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Joel David Moore tells Quint that Avatar will lead to the discovery and capture of Osama Bin Laden!
SPOILER ALERT !!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. The weekend of AVATAR has passed and I’m here with one more story to post on the subject… at least from me. I can’t speak for the rest of the editors, but this is my last AVATAR bullet.
I interviewed Joel David Moore back in September 2007 when he was promoting Hatchet and he spilled quite a bit about AVATAR, including mentioning things that never ended up in the movie, like Michelle Rodriguez’s character becoming romantically involved with his character. That would have given the movie another great layer if it had made the cut… just makes me wonder what the longer cut (if there is one) will look like.
It’s a fun chat, give it a read if you feel nostalgic, but of course do so after you read the current interview, which I promised to post after release because we talk about some spoilery stuff.
Moore strikes me as a genuine guy, excited beyond belief to be a part of this huge movie and at the opportunity to work with some of the living legends of cinema.
I hope you enjoy the chat, done via phone, but if you haven’t seen the movie yet tread lightly for here there be spoilers!
Joel David Moore: Hello.
Quint: Hey, Joel?
Joel David Moore: Yes.
Quint: Hey, this is Quint from Ain’t It Cool News.
Joel David Moore: Oh my God, long time no talk brother.
Quint: How’s it going, man?
Joel David Moore: Good. Give me twenty seconds. Hold on.
Quint: No worries, man.
Joel David Moore: Sorry Quint, I’m hopping into another place here to chat with you.
Quint: No worries, man. I’ve noticed it’s been a little bit busy for you, judging by your twitter page.
Joel David Moore: (laughs) Dude, yeah it’s really good, man. We are so excited and obviously I was in London and saw the whole shebang all put together and… Have you had a chance to see it?
Quint: Yeah, it closed out Butt-Numb-A-Thon. It was the last film, so yeah I saw it there. I think I need another viewing, because by hour 26 of consciousness I was kind of loopy, but yeah that’s certainly a movie and a world where you can get just completely lost in it. It is so vivid and so detailed. I just love from the opening of the movie you see Cameron’s still got it. It was the reveal of Pandora on the reflection of like the solar sail of the ship… I saw that and I’m just like “Wow, that’s James Cameron right there.”
Joel David Moore: Yep. Definitely. It’s funny, right when I started this thing, you are maybe the first interviewer or the first big interview that I had and at that point I had no idea what I was walking into. That was three years ago, wasn’t it?
Quint: Yeah, something close to that.
Joel David Moore: Dude, that’s crazy. That’s a long long time. So what’s up? Talk to me.
Quint: Lets start talking about fucking James Cameron. That’s the big question, so I guess we should talk about talking about your working relationship with Jim as an actor and just how you guys built up your character.
Joel David Moore: Well, I think in the last interview we talked about how I booked the part. I had to do it just like anybody else, auditioned for it and they made me speak some gibberish, which was funny, and I went and I had the chance to read the script and it was literally one of the only scripts that I’ve cried while reading, so I knew what I was getting into, but I had no idea what I was getting into. (laughs)
It’s funny how when you make a movie for that long, you sort of get used to certain behemoth, epic-like groundbreaking technology and all of that that’s going on, it just kind of feels like… Jim does a good job at just making it like “We’re just making a movie here. It’s all good. We are making a movie.” He’s so excited about… and I’m so excited about the style that you are seeing in this, but this really is the kind of movie like you said where you can get lost in the world of it.
Everybody can relate to it, because everybody has struggled. Everybody has had a desperate moment. Everybody has felt like the world is pinned against them. Everybody has been either the Avatar or the Na’vi where you are in a position where you feel helpless and I think that it’s really a beautiful thing that he’s found the moral structure of this movie and everybody keeps asking me in all of these interviews “What do you think the political references are…” First of all, I didn’t write it, so I’m not going to comment on it. I’ll leave that up to the guy who wrote it, but second of all when I view it, I see it as being bigger than that. I see it as he’s not trying to specifically talk about incidents in modern histories or one instant in history. He’s talking about the idea of humanity and I think that’s really beautiful. That’s what I get out of it, so I shouldn’t say what he’s talking about. What I get from it is the idea of humanity and the transgressions that we go through and the moral compass that we have. How do we act as a society? How do we cope with our behaviors?
