce augmented reality in their toys line? All the kids, even the younger one, are now playing with their computer and all computer now have webcams, the only thing that you really need for augmented reality.
Frankly, do you imagine the potential of this with any Disney/Pixar animated movie? Augmented reality, finally, is also animation... All "Princess and the Frog" toys should include an iTag so the kids could see and interact with their favorite character on their computer screen. They will love it! It's time to wake-up at Disney's merchandise section! We're in 2010 and some great technology awaits you!
Correct me if i'm wrong, but i have the feeling that this new James Cameron's Avatar interactive trailer is a premiere. I mean, isn't it the first time that a trailer give you an interactive possibility with multiple choices? May be, may be not, that's not really the problem, what's interesting in all this, thanks to this "ultimate" version of the trailer, is that we can discover new shots of the movie!
How does it works? Very simple: just click HERE and on the page that will open you will be ask to install a light Adobe Air program - it's perfectly safe and takes less than five seconds - then the interactive trailer will appear and will stop at some points where you'll have the choice to watch (or not) some featurettes explaining each character or how they've designed creatures or other special effects for the movie. It's pretty well done and works very well and if you ask my opinion i think that all trailers should be like this!
Another function of this trailer will give you access to a lot of interesting links, all talking about this highly awaited movie released December 18th, and in 3D!
As it's often the case during week-ends, lejavascript:void(0)t's talk about something different than Disney.
Just like "A Christmas Carol", a big part of James Cameron's Avatar - released December 18th - was filmed in "performance capture", but i have the feeling that one (Avatar) is going to send the other (A Christmas Carol) to prehistoric times.
We will check this in person next December but in the meantime, have a look at this behind the scenes featurette which also show some never-seen-before shots of the movie!
Those of you who are video games addicts might be happy to learn that Ubisoft designed an Avatar video game released December 15th, and here is the trailer.
Artwork and Videos: copyright 20th Century Fox and Ubisoft
The second Avatar trailer is now released and it's a big WOW! One of the main reason is that in most of the scenes of the movie - out of the human base - absolutely everything doesn't exist in real, eveything was digitally created: Pandora's lush jungle, the animals, the war planes, the Navi's - Pandora natives - everything! And if we think one minute about all this, we understand that the work it represents is awesome. Of course, the digitally created Navi's will mark a new step in special effects but the movie with its epic story - kind-of "Apocalypse Now meets Dance with the Wolves" - promise to be not only spectacular but also emotionally strong. James Cameron is known as a master director and for his stunning special effects, but we forget that he is also a brilliant director of emotions.
Below, the Avatar synopsis - there may be some spoilers in it, but not too much - and of course this incredible trailer. Avatar is released in a month and a half from now, on December 18, and i predict a huge world success to the movie, which will be also released in 3D!
"Avatar is set during the 22nd century on a small moon called Pandora, which orbits a gas giant. The storys protagonist, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), is a former Marine who was wounded and paralyzed from the waist down in combat on Earth. Jake is selected to participate in the Avatar program, which will enable him to walk. Jake travels to Pandora, a lush jungle-covered extraterrestrial moon filled with incredible life forms, some beautiful, many terrifying.
Pandora is also home to the Navi, a sentient humanoid race that are more physically capable than humans, although considered primitive. Standing three meters tall, with tails and sparkling blue skin, the Navi live in harmony with their unspoiled world and peaceful unless attacked. As humans encroach deeper into Pandora's forests in search of valuable minerals, the Navi unleash their formidable warrior abilities to defend their threatened existence.
Jake has unwittingly been recruited to become part of this encroachment. Since humans are unable to breathe the air on Pandora, they have created genetically-bred human-Navi hybrids known as Avatars. The Avatars are living, breathing bodies that are controlled by a human "driver" through a technology that links the driver's mind to their Avatar body.
On Pandora, through his Avatar body, Jake can be whole once again. Sent deep into Pandora's jungles as a scout for the soldiers that will follow, Jake encounters many of Pandora's beauties and dangers. There he meets a young Navi female, Neytiri, whose beauty is only matched by her ferocity in battle. Over time, Jake integrates himself into Neytiri's clan, and begins to fall in love with her. As a result, Jake finds himself caught between the military-industrial forces of Earth, and the Navi, forcing him to choose sides in an epic battle that will decide the fate of an entire world."
No need to be a genius to understand that Avatar is a parable on our world, on how humans with the help of military-industrial estate are ready to create wars to put their hands on precious raw materials even if this will destroy some precious nature and human being.
And now, on with the show, here is the Avatar trailer, i highly recommand to watch it in full screen mode! Enjoy!
James Cameron's AVATAR is without any doubt the most awaited movie of this year, and there is a good reason: it's James Cameron first "real" movie - not a documentary - since Titanic! You will find the incredibly awesome trailer below, but first let's learn a bit more about the story line.
Here is what IMDB tell us about the story: "A band of humans are pitted in a battle against a distant planet's indigenous population. 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."
