Avatar Footage Screened to Time Magazine
Fri, March 20, 2009 
James Cameron's 3-D sci-fi epic Avatar is probably the 3rd most anticipated "Geek movie" of 2009 - the other two being Watchmen which opened three weeks back and J.J. Abrams' Star Trek "requel" which has another two months till release.
That said, I'm still waiting to see photos or actual footage from said top-secret film before I hype myself up or anything. Don't get me wrong, it's exciting to see Cameron back behind the camera and returning to the genre that made him rich and famous to begin with - before "the boat movie" that is.
Hell, I remember hearing Cameron talk about Avatar on Sci-Fi Buzz back in the mid-90s and being amazed at the prospects of an entire film made up of 100% computer-generated actors. Don't laugh, kids. It was a much bigger deal back then!
Now in a piece detailing 3-D technology and its future in films, Time Magazine reveals that they've seen footage from Cameron's 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.
That sounds all well and good. But I just hope this isn't a repeat of what happened with Watchmen where everyone (well...most people) nerdgasmed themselves into believing it was going to be this huge money-maker...and as it turned out the general public didn't give a shit.
Nonetheless, I'll definitely be first in line this Christmas - probably take my dad. He's the one who got me into science-fiction and Cameron to boot.
Reader Comments (2)
After all this time can Cameron deliver the goods? Hope so, but man that is one helluva of gestation period.
Time Magazine has done a correction on the movie's budget as follows:
"The original version of this story misstated the cost of the film Avatar as being in excess of $300 million. The correct figure is in excess of $200 million."
Still, if the studio is admitting $200 million now, imagine what it's going to get up to. I say $300 million is definitely within the realm of possibility.