All of that doesn’t ride any political line. It doesn’t ride any social line. It rides the big human natural level. You can take from the beginning of man until now and everybody has been dealing with the same things. That’s why our stories are the same. You go back and read the old stories from early man and they are the same stories we are telling now. They are about love, they are about conquest, they are about struggle… I think that this is a great interpretation of all of those.
Quint: Yeah, you make a good point there. Playing with that familiar structure is kind of what Lucas did so well with STAR WARS, just kind of showing it in a different light. I think that’s what the best of popular filmmakers do is actually take those decades, centuries, millennia old story types and make something new with it and yeah, I absolutely agree with you that I think he has done the same thing here.
Joel David Moore: Obviously any Sci-Fi film, and I don’t even like to put this into the Sci-Fi category, I think it hits a lot of categories or genres, but any films that have Sci-Fi in it is going to have political ramifications. It’s a retelling of modern social or political structures. That’s what Sci-Fi is. STAR TREK has done it well throughout their timeline. STAR WARS did it… it’s all a reflection of what we are going through. That’s kind of the fun with these things. It has an opinion about what we are doing or not doing as a society, but I think that from the good and the bad of people that are searching for freedom, like our ancestors in America were at one point, all the way into taking advantage of that freedom. All of that is wrapped up in this story and that’s what I think makes it beautiful.
Quint: Let’s talk a little bit about the different styles of filmmaking that happened here. You get a chance to be a bit of an action star there at the end and I thought that was really cool the way that they were playing with the Avatar bodies versus what you were like as a person and how being in the Avatar form, in many ways, it seemed to give your character the courage to stand up at the end.
Joel David Moore: Yeah. I think what the Avatar does is it’s not something to hide behind, it’s something to get strength from and you have a freedom when you dawn that consciousness, especially because you are bigger and you are able to walk around amongst the people at their size. The way that gravity works on that planet… We are strong beings. You see them jumping from branch to branch and everything. We are very limber and strong and so once you wrap your mind around the control of the Avatar, you can really… For a guy like Jake Sully, who hasn’t had legs for so long, there’s a reason why he feels open to the world with these new damn things, with this thing that he just got thrown into. There’s a reason that he makes the decision to go out and test those legs, those feet of his.
Quint: Yeah, and your character specifically though, whenever you lose your Avatar body, I just love that little touch of you just saying “Fuck it” and throwing on a mask and picking up a gun and going out and joining the fight, even though the impression I got was that your character at the beginning of the movie wouldn’t have done that. You know what I mean?
Joel David Moore: When is this going to air?
Quint: It probably won’t run until this weekend, so it will be after release.
Joel David Moore: Okay cool, because I didn’t want to give any spoilers, but that is something that is really nice. Norm… I like Norm’s story and I like the way that they portrayed Norm’s story. Yeah, he has a little bit of heroism at the end, but it’s not forced heroism, it’s almost panicked heroism.
Quint: Absolutely.
Joel David Moore: He doesn’t give himself enough time to talk himself out of it. He’s not thinking about it, he’s just wanting to continue down the road of doing the right thing of helping these people and helping fight the battle and it doesn’t matter… He’s willing to risk not only his Avatar life, but he’s also willing to risk his human life and I think that, in a way, is true heroism. That’s what Sigourney’s character goes through and Sam’s character goes through. We are all making a conscious decision from the very beginning where it may be a suicide mission, but we are also in the heat of the moment having to make decisions that we are not panicking and running away. We are always moving forward and toward the goal.
Quint: I don’t know you very well, but I imagine you probably had a similar geeky upbringing as I did, so I would just imagine that getting to work with Sigourney was probably a big deal.
Joel David Moore: Oh my God, are you kidding? Yeah. What’s so funny is Sigourney is one of those people that you almost would… I’d be okay with it if she was a diva, because it’s like she’s earned it, but she is so far removed from any of that. It was really amazing to watch. It was a nice life lesson, like “See, you can get that far and not have to be an asshole.”
She was so passionate about it the whole time. In another interview I was talking about it and I realized I was talking about her so much that she probably would blush. She’d be like “No! Everybody is doing this. It was a team effort.” That’s the kind of person she is.
She will get you though, man. If she wants something, that lower lip will come out and give you little puppy dog eyes and you are done, it’s over. I was wrapped around her finger. I couldn’t take it.
