AVATAR

**Presto-digitation** · January 5, 2010

QUOTE (hunter @ Jan 4 2010, 12:08 PM)

I agree with this summury.

Avatar

LOL!!

**rushgoober** · January 5, 2010

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ Jan 5 2010, 07:49 AM)

QUOTE (hunter @ Jan 4 2010, 12:08 PM)

I agree with this summury.

Avatar

LOL!!

I was thinking, yeah, it's the guy who makes the biggest blockbusters of all time that always gets put down because doing what's needed to appeal to the masses so dramatically means you have to sacrifice a few movie IQ points to do so. Titanic, which I also thought was great, also gets a tremendous amount of bashing.

Then I thought of Peter Jackson and the LOTR movies and how he got all the accolades and massive success without sacrificing one iota of intelligence.

Not many stories, however, are as well written as the LOTR trilogy. Just because those movies set the bar on what sci-fi/fantasy can be, doesn't mean it will often be reached. A movie like Avatar made me enormously happy, even if it isn't perfect.

**Presto-digitation** · January 5, 2010

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jan 5 2010, 01:19 PM)

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ Jan 5 2010, 07:49 AM)

QUOTE (hunter @ Jan 4 2010, 12:08 PM)

I agree with this summury.

Avatar

LOL!!

I was thinking, yeah, it's the guy who makes the biggest blockbusters of all time that always gets put down because doing what's needed to appeal to the masses so dramatically means you have to sacrifice a few movie IQ points to do so. Titanic, which I also thought was great, also gets a tremendous amount of bashing.

Then I thought of Peter Jackson and the LOTR movies and how he got all the accolades and massive success without sacrificing one iota of intelligence.

Not many stories, however, are as well written as the LOTR trilogy. Just because those movies set the bar on what sci-fi/fantasy can be, doesn't mean it will often be reached. A movie like Avatar made me enormously happy, even if it isn't perfect.

Well I thought the post was funny, but I'm a fan of Avatar...and agree with you. It's a fine film. I had a good time.

**rushgoober** · January 5, 2010

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ Jan 5 2010, 12:05 PM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jan 5 2010, 01:19 PM)

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ Jan 5 2010, 07:49 AM)

QUOTE (hunter @ Jan 4 2010, 12:08 PM)

I agree with this summury.

Avatar

LOL!!

I was thinking, yeah, it's the guy who makes the biggest blockbusters of all time that always gets put down because doing what's needed to appeal to the masses so dramatically means you have to sacrifice a few movie IQ points to do so. Titanic, which I also thought was great, also gets a tremendous amount of bashing.

Then I thought of Peter Jackson and the LOTR movies and how he got all the accolades and massive success without sacrificing one iota of intelligence.

Not many stories, however, are as well written as the LOTR trilogy. Just because those movies set the bar on what sci-fi/fantasy can be, doesn't mean it will often be reached. A movie like Avatar made me enormously happy, even if it isn't perfect.

Well I thought the post was funny, but I'm a fan of Avatar...and agree with you. It's a fine film. I had a good time.

I thought it was funny too, but my point still stands.

**thesweetscience** · January 5, 2010

QUOTE (hunter @ Jan 4 2010, 01:08 PM)

I agree with this summury.

Avatar

Thanks for that.

**Presto-digitation** · January 5, 2010

I think it's unfortunate that Cameron gets crapped on for his scripts and dialogue too, which while hardly Woody Allen-level clever and rarely poignant, is good and befitting the types of films he makes....as are the performances he gets from his actors. I see a long line of films with strong and commited characters...and a plot that moves at a quick clip. And I find this pretty consistent between the majority of his movies.

He makes FUN films, not unlike the kinds of fantasy films that Lucas, Jackson, and Spielberg deliver. I'm not sure why people foist upon him this utter disappointment of his wordsmithing when it's remained pretty consistently macho...(esp. where the military is concerned)...from film-to-film.

**hunter** · January 5, 2010

The movie was entertaining and beautiful, but...

http://www-movieline-com.vimg.net/images/55102808-dc9fa414f2573b1e6e7eb5a384745206.4b439f7f-scaled.jpg

**rushgoober** · January 5, 2010

QUOTE (hunter @ Jan 5 2010, 03:59 PM)

The movie was entertaining and beautiful, but...

http://www-movieline-com.vimg.net/images/55102808-dc9fa414f2573b1e6e7eb5a384745206.4b439f7f-scaled.jpg

Dude, this is brutal!

