Construction is scheduled to begin in 2013 and although there are no details on what exactly the ride will feature, it is set to be built inside the Animal Kingdom section of Disney World in the Orlando Park.

James Cameron spoke about the new ride saying, “Through this incredible partnership with Disney, we’ll be able to bring Pandora to life like never before. With two new ‘Avatar’ films currently in development, we’ll have even more locations, characters and stories to explore. I’m chomping [sic] at the bit to start work with Disney’s legendary Imagineers to bring our ‘Avatar’ universe to life. Our goal is to go beyond current boundaries of technical innovation and experiential storytelling, and give park goers the chance to see, hear, and touch the world of ‘Avatar’ with an unprecedented sense of reality.”

I imagine part of the inspiration came from the Harry Potter World in Universal Orlando. I know plenty of people who have visited that attraction and say it is truly magical, no pun intended of course. Hopefully, this one can match that!

I don’t know about you Banters but putting any personal feelings about ‘Avatar’ the film aside this attraction sounds like an amazing spectacle!

Who thinks with construction for the ride beginning in 2013 the debut will most definitely coincide with ‘Avatar 2’ in theaters December of 2014?

As most of you know, James Cameron is putting together two sequels to follow his 2009 mega hit Avatar. It’s only the highest grossing movie of all time, but no big deal.

According to sources, Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment Production Company signed a deal to lease the 115,000-square-feet of soundstage and production office space on the 22-acre MBS Media Campus. The campus is located in Southern California.  Cameron is supposedly attracted to the campus’s green features, which include a water conservation program, eco-friendly paints and cleaning products, sustainable café and craft services practices.  Check the article from GreenLaunches.com for more information.

The true amazing thing of this entire deal is that Cameron is going into his own (deep) pockets to have solar panels installed to help power the set. Cameron also plans to donate some of the film’s profits to charity.

The green set is something new to Hollywood. Either that or I just haven’t heard of it. This is a great thing for Hollywood, especially as its most influential people continue to advocate for environmentally friendly programs.  If this grows to become more popular, we could see a transition in how movies are shot and made. Perhaps this could even go further and demonstrate to other cities that alternative sources of energy are economical (and possible).

What do you think?

The release date for one of Blue Sky’s newest films, Rio, is quickly approaching (April 15^th). According to Wikipedia, the film’s synopsis is as follows:

“Blu is a rare species of blue macaw resident at a bookstore in Moose Lake, Minnesota, who is the last of his kind. When scientists learn that another macaw was spotted in South America and that the macaw, Jewel is female, they take him out of Minnesota and send him to Rio de Janeiro to meet her. While there, he learns to confront his fear of flying in order to win her heart. Along the way, they get kidnapped by poachers to sell them to get a fortune. After they escape, they try to avoid the thieves and their pet cockatoo Nigel with help from Rafael, a wise Toucan; Luiz, a chainsaw ‘professional’ bulldog; Linda, Blu’s owner; Fao, a barn owl; Pedro, a redhead bird; and Nico, a small yellow canary.”

In 2010, Pixar announced the cancellation of one of their projects, Newt. That film’s synopsis was something like this:

“What happens when the last remaining male and female blue-footed newts on the planet are forced together by science to save the species, and they can’t stand each other? Newt and Brooke embark on a perilous, unpredictable adventure and discover that finding a mate never goes as planned, even when you only have one choice. Love, it turns out, is not a science.”

Sound strangely similar?

The plot of James Cameron’s Avatar, a huge success, was freakishly similar to that of the Disney feature, Pocahontas, which was sadly not much of a success. Also not much of a success was Alpha and Omega, another film with a plot similar to Rio’s. But I think Rio has a really good chance of being a box office success. Maybe part of it will be due to amazing direction, good performances, a great script, and beautiful animation, OR maybe the studios saw what Cameron did and made an intelligent decision to follow in his footsteps in order to give their film an outstanding release. They decided to make the main characters blue! Yes, no matter how overused a story is or how much you take from other works, it will have a chance of being successful if your protagonists are blue. Gnomeo & Juliet made an attempt with the “blue-hatted” gnomes, but only one of those gnomes was a main character, so they didn’t fully apply the rule…Pixar decided to use blue-footed newts, but probably dropped the project because they knew that the newts were not blue enough, therefore it would not work out like Avatar.

Yes, part of this claim is my need to still release frustration over the fact that Avatar got away with being as similar as it was to Pocahontas, but I’m willing to bet that Rio will be quite a success, solely based on the fact that its main characters are blue (also, I really do not think it is a rip off of what would have been Newt). Even the main character’s name is Blu. You can hold me to it. When the movie comes out, if it bombs, I will hold my head down in shame.

If it is a new trend, I wonder how the new Smurfs movie will do…I swear everyone’s jumping on the blue-wagon this year—it’s the new 3D…

What do you guys think?

