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Rottenwatch: AVATAR (82%)

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Jibril said:
Got the Artbook for AVATAR today. I'm perplexed at the sheer beauty of this.

You guys need to check this out:http://www.amazon.com/dp/0810982862/?tag=neogaf0e-20
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Well, shit. I went in there to look at the art book, and ended up buying damn near everthing for Avatar but the scrap book (survival guide for my older kid, sticker book for the younger, art book and soundtrack for myself).

Somewhere, Jim Cameron is smiling.
syllogism said:
Money is money am I right
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Tell you what. Use adjusted grosses, but add in all earnings from video/DVD/Blu-Ray etc. to account for the changes in the marketplace.

But since those aren't readily available, it's easiest to just use unadjusted figures, and keep in mind that the market has changed dramatically over the years, as have ticket prices.
 
DihcarEM said:
Still deciding wether to buy this or not. Most complaints come from it being a relative thin artbook. Which given the scale of Avatar and how long it was in production, the amount of work in realizing this universe i can understand.
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You should really check it out. over a hundred pages, of glory. This thing is magnificent you shouldn't be missing out. It's so good in fact, that the only complaint seems to be, that people want more.

GhaleonEB said:
Well, shit. I went in there to look at the art book, and ended up buying damn near everthing for Avatar but the scrap book (survival guide for my older kid, sticker book for the younger, art book and soundtrack for myself).

Somewhere, Jim Cameron is smiling.
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:lol
 
Ok, ordered the Artbook and Survival Guide. Though I guess the art book has been selling a lot because it takes a few weeks to get it in stock.
 
This has most likely already been mentioned but listening to the Soundtrack right now I actually notice similarities between Horners other movies Enemy at the Gates and even Willow in a lot of the songs.
 
BruceLeeRoy said:
This has most likely already been mentioned but listening to the Soundtrack right now I actually notice similarities between Horners other movies Enemy at the Gates and even Willow in a lot of the songs.
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He references his past themes a LOT. Since I haven't seen the former and don't remember the latter, I won't pick up on them, but I noted the Glory theme lifted verbatim last week:

Avatar

Glory

Some of the action music in Avatar was very similar to Titanic and Aliens.
 
I have to admit...
I'm getting into this Leona Lewis song made for Avatar.
It's alright...:lol
 
Jibril said:
I have to admit...
I'm getting into this Leona Lewis song made for Avatar.
It's alright...:lol
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Heh, yeah. I looked at the music video for the song and it actually had the epic scene of Jake and the Banshee tribe flying above the sea.
 
GhaleonEB said:
He references his past themes a LOT. Since I haven't seen the former and don't remember the latter, I won't pick up on them, but I noted the Glory theme lifted verbatim last week:

Avatar

Glory

Some of the action music in Avatar was very similar to Titanic and Aliens.
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Wow yeah your right he re-uses a lot of stuff. I wish I could call him out on it but it fits Avatar pretty perfectly.

Jibril said:
I have to admit...
I'm getting into this Leona Lewis song made for Avatar.
It's alright...:lol
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:lol I didn't even know about this song till you posted it is way better than I would care to admit.
The beginning is the best part of that song.
 
The more money it makes, the better the Blu-Ray release will be. Hopefully provoking them to render in some of those scenes from the B-Roll footage.
 
LeMaximilian said:
The more money it makes, the better the Blu-Ray release will be.
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This is Fox. The opposite is likely true. Avatar being hot shit means were probably going to get a 2D barebones version first, a 2D special/extended cut later, a 3D barebones version next, and then a 3D extended cut.
 
