Time Takes A Look Inside James Cameron’s Avatar
I don’t know if it’s disinterest or self-preservation that has kept me from following James Cameron’s return to cinema, Avatar. I like to think it’s the latter, and that I want to know as little as possible before stepping into the theatre. That said, a little information never hurt, and Time magazine was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Cameron’s sci-fi epic.
I couldn’t tell what was real and what was animated–even knowing that the 9-ft.-tall blue, dappled dude couldn’t possibly be real. The scenes were so startling and absorbing that the following morning, I had the peculiar sensation of wanting to return there, as if Pandora were real.
CGI is still in its infancy. I look forward to a day when its use in mainstream movies isn’t just a means to mimic reality or attempt to flawlessly integrate the unreal with flesh and blood, but also to explore new modes of expression. Considering James Cameron’s track record the release of Avatar could be that time, though I have to admit that my enthusiasm is somewhat dampened by this news. Will James Cameron be able to save us from the mediocrity of modern CGI extravaganzas?
Comments (9)
Isn’t anyone else getting tired of the endless stream of, “human greed (and inherently evil corporations) will inevitably (and gleefully) one day destroy the Earth” movies?
::sigh::
Posted by Shut-Up Ed on March 23rd, 2009I must admit being a Camaron fan since his first movie “The Terminator”. He’s a visionary, a master of cinema and even though I enjoyed the titanic but found repeat viewings to be sappy, and while the first 3/4’s of the “Abyss” was great film making at it’s finest (Hated the last 1/4 and thought the ending insipid), Cameron still instills a sense of “what the hell does he have up his sleeve”?
I know nothing of Avatar other than the title and even though intrigued was not totally obsessed with the idea of seeing it. But with these new images being released my appetite is definitely leaning toward wanting to see more!
Posted by 1138 on March 23rd, 2009I don’t know, it sounds pretty awesome to me. I’m really pumped to see how effective the 3-D aspect of this is going to be. Hopefully it will be the first movie that actually benefits from it in any significant way.
Posted by Neil M on March 23rd, 2009Just read the article and it would be great if these guys aren’t blowing smoke:
“Someday people will buy their own glasses, which they’ll take to the movies–like people have their own tennis rackets” -Jeffrey Katzenberg
That’s a beautiful vision of the future (for a cinephile/videophile like me) but this is doubtful seeing how many people still watch bootlegs on an SD television. I’ve been following Avatar since after Cameron decided to postpone Battle Angel (one of the best manga series the world has known). It’s hard not to believe in Cameron.
Wintle, I highly suggest:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117983864.html?categoryid=1009&cs=1
Cameron gets very technical on shooting stereovision in this e-mail interview.
Posted by Ryan M. on March 23rd, 2009Thanks for the link, but even more importantly, thanks for reminding me of Cameron’s involvement with Battle Angel Alita. How awesome would that have been?
Posted by Wintle on March 23rd, 2009These guys are way to optimistic that theater owners ( which have very small profit windows) are going to buy/lease even more digital equipment after shelling out for new digital projectors. Digital conversion has not moved as fast as Hollywood would have liked and now they are talking about an expensive shutter device that needs to be placed in front of the projectors?! These guys can talk big because they get whatever they want.
Posted by rus in chicago on March 24th, 2009Thanks for the post Sean but I’m in the latter camp. For the big ones I want to know as close to nothing as I possibly can. My juvenille avoidance for spoilers is the most fanboy thing about me.
Posted by Ian on March 24th, 2009Well there is only so much James Cameron can do as the director. I think a bigger question is will Weta Digital/Stan Winston Studio and all the other SE houses involved be able to raise the bar in CGI in films?
In order for Cameron to save us and for this movie to be great it can’t be all about the special effects. But I’m sure Cameron already knows this.
Posted by Primal on March 25th, 2009Haha yeah right. He and George Lucas both.
Posted by Shut-Up Ed on March 25th, 2009Leave a Reply