And Here is another plot summary, released by Fox: "Avatar is the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn between two worlds, in a desperate fight for his own survival and that of the indigenous people."
And more from Wikipedia: "The story’s protagonist, Jake Sully, is a former Marine who was wounded and paralyzed from the waist down in combat on Earth. In order to participate in the Avatar program, which will give him a healthy body, Jake agrees to travel to Pandora, a lush rainforest environment filled with incredible life forms – some beautiful, many terrifying. Pandora is also the home to the Na’vi, a humanoid race that lives at what humans would consider to be a primitive level, but are actually much more evolutionarily advanced than humans. Ten feet tall, with tails and blue skin that sparkles, the Na’vi live harmoniously within their unspoiled world. But as humans encroach on Pandora in search of valuable minerals, the Na’vi’s very existence is threatened – and their warrior abilities are unleashed.
Jake has unwittingly been recruited to become part of this encroachment. Since humans are unable to breathe the air on Pandora, they have created genetically-bred human-Na’vi hybrids known as Avatars. The Avatars are living, breathing bodies in the real world, controlled by a human driver through a technology that links the driver’s mind to the Avatar body. On Pandora, through his Avatar body, Jake can be whole once again. Moreover, he falls in love with a young Na’vi woman, Neytiri, whose beauty is matched by her ferocity in battle.
As Jake slides deeper into becoming one of her clan, he finds himself caught between the military-industrial forces of Earth, and the Na’vi – forcing him to choose sides in an epic battle that will decide the fate of an entire world."
More than 10 years in the making, “Avatar” marks Cameron’s return to feature directing since helming 1997’s “Titanic,” the highest grossing film of all time and winner of 11 Oscars including best picture. WETA Digital, renowned for its work in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “King Kong,” will incorporate new intuitive CGI technologies to transform the environments and characters into photorealistic 3-D imagery that will transport the audience into the alien world rich with imaginative vistas, creatures and characters."
Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver and many others are playing in the movie which will be released in 3D - and even IMAX 3D - next December, and you can count on stunning digital effects.
Here is a picture of Sam Worthington with "his" Avatar...
One of James Cameron in the "Avatar" chamber...
And a last one of James Cameron with Sam Worthington.
In December 2006, Cameron explained that the delay in producing the film since the 1990s had been to wait until the technology necessary to create his project was advanced enough. The director planned to create photo-realistic computer-generated characters by using motion capture animation technology, on which he had been doing work for the past 14 months. Unlike previous performance capture systems, where the digital environment is added after the actors' motions have been captured, Cameron's new virtual camera allows him to directly observe on a monitor how the actors' virtual counterparts interact with the movie's digital world in real time and adjust and direct the scenes just as if shooting live action; "It’s like a big, powerful game engine. If I want to fly through space, or change my perspective, I can. I can turn the whole scene into a living miniature and go through it on a 50 to 1 scale."
Other technological innovations include a performance-capture stage, called The Volume, which is six times larger than previously used and an improved method of capturing facial expressions. The tool is a small individually made skull cap with a tiny camera attached to it, located in front of the actors' face which collects information about their facial expressions and eyes, which is then transmitted to the computers. This way, Cameron intends to transfer about 95% of the actors' performances to their digital counterparts.
Before you have a look at this awaited trailer, a great news: tomorrow friday 21st there will be a special screening of 15 minutes of Avatar - yes, FIFTEEN! - all around the world - not only in the U.S! Look on internet to find which theatre near your home is part of this special event!
And now, let's discover the first images from Avatar! As you will see it is over awesome, no words exist to describe this amazing, stunning trailer! Highly recommanded to watch it in full screen, and remember that all "Blue" creatures are digital creatures... amazing!
If the video below was disabled from Trailer addict, please go on Apple Movie Trailers to watch this awesome trailer!
It's one of the most awaited movie of next year - if not THE most. It will be also the big return of the director who did the most successful movie of all time. And it will also be a technological feat.
James Cameron's "Avatar" will be release in 3D - and a "special" 3D, developed by Cameron and his team. As a matter of fact, there will be more than one technological innovations as revealed slashfilm.com.
As for the story, here is the synopsis: In a distant future, humanity discovers the planet 'Alpha Centauri B-4', and for those scientists and astronauts who've traversed the gulf between neighboring suns and arrived on its alien soil know it as 'Pandora'. A world filled with an incredible diversity of beautiful and deadly ammonia-breathing lifeforms. Its also a world that harbors treasures and resources almost beyond price. But just as the original Pandora's Box wrought devastation on those who would use it for their own gain, so too this world may destroy not just the Pandorans home, but ours as well.
Avatar is the story of a wounded ex-marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in bio-diversity, who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival.
Below, here is a concept sketch for one of the alien creatures of Avatar
Avatar will use so many innovations and had a such long development - not to mention that its release date has moved from May to December 2009 - that we can be sure that James is not going to fail his comeback in SF movies..."It is the most challenging film I've ever made," Cameron said, and for sure we believe him. D&M will keep an eye on it and let you know more as soon as news will be available!
