Fox Greenlights Avatar

Forget the 2007 predictions for a minute; let's talk about the biggest movie of 2009: Avatar. Fox has officially greenlit the James Cameron project, which is set for release in 2009. The film will have a budget of $200 million, will be exhibited in 3-D, will feature groundbreaking special effects designed by Cameron and Peter Jackson's effects shop, Weta, and will return the director to science fiction. Production on live-action sequences begins in April. Now, don't you wish we could just skip over the next two years' worth of sure-to-be-mediocre blockbusters? I'm thinking of going into one of those deep sleeps that Ripley and crew sink into in the Alien movies.

It has been nearly a decade since James Cameron gave us a disappointing mix of grand spectacle and badly written, melodramatic fluff, and we should all be past the forgiving stage already. Yes, Titanic is one of the best examples of a movie in which amazing special effects nearly make up for an otherwise weak script, but the novelty of its visuals faded pretty quickly with its release on video. I'm really, really, really hoping that with all of Cameron's time developing the effects for Avatar, he isn't forgetting about the substance of the screenplay.

Of course, few others will likely care about the writing. After all, Titanic grossed almost $2 billion. Avatar will probably earn a similar amount of change whether or not it has a good story, characters or dialogue. In an interview with the NY Times Monday, Cameron only discussed the effects, specifically the film's mix of CGI and live action. "At the end of the day," he said, "the audience has no idea which they're looking at."

Unfortunately, I fear that his statement will carry over to mean the audience won't know if they're looking at a good movie or a bad one -- the very problem with Titanic, which won a Best Picture Oscar, for goodness sakes. At least I can keep some faith knowing that Cameron has written some of the greatest sci-fi action movies of all time.


Previous posts on Cameron and/or Avatar:

James Cameron Returns to the Sea

Avatar Casting Rumor

Cameron Talks

James Cameron: Battle Angel Trilogy

Project 880 Casting Goodness

Lord of the Rings Returns ... in 3-D?