Funny, though.

Really, NO ONE is accusing the story of stunning originality, but I still think it's great.

**1-0-0-1-0-0-1** · January 5, 2010

No, not everybody can be Woody Allen, but maybe a side effect of Cameron's "I'm the king of the world" attitude is extra criticism. I think he gets a lot of slack for his scriptwriting because of his ego. He thinks everything he does is the shit. Cameron has fine story ideas and is a great visual storyteller, but his dialogue is clunky and ridden with cliches. Perhaps if he were a little more humble, such script limitations might not attract as much attention. Just a theory.

Cameron should come up with the stories and let a real scriptwriter pen the actual scripts. His movies would be entertaining beyond just the visual effects and action and would still kill at the box office.

Anyone who includes an old and tired line like "You're not in Kansas anymore" deserves to be made fun of.

**rushgoober** · January 5, 2010

QUOTE (1-0-0-1-0-0-1 @ Jan 5 2010, 04:22 PM)

No, not everybody can be Woody Allen, but maybe a side effect of Cameron's "I'm the king of the world" attitude is extra criticism. I think he gets a lot of slack for his scriptwriting because of his ego. He thinks everything he does is the shit. Cameron has fine story ideas and is a great visual storyteller, but his dialogue is clunky and ridden with cliches. Perhaps if he were a little more humble, such script limitations might not attract as much attention. Just a theory.

Cameron should come up with the stories and let a real scriptwriter pen the actual scripts. His movies would be entertaining beyond just the visual effects and action and would still kill at the box office.

Anyone who includes an old and tired line like "You're not in Kansas anymore" deserves to be made fun of.

I didn't think that line was bad when pulled out and used on another planet.

Still, I see your points. The Star Wars prequels would have been helped IMMENSELY if George Lucas had let someone come in and fix the dialogue and streamline the plots a little bit.

I understand the intense desire for creative control, but sometimes you have to know where your strengths and weaknesses are and let other people fill in where you're lacking.

**Presto-digitation** · January 7, 2010

QUOTE (1-0-0-1-0-0-1 @ Jan 5 2010, 06:22 PM)

No, not everybody can be Woody Allen, but maybe a side effect of Cameron's "I'm the king of the world" attitude is extra criticism. I think he gets a lot of slack for his scriptwriting because of his ego. He thinks everything he does is the shit. Cameron has fine story ideas and is a great visual storyteller, but his dialogue is clunky and ridden with cliches. Perhaps if he were a little more humble, such script limitations might not attract as much attention. Just a theory.

Cameron should come up with the stories and let a real scriptwriter pen the actual scripts. His movies would be entertaining beyond just the visual effects and action and would still kill at the box office.

Anyone who includes an old and tired line like "You're not in Kansas anymore" deserves to be made fun of.

Well you're right that he certainly makes enough noise with his films, so the criticism is fair game.

I find a natural quality to his dialogue and I think the actors deliver it pretty well. But yeah, it's Cameron so it's hardly high-brow stuff. But it's almost always fun...(and I find an intelligence cut above many such similar action films).

He knows how to push people's buttons in the right way, though. He doesn't make too many films, but when he does it draws a crowd.

Only The Abyss was *meh* to me.

**Presto-digitation** · January 7, 2010

QUOTE (hunter @ Jan 5 2010, 05:59 PM)

The movie was entertaining and beautiful, but...

http://www-movieline-com.vimg.net/images/55102808-dc9fa414f2573b1e6e7eb5a384745206.4b439f7f-scaled.jpg

Copy from one, it's plagiarism; copy from two, it's research. -- Milton

Take the whole range of imaginative literature, and we are all wholesale borrowers. In every matter that relates to invention, to use, or beauty or form, we are borrowers. -- Wendell Phillips

**Rushman14** · January 7, 2010

I believe as of today, Mr Cameron will be responsible for the the 2 highest grossing movies of all time.

**rushgoober** · January 7, 2010

QUOTE (Rushman14 @ Jan 7 2010, 10:45 AM)

I believe as of today, Mr Cameron will be responsible for the the 2 highest grossing movies of all time.

