MOONLIGHT VAMPIRE SOCIETY

Look at the trailer of this. It really looks interesting.

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/buzz-lo ... ailer.html

The 'King of the World' Returns
by Mike Krumboltz   
August 21, 2009

Back in 1997, James Cameron made a wee film you may have heard of called "Titanic." The movie lived up to its grandiose title, becoming the biggest, most financially successful film ever and winning a boatload of awards along the way. But that was 12 years ago, and Mr. Cameron hasn't directed a movie since. This December, the wait comes to an end... with "Titanic 2: Jack's Revenge."
Kidding. Actually, the self-proclaimed "King of the World" has created something called "Avatar." It's a futuristic, sci-fi 3D flick that combines CGI and live action. Mystery and anticipation have been running high ever since the film was announced years ago. At long last, we have a clue what it looks like. The film's first trailer was released, and from the looks of Search, Cameron is still a huge draw.

Queries on "avatar trailer" soared an amazing 470%, and related lookups on "avatar screenshots" and even "avatar tickets" all surged. That last query is especially noteworthy, considering the film doesn't hit theaters until December. Talk about planning ahead.

Cameron has long been known for pushing the envelope on special effects, and this latest project looks to be no exception. An article from CNN explains that Avatar could revolutionize the kinds of films we watch. An industry expert predicts that the "3D is going to be mindblowing." Jon Favreau, director of "Iron Man," calls Cameron's latest "the future."

Also gaining some big buzz: the extended preview that Cameron is offering some lucky fans. For one day only (Friday), they score an extended look at the first 16 minutes of the film, along with a glimpse at the related toys, video games, and other merchandise. The event is boldly called "avatar day," and fans are eating it up in Search. Lookups spiked 589%.

Sadly, I do not think it has been getting very good reviews but the plot does sound interesting.

AVATAR DAY reactions

James Cameron's (Aliens, Terminator, Titianic) new film, Avatar (no not the Nickelodeon show) was previewed today across the world in 3D Imax theaters. The film stars Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation) as a disabled war veteran who is given the opportunity to have his mind transferred into a new body, an avatar, as part of a government mission to a uninhabitable planet called Pandora. Sigourney Weaver plays the government doctor who oversees his avatar transposition. In his new (blue) abled body he is rescued by a native woman (Star Trek's Zoe Saldana) and goes on to adopt her culture and fight against the invading military. (this is my own plot description - tries to simplify it the best I could!!)


Roger Ebert remains skeptical about the film saying that "I'm hoping that James Cameron's "Avatar," opening in December, will be a terrific film. But I was underwhelmed by about 15 minutes of preview footage I saw in 3-D on Friday night." and "The complete film remains to be seen. Both groups I saw the preview with applauded. Cameron is reportedly still in post-production. He has made films I admired enormously ("Aliens," "Terminator 2," "The Abyss," "Titanic"). I hope he does it again."

Michael Lee of the LA Movie Examiner states that "Overall the experience itself was good. The audience was excited, and charged with excitement as the cheers for an encore filled the air. The request was respectfully denied of course, but it hasn’t deterred what the audience thought about the film. Just be prepared to have your mind blown away from the master of storytelling."

Peter Sciretta of /Film tweeted that "Avatar footage delivered like it did at Comic-Con, almost everyone agrees they shouldn’t have released that trailer online."

The Associated Press noted that many people who were unimpressed with the online trailer were amazed at the 3D preview.

Actually, the reviews seemed mixed. The audience seems to love it, but one critic is unsure.

Bianca, it was actually some other reviews I had read last week. Sorry I should have been more clear I wasn't referring to the ones in the article I posted.

OK, thanks for the clarification!

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainmen ... _buzz.html

James Cameron's 'Avatar' a symbol of early buzz after preview
BY Ethan Sacks and Christina Boyle
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Sunday, August 23rd 2009, 4:00 AM
Twentieth Century Fox

Sam Worthington's 'Jake' gets a first look at his avatar, a human-alien hybrid bred from his own DNA, in James Cameron's new film 'Avatar.'

The sci-fi world was buzzing Saturday after thousands of moviegoers around the world got a sneak preview of James Cameron's much-hyped 3-D epic "Avatar."

"It's fairly spectacular," said Harry Knowles, founder of movie Web site Ain't It Cool News.

"We've never seen a 3-D science fiction film quite like this."

"From what I can tell, the vast majority of people really loved what they were seeing," he added. "I'm incredibly hopeful for the film."

The movie, which cost more than $200 million to make, is scheduled for general release Dec. 18, but more than 100,000 people in 58 countries got the chance to see a 16-minute preview after scoring free tickets online.

It was a stunt designed to create buzz around the film - Cameron's first feature since "Titanic," which holds the box-office record after grossing $1.84 billion worldwide.

And if the early reviews on blogs and social networking pages were any indicator, it did the trick.

"The man who famously declared himself the King of the World on Oscar night 10 years ago has now become the ruler of an entire planet," declared New York film critic and blogger Eric Kohn on thewrap.com.

"Cameron's experiment with the ever-evolving art of buzz deserves recognition for its innovative approach."

"Avatar" is set on the planet Pandora, where an ex-Marine, played by Sam Worthington, is one of a group of humans who have their brains linked to the native alien species so they can explore the environment.

Sigourney Weaver, the star of Cameron's "Aliens" series, plays a botanist overseeing the mission.

