When James Cameron unveiled 25 minutes of his forthcoming film “Avatar” to Comic-Con crowds last week, the reaction was pretty solid. But there were those who were quick to tone down the ecstasy, and with due cause. While the footage was awe-inspiring and, to this viewer’s mind, quite indicative of where the medium is going, it was not the moment of stunning change many might have expected.
Maybe that is the fault of the uncontrollable hype machine, more so than the material, since Cameron has merely been plugging away, hard at work on a project he believes in, while the studio has been in no necessary position to offer up promotional materials like a poster or a trailer, given that the film is still six months from release.
The announcement of “‘Avatar’ Day,” which will bring 15 minutes of the footage to IMAX theaters across the world on August 21 for free and will also mark the unveiling of an upcoming video game tie-in and action figure set, was a shrewd way to drum up the excitement further while also giving fans something tangible to experience. But Stuart Heritage over at The Guardian is thinking along different lines. Maybe, he says, the occassion will provide the first opportunity to calm the waters of anticipation.
Here’s Heritage’s claim:
James Cameron seems like a man seldom troubled by self-doubt. Every time he’s nudged the movie industry forward with films such as Terminator 2 or Titanic – or women’s rights back with films like True Lies – he’s done so with a swaggering, cocksure, king-of-the-world confidence. And rightly so, you might say, given his track record…
However, by giving the public 15 minutes of Avatar for free, perhaps James Cameron wants everyone to realise what Quint from Ain’t It Cool realised this weekend – that Avatar is “good, layered, incredibly detailed and full of imagination and incredible imagery … just don’t expect to have your head blown out your asshole or eyeballs raped or whatever the newest talkback thing is.”
And that might be the smartest thing that James Cameron could have done.
Read the rest here.
Comments
11 responses to “Is “‘Avatar’ Day” a canny move to dampen expectations?”
Assuming it is in fact his intention to calmdown expectations, it is indeed a smart move. I have heard many outrageous claims like “Avatar is going to change cinema forever!!! OMGZZZ!!!!!”
Let’s all just take a deep breath and realize something. While the film may have new and innovative technology being used, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Very rarely do films live up to such insurmountable hype. The Dark Knight is a rare exception, partly because while a lot of people had high expectations for it, they did not expect it to be a genre-transcending phenomenon that it was. The way it surpassed expectation for both comic book films and films in general kind of caught people by surprise.
Anyways, bottom line, we need something a bit more substantial and tangible before we go about claiming that Avatar will be a medium-changing masterpiece. Let us not forget that it is a genre film first and foremost. The idea is that it will push the genre forward, not necessarily cinema as a whole. Just because technology has advanced does not mean story-telling has. Bottom line is that unless Avatar has a good story to back up the technology, it will be empty and lifeless.
Let it simmer for a little while before you all explode.
Oh quick sidenote, does this film remind anyone else of the video games Mass Effect?
for the masses they will all be wowed, not everyone is so damn citical like us, this is to spread word, i think itll work great
I don’t know if this is a spoiler Kris, but it’s been bugging me since day one: If humanity has reached the scientific ability to use the Avatars, why don’t they have the ability to make a crippled man walk again?
Couldn’t tell you.
I think Cameron is such a technical freak that the leap represents far more a leap in techonoloy and filmmaking as much as experiencing it.
I saw The Abyss again last night and I think it’s a parallel to a certain degree, particularly with the SFX and method of filming.
One thing Avatar has going for it is that it’s completely original and it’s sci-fi. Now that’s something that’s near impossible these days so o the merit of that I am still excited.
Brian: Maybe he doesn’t want to walk again? That’s most likely not the case but your question has been bothering me too and my solution helps me sleep at night
Just one thing. The Dark Knight is hardly “a genre-transcending phenomenon”.
And why not, Mike?
brian: you just made me hate this movie!
Calling “The Dark Knight” a “genre-transcending phenomenon” needn’t necessarily be an evaluative judgment of the film — it’s impossible to deny that it wound up reaching a broader audience than is usual for its genre. As such, and speaking as someone who thought the film fell short in several areas, I have no problem calling it a “phenomenon.” It is what it is.
And speaking as someone who thought Gone With The Wind fell short in several areas, I have no problem calling it a “phenomenon” (at its time of release), either. ;)