Quint: You were like “If Ripley wants it done, it has to be done.”
[Both Laugh]
Quint: That’s great. Did you work with her also when you guys were doing the performance capture stuff? I’m just curious how the technology…
Joel David Moore: Absolutely, yes.
Quint: So, it was done in very much the same way as shooting live action then, where it’s all you guys playing off each other.
Joel David Moore: The nice thing about the motion capture side of it is that it’s really getting back to… We are not having to be made up and you are not having to adjust lights, you just point a camera… Well, you’re not pointing a camera, that’s the funny thing, you’re just pushing record essentially and allowing the actors to work in the space and Jim works with a virtual camera in that space and that virtual camera is capturing what we are doing in the character of the Avatar, so there’s no lens. He’s not seeing what we are doing, but what that does is it allows for him to see what it’s feeling like and if he’s getting what he needs on that side of the data, but this is not an animated movie, you saw it, you know it. It’s something beyond that. It’s photo-real technology.
You see my character and then my Avatar, the cheeks and the way that my lips move and my eyes, all of that is transferred over to my Avatar, so it really is performance capture. It’s performance capture in the truest part of the word. It’s not just motion capture. You are not just grabbing some motions so that they can make it look more real, like the way the video games used to do. A lot of this technology came, obviously, from sports games, but they weren’t worried about the faces. That’s the most important part in this process, making sure that our emotions were carried over to this Avatar, because that’s what would truly happen. If our consciousness is in this body, we feel whatever is going on. We feel pain. We feel hunger. The part of the story in this movie is the fact that all of us and especially Jake Sully, he has to live in two bodies. It would make one tired, because you are having to feed two bodies and sleep in two bodies and exercise in two bodies and everything is going on in these two things, so it’s like when are you actually sleeping? When is your consciousness actually falling asleep? It’s really superb, the idea.
It blew me away and I was not ready for what I saw. “What the shit?” I knew what we were making, but I didn’t know like… see? See? You see what’s going on here? This is how I’ve been for five days since I saw the movie. I’m like, I was better at discussing the movie before I had seen the entire movie put together, because I had seen most of it already, but once you put it all together, you put James Horner’s score on to it and all of the little bits and pieces and transitions and all of those tiny little things that makes it feeling like a bunch of different scenes, to an actual movie, that’s what rips my heart out and stomped on it for a couple of hours.
Quint: I think that makes all the difference to be completely honest, because there were a lot of people that were underwhelmed by the trailer… There were a lot of people that were under whelmed by the Avatar Day footage, but I don’t know if you were keeping an eye on twitter or anything whenever they started press screening the movie, suddenly within a three hour difference there was a shift from maybe some kind of hopeful optimism or maybe just plain cynicism to a childlike sense of excitement. I think a lot of that played into exactly what you were just describing. It played into that, people needing to see the story as Cameron intended it to be seen, you know.
Joel David Moore: And you are never going to get everything you need from a trailer, especially from a big movie like this. It’s never going to fulfill your fans and I am actually kind of glad that it brought people back to reality, because at the end of the day we are making a movie. We are not creating electricity. We are making a movie and the movie has groundbreaking aspects to it. The movie will be a moment in history in ways, but it’s still a movie, you know? I think it brought everybody back down and I think that was good for our press ultimately, because the press really tell the tale of the how people are going to react to the movie.
I think it kind of brought it down and put it in a moment where they could go “Okay look, I’m just going to go in this with fair expectations,” as opposed to the heightened, all the crazy budget numbers that were thrown out there and all of that ridiculousness. That plays into what the press feels, so I’m glad that everybody was brought back to reality when they could see it, because they could enjoy it more.
Quint: Yeah, Jim said something very similar to that with his interview I think on CNN and that’s something I actually really respect, because I know a lot of filmmakers can have this… Any negative buzz or anything online can force them into a very defensive position and I think that’s extremely fair what he said on that interview and what you are saying now. I think that’s actually very smart too, especially considering that expectation level at the time that that footage hit was absolutely unachievable.
Joel David Moore: Yeah, they thought that we were going to recreate celluloid or something. I even had questions at time, which I understand, because nobody knows what we are making, but they were like “So are we going to have to use glasses with the 3D?” Its like [Laughs] “We’re not magicians. We are just making a movie.” The other side of that is that I do think that this is… The technology and everything that we have… We have been doing this for a few years now and all of that is finally coming to a head. It’s like that zit has finally been popped, so we can all talk about it and it’s almost like a big sigh of relief. It’s like “Fuck… Finally!”