However there was a more than $10 million drop to #3 with The Expendables, which grabbed another $9.5 million. Last year the top four movies on top had million dollar weekend grosses in the double-digits. The Expendables passed its $80 million budget to $82 million in three weeks…

Sorry if I need to cut this kind of short – Eat Pray Love nabbed $7 million at #4, also passing its $60 million budget this weekend with $60.7 million, and The Other Guys rounds out the top five with $6.6 million.

Out of the top five-

• The special re-release of James Cameron’s Avatar containing nine minutes of extra footage came in twelfth with $4 million at 812 locations.
• With a 424 site expansion Get Low’s weekend profits were boosted 144.9% from last tally, bringing in $1.7 million.
• Jean-Francois Richet’s Mesrine: Killer Instinct, which has already made a splash everywhere but the States, managed $150,000 at 28 sites.

Here are the box office results according to studio estimates Sunday-

1. 1. The Last Exorcism…$21.3 million
2. 2. Takers…$21 million
3. 3. The Expendables…$9.5 million
4. 4. Eat Pray Love…$7 million
5. 5. The Other Guys…$6.6 million
6. 6. Vampires Suck…$5.3 million
7. 7. Inception…$5.1 million
8. 8. Nanny McPhee Returns…$4.7 million
9. 9. The Switch…$4.7 million
10. 10. Piranha 3D…$4.3 million

Avatar was a good film, I’m not going to pretend I didn’t enjoy it because, sitting in the theater with my 3D glasses on, I was invested, even if the whole three hours was nothing more than watching pretty colors. But I don’t know that it has the lasting power—for me personally—to sit through again. There was no tricky plot that calls for multiple viewing. The performances weren’t particularly memorable. The story was blah. So what?

I know what you’re thinking. “But, Nick, there’s like seven new minutes of never before seen footage.” Again, Avatar was good, but making it longer is not exactly what I would call enticing. Maybe if they cut out forty-five minutes, I’d go check it out. But I have a very solid feeling that 90% of the audience will have no idea where the actual new scenes take place. So, unless you’re an avid Avatar fan, there wouldn’t be much of a change.

Another thing that occurred to me is that, while it has sold a bajillion copies on DVD and Blu-ray, maybe it’s not as good on the smaller screen. I had a discussion with a friend the other day, where I said there’s no way I’d pay to see it again in theaters. She informed me that she had bought the DVD when it was released, but never watched it. She thought it wouldn’t be the same, and will probably see it again when it comes out. I think she may be right. The whole premise of this thing was 3D and enjoying it in the biggest way possible.

This may sound pro re-release, and I don’t know, maybe it is. But a movie that cannot be enjoyed from the comfort of your home sounds terrible. But then again, if people buy it for their home and never watch it, and as the studio, you get to have it hit theaters every X number of years, well maybe then, they’re the geniuses after all. And we herd in and hand them our money.

Are you guys going to see Avatar again? Do you think it’s more than just greed?

3D is the glitzy and newest hot trend in the movie industry.  Ever since the success of Avatar, a lot of movies seem to be getting the 3D treatment as the next big thing to come.  Alice and Wonderland did huge in the box office, despite the fact that many people complained about the 3D experience.  But does Hollywood care?  Of course not, it’s all about the money.  But a movie having 3D doesn’t guarantee success as there have been a few 3D duds.  Should 3D be here to stay?  Yes and no, depending on how studios go about it.

Avatar was a long and expensive process using top of the line technologies to shoot the movie in 3D, which helped enhance the movie experience when seen in theaters.  Alice and Wonderland was shot in 2D and then converted to 3D after production, which is a lesser quality 3D experience (and painfully obvious too) which led to some complaints.

When done right, 3D enhances the viewing experiences and makes it a pleasure.  But when it’s just converted, it looks like a cheap Disney World park ploy gimmick which makes us feel like we have been ripped off by the extra fees.  I don’t like how now it seems every potential big movie (and evens smaller ones) are automatically getting the 3D talk, especially when they don’t go about it the right way.  I think they may over do it and ruin the perception for future movies that utilize 3D properly to enhance the movie.

Do you like the direction 3D movies are going in?

We are finally here. This Sunday night, March 7th, is the big night: Oscar Night. I for one am extremely excited for the Oscars.  I think it’s the best of the entertainment award shows probably due to the magnitude of what is on the line.  The past couple years might have been a little dull in terms of the show itself, but I am extremely excited nonetheless. I guess the media does a good job at promoting the show.

The Oscar’s is where history is made and trivia questions are created. My friends and I often try to list backwards the past 10 best actors, 10 best pictures etc. You guys know what I mean.  We all have those great trivia questions to see who knows the most useless movie knowledge. For example, can you name the 5 best picture films since 1985 that start with the word “The.” No cheating.

Anyways, this year we have some interesting battles. The first, the battle of the ex’s. Kathryn vs Cameron – former husband and wife go head-to-head for best director. Cameron got the Globe but the Bigelow got the DGA. What will the Academy have to say?