From Box Office Guru today:

QUOTE

A 40% decline this weekend would give James Cameron about $41M which would boost the amazing cume to $422M by Sunday and break the record for the best fourth-weekend gross set a dozen years ago by Titanic with $28.7M. That would put Avatar at number eight on the all-time domestic list. The road ahead should end up with The Dark Knight losing its domestic spot at number two. The only question is which Cameron film will end up in that slot when the Pandora film ends its run.

Overseas, Avatar shot up to an eye-popping $760M on Wednesday and with $374.4M from North America raised its global haul to $1.134 billion which was enough to surpass The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King to become the second biggest worldwide blockbuster of all-time. And it did it in a mere three weeks! Only Titanic is bigger with $1.84 billion from 1997 and 1998 when ticket prices were much lower. Regardless, James Cameron now owns the two biggest blockbusters of all-time, and neither is a sequel.

**Presto-digitation** · January 7, 2010

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jan 7 2010, 12:51 PM)

QUOTE (Rushman14 @ Jan 7 2010, 10:45 AM)

I believe as of today, Mr Cameron will be responsible for the the 2 highest grossing movies of all time.

From Box Office Guru today:

QUOTE

A 40% decline this weekend would give James Cameron about $41M which would boost the amazing cume to $422M by Sunday and break the record for the best fourth-weekend gross set a dozen years ago by Titanic with $28.7M. That would put Avatar at number eight on the all-time domestic list. The road ahead should end up with The Dark Knight losing its domestic spot at number two. The only question is which Cameron film will end up in that slot when the Pandora film ends its run.

Overseas, Avatar shot up to an eye-popping $760M on Wednesday and with $374.4M from North America raised its global haul to $1.134 billion which was enough to surpass The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King to become the second biggest worldwide blockbuster of all-time. And it did it in a mere three weeks! Only Titanic is bigger with $1.84 billion from 1997 and 1998 when ticket prices were much lower. Regardless, James Cameron now owns the two biggest blockbusters of all-time, and neither is a sequel.

Even though I feel adjusted dollars are the truest indication of a movie's popularity (i.e., tickets sold -- of which Gone With The Wind is and likely always will be the most popular film ever, for ticket sales)...I still find this feat quite amazing. After only 3 weeks. Good God.

Edited January 7, 2010 by Presto-digitation

**workingcinderellaman** · January 7, 2010

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ Jan 7 2010, 02:40 PM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jan 7 2010, 12:51 PM)

QUOTE (Rushman14 @ Jan 7 2010, 10:45 AM)

I believe as of today, Mr Cameron will be responsible for the the 2 highest grossing movies of all time.

From Box Office Guru today:

QUOTE

A 40% decline this weekend would give James Cameron about $41M which would boost the amazing cume to $422M by Sunday and break the record for the best fourth-weekend gross set a dozen years ago by Titanic with $28.7M. That would put Avatar at number eight on the all-time domestic list. The road ahead should end up with The Dark Knight losing its domestic spot at number two. The only question is which Cameron film will end up in that slot when the Pandora film ends its run.

Overseas, Avatar shot up to an eye-popping $760M on Wednesday and with $374.4M from North America raised its global haul to $1.134 billion which was enough to surpass The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King to become the second biggest worldwide blockbuster of all-time. And it did it in a mere three weeks! Only Titanic is bigger with $1.84 billion from 1997 and 1998 when ticket prices were much lower. Regardless, James Cameron now owns the two biggest blockbusters of all-time, and neither is a sequel.

Even though I feel adjusted dollars are the truest indication of a movie's popularity (i.e., tickets sold -- of which Gone With The Wind is and likely always will be the most popular film ever, for ticket sales)...I still find this feat quite amazing. After only 3 weeks. Good God.

Cameron will have enough money to buy Fox.

**rushgoober** · January 7, 2010

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ Jan 7 2010, 12:40 PM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jan 7 2010, 12:51 PM)

QUOTE (Rushman14 @ Jan 7 2010, 10:45 AM)

I believe as of today, Mr Cameron will be responsible for the the 2 highest grossing movies of all time.