Last time I talked to you I couldn’t say anything, I was afraid for what was going to be published and like “Well shit, did I talk about this too much or whatever,” now we can finally talk about the wonderful experience that we had.
Quint: Yeah, absolutely and following that up, let’s talk about the sequels!
[Both Laugh]
Quint: It’s cool though. I like that Cameron spent all of this time creating this giant world and that this story that he told here isn’t all of it. It’s like there is so much in that and I actually really like that he has ideas for sequels laid out.
Joel David Moore: I think that’s what’s so great about the movie, now that I have seen it in it’s entirety, that it’s almost the perfect movie to stand alone or do sequels for. You don’t need to do sequels for it. Could you? Yeah! That’s going to be up to the guy who writes and creates these wonderful movies with his long list of very successful movies. Do I think it’s going to be hard for him to never go back to this world? Yeah. I want to go back! I think anybody who sees it is going to want to go back.
Quint: Cool, what are you doing next? Now that you have birthed AVATAR, what is your next date?
Joel David Moore: I have JANIE JONES, which is an Abigail Breslin movie that I have coming out, but ltimately I would love a TWILIGHT, maybe? Maybe if I shave and they just damp up my eyes and put a lot of bright under my eyes… I think I would be a good vampire. I played a vampire in and episode of ANGEL! I did an episode of ANGEL a long time ago. You know, I just want to have the chance to be in one of these movies… I haven’t seen any of them, but I hear they are very popular and I see the guy Robert Pattinson and had no idea who he was, but I assume that he’s getting all of this from TWILIGHT. I just want my TWILIGHT chance, you know?
Quint: Sure! All you have to do, a little word of advice, you just got to get the crunches started now. They like abs in those movies.
Joel David Moore: Yeah? They like abs? This is where I’m going to bring them the idea of CG! (laughs)
Quint: (laughs) Perfect. That way you don’t have to do the work!
Joel David Moore: Exactly. I just want to play the part and then they can just draw whatever they want. In fact, if I could look a little bit like Halle Berry, I would prefer that!
Quint: Yeah, that might turn off some of the TWILIGHT fans, though.
Joel David Moore: Aw, dang it. Okay, what am I looking for? What about if I can look like Taylor Swift?
Quint: Well, okay, but then you would be forced into a love scene with the werewolf.
Joel David Moore: With a werewolf?
Quint: Because Taylor Swift is going out with the werewolf from those movies.
Joel David Moore: Who?
Quint: Taylor Lautner, another Taylor.
Joel David Moore: Oh, it’s a Taylor and Taylor thing going on. You see how involved I am in all of the energy of those things?
Quint: Catch up with the times man!
Joel David Moore: I need to. We’ve been on this little thing called AVATAR. It’s a cave. We like to hide in it. (laughs) I’m actually pretty sure that the mental cave that we have created, I think Bin Laden is in there somewhere.
Quint: Perfect. So you are saying that AVATAR will lead to the discovery of Bin Laden.
Joel David Moore: The destruction of Bin Laden. To the capture of Bin Laden, I believe… It’s at the end of this story… I don’t want to give too many spoilers away, but I think if you actually read the map, like THE DA VINCI CODE, if you read the map of AVATAR, the mental map, it actually does lead you to capturing him. It also leads you to Campbell Soup, so I don’t know if that’s an advertisement thing…
Quint: There are only two exits. One of them takes you to a nice chunky soup and the other takes you to Osama Bin Laden.
Joel David Moore: Yeah!
Quint: Perfect! Awesome man, well I really appreciate you taking the time to chat with me. I know you are super busy right now.
Joel David Moore: Awesome, Quint. It’s nice to chat with you always and at any time, let me know if you need anything. We obviously love your site. Jim loves your site. Rock on, man.
Quint: All right, later on, dude.
Joel David Moore: Okay buddy, bye.
Quint: Bye.
Before I log off on AVATAR I want to point out a few awesome AVATAR related videos…
The first is the great interview with James Cameron on G4’s Attack of the Show. Talkbackers take note on Cameron’s surprisingly “Hulk Strong” ability with a folding chair.