Solo said:
This is Fox. The opposite is likely true. Avatar being hot shit means were probably going to get a 2D barebones version first, a 2D special/extended cut later, a 3D barebones version next, and then a 3D extended cut.
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Makes sense. I hope it's a barebones, with a special edition limited bullshit version and all the bonus footage. Then later down the line, super hyper extended cut.
 
irfan said:
Do you have a link to show how Avatar is WAY BEHIND ROTK in terms of tickets sold?
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There's no link. You've to look up the average ticket prices, look at the 3D/2D split and do the math. Obviously you can feasibly do this only for the domestic grosses. It's not "way behind", but what I'm saying this isn't exactly _yet_ a once in a decade or two movie in terms of box office. It's starting to look like it has a decent chance at $500-550m though.
 
LeMaximilian said:
Makes sense. I hope it's a barebones, with a special edition limited bullshit version and all the bonus footage. Then later down the line, super hyper extended cut.
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Pretty much what I'm expecting. Bare bones release first, probably in the summer or a little earlier and then extended edition a year from now. It's what happened with LotR, different studio sure, but well, studios tend to think alike when it comes to milking something. And boy, is FOX going to milk this one for all it is worth.
 
icarus-daedelus said:
Really? I hated it when I was walking out of the theater. Jake opens his eyes, "AVATAR" comes up on screen, I am dazed with my heart still racing, and then that terrible song starts playing and kind of ruins the whole mood.
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I thought that title ruined the mood.
 
icarus-daedelus said:
Really? I hated it when I was walking out of the theater. Jake opens his eyes, "AVATAR" comes up on screen, I am dazed with my heart still racing, and then that terrible song starts playing and kind of ruins the whole mood.
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Yeah. I really didn't like it just a few days ago. But damn, it's actually pretty good.
 
EW article on Avatar's Best Picture hopes.

http://oscar-watch.ew.com/2009/12/28/whose-oscar-hopes-has-avatar-killed/

Whose Oscar hopes has 'Avatar' killed?
by Dave Karger

I’ve never been a believer in the theory that Oscar voters have “slots” that they look to fill in the Best Picture race each year — the indie film, the blockbuster, the biopic, etc. That would imply that the entire voting body somehow decides on these things together, which obviously isn’t the case. But I do think the argument can be made that Avatar’s newly-cemented status as a Best Picture frontrunner along the lines of The Hurt Locker and Up in the Air does have ramifications for other contenders that push similar buttons. For instance, Avatar’s popularity among Academy members is likely the death knell for Star Trek and District 9’s Best Picture hopes, since there probably won’t be room for two sci-fi films in the list of 10. Likewise, other box-office smashes like The Hangover and The Blind Side now seem quite pale by comparison to James Cameron’s visionary work.

The question everyone is now asking: Can Avatar win? Gregory Ellwood over at Hitfix.com is raking me over the coals for still having Up in the Air as my No. 1 contender on Movie City News’ Gurus o’ Gold chart. One thing’s for sure, though: With a bona fide blockbuster squarely in the hunt for the biggest Oscar of all, you can guarantee the telecast’s producers are doing cartwheels right now.
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Though the guy is nuts if he thought either Star Trek or D9 had a shot at a best picture win.
 
Forrest Gump won (against stiffer competition), so anything is possible.

I think most voters will view Avatar like the AFI does:

Can a film be noteworthy without being one of the year's best?

The American Film Institute clearly thinks so.

AFI has chosen the James Cameron movie "Avatar" as one of the eight "noteworthy" events in the world of cinema in 2009, but it didn't include the flick on its finest movies list, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The Institute described "Avatar" as "a film that firmly established itself as a landmark in the way stories are told."
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http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai..._a_best_movie_says_the_afi.html#ixzz0b71VKNOd
 
gdt5016 said:
EW article on Avatar's Best Picture hopes.


Though the guy is nuts if he thought either Star Trek or D9 had a shot at a best picture win.
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He's talking in terms of nominations, not wins. Many people thought those two films had an outside shot at being in the 10, which depending on the film is just as good as a win.
 