From Box Office Guru today:

QUOTE

A 40% decline this weekend would give James Cameron about $41M which would boost the amazing cume to $422M by Sunday and break the record for the best fourth-weekend gross set a dozen years ago by Titanic with $28.7M. That would put Avatar at number eight on the all-time domestic list. The road ahead should end up with The Dark Knight losing its domestic spot at number two. The only question is which Cameron film will end up in that slot when the Pandora film ends its run.

Overseas, Avatar shot up to an eye-popping $760M on Wednesday and with $374.4M from North America raised its global haul to $1.134 billion which was enough to surpass The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King to become the second biggest worldwide blockbuster of all-time. And it did it in a mere three weeks! Only Titanic is bigger with $1.84 billion from 1997 and 1998 when ticket prices were much lower. Regardless, James Cameron now owns the two biggest blockbusters of all-time, and neither is a sequel.

Even though I feel adjusted dollars are the truest indication of a movie's popularity (i.e., tickets sold -- of which Gone With The Wind is and likely always will be the most popular film ever, for ticket sales)...I still find this feat quite amazing. After only 3 weeks. Good God.

Yes, of course - the chances of Avatar beating Titanic with adjusted gross won't happen, and none of them will ever touch Gone With The Wind, the first Star Wars, etc.

**Presto-digitation** · January 7, 2010

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jan 7 2010, 03:06 PM)

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ Jan 7 2010, 12:40 PM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jan 7 2010, 12:51 PM)

QUOTE (Rushman14 @ Jan 7 2010, 10:45 AM)

I believe as of today, Mr Cameron will be responsible for the the 2 highest grossing movies of all time.

From Box Office Guru today:

QUOTE

A 40% decline this weekend would give James Cameron about $41M which would boost the amazing cume to $422M by Sunday and break the record for the best fourth-weekend gross set a dozen years ago by Titanic with $28.7M. That would put Avatar at number eight on the all-time domestic list. The road ahead should end up with The Dark Knight losing its domestic spot at number two. The only question is which Cameron film will end up in that slot when the Pandora film ends its run.

Overseas, Avatar shot up to an eye-popping $760M on Wednesday and with $374.4M from North America raised its global haul to $1.134 billion which was enough to surpass The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King to become the second biggest worldwide blockbuster of all-time. And it did it in a mere three weeks! Only Titanic is bigger with $1.84 billion from 1997 and 1998 when ticket prices were much lower. Regardless, James Cameron now owns the two biggest blockbusters of all-time, and neither is a sequel.

Even though I feel adjusted dollars are the truest indication of a movie's popularity (i.e., tickets sold -- of which Gone With The Wind is and likely always will be the most popular film ever, for ticket sales)...I still find this feat quite amazing. After only 3 weeks. Good God.

Yes, of course - the chances of Avatar beating Titanic with adjusted gross won't happen, and none of them will ever touch Gone With The Wind, the first Star Wars, etc.

It's a bit silly the way the movie industry looks at gross dollars, whereas most other industries look at "units sold." You never say -- for instance -- Kenny Chesney sold $4.5 million dollars worth of albums...you say he sold 375,000 copies. Or Sarah Palin sold $6 million worth of her new book...but 500,000 copies. Not sure why the industry never just looked at tickets sold.

As ticket prices eventually approach and balloon up to and past $20 per showing, the more grossly misleading the box office 'champs' look.

**1-0-0-1-0-0-1** · January 7, 2010

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ Jan 7 2010, 03:28 PM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jan 7 2010, 03:06 PM)

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ Jan 7 2010, 12:40 PM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jan 7 2010, 12:51 PM)

QUOTE (Rushman14 @ Jan 7 2010, 10:45 AM)

I believe as of today, Mr Cameron will be responsible for the the 2 highest grossing movies of all time.

From Box Office Guru today:

QUOTE

A 40% decline this weekend would give James Cameron about $41M which would boost the amazing cume to $422M by Sunday and break the record for the best fourth-weekend gross set a dozen years ago by Titanic with $28.7M. That would put Avatar at number eight on the all-time domestic list. The road ahead should end up with The Dark Knight losing its domestic spot at number two. The only question is which Cameron film will end up in that slot when the Pandora film ends its run.