And secondly, here’s a YouTube video of Cameron receiving his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It’s notable for many reasons… Cameron’s genuinely funny nod to his parents in the audience, the Governator’s appearance and incredibly political speech and, my favorite, the crowd booing Tom Rothman when he’s announced.
Thanks for reading. In the lead up to Christmas I’m going to post one new interview a day until this Friday. Happy Holidays, squirts!
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
Follow Me On Twitter
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First?
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Please, enjoy chili for lunch.
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Once I see it, I'll be over it. It won't be like Star Wars, Star Trek, or anything worth seeing again in anyway.
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It's perfect...Schwarzenegger owns the rights; they are going to team up for Jim's next film; Cameron is god next to Spielberg thanks to AVATAR'S box-office; Cameron should do a new genre after AVATAR; plus the fact that Arnie playing Hagan with Cameron directing would become the most anticipated geek film in years....and CRUSADE would make hundreds of millions at the box-office worldwide...Schwarzenegger and Cameron should make CRUSADE as theier next film since 1994's TRUE LIES. However, if they don't make CRUSADE together, TRUE LIES 2 is still a must. Did any of you read that BATTLE ANGEL might be dead?...http://geektyrant.com/news/2009/12/13/looks-like-we-may-never-see-james-camerons-battle-angel.html
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Dec 21, 2009 3:45:03 PM CST
Does for movies what the Iphone did for the Cell
by jeangrey_x23_lesbosex
kneal before AVATAR bitches. how can you hate this movie???
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This movie is like the Obama of movies. Everyone hypes it for a year, but soon we realize it's not much different than anything else out there.
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Why do the AICN writers include all the pre-interview chatter like:
Joel David Moore: "Good. Give me twenty seconds. Hold on."
Quint: "No worries, man."
etc.
I mean, I get it. You guys talk with people in the film industry. Should I be more impressed? -
If only it were true. It would be as if we finally started getting closer to the future that Bill and Ted promised us.
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Dec 21, 2009 4:00:07 PM CST
Did he start clicking his teeth together...
by richard_gere_raped_my_gerbil
...and talking about his paintings of random women at any point?
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Yes. Let's. Did he fondle your eyeballs?
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I too thought he was great in this, well done JP, hope theres more of Norm in an extended cut. The scene were his Avatar was shot was great
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when i was young, i got a huge kick out of seeing all the cool new fx in movies now, i want story...and a logical one to boot...which avatar is sorely lacking
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Fuck me the people involved with this film are just blowhards.."cried over the script"; Really? Ya mean like a little fucking girl cried? Over THIS simplistic tripe?? Bullshit...If you cried over this script you'll cry over anything. Fuck, Green Eggs and Ham and the Ugly Duckling must have had you slitting your wrists at 5 if you were so affected by this 5 stars outta 10 script.
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Oh come on people...this guy's best role is in Grandma's Boy as the robot voiced child prodigy without a single ounce of social skill. Great great stuff.
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infact many scripts are full of my blood, sweat and tears
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...the real tragedy is that he never gets to use them.
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Quint: "Lets start talking about fucking James Cameron. That’s the big question, so I guess we should talk about talking about your working relationship with Jim"
You're a real pro Quint. Witty, precise, intelligent... ahh fuck it. Why do I read your shit again? -
snakecharmer, is that true about a directors cut? I could believe it after THE ABYSS and ALIENS (two of the earliest 'extended editions'), but also because DANCES WITH WOLVES (which we all know is rather similar to AVATAR in plotline) recieved such a magnificent extended version. However i'd prefer to hear it from the horses mouth, do you have any sources to back up a 30 min directors cut?
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You're welcome to quit any time.
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this beats 60 mins any day.
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Quint "I wish I cud quit yu"
Trouble is the dojo never retreats and never surrenders. Think i'm a lifer! -
and amazing film. i saw avatar on saturday and i havent stopped talking to people about it yet.
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Damn, but the hype for this movie and the details of its pitiful script has turned me off of seeing Avatar. But then the same thing happened with Titanic, so y'all don't mind me.
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Sorry Joel, the US has finally (but very quietly) admitted that Bin Laden died on December 13th 2001.
http://tinyurl.com/yb8jfsg
Sorry to get political un my very first talkback, but lies that big kinda get to me.
