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July 24, 2009
A Tale Of Two Clip Packages, Pt 1
In one corner… the monster event of Comic-Con 2009… Avatar.
In the other corner… a movie without distribution and a small role by the much media-abused Nic Cage… Kick-Ass.
At stake for Avatar, worldwide domination. For Kick-Ass, distribution and the hope for a gross over $50 million domestic.
The winner, on the ground at The ‘Con, was Kick-Ass.
Why?
Both films showed about 5 clips. One promised to change the world. The other promised to apologize if you were offended by dad-on-pre-teen “violence.” (Not violence, really… training… that involved a man shooting his daughter… you had to be there… really…. You’ll have to be there…)
Avatar is a dangerous thing… especially in the way it was presented. We basically got a show reel. Now, imagine a show reel for Titanic without the boat sinking. And imagine that show reel with beautiful, but ethereal imagery. And imagine clips from the scenes of Leo & Kate meeting and then talking on the bow… but not the painting scene, etc. That’s what we saw yesterday.
Clearly, what Cameron & Co were thinking was that the Comic-Con audience – including the mostly over-30 male media – would look intensely at the images and understand how remarkable they were in their creation and execution. And they are. When you start thinking about how almost every image in the non-live-action sections of the film was built from scratch, it is a mighty and weighty piece of work.
But Cameron & Co. forgot the reality of the situation. These are not people – media or the 6000 others in that room – who are aesthetes. They are movie lovers. And they got very mixed signals from what was shown. They were teased… seriously teased. But at more than 20 minutes, the footage felt like it should be more than a tease.
Yes… the colors, which often change to the touch, as Cameron as witnessed in the deep ocean, are reminiscent at times of What Dreams May Come and even Ferngully. But if that is your primary “takeaway” – and spare me people who didn’t see the footage and want to opine on it endlessly – then you are just looking for excuses to complain.
As for the action sequences, as beautiful as the CG is and as otherworldly as the lifeforms involved are, we have seen sequences like this before. They didn’t play like the truck smashing off the bridge into the canal or the first time we all saw liquid metal as a character.
But what my “takeaway” is, is that Cameron as an epic filmmaker likes telling love stories with an epic story around them. And the premise for Avatar - beyond the footage - still offers – having seen the footage – enormous promise. It’s an otherworldly love story in a violent dangerous world where a physically broken human uses his avatar (which is a biologically real thing that is physically like the human-like species on this planet) to find his power again and falls in love with a native creature. Behind this is the story of humans sticking their nose into another planet’s business (and all the often dangerous lifeforms that come with it) with a human lover of life (played by Sigourney Weaver) and a hater of life (played by Stephen Lang) playing out their roles in the future of the planet.
But it is worth pointing out that the footage that was shown barely dips into the story. There was an opening scene in live action that sets it all up… sharp, clear, excellent exposition stuff. And the other sequences were action in the world of the planet Avatar takes place on. Some of them had the romantic beginnings of the mixed species couple (he played by Sam Worthington and she by Zoe Saldana), but really, it was only the beginning.
The “answer” to Cameron’s movie will not be told by these clips. A trailer, whenever it surfaces – first, the 15 minute “Avatar Day” of free IMAX on August 21 – will probably do a better job of giving us the heart of this film.
Meanwhile, looking at Cinematical’s geek writer round-up (laughingly titled "The Final Word"), the tone is far more positive than the buzz amongst industry convention attendees. If I got “I heard there was trouble” once, I literally heard it 80 times in the 8 hours I was at The Con after the clips screened. I do think that a lot of people in the industry want a guy like Cameron to fail... after all, how fun is it for him to succeed wildly AGAIN? So… there you go. Make of it what you will.
I don’t go as far as some, saying that the footage blew the roof off of the convention center... though the audience was clearly enraptured and amazed and thrilled. It offers the real possibility of greatness. It could be a new gen Titanic. Or not. It really depends on everything we didn’t even get a glimpse of in these clips. I am hoping that it is everything… a great action movie… a great CG experience in which we forget that we are watching CG… and especially, a great love story that happens to be in CG and again, that we forget that it is CG and really feel the love.