"Avatar is going to be the cinematic event of this holiday season," blogger Kevin Carr wrote.

"The only way to experience 'Avatar' will be to watch it through a pair of high-end 3-D glasses on a screen 50 feet high."

cboyle@nydailynews.com

http://www.parade.com/celebrity/hollywo ... nwl=091030

Avatar' Trailer Released

The first full-length trailer for Avatar from director James Cameron has hit the Internet! The film marks Cameron's highly-anticipated return to sci-fi filmmaking.

The 3-D epic is set around a band of humans who are pitted in a battle against a distant planet's indigenous population.

Avatar is written and directed by Cameron and is expected to be one of the year's biggest hits and to take filmmaking and visual effects to new level.

"The irony with Avatar is that people think of it as a 3D film and that's what the discussion is, but I think when they see it, the whole 3D discussion is going to go away," Cameron told Reuters. "I think the discussion is going to be about the fact that you've got synthetic characters that are so true to what the actors did in terms of the performances that they actually have a soul, they have an emotional reality, and they have life,"

The film, which hits theaters Dec. 18, stars Terminator Salvation's Sam Worthington, Star Trek’s Zoe Saldana, Lost’s Michelle Rodriguez, Sigourney Weaver and Giovanni Ribisi.

PS: I don't know about anyone else, but this looks like a fun movie to me!

Ever since I saw the trailer to this movie, I have been fascinated by the concept. From the reviews that I have read, this is a must see movie. ( I am planning to see it this week). It is also interesting to know that Sam Worthington is another Aussie actor.

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/movie_r ... esome.html
Review: Avatar is All Kinds of Awesome, But Maybe You Knew That Already

Fri., Dec. 18, 2009 4:02 PM PST by Luke Y. Thompson
OUR GRADE: A

Review in a Hurry:
Believe the hype. James Cameron's decade-in-the-making sci-fi dream project is an immersive epic unlike any other. Yes, the story's pretty simple, but with so much else to take in, anything more complicated might have been tough to follow.
The Bigger Picture: Never count Cameron out. He may not be the actual king of the world, but in the realm of sci-fi action, he doesn't just rule, he reigns.
One-upping the kind of otherworldly landscapes George Lucas created for the Star Wars prequels, Avatar takes us to Pandora, a jungle-covered moon orbiting a gas giant, where human corporate interests seek out the rather stupidly named mineral "unobtainium." Hazards are plenty—the atmosphere isn't breathable by humans, all manner of six-legged beasts roam the forests and skies and the local humanoids, nine-foot-tall blue cat people called the Na'vi, are none too happy about their territory being encroached upon.
To that end, the Avatar program creates hybrid human-Na'vi bodies that people can download their consciousness into and better interact with the planet and its locals. But when one of the scientists trained for the program is murdered by a petty criminal, his less intellectual, battle-scarred twin brother Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), being the only DNA match for the expensive Avatar body, takes his place.
Though the science team, led by cigarette-puffing Dr. Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), have issues with Jake's general recklessness in his new skin, the Na'vi are impressed to finally meet a warrior, even one who's not quite of their caliber. Under the supervision of the chief's daughter Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), he learns their ways more intimately than any previous human—and gets particularly intimate with Neytiri herself.
This poses a dilemma, however, since Jake's actual assignment from the beginning has been to spy on the tribe on behalf of the Marines assigned to the mining project. With his loyalties torn between love and duty...well, you can guess the rest, and probably already have from the trailers.
Now, forget what you think you've seen via online videos or even theatrical 2D trailers—the visuals are realistic, fantastic and not remotely like Delgo, as early armchair pundits have been claiming (trust us, we actually sat through Delgo). Practically every Cameron sci-fi film has pushed the envelope of visual effects, and Avatar does so more than ever, from the vertiginous platform-game-style leaps across floating islands to a psychedelic night jungle that lights up underfoot like the sidewalk beneath Michael Jackson in "Billie Jean."
But it would be (mostly) for naught if the actors didn't compel, and thankfully, they do. As usual, Cameron casts based on the characters, not star power.
Worthington, whose next-big-thing status was starting to feel scarily undeserved after Terminator Salvation, delivers on the promise, believably segueing back and forth between crippled human and newly skilled jungle cat. Saldana, last seen romancing Spock in Star Trek, dons her own pointy ears and alien skin with aplomb, all sensuality and strength (it should be noted, parents, that the MPAA is apparently just fine with female nudity as long as it's on a computer-enhanced blue person).
Stephen Lang and Giovanni Ribisi are ironically more cartoonish than the Na'vi in the villain roles, but Joel David Moore and Michelle Rodriguez give good support, and Weaver is effortlessly charming.
As for the 3D—after the first hour or so, you almost forget it's there on an overt level, feeling instead a kind of subconscious immersion in the world. And what a world.
If you're not silently saying "holy crap!" to yourself at least 10 times during the movie, you might not be human.
The 180—a Second Opinion: Like Titanic, Avatar demands you check your cynicism at the door. If you're determined to make "Dances With Smurfs" parallels, you can. If mockery of made-up words floats your boat, there's plenty of material for that, too.
(Originally published Tue., Dec. 15, 2009 at 12:51 p.m.)
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Avatar's been nominted for Best Picture. Check out other noms our 2010 Golden Globes: Notable Nominees gallery