Here's the best blog posting about Avatar, because it says so well what makes Avatar special:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/?p=17141#more-17141

Last night I saw Avatar for the second time. It has been three decades since I lined up to repeatedly watch a film. It has three decades since I had that exhilarating feeling of the absolutely new. Watching Avatar again I was trying to find the flaws I kept hearing about. Yeah, some of the lines of dialogue were corny and obvious. But since I already knew they were coming, and since I already knew the plot hovered closely to Dances with Wolves, those details were taken off the table. I sunk into the love story. I looked more closely at the meticulous details of the natural world of Pandora. I never felt cheated. I always felt like I was right there with Jake. He was my avatar, bringing me back into the alternate world and I never wanted to pulled back out, just like he didn’t. Every scene in the film is majestic and enthralling.

Perhaps that is why the ending of Avatar comes too soon. The second viewing for me was not in a theater you’d expect to respond to the movie. I have never been to that theater and heard it go so quiet – Cameron had this audience in the palm of his hand. They were stunned by what they were experiencing. It wasn’t just that the effects are so mind-blowing; it was that the story was holding them all the way through until the end where they clapped. It is the magic of cinema plain and simple. It isn’t going to change the world and it isn’t going to forever alter one’s identity. It isn’t even going to send home the message that one must “get busy living or get busy dying,” as many of the films do this year. But it is the work of a genius.

At the same time, it doesn’t take away from the other films that are equally good for different reasons. The thing that makes Avatar different is that movies like this simply don’t get made but for every once in several decades. Those who were bored or uninterested, or who felt that the story was weak and the movie bad — I get it, I do. I just know, though, that we have different reasons for going to the movies. I’d forgotten what it felt like to see a movie that I never wanted to end. I’d forgotten that there was a time when being in that dark theater, drifting off to another world, was far preferable to life outside and that pulling away from it almost hurts. I’d forgotten it was possible to experience something that sensational.

Most of the time movies take from me more than give back. They take my time and they take my money. Most of the time, I feel like I was tricked into watching such a terrible, mediocre, dumbed down story – especially movies aimed at kids. Because they’re afraid to do anything risky the stores are designed to appeal across the board. Thus, they are generic and forgettable. Even many of the films that are really pretty good require effort on my part. I don’t mind it because, in my ways, movies are my life. But it is extremely rare to go in and see a movie, start to finish, that gives back way more than it takes. I felt nourished, satisfied, entertained after walking out of Avatar. The only thing about it I don’t understand is why everyone doesn’t feel the same way.
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WyndhamPrice said:
He's talking in terms of nominations, not wins. Many people thought those two films had an outside shot at being in the 10, which depending on the film is just as good as a win.
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Neither really had a shot at a nom either.
 
ToxicAdam said:
Forrest Gump won (against stiffer competition), so anything is possible.
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Gump didn't really have the stigma of being a genre film, and it had pretty massive baby boomer appeal.

Star Trek was a contender for Best Picture? :lol I can see District 9 maybe making it into the fold if there were 10 nomination slots, but even the chances of that seem really low.
 
ToxicAdam said:
Forrest Gump won (against stiffer competition), so anything is possible.
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Well, this year really wasn't a strong year. I still haven't come across that stand-out movie like No Country For Old Men was, or Children of Men(I think this didn't even get nominated if I remember).

Oscar Buzz is only going to let Avatar gross even more and keep the hype up. :lol Damn, they definitely released this sucker perfectly.

I could also see them giving a nom to Zoe.
 
4ptduh.jpg

this scene is a visual orchestra.
 
ymmv said:
Here's the best blog posting about Avatar, because it says so well what makes Avatar special:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/?p=17141#more-17141
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Agree, that's a perfect summation of my thoughts on Avatar.
Jibril said:
4ptduh.jpg

this scene is a visual orchestra.
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I loved this little vignette. Most movies would have skipped it, just focusing on the spectacle of the flight. But this one moment brought it down a notch and made it more real; how Jake was learning the mechanics of flying (adjusting properly for the wind, taking the correct angles on approaches), and how he and Neytiri were bonding during his training. Avatar's story is pretty straight forward, but it's got these kind of moments throughout that just add so much to the characters and the story.

