China renames mountain after movie 'Avatar'

A mountain in Zhang Jiajie, Hunan Province in China was recently renamed "Avatar Hallelujah Mountain" because the local government said it is the prototype of the floating mountain in the movie Avatar.
"Pandora is too far away, but Zhang Jiajie is close. Welcome to Zhang Jiajie and explore a real Pandora world," read the government statement.
The government told local media the decision was made based on discussion with local residents.
"We hope the new name will help promote Zhang Jiajie to the world and bring us more tourists," said one of the local authorities.
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Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ wins best drama honour at Globes

The science-fiction blockbuster “Avatar” won best drama at the Golden Globes and picked up the directing honor for James Cameron on Sunday, raising the “Titanic” filmmaker’s prospects for another Academy Awards triumph.

It was a repeat of Cameron’s Globes night 12 years ago, when “Titanic” won best drama and the directing prize on its way to dominating the Oscars.

This time, though, instead of being “king of the world”, as Cameron declared at the Oscars, he has become king of an alien landscape, elevating space fantasy to enormous critical acclaim.

“’Avatar’ asks us to see that everything is connected, all human beings to each other, and us to the Earth. And if you have to go four and a half light years to another, made-up planet to appreciate this miracle of the world that we have right here, well, you know what, that’s the wonder of cinema right there, that’s the magic,” Cameron said.
>>> Read more @ The Hindu

Do the aliens in 'Avatar' realise they are blue?

At the end of Avatar, Jake Sully, the main character, wakes up as an alien. The movie ends before he has the chance to say anything to his (blue) alien wife, but here’s my guess as to what he might say to her:

“But I thought you were blue!”

But, since she is blue, why might he say that?

For those who haven’t seen the film, what you need to know is that Sully is a human who, from the safety of his brain-interface chamber back at the lab, can remotely control a “soul”-less alien body. And, at the end of the movie, and through the miracle of human suspension of disbelief, his human self gets literally uploaded into the alien’s body. Sully thereby becomes a bona fide eight foot tall, blue alien, and in the final frame of the movie we see his alien eyes open.

Question is: What does Sully see when he opens his eyes? And, more to the point: Does his new alien wife still appear blue to him?

By way of answering, let’s back up and remember what visual systems are for. When we look out at our world through our eyes, we implicitly believe we are seeing it as it truly is. Our eyes and visual systems are to us objective scientific measuring devices. But evolution does not select for objective scientific equipment – evolution selects for visual systems that best serve the animal and its reproduction. Although often the best perception is one that veridically reflects the truth, sometimes the best solution is a “useful fiction,” a little-white-lie perception that serves us better than an accurate accounting of the actual.
>>> Read More @Telegraph.co.uk

Is 'Avatar' your favorite James Cameron movie?

While Hollywood’s bean counters are all in a tizzy, scrambling to predict whether Avatar has a chance of smashing Titanic’s record as the biggest box-office hit of all time, we here at EW are preoccupied with more esoteric questions — questions that reach beyond the mere philistine accounting of dollars and cents! Namely, is Avatar James Cameron’s best film? We realize there’s a lot of love out there right now for the visionary director’s brand new 3-D sci-fi-apalooza. And I think we can all agree that it’s a helluva lot better than 1981’s Piranha 2: The Spawning. But is Avatar a better movie than Aliens or Terminator 2 or even The Abyss?

Take a few moments to re-familiarize yourself with Cameron’s resume below and then let us know how you’d rank ‘em! (For the record, here’s how I’d vote — from best to worst: T2, Aliens, Terminator, Avatar, Titanic, True Lies, The Abyss.)

The Terminator (1984)


Aliens (1986)


The Abyss (1989)


Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)


True Lies (1994)


Titanic (1997)


Source: POPWATCH

Zoe Saldana: Avatar has 'impact'

Zoe Saldana says she understands why film lovers are still packing out cinemas around the world to see 3-D fantasy adventure Avatar.

"It has such an impact in your heart," said the star of James Cameron's movie, which has now taken one million dollars worldwide.

But Zoe insisted the movie wasn't just winning over audiences because of the way it looks, adding: "The technology can only enhance what is already there, that's exactly what it did - we fell in love with this story primarily."

She went on: "The visual imagery of this movie will blow you away, but it will come secondary to what director James Cameron is already known for, being an amazing story teller."

>>> Read more @ Press Association

Avatar makes history; crosses $1 billion in 3 weeks

James Cameron, the man behind the unstoppable sci-fi hit Avatar, and Sandra Bullock, the co-producer and star of The Blind Side made history on Sunday evening.

While Avatar flew beyond expectations and reached the $1 billion milestone worldwide, the feel-good Bullock film -- which cost one tenth of the $300 million producing cost of Avatar -- passed the $200 million mark in North America. This is the first such milestone for the actress. It is headed for a $230 million total gross in North America. The football-themed drama is about a white family which encourages a young black man to get out of the harm's way and realise his potential.

Movie experts expected Avatar to reach the $1 billion mark but certainly not in just three weeks. Even hugely successful films like The Dark Knight, which cost over $200 million, took over three months to recover the basic production cost.

>>> Read more @ Rediff Movies

Avatar No 1 on Twitter

James Cameron’s Avatar is not only ruling box offices across the globe with a whopping collection of USD 620 million (Rs 3000 crores), but is currently the hottest topic on leading social networking site ‘Twitter’.

According to the Twitter homepage, Avatar ranks No1 in the list of ‘popular topics by the minute’ and ‘popular topics for the day’. It also figures in the list of ‘popular topics for the week’.

>>> Read more @ Hindustan Times

James Cameron's Avatar breaks Titanic's box office records in India

James Cameron's Avatar has turned out to be a record breaker for producers Fox Star Studios in India. The movie has broken the box office collections of Cameron's previous money spinner – Titanic – in India.

Avatar has grossed Rs 560 million (Rs 56 crore) in India in less than two weeks, and has thereby broken Titanic's record as the highest grosser for 20th Century Fox in India.

Titanic released in India in 1997 and with a total collection of Rs 550 million (Rs 55 crore) was till date the biggest film for Fox in India. It was also one of the all time Top 3 Hollywood films in India along with Spiderman 3 and 2012.

Fox Star Studios, India CEO Vijay Singh said, "Avatar has broken all major records in India and across the globe and is now the biggest film ever for Twentieth Century Fox in India. Despite being in the second week, the collections are only getting stronger and the number of prints is actually increasing in several parts of the country. We are thankful to the audiences and our partners for their support & enthusiasm towards Avatar."

>>> Read more @ Businessofcinema

Sentiment analysis for avatar


Source: Twitter Sentiment

Poll: How many Oscars will 'Avatar' win? (OMG, all nine?)

"Avatar" can score up to nine Academy Award nominations: best picture, director, art direction, film editing, music score, song, sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects.

"Avatar" probably won't be nominated for best screenplay. James Cameron didn't reap a script bid for "Titanic" even though it sailed off into Oscar history as biggest champ, tying "Ben-Hur's" record (11). Also, don't expect "Avatar" to make the list for best makeup. Sure, the "blue monkeys" (Na'vi) are nifty and such fantastical creatures usually score makeup recognition for their films, but their look is the result of digital effects, not wizardry by makeup artists. Ditto costumes, so don't expect "Avatar" to pop up in that Oscar category.

Check out this post to read our detailed analysis of the competition that "Avatar" faces in all remaining nine Oscar races, then cast your vote here.
Source: The Envelope