Now that that's outta the way, Avatar is an absolutely beautiful film that will change the industry forever. All that Technology and CGI, used just so you can TELL A GOOD STORY the way you want. Wow. what a concept! Michael Bay should never be allowed to to touch a camera again after this. -
I have zero interest in seeing this movie and haven't researched it one bit. I didn't even read this article, maybe one of you nerds can tell me, is this entire movie is a big anti-war metaphor about the US fighting in the middle east for oil?
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either Charlie Rose or Tavis Smiley. I watched back to back so I dont recall which one it was.
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I suppose sitting in a puddle of your own smug and self-satisfied condescension *is* cheaper than a cinema ticket, but personally I think I'm gonna get more enjoyment out of going to see the derivative but fucking awesome Avatar again. Have fun being a dickhead. :^)
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...is a shame. I was neither a hater or a lover going into this. I'd say I was neutral, leaning toward pessimistic (mostly due to all the obnoxious hype). But I saw this yesterday in 3D-IMAX, and I'm sure that format had something to do with my reaction, but really: you'd have to be a pretty miserable person to watch this movie and not have a hell of a lot of fun with it.
Is it perfect? No. But 'not perfect' does not equal 'bad movie'. Its a fucking great movie unlike anything I've ever seen before. I definitely recommend it to anyone who isn't a cynical troll whose goal in life is to convince everyone that everything sucks. If you're one of those people, go see "The Blind Side". -
Or did he cry making it? Or promoting it? Ah, the things we do for money.
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This guy is pretty self-impressed.
AND, this doesn't look that good either. It looks like a renter, IMO. -
'He let's me come over to look at and touch his Oscars."
Oh, Arnold. That made me giggle. Two great dudes that had a huge impact on me as a kid. Love em.
Oh, and regarding the interview, Joel David Moore seems like a cool motherfucker, and toward the end (the Campbells soup and Osama Bin Laden talk) it started to sound like me and my friend's conversations that just devolve into gibberish. In other words, I like it. -
..the people who keep saying "It looks like a renter" or "it looks like Dances With Wolves" or "it looks terrible."
Iranian food sometimes looks awful, but you taste it and your body quivers. Terrible analogy, I know, but I'm Iranian, it's the first thing that came to mind.
Point is, see it, THEN talk shit. If you still honestly can at that point. -
I don't hate Avatar but it really is not a "game changer" or anything. It was all right. It was a very nice-looking film but the story and characters were simply not there. The hype about how this movie changes everything is from the studios that have planned a lot of 3-D movies.
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Avatar was nothing like Dances with Wolves. Dances with Wolves had characters and a story.
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I reckon there will be a longer cut on DVD. The opening is very rushed, and missing the scene with Jake in the bar/pool hall.
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Dec 21, 2009 7:21:19 PM CST
I had imagined something so much cooler. The Navi are lame.
by the green gargantua
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I was wondering who was gonna get to the "fucking James Cameron" line first. But rather than this guy, wouldn't it be better to ask Linda Hamilton or Kathryn Bigelow first? Maybe Gayle Anne Hurd?
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Avatar was a joyous, beautiful, deeply emotional film. Was the storyline derivative? Yes, it's an archetypal, universal story, norhing wrong with that. Some of the characters were a bit flat (Sam Worthington? Why?) but still an amazing piece of entertainment. I can't wait to re-enter that world. Roll on the extended cut and the sequels (fingers crossed).
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Wasted potheads trying to talk coherently......
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So is Avatar the new religion? It's certainly generating the kind of brain-dead non-questioning intolerant raving foaming reactionary paranoid behavior one associates to devotees of religion. I can see it now: hundreds of Avatar acolytes found dead in movie theaters all over the world after ingesting arsenic-laced Mr. Freezes in the belief that they'll wake up in Pandora, where they hope to finally find dates. What a shock they'll get when they discover that the only vestal virgins there are themselves. *snort*
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Grandma's Boy is one of the few stoner movies that cracks my shit up everytime.To me that guy will forever be the creator of Eternal Death Slayer 3.
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But anyway, my hard earned dollars will not be paying to see this anti-American derivative drivel.
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that JC said the directors cut version will be only 10m longer.maybe he will only extend the love scene who knows.
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I think when people call "Avatar" a game-changer, they're not talking about the plot or dialogue. They're talking about the effects, which are absolutely phenomenal. The film features hands down the most realistic CGI characters ever put on film, thanks to the technology Cameron invented to capture the emotional performances of his actors. And the depth and immersiveness of the 3D blew me the fuck away, again, thanks to new filming techniques that Cameron invented.