The other big matchup involves the same movies. The Hurt Locker takes on Avatar as a real-life war movie takes on a fantasy war movie. Again, both movies have received awards during the season, so it is still a toss up. I think the Academy will lean towards the Hurt Locker here, but we shall see.

Then we have plenty of locks. Waltz is a lock for Best Supporting Actor for Inglorious, Bridges is a lock for Best Actor for Crazy Heart, Mo’Nique seems to be  a heavy favorite for Best Supporting Actress, and Bullock is a lock for Best Actress. Also, UP is a complete lock for Best Animated Feature.

The media build up is all for this Sunday night. The big show is upon us. It should be one hell of a night.

Will you be watching this Sunday?

Keep Bantering

Hollywood studios are always looking for the next place to reach out to in order to gain awareness for their movies.  Movies not only rely on reviews, but word of mouth buzz to gain traction which could lead to ticket sales for their movies.  With social media, the doors are more open than ever for studios to become creative with online strategy to attract fans and help spread the word about their movies.  The potential reach is limitless, and now studios are beginning online campaigns months prior to the release of a movie.

Alice in Wonderland the upcoming 3D blockbuster starring Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, and directed by the amazing and quirky Tim Burton comes out next Friday on March 5^th.  Disney has spent months pushing this movie online and engaging fans with their Alice and Wonderland Facebook Fan Page and more.  Recently they just had their movie premiere in London on February 25^th and live streamed the event to the world.

A few movies like Avatar have used live streaming techniques with their promotions, and this method which currently can be seen as a trend, will slowly become the standard.  Live streaming a premiere is a great way for a movie studio to give a fan a personal front and center red carpet experience right from their home computer.  It allows fans the opportunity to be part of the major event and see their favorite actors and actresses live, really making them fully part of the event.  While watching the premiere through the Alice and Wonderland Facebook Page, fans also had the opportunity to connect in real time with other fans about the live events going on, making this a special and interactive event.

This strategy is a great way for studios to allow fans access which will only help spread the viral buzz for the movie, and likely lead to increased sales.  Expect to see this become the norm for all big movie releases in the future.

Next up at #2 was Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, the first of a five-part series of children’s fantasy novels. Chris Columbus’s two-hour action/adventure about a boy who discovers his father is Poseidon raked in $38.8 million. Impressive, but due to poor reviews (49% on Rotten Tomatoes) I don’t think David Yates and the Harry Potter franchise have too much to worry about.

Joe Johnston’s awaited The Wolfman began with $36.5 million over the duel holiday weekend. Johnston has had trouble with his horror reboot about a man in Victorian England who finds himself transforming into a strange beast under moonlight after being bitten by a werewolf, having The Wolfman’s release date pushed back several times. It looks like we may be seeing a bit more of Benicio del Toro and Emily Blunt in the box office in the coming weeks, as I believe this out of the other two debuts this past weekend has the strongest staying power. James Cameron’s sci-fi epic Avatar continues to do amazingly well, grossing $30 million over these past four days with a grand cume of well over $600 million domestic and over $2 billion worldwide.

Dear John rounds us out with an estimated $18.8 million in fifth place. Another film that profited from Valentine’s Day crowds, but still dropping four spots from last weekend.

Out of the top five-

• Post 9/11 drama My Name is Khan opened with $1.9 million on 120 screens.
• Grisly documentary October Country debuted with $7,000 on one screen.

Here are the box office results according to studio estimates Sunday-

1. Valentine’s Day…$66.9 million
2. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief…$38.8 million
3. The Wolfman…$36.5 million
4. Avatar…$30 million
5. Dear John…$18.8 million
6. Tooth Fairy…7.7 million
7. From Paris With Love…$6.8 million
8. Edge of Darkness…$5.7 million
9. Crazy Heart…$5 million
10. When in Rome…$4.2 million

The month of February is commonly considered a dark period for movies. Nick mentioned that it is the graveyard for film. New releases are basically overshadowed by the award season.  In fact, Oscar nominated films get a distribution boost in February in order to milk the buzz they get from the nomination.

So, we know that you are not going to hit up the theaters for new releases. Instead, we know that you all are going to try to catch up on the Oscar movies that you didn’t get to see the first time around.  Get this, “An Education” went from 100 theaters before being nominated for the award, to over 700 after receiving the nod for Best Picture. However, Summit’s “The Hurt Locker” was sent to DVD, which went from being in theaters to being completely removed. Theaters will not show movies that get sent to DVD FYI. So, Summitt messed up.

As we are in the Oscar season, there is trophy talk everywhere. We have a year where 10 films got nominated and lots of movie hooplah to go through.  Since we know you all are trying to play Oscar catch up, we wanted to help you out.   Here are the 10 films nominated for Best Picture and our review for each one.

1. The Hurt Locker

2. Avatar

3. Up in the Air

4. Precious

5. Inglorious Basterds

6. The Blind Side

7. District 9

8. An Education

9. UP

10. A Serious Man

Keep Bantering