James Cameron's Avatar

Avatar,one of the most anticipated film of 2009, is set to release at the end of the year. It is written and directed by arguably one of the best directors out there, James Cameron, a man who has earned the trust of Sci-Fi fans everywhere and a man who helmed the biggest grossing film of all time: Titanic.


Cameron has not directed a feature film in 12 years and he’s spent a lot of that time on this project, his baby, which is said to revolutionize the way we see films in 3D. No one knows how expensive this project is - years ago an initial budget of $195 million was thrown around and sometime last year it was rumored that it was costing somewhere between $250-300 million. Could be more, could be less – the point is that he’s garnered the trust of Fox studios to invest that much into him and this project.
Avatar creature
Unlike Spider-Man 3, where Sony put that much money into the project with little risk, Avatar is no sequel and it has no brand recognition. This is an original piece not based on hit TV shows, comics or video games.

What does that mean? Well, it means the only way they’ll get people to see it is by truly selling itself, no reliance on other material or a built-in fanbase. So far, the only selling points we have are that it’s James Cameron and that it’s some new tech employed to make 3D and live-action appears truly as one and the same.

Another marketable trait is that it’s starring Sam Worthington as the lead, who will be super famous and recognizable by the end of this summer with his role in the upcoming Terminator Salvation – where it’s said he got the role in that thanks to Cameron’s recommendation to McG.

For this movie to be a financial success and to live up to the anticipation for it, it must be a world-wide box office smash. To do that, we need some incredible marketing. We saw probably the most extensive movie marketing ever with Watchmen (rivaling, if not surpassing what there was for The Dark Knight) ranging from loads of viral websites, pictures, supporting DVDs, behind the scenes feature videos, a plethora of trailers and TV spots, re-prints and hardcover releases of the graphic novel, etc (even the extensive lawsuit coverage helped market the movie). Zack Snyder and company took full advantage of the online world, something we’ve seen none of for Avatar – which I would argue may need it even more seeing how it is not coming from the most celebrated graphic novel of all time.

Thinking about the general plot of the film that we know so far, I can completely understand that. IMDB currently displays the following Synopsis for the film: [possible spoilers?]

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.

The overall story itself isn’t mind-blowing but it sounds cool as hell to me being a sci-fi fan. How do they market that story while at the same time, showcasing the new 3D and CGI that the film will feature?

The movie was said to be 60% CGI, most of which was shot with the brand new motion capturing method everyone’s been talking about using special cameras that Cameron helped develop himself a few years earlier.

The movie will succeed by bringing in the masses. To bring in the masses, show something to bring them in – I want this movie to succeed.

I love James Cameron, and he has my trust and support.

Avatar is set to released December 18, 2009 and I’ll be there.