FX-wise, 'Avatar' changes the game the same way 'Star Wars' did in 1977 and 'Jurassic Park' did in 1993. Also like those films, there is some corny dialogue and well-worn plot-devices used. But those are far from bad movies. All three films more than compensate for their shortcomings with straightforward story-telling combined with amazing spectical. -
Have the haters ever been right about anything? Star Trek and Avatar got huge critical acclaim, all 3 got huge numbers (TF2 currently the #1 movie of the year!) and Avatar has just about made what it cost to make in one weekend. Not to mention the insane word of mouth that, dare I say, is 'Titanic' like?
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That's what we should call the foreigners who blew up the box office take this weekend for this film. Then again, those very foreigners are probably anti-American anyway. Maybe Hugo Chavez paid them to watch it.
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This criticism cracks me up every single time I read it. Is your opinion of America so repugnant that you not only naturally equate the genocidal, imperialistic resource-thieving military bastards in Avatar to American troops/people (wouldn't they more accurately be UN soldiers? Bet it's a lot easier to hate them now), but you also can't stand to be lectured that GENOCIDE is BAD? It's not anti-American, it's anti-warmongering asshole, and if you can't see that difference, then yes, this movie is anti-you, on behalf of 90% of the world (and, ostensibly, the universe), fuck off to your reserved spot on the wrong side of history already.
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Were the military characters American? Are those military characters trying to steal a native peoples land for mineral rights? Is the film an allegory to U.S. forces currently involved in the Middle East? Many say it is. And as such, I will not spend my coin on such drivel. Of course, I'm surprised the characters aren't British considering Cameron is of the same "Hate England Crowd" as is Mel Gibson, evidenced by Cameron's portrayals of the British crew in his *Titanic*. So go bugger off, Plague Boy, to whatever fucking rat hole you infest.
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I mean, what the hell it's nice that a sci-fi/fantasy film is doing this well, because then maybe we'll get more and better ones. Maybe Temeraire will actually get made, for instance. I mean I hold the torch for Astro Boy, you guys hold yours (heh heh) for Avatar, what the hell, we like what we like. As for the political overtones in Avatar, who cares? Michael Moore made Fahrenheit 9/11 specifically to vilify Bush and make him lose the election, and well, we saw how that effort turned out. Movies don't really affect the political views of anybody with the brains to decide such matters for themselves. And besides, Hollywood is full of idiot-savants, so we have to expect that their political views are retarded. Goes with the territory.
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because the story of a superpower going to other people's lands for minerals is complete hogwash, right?do yourself a favor and your head out of the sand....the sand of bitchassery.
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damn lack of edit button
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I'll get right on that suggestion after you give up your addiction to buggering your father's quivering anus. You keep that up and he'll be incontinent for the rest of his life. What a horrible son you are. Buying him a Hallmark card - instead of one of those cheap American Greetings knock off cards - for his birthday every year does not change this sad fact. Do yourself and him a favor and seek professional counseling now.
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"Star Trek, Transformers 2, and Avatar... Have the haters ever been right about anything?"
Well, in fairness, the haters were certainly right about Transformers 2. Star Trek and Avatar, not so much. -
for you to cream over.
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Dec 21, 2009 11:48:24 PM CST
I really dug Avatar, but let's stop the Star Wars comparisons
by redmond
Apples and oranges, folks. Avatar may be as big a technical breakthrough as Star Wars (or Jurassic Park). but it won't resonate on an emotional level like that movie did. It won't inspire entire generations of people to become filmmakers. In other words, Avatar is a great piece of entertainment. Star Wars is a masterpiece.
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I agree with you Redmond. 'Star Wars' and 'Jurassic Park' are waay up on my list of favorite films. 'Avatar' was great, but once the high of watching it wears off, it probably won't be on my Top 10 list. The comparison I made is SFX related, and as far as that's concerned, I think 'Avatar' will end up being just as big a deal.
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...or Space Harrier. Cameron also said something ridiculous about 3D video gaming claiming they were the first to work on it. Funny, LCD 3D glasses with polarized lenses for video gaming was available on the Atari ST circa 1986 marketed by Antic Magazine. They were using Tektronix tech. They were far more advanced than the 3D glasses that Sega brought out for their Sega Master System. Either way, Cameron isn't the first to serious delve into it for video games.