I really think Cameron's story telling instincts are underrated by those who dismiss the overall framework of the plot as being too familiar. He grounds the fantastic in a way that's instantly relatable.
 
shintoki said:
Well, this year really wasn't a strong year.
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How is it that people keep saying this after The Hurt Locker, Up in the Air, Inglorious Basterds, Where the Wild Things Are, Bad Lieutenant, A Serious Man, A Single Man, UP, etc, etc?

I think Oscars might be more interesting this year just because a number of obvious Oscarbait films seem to have fallen flat on their faces critically (Nine, Invictus, The Lovely Bones)....so that leaves the field a little more open.
 
syllogism said:
Well, unless I did the math wrong it has to gross almost 550 to catch up

e: there's no way The Hurt Locker was going to win anyway (thankfully)
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Doesnt matter, it will pass ROTK.

Adjusted is a novelty, if you are going with adjusted ... Gone with the Wind will never be topped, which is kind of a good joke honestly.
 
ToxicAdam said:
I think most voters will view Avatar like the AFI does:



http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai..._a_best_movie_says_the_afi.html#ixzz0b71VKNOd
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That seems to be the tactic a lot of people are taking -- giving Avatar some kind of "Special Prize", but refusing to acknowledge it above better executed but more traditional films. Ebert excluded it from his 10 Best list but gave it a special prize as well.

I think it's fair - the film is a technical achievement worthy of some note....and moreso than most special effects-driven blockbusters. At the same time the acting and story are not really any better than a special effects driven blockbuster.
 
Was reading an Avatar thread at http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=2&t=833716&page=1&pp=15 and one of the posters who worked on the movie let out several little nuggets regarding deleted/trimmed scenes.

rundown:

- He says Earth scenes were about 99% finished and when they were cut, everybody was pretty surprised

- Earth scenes aren't that long, they are part of a brief introductory.

- Earth scenes consisted of: street shot and Jakes apartment (mentioned by Cameron) along with a barfight and an alley outside the bar where the corp guys originally approach Jake.
The Earth scenes that got cut out were still super brief and really only reinforced classism and horrible environmental conditions, that everyone had basically accepted, to the point where breathing masks had become fashion items, etc. more Blade Runner than anything else. The planet is just screwed and no one was really inclined to change it, least of all the rich people on top of everything, which is who the corp was really there for.
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- Says a lot of nice character development and depth was dropped. Says that should there be an extended cut, it should be at least 30 minutes longer rather than 12 (a number Cameron brandied about in an interview)

- Lot of trimmed dialogue from Quaritch here and there that really gave you a better feel for the character

- Regarding there only being 12 or so minutes of finished/near finished footage left over, he says there should be a good batch of other material that is in pretty good shape as well (meaning, probably near-finished). All depends on how much is spent on making an extended cut.

- About the Deleted scene picture posted several pages back (Here), he says: "it's a pretty awesome acting/cg-acting moment as well, and was fully finished AFAIK"
 
Sad thing is you know Fox will take their sweet ass time stretching the release dates between the "vanilla" cut and the extended cut. Gotta milk that bitch.
 
Saw this in 3d Imax. I really liked it. I am totally serious, I forgot I was watching CG. I wish the movie was longer. I loved seeing the world. I understand the writing and story were not the greatest ever, but damn if I wasn't entertained and awed. All the shots of the world were perfect.

I want Cameron to make a star wars movie, to really blow my mind.
 
gdt5016 said:
Neither really had a shot at a nom either.
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I think, withthe field now expanded to ten, District 9 certainly had a shot at a nomination (though not Star Trek).

But Avatar and Inglorious Basterds will both most definitely take their spots as the crowd-pleaser nominees.
 
The success of this thing is only gonna delay the Blu-Ray

fuuuuuuuu
 
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