Overseas, Avatar shot up to an eye-popping $760M on Wednesday and with $374.4M from North America raised its global haul to $1.134 billion which was enough to surpass The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King to become the second biggest worldwide blockbuster of all-time. And it did it in a mere three weeks! Only Titanic is bigger with $1.84 billion from 1997 and 1998 when ticket prices were much lower. Regardless, James Cameron now owns the two biggest blockbusters of all-time, and neither is a sequel.

Even though I feel adjusted dollars are the truest indication of a movie's popularity (i.e., tickets sold -- of which Gone With The Wind is and likely always will be the most popular film ever, for ticket sales)...I still find this feat quite amazing. After only 3 weeks. Good God.

Yes, of course - the chances of Avatar beating Titanic with adjusted gross won't happen, and none of them will ever touch Gone With The Wind, the first Star Wars, etc.

It's a bit silly the way the movie industry looks at gross dollars, whereas most other industries look at "units sold." You never say -- for instance -- Kenny Chesney sold $4.5 million dollars worth of albums...you say he sold 375,000 copies. Or Sarah Palin sold $6 million worth of her new book...but 500,000 copies. Not sure why the industry never just looked at tickets sold.

As ticket prices eventually approach and balloon up to and past $20 per showing, the more grossly misleading the box office 'champs' look.

**rushgoober** · January 7, 2010

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ Jan 7 2010, 01:28 PM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jan 7 2010, 03:06 PM)

QUOTE (Presto-digitation @ Jan 7 2010, 12:40 PM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jan 7 2010, 12:51 PM)

QUOTE (Rushman14 @ Jan 7 2010, 10:45 AM)

I believe as of today, Mr Cameron will be responsible for the the 2 highest grossing movies of all time.

From Box Office Guru today:

QUOTE

A 40% decline this weekend would give James Cameron about $41M which would boost the amazing cume to $422M by Sunday and break the record for the best fourth-weekend gross set a dozen years ago by Titanic with $28.7M. That would put Avatar at number eight on the all-time domestic list. The road ahead should end up with The Dark Knight losing its domestic spot at number two. The only question is which Cameron film will end up in that slot when the Pandora film ends its run.

Overseas, Avatar shot up to an eye-popping $760M on Wednesday and with $374.4M from North America raised its global haul to $1.134 billion which was enough to surpass The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King to become the second biggest worldwide blockbuster of all-time. And it did it in a mere three weeks! Only Titanic is bigger with $1.84 billion from 1997 and 1998 when ticket prices were much lower. Regardless, James Cameron now owns the two biggest blockbusters of all-time, and neither is a sequel.

Even though I feel adjusted dollars are the truest indication of a movie's popularity (i.e., tickets sold -- of which Gone With The Wind is and likely always will be the most popular film ever, for ticket sales)...I still find this feat quite amazing. After only 3 weeks. Good God.

Yes, of course - the chances of Avatar beating Titanic with adjusted gross won't happen, and none of them will ever touch Gone With The Wind, the first Star Wars, etc.

It's a bit silly the way the movie industry looks at gross dollars, whereas most other industries look at "units sold." You never say -- for instance -- Kenny Chesney sold $4.5 million dollars worth of albums...you say he sold 375,000 copies. Or Sarah Palin sold $6 million worth of her new book...but 500,000 copies. Not sure why the industry never just looked at tickets sold.

As ticket prices eventually approach and balloon up to and past $20 per showing, the more grossly misleading the box office 'champs' look.

Then there are intangible factors like the time a movie was released. A movie like Gone With the Wind was an enormous blockbuster in an entirely different era when there weren't as many modern distractions around like cell phones, computers, or even television. Television was brand new.

Also, factor in no one had the attitude back then of "Oh, I'll wait till it comes out on blu-ray or I'll netflix it." Such things didn't exist. If people wanted to have that experience, which I'm sure was much more novel back then, they had to go to the theater. And for people who loved it, they wanted to see it more than once because for all they knew, they'd never be able to see it again.

Even Star Wars was in a different era - no computers, no cable television, no VCR's, etc. - people had never seen anything like that and they wanted to see it on the big screen while they still could.

We live in a different world now. It's like expecting someone to break Cy Young's win record - it's not possible as the rules have changed so much...

**Presto-digitation** · January 7, 2010

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jan 7 2010, 03:43 PM)