James Cameron's Avatar Sci Fi Flick

[lindaluna]

This is not the Avatar on Nickleodeon, this is James Cameron's Avatar, a science fiction film. Filmed in New Zealand, hopefully in 3D. Sounds wild.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...dd95937c?imw=Y

[SnakeSinister]

I am really excited for this film! I wish they would get a teaser trailer out already!

[Wizzzardree]

Yeah Cameron's been working on this for at least four or five years; it's going to be awesome!!!!

[SnakeSinister]

They released the tagline today, I am not too pleased about that. I much rather have a teaser trailer with some images from the film at this point.

[DML1991]

It's finally here, after a near year's worth of anticipation, the trailer to the highly anticipated film from James Cameron (famous for Aliens, the first two Terminator's, The Abyss, and his last film Titanic) which has arguably been the highest anticipated non-franchise film without a single trailer (until now), filmed entirely in 3D technology and the first to do so, the trailer...

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/avatar/

Well, I think it certainly looks fantastic. There's not a whole lot shown of the plot, but it's a teaser and as a teaser, it's a pretty intriguing and great trailer. Considering Spielberg, Time, and Cameron himself has touted the film as having "revolutionary" visual effects and 3D technology, this lives up to it.

[9th_Wonder]

This film looks promising. Never heard about it until now.

Is the entire movie going to be in 3D?

[DML1991]

Originally Posted by 9th_Wonder

Is the entire movie going to be in 3D?

Yes. It was filmed with 3D camera's.

The video game is going to be in 3D also, how cool is that?

[NumberEight]

The CGI looks really iffy, especially the blue aliens; they look really horrible. It also looks like one of the cinematic videos Blizzard makes for World of Warcraft. I don't think there's anything special about what is shown in the trailer and I feel the movie will be the same. I am also of the opinion that 3D will always remain a gimmick.

[DML1991]

Originally Posted by JLTucker

The CGI looks really iffy, especially the blue aliens; they look really horrible. It also looks like one of the cinematic videos Blizzard makes for World of Warcraft. I don't think there's anything special about what is shown in the trailer and I feel the movie will be the same. I am also of the opinion that 3D will always remain a gimmick.

3D is a gimmick because filmmakers haven't used it in any special way, or actually, you know, used it. The CGI looks fantastic, especially for 3D. It looks like a video game... on a computer screen... in 2D, but on the big screen, and even more so in 3D, it's the most photorealistic complete CG enviroments and creatures have ever looked. It's a massive step forward in CG and 3D technology, sure it feels different and odd right now, but it's no less than a massive step forward that needed to be taken somewhere.

[NumberEight]

Originally Posted by DML1991

It looks like a video game... on a computer screen... in 2D, but on the big screen, and even more so in 3D, it's the most photorealistic complete CG enviroments and creatures have ever looked.

How do you know this is true? Did you see the 15 minutes of footage that was shown in theaters recently? If not, I don't see how you can make that statement without seeing it in 3D.

[DML1991]

Originally Posted by JLTucker

How do you know this is true? Did you see the 15 minutes of footage that was shown in theaters recently? If not, I don't see how you can make that statement without seeing it in 3D.

I trust the opinions of Steven Spielberg, numerous friends who did who aren't the kind of people who see something new and go "dude that looks wicked awesome!!!!", and someone who has actually seen the entire film and I know he happens to be legit.

I'll be happy to dig up links and posts concerning it.

[lcbaseball22]

Originally Posted by JLTucker

The CGI looks really iffy, especially the blue aliens; they look really horrible. It also looks like one of the cinematic videos Blizzard makes for World of Warcraft. I don't think there's anything special about what is shown in the trailer and I feel the movie will be the same. I am also of the opinion that 3D will always remain a gimmick.

I agree. I watched the trailer and argued with DML about this recently. It looks more like a video game to me...like Halo

Originally Posted by DML1991

3D is a gimmick because filmmakers haven't used it in any special way, or actually, you know, used it. The CGI looks fantastic, especially for 3D. It looks like a video game... on a computer screen... in 2D, but on the big screen, and even more so in 3D, it's the most photorealistic complete CG enviroments and creatures have ever looked. It's a massive step forward in CG and 3D technology, sure it feels different and odd right now, but it's no less than a massive step forward that needed to be taken somewhere.

Well, perhaps that is the case. That remains to be seen. I might give it a chance. Doesn't look like my cup of tea though.

[NumberEight]

Originally Posted by DML1991

I trust the opinions of Steven Spielberg, numerous friends who did who aren't the kind of people who see something new and go "dude that looks wicked awesome!!!!", and someone who has actually seen the entire film and I know he happens to be legit.

I'll be happy to dig up links and posts concerning it.

I would love to see those posts and I would like proof that the person you know actually saw the entire film, in 3D.

Edit: I'm not trying to be mean. If my post comes across that way, I apologize.

[AldeberanBlack]

It looks interesting, but I question the wisdom of having the aliens as being big and blue with doe eyes and pointed ears.

[SoulOfRebirth]

This looks...well, it looks like it won't be BAD, at least. But since it so prominently features CGI and 3D effects (probably the two things I hate most in Hollywood right now) I utterly detest it on principle. I hope to God it fails dismally, so that nobody ever does anything in God-awful eye-straining 3D ever again.

But of course it will be a huge hit, since the name James Cameron can cure cancer. Which means everyone and their brother will make a mediocre movie just like it. Oh goody!

[DML1991]

New 3 minute and a half trailer

With updated effects work, I don't see how anyone can say that the CG isn't fantastic. Even in 2D format, there's some photorealistic stuff there, and the attention to detail is absolutely stunning. In 3D however, there's no doubt, this is going to be as immersive an experience as modern cinema goes.