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Cameron made those statements on G4's AOTS last week.
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Good for him!
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Good for him!
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It will NEVER beat Star Wars simply because Star Wars gives you a galaxy of planets. In Avatar we get ONE planet.
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It really was what the internet predicted: Dances with Thundersmurfs.
But hey, I enjoyed Dances with Wolves. I don't mind seeing a remake with blue skinned people and explosions.
It just wasn't the best movie of the year or anything. Might make my top ten, but it might not. -
Because as it stands now, there is absolutely no reason for her character to join up with Josh and the rest.
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Cameron hasn't made a bad movie yet?! Piranha 2: The Spawning?! Lol...just saying.
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Flying piranha? The black guy who reaches into a piranha tank to get his watch back? Only for his hand to emerge unscathed and be aerially attacked from the side? Classic misdirection! Hilarious antics from the rubber fish.
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In the trailer? Do they show him leaving or what? I recalled that he doesn't leave so the whole time the mech warrior fight was happening I kept waiting for him to pop out and do something.
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I'm thinking the sentiment comes from a few lines scattered throughout the film that definitely seemed shot at Bush/Iraq War. A snide comment about "capturing the hearts and minds of the people," something about "shock and awe," and there was another one that I can't recall atm.
Nt saying it is, just saying I can see where it's coming from. -
Test
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Anti amer-cun! they took yer jerbs! derka derrrrr! cut the right wing whiny bullshit. The soldiers in Avatar are more Blackwater than US Marines. A corporate military force, not Uncle Sam. Quit bitching about a movie you never seen, dipshit.
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As an official Avatard (big fan of this movie) and right-wing consertative, I too saw the movie as more critical of Blackwater (private security companies) than the American Military. Were there simplistic jabs at Bush? Sure! But hell, you gotta expect that from Hollywood. My fellow conservatives, (all two of you on this board) you gotta roll with the punches. I mean, c'mon, we got THE DARK KNIGHT and 300! :)
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The one I couldn't even make it through for free on the Universal channel? 9 months after it was released?
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Dec 22, 2009 3:29:55 PM CST
Will AVATAR clean my clothes and put food on the table?
by mrmysteryguest
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I know Cameron has shown this site some love, but seriously can we stop now? The movie has been out for almost a week, we've all seen it and added our 2 cents worth, and now it's time to move on. Can we expect a similar deluge when Cameron starts working on Battle Angel Alita (or whatever he's doing next)? I sure as hell hope not. In all honesty, I think 80% of the Avatar coverage was because Cameron's name was attached to it. If it had been a Ridley Scott or even a Spielberg flick it would not have gotten anywhere near as much coverage.
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Please, get a fucking clue. The amount of assholes talking about shit they clearly don't understand on this site is amusing. Judging that most of you are refusing "too see this movie because it was hyped", or because of "what you've heard" is even more laughable. The story is familiar but it's told just fine. I mean hell, all the sudden every film fan on this site is all "I need every movie to have the greatest story and characters ever for me to even consider watching it!" When the fuck did this happen? Weren't you the same bunch claiming Iron Man 2 and TDK to be best films of the year? Of course when Cameron releases a new film it's either Godfather or it's shit. Give me a fucking break. Did anyone care about the predictable as fuck story in Jurassic Park or the shit dialogue and 2D characters? Of course not, it was one hell of an adventure film. Seriously some of you need to get off your high horse and stop acting so high and mighty, because it's a joke. With or without you Avatar will be a rousing success. So see or don't see what is certainly a benchmark film... but when Avatar 2 comes out and you all jump on the bandwagon don't say we didn't tell you so.
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No one is forcing you to click on the articles. Plus, there's been a ton other movies far less deserving getting just as much attention as this film. I think a new sci-fi film from the guy who gave us both Terminators and Aliens warrants as much fucking coverage as they want, and once again, if you don't like, don't click on it.
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Sorry, Hans, but it ain't gonna happen. Are you still waiting for Buckaroo Banzai vs. the World Crime League to make it to the theatres?
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It took 12 years to give us a reasonably good, not great, scifi movie called Avatar.
A sequel would be as redundant as a sequel to Dancing with Wolves. -
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