James Cameron's AVATAR 2 - now playing ONLY in cinema theaters

[Geeheeb]

I haven’t been to a theatre to see a new movie since maybe the The Martian in 2015.

[Necrometer]

I think it was Dune that got me back into a theater

0% DROP THIRD WEEKEND



NO FUCKING FATE

it's up a few percent


meanwhile



I think Joe Rogan cannot turn his head - he spins his whole chair around - is this a known thing?

chris kattan had some horrible injury and can't turn his neck

[Necrometer]

can't stop

won't stop

[Necrometer]

in the teaser trailer, there's a shot that has been hotly debated - is it CGI or is it practical?

This shot right here, everything you’re seeing from the blue skin, to the water, to the straps, everything you’re seeing was generated by a computer…so why does the internet refuse to believe that that shot is generated by a computer?

they discuss the shot extensively (starting at 3:45), arguing that it cannot / would not be anything but all-CGI, because:
1. consistency: JC wouldn't add a random practical shot in an all-CGI movie
2. it's clearly not painted skin (you would need to tattoo the actor), skin is slightly translucent
3. it's not a composite (real water, CGI blue alien) - too hard to "paint out" the actor and add in the CGI alien

I agree with #3, but it's pretty easy to shut down arguments #1+2:
1. this is countered by the fact that the first movie has a rubber Neytiri hand prop for the shot when she puts the mask on Jake. if you focus on it (at home, looping it), it's obviously a rubber hand, but you'd never notice this in the theater. The shot is around 57s here.
2. na'vi “skin” is much less difficult to simulate IRL than human skin; it’s less translucent, which was probably a deliberate choice, to make it easier to render, especially in 2009. their skin looks relatively waxy, much more similar to what can be attained using paint. weta also has an incredible practical effects team, and I think they could paint someone blue reasonably well, matching the hue and sheen of the CGI output.

so hope is alive, right? IT GETS BETTER. some guy who actually worked on avatar 2+3 (he has an IMDb listing) weighs in (in the comments on the video above) and says the following:

But they did film live action water shots. Like the hand close up pulling the leather straps.

Considering I worked on the film and was standing there in the studio when they filmed this shot I think I might know what I’m saying. I’m not saying it’s 100 percent real but they did actually film it.

I’m not denying there’s lots of VFX elements in the hand leather shot but we did film it for real. The team at Weta are excellent and best in class but we did Film live action water scenes like the hand one with people. You’re right I don’t work in VFX I work in the camera department. I’m not sure why I would lie about working on the Avatar sequels.

I never said they used the water from what we shot live action for the final shot. As I said previously I’m not saying it’s 100 percent real. I never said the water in the shot is real. All I’m saying is that we filmed it for real with a guy painted blue, not in a MOCAP suit. If they used it or not I don’t know.
You’re right I can’t truthfully 100 percent comment on the VFX process or elements they kept or didn’t keep and neither can the Corridor crew or you unless you worked in the digi team on the film. Sure there’s patents and white papers or whatever but It’s all speculation guessing what’s real and what’s not. I also don’t need to prove to you my involvement with these films.

they filmed a painted-blue guy! it's gotta be all-practical

finally, the truth! there's a painted-blue hand & a strap, but almost everything else is CGI

[Necrometer]

y'all

these are your final three days of IMAX for avatar

quantumania comes out friday aka thursday

other fun box office news: avatar 2 & titanic are both in theaters right now, and are essentially tied for #3 worldwide/all-time

[Necrometer]

[Necrometer]

[Geeheeb]

i will never understand

[Necrometer]

that one is some sort of satire of incel stuff, I think?

avatar 2 has limped past $2.3B - I don't think it will hit 2.4... and I don't think it deserves to. hopefully the next movie gets its shit together

although cameron has had three global mega-hits in a row, I think this one dropped the ball in that it had essentially zero love story. there was a bit of a flirtmance thing going on between two teens, but it's nothing compared to the central love story of titanic or avatar. I don't really care about this aspect that much, but global audiences eat it up, and I suspect it's a key component of the JC money printer firing on all cylinders. no idea if A3 will have a love story, but if it doesn't... I bet A4 will.

despite the movie lacking horny stuff, the weird fandom that's emerging is overtly perverted in that weird tumblr sort of way. lmk if anyone wants evidence - delighted to share

[Eight Bit Alien]

Please share.
Interesting points on the love story. Let's think
... Cameron's track record with love stories and the relative reception of the flick

T1 - Y, hit
Aliens - N, hit
Abyss - N, whiff
T2 - No, hit
True Lies - Y, whiff
Titanic - Y, hit
Avatar - Y, hit

Obviously I'm talking about romantic love. T2 and Aliens have a plot about parental love, maybe thats what Avatar 2 substituted for the valentine kind?

[cxwx]

The Abyss had a semi love story with the Mary Elizabeth M and Ed Harris’s character being ex-es and the extreme tension where you assume

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

. The scene where she kisses him desperately while he has the face mask on is pretty iconic.

Edit: it was the number 2 movie during its premier week and made double the money that went into producing it. By no means a commercial failure but not a mega money machine.

[Eight Bit Alien]

Oh yeah good point.

And im definitely talking about general audience reception. True Lies is a classic in my book