I’ll put my money on Cameron for the win.
Kick-Ass lands its punch… coming in Part 2
Posted by dpoland at July 24, 2009 02:20 PM
Comments
I know some mooks on this board will disagree with this analogy, but this is why they are a bunch of mooks. If they were not ready for Speed Racer, what exactly makes you think they are ready for Avatar? Even if it's COOL looking. Effects and now 3-D do not always bring in the people. So, yeah, FTW if people give a shit about that story. A story that seems as hokey as a trite shit.
Posted by: IOIOIOI ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotblog/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 24, 2009 05:39 PM
I have to believe that Cameron would not have made this movie if he wasn't completely satisfied with the script. He was gone for ten years... why wouldn't he wait one more if he wasn't quite ready to go?
Posted by: Eric at July 24, 2009 05:47 PM
Speed Racer is a different planet, IO. That was a piece for kids, really... and for adults who love those childhood kinds of films. This is a drama with heavy action. And visually, it is not "familiar images writ super large," it's a very different planet.
And Eric... what makes you think he wasn't happy with the script?
Posted by: David Poland at July 24, 2009 05:52 PM
Just reacting to your post-- from the way you describe it, the Avatar footage could suggest a movie with a lot of compelling images but that might not be greater than the sum of its parts (like What Dreams May Come, which you mentioned and is a perfect example of such a movie).
If it wasn't clear in what I wrote above, I have quite a bit of faith that Cameron can deliver on a movie like this.
Posted by: Eric at July 24, 2009 06:51 PM
David, did you forget Speed Racer had nothing to do with the cartoon, and created visuals the likes of which we have seldom if ever seen? It seems that you did. Sure it's another planet, but someone else showed me photoreal planets for the last 10 years. So, really, it may look amazing, but the synopsis of the story going around sucks. It's just comes across as hokey.
Posted by: IOIOIOI at July 24, 2009 11:31 PM
There's something weird about IOI choosing to not pre-love a geek movie. I seem to recall he doesn't like Titanic, is that the issue?
Posted by: jeffmcm at July 25, 2009 05:03 AM
Yes, Avatar is hokey, but movies based on toys and sequels to geek movies from ten years ago and more aren't. Yes. That's right.
Apparently.
Posted by: KamikazeCamelV2.0 at July 25, 2009 06:00 AM
Kiki: Geeks rule the world. The fact that you and monkeybreathe up there do not get this. Well, really, that's on you chicken nugget. I could give a fuck.
If you are bringing up toys. It really demonstrates how much of a daffy you are. Really, toys? Real clever there Kiki. Go watch some MMA, and BUTCH THE FUCK UP!
Posted by: IOIOIOI at July 26, 2009 04:11 AM
The thinly veiled homophobic remarks are not cute, IOI.
Posted by: CaptainZahn at July 26, 2009 05:50 AM
That wasn't thinly veiled.
Posted by: jeffmcm at July 27, 2009 10:32 AM
I love it when Fievel comes back from Comin-Con, because he puffs up like a peacock and brays that the Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth. He's been rubbing elbows with shut-ins and ubernerds for four days, and he's getting all cocky.
I'm sure when his comic books and action figures were torn up by school bullies (the type-A punks who actually Rule the World) he cried and moaned that someday he'd get his revenge. He'd grow some kinda superpower and zap those bullies (now the CEOs, lawyers and politicians that run society) into oblivion and he'd remain. Triumpant. Vindicated. Alive.
Comic-Con does that to the nerds. It empowers them. Briefly. But then they go back to their jobs as insurance adjusters and data entry assistants, eagerly checking the mail for their commemorative issue of Deadpool #238 to arrive. Cursing the boss and ogling the secretary three cubes over. Waiting for the day they'll rule the earth. The day that never comes.
Posted by: Wrecktum at July 27, 2009 11:32 AM
IO throwing out homophobic (jeff is right, not thinly veiled at all) comments is not surprising since he has done them before and yet he's allowed to just go on giving his hate speeches. But if babies don't get any negative conditioning they never learn.
Posted by: KamikazeCamelV2.0 at July 28, 2009 12:18 AM
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