Posted on: August 22nd, 2009 [VIDEO] Avatar Day Thoughts

So last night Imax theaters all around the world celebrated ‘Avatar Day’, in which those lucky enough to get free tickets were privy to see around 15 minutes worth of scenes from Avatar in Imax 3D.

I was fortunate to be one of those lucky cinephiles to get a seat and see first-hand what James Cameron and the rest of the film industry has been buzzing about.

Instead of writing a column, I  decided to sit back with a beer and record a little reaction footage (in which I say ‘incredible’ about 52 times). Check that out below:

I understand if you couldn’t make it through my stammering, it’s like a bad Hugh Grant film (is there a good Hugh Grant film?). In a nutshell the footage shown was very impressive, especially for a nay-sayer of 3D like me. I’m still a little in the dark on what the hell the story is about, and if I can get into that kind of fantasy. I also believe that there is absolutely no point in seeing the film unless it is Imax 3D. There’s no denying the trailer that was released last week was underwhelming, and that sentiment is echoed tenfold after seeing several scenes.

GKS reader (and LAist.com contributer) Edward Yerke-Robins chimed in with some of his thoughts over on his blog, and he brings some pretty compelling thoughts on the fate of Avatar, and why this advancement of digital effects could serve to hurt the film:

Another reason for the sparse attendance is Cameron & Fox’s technophilia clashing with accessibility. Too much attention has been placed on Avatar’s state-of-the-art 3D filmmaking and IMAX 3D release. The answer to all criticism thus far has been “just wait ’til you see it in IMAX 3D!” But how many of these screens actually exist? Judging by box office receipts, not that many; the current IMAX 3D record, held by The Polar Express, is a mere $45 million (and this was over a period of 4 years). Regarding international markets, Dreamworks CEO & 3D cheerleader Jeffrey Katzenberg admits they are even “further behind” than the U.S. in 3D screen counts. Avatar’s running time of over two-and-a-half hours further limits the number of screenings that can be held in a day.

Check out Edward’s full article here.

What say you, dear readers? Did you see the footage? The trailer?

Avatar hits theaters December 18.

Filed under: Movies, News, Review

3 Responses to “[VIDEO] Avatar Day Thoughts”

  1. Adam B. Says:
    August 22nd, 2009 at 6:11 pm

    I went to Avatar Day and pretty much agree with everything you said in the video. Is it sad that Avatar will be the first movie I actually go see in 3D? I always read about movies using 3D, but it’s never been compelling enough for me to pay an extra $7. Seeing the 15 minutes of footage convinced me it’d be worth it. Random thoughts: I was a bit surprised the theater wasn’t packed (I had no problem finding a seat right in the middle). Yeah, it was just a preview, but it was free and they certainly made a big deal out of it. When leaving I overheard several people saying that they couldn’t wait to see it, etc. Also, I totally agree that a large portion of the movie’s edge is lost if you’re not able to see it in IMAX 3D. I went to go see Inglourious Basterds afterwards and they showed the trailer for Avatar. Man what a difference those 3D glasses make!

  2. Nate Says:
    August 22nd, 2009 at 7:22 pm

    They used a ton of mocap. I was attending a mocap shoot down in LA at Giant Studios and next door, the Avatar production crew had about dozens and dozens of guys and gals suited up and waiting for direction.

  3. Dale Pidlisny Says:
    August 23rd, 2009 at 11:47 am

    This comparison to a movie called Delgo has been going around. I’m sure Avatar will be miles different in the end, but this is pretty interesting none the less.

    http://img.denihilation.com/delgovatar.html

    Also the Avatar movie font looks like a terrible version of Papyrus from the future.

    Looking forward to my first modern day 3D experience.

Leave a Reply