As for the trailer itself, I believe it might be the best I've seen this year, and given the hype that has surrounded the film, this is the trailer the film deserves. Actually now giving an idea of what the story is about, it looks to be pure blockbuster entertainment, with a social and political commentary as well. If anything Cameron is capable of, it's making an entertaining and intelligent blockbuster. After a bit of departure from that in Titanic, it's glad to see him back to what he always did best.

Just waiting for the domestic trailer in true HD, seeing "from the director of Terminator, Aliens, Terminator 2, True Lies, Titanic" gives me goosebumps. The first trailer was a mere teaser of James Cameron saying "I'm back", this is the real deal.

Originally Posted by lcbaseball22

I agree. I watched the trailer and argued with DML about this recently. It looks more like a video game to me...like Halo

If anything, Halo would have borrowed from Avatar. Avatar's first script was written in 1994, and reportedly has been online for a while. He wanted to make the film prior to Titanic, but when realizing the scope and ambition of it, he had to put it away and push forward to development of technology as actual 3D filmmaking (note: not films being converted to 3D, actual films being made in 3D, this is the first of it's kind -- of starting of production dates, of course). Over the past decade he's been developing the technology, and started filming the movie in 2007. With a 2 year production, at least a decade of development and years before it of writing the script. Halo came along many years after this.

As for the video game look, if it were a video game, especially after the newest trailer, it'd be the best of it's kind. But the look is somewhat intentional, Cameron has said that he wanted to make the film like some awesome video game you've played but would never get done right as a film because they never do it right, Avatar is going to show video game-to-movie filmmakers how to do something like this right, even though Avatar is working off completely original material.

Which brings me to another point, with this new trailer promising something genuinely epic and exciting, it's even more exciting to see a film that isn't a sequel, remake, or related to any franchise come out. You don't see films like this much anymore, and it's going to be huge.

[NumberEight]

If you go by what the trailer shows, I hope the humans get destroyed by the Na'avi. Hey, lets mine this valuable stuff on their land! Let's force them out! I honestly hope that it is explained why the Na'avi speak english, because that is really bothering me.

[DML1991]

Originally Posted by NumberEight

If you go by what the trailer shows, I hope the humans get destroyed by the Na'avi. Hey, lets mine this valuable stuff on their land! Let's force them out! I honestly hope that it is explained why the Na'avi speak english, because that is really bothering me.

Apparently in the script, when Jake enters the avatar he can understand the alien language (genetic I suppose?), so the scenes in which Jake is talking with the other Na'avi he's talking in that langauge, but we hear english for the sake of the movie audience. Eh whatever. I don't know if they'll actually go with that or not, it seems like a pretty unnecessary detail to me.

English domestic trailer in HD

(they finally put it up this morning)

[RemusPotter]

This looks amazing. Finally we have a more explicit trailer. I'm not saying that the first one was bad, just saying that this one has dialogue and we kinda get an idea of what this movie will be about. I can't wait to see it on 3D!

[phoenix88]

Originally Posted by DML1991

New 3 minute and a half trailer

With updated effects work, I don't see how anyone can say that the CG isn't fantastic. Even in 2D format, there's some photorealistic stuff there, and the attention to detail is absolutely stunning. In 3D however, there's no doubt, this is going to be as immersive an experience as modern cinema goes.

As for the trailer itself, I believe it might be the best I've seen this year, and given the hype that has surrounded the film, this is the trailer the film deserves. Actually now giving an idea of what the story is about, it looks to be pure blockbuster entertainment, with a social and political commentary as well. If anything Cameron is capable of, it's making an entertaining and intelligent blockbuster. After a bit of departure from that in Titanic, it's glad to see him back to what he always did best.

Just waiting for the domestic trailer in true HD, seeing "from the director of Terminator, Aliens, Terminator 2, True Lies, Titanic" gives me goosebumps. The first trailer was a mere teaser of James Cameron saying "I'm back", this is the real deal.If anything, Halo would have borrowed from Avatar. Avatar's first script was written in 1994, and reportedly has been online for a while. He wanted to make the film prior to Titanic, but when realizing the scope and ambition of it, he had to put it away and push forward to development of technology as actual 3D filmmaking (note: not films being converted to 3D, actual films being made in 3D, this is the first of it's kind -- of starting of production dates, of course). Over the past decade he's been developing the technology, and started filming the movie in 2007. With a 2 year production, at least a decade of development and years before it of writing the script. Halo came along many years after this.

As for the video game look, if it were a video game, especially after the newest trailer, it'd be the best of it's kind. But the look is somewhat intentional, Cameron has said that he wanted to make the film like some awesome video game you've played but would never get done right as a film because they never do it right, Avatar is going to show video game-to-movie filmmakers how to do something like this right, even though Avatar is working off completely original material.

Which brings me to another point, with this new trailer promising something genuinely epic and exciting, it's even more exciting to see a film that isn't a sequel, remake, or related to any franchise come out. You don't see films like this much anymore, and it's going to be huge.

Yes, I agree with you DML. I had no interest in this movie at all initially, even with the first teaser. I always knew James Cameron was a phenomenal director and has pushed the envelope over and over again ( titanic, true lies, terminator, the abyss, aliens) but after a 10 year hiatus, I wasn't sure it he still had it.

I have to say, this last trailer really, really impressed me. It just seemed so epic, and the story was intriguing. It definitely has changed my mind and I will be going to see the movie for sure. I know many have criticized the video game appearance of it- and I have to say the lush new world reminded me a lot of star wars. But I still thought it was something different, and I particularly enjoyed the story as it was presented in the trailer. I know it will be something groundbreaking that's for sure. He's never disappointed me yet.