From SciFi Squad

Well, the time has finally come for James Cameron's Avatar to make its first ever appearance, and what a better place to start than at a packed auditorium full of fans the Cinema Expo in Amsterdam! According to various reports, 24 minutes of footage was screened from the new film, and the word "jaw-dropping" was used more than seven times, which, of course, means that the hype machine for this bad boy is already way out of control. On hand to introduce the footage were Avatar director James Cameron and actors Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana and Stephen Lang. Prior to showing the footage, Cameron declared that the 3D renaissance has arrived.

Here's a few quotes to go along with two images from the film that were on display at an after party:

"Overall I was really impressed by what I saw. The effects are in a league of their own." ... "It took my breath away. I thought–just like you guys–that I've seen it all with Gollum, or The Hulk, but Cameron has done it again. These creatures seem so real, that within minutes you forget you're watching an enormous and very blue CGI character. Even the eyes are totally convincing. The characters have real personalities and a soul." -- Coming Soon

Read the rest (and see the images) over at SciFi Squad

I was a 10-year-old girl when I first stumbled across a book about a vampire rock star, but from that moment on, I have always had a thing for the plasma-challenged. I've gone on to read everything from Penny Dreadfuls to Poppy Z. Brite, and to this day I will always watch a vampire movie, no matter how bad -- and there are no shortage of those. But there are some good ones, too, and one of my favorites is Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark. I have plenty of reasons for respecting Bigelow's work (whose new -- and excellent -- film The Hurt Locker opens on June 26th), because let's face it -- there aren't very many female directors, especially female 'action' directors -- and thanks to her vampire-Western hybrid, I'm willing to give her a bit of slack for her lesser flicks. So to anyone out there who thinks girls can only do 'hearts and flowers' on the big screen, just watch the scene after the jump and tell me if you still feel the same way.

But back to vampires: ever since Dracula first stepped off the Demeter and into London society, vampires have usually been frock-coated aristocratic types, but not these guys. Bigelow's vamps are more Hell's Angels than love-starved dandies, and unlike a certain vampire who shall go unnamed, have no qualms about being the bad guy. I do like to think of myself as a connoisseur of all things 'vamp', and I have to say, this scene is a doozey. In less than 10 minutes this group manages to clean out an entire redneck bar, and it ain't pretty. But then again, that's why I love it. In the end I prefer my vampires to be a little more bloodthirsty and a little less sensitive, don't you?

After the jump: Near Dark fun facts and the Scene We (I) Love...

Film School Rejects is reporting that Kevin Eastman, co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, has spilled some major beans on the remake of Heavy Metal, the totally over-the-top 1981 sci-fi flick full of boobies, violence, and, some might say, awesomeness.

Eastman wrote Heavy Metal 2000, which stars former Penthouse Pet Julie Strain, who is also, incidentally, Eastman's ex-wife. She also voiced Heavy Metal 2000 and starred in the Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.2 video game. Eastman told FSR,

"I've got breaking news that Fincher and James Cameron are going to be co-executive Producers on the film. Fincher will direct one. Cameron will direct one. Zack Snyder is going to direct one and Gore Verbinski is going to. Mark Osborne and Jack Black from Tenacious D are going to do a comedy segment for the film. Three other directors have agreed but we haven't signed them, but they're equally as jaw-dropping. So we're on cloud nine to be working with such an amazing amount of talent."

Will Heavy Metal benefit from a high-tech remake? Or was part of its appeal the cheesiness of the original? More importantly, will Dio have a part in the Tenacious D segment?

Oh, Terminator Salvation. It's the sequel that tried, grabbing excellent names like Christian Bale, Helena Bonham Carter, and Anton Yelchin ... but it had so much going against it. We had already learned, after Terminator 3 came out, that Terminators without James Cameron aren't much fun at all. But now another sequel with another John Connor, all at the hands of the Charlie's Angels helmer, and it just didn't do very well at all -- disappointing numbers and an ouch-worthy 34% fresh at Rottentomatoes.

And what we all want to know is what does James Cameron think about what's happened to his beloved franchise? Well, he's not the sort of guy to be too catty, but what he said during a Q&A at the end of last month says it all. Cameron discusses how he wasn't keen on returning to Terminator after Titanic, and how he suggested that Arnold Schwarzenegger get as much money as he could for his work in the third film. When Cameron told him just how much he should ask for, Arnie said: "Really?" And Cameron's response was: "Sure, are you kidding? They're not gonna make the movie without you. That'd be stupid!" (You can hear Cameron tell the story over at Movieline.)

So, there you have it. Of course, it takes more than Arnie to make a good Terminator film, as we learned last time. And it certainly takes more than some mediocre-at-best CGI of the man to make for a good T800 this time. But hearing Cameron talk, I want to see the director finish Avatar and get back into the Cyberdyne spirit, like the anal-retentive parent who trashes their kid's haphazard school project and redoes it into a masterpiece. Father knows best ...

OMG! Up to now, all we've seen from James Cameron's upcoming 3-D epic Avatar is a photograph of Cameron on set with star Sam Worthington, and another solo shot of Cameron, so these peaks at concept art for the film, courtesy of the blog MarketSaw, make me very happy because they look so cool.

The blog says that the images are from The Art of Avatar: James Cameron's Epic Adventure, a book that's due to be published in November. As such, they don't represent the final product, of course, but they give a good idea of the look and style that Cameron has in mind for the movie. (That's a presumption on my part.) To quote from a previous post, Avatar "tells of a paraplegic ex-marine war veteran (Worthington) who's sent to establish a human settlement on the distant planet of Pandora, but winds up in a battle against the planet's indigenous population, the Na'vi." The image above shows a pretty wild-looking helicopter pitted against winged creatures; the other pic depicts the power suit that allows humans to explore Pandora.

If you'd like to know more about how the power suit and helicopter fit into the overall scheme of things, head on over to MarketSaw. They have the full-size, full-resolution pics. Right now, I can't wait to see some images in action. When do we get a teaser?

"These are not the screens you want," IMAX is, in effect, claiming, trying a Jedi mind trick to downplay recent consumer anger over the smaller, unadvertised size of their new-fangled digital screens, for which they charge a premium of up to $5.00 per ticket. Yesterday, they tried to "wow the media," says The Hollywood Reporter, " while also performing a bit of damage-control."

IMAX claims that it's an "old issue" because the average size of an IMAX screen has been "just slightly bigger" than conventional screens for six years. Really? They also claim that they have a "nice problem: having to choose among films offered for release." Yet the New York Times reports that the company "has not lined up any other Hollywood movies for its ultra-big screen theaters" [emphasis added] after James Cameron's Avatar opens on December 18, leaving the schedule clear until Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland on March 5. (The article mentions size three times, so they haven't gotten the company message.) The company intimates that it wants to be able to "satisfy demand."

IMAX is a public corporation, and their first obligation is to their shareholders. But, clearly, they are so preoccupied with profit that they are ignoring the legitimate concerns of the moviegoing public. (Check out the comments when we originally posted about this.) If IMAX is so convinced that their smaller digital screens provide an "immersive experience," why not disclose it? Why not promote it? "IMAX: Size Doesn't Matter!" or "IMAX: Small is Powerful!" Instead, they claim that interest will be so high that it will take three months for everyone to pay more money to see Avatar on a smaller screen that's only "slightly bigger" than other screens (that charge less) in the same multiplex. Here's another slogan: "IMAX: Taking Your Money and Running."

Accountability has been the watchword in Hollywood lately, especially after all the mess that followed Slumdog Millionaire. But just sometimes, a nice story comes out of Tinseltown, so why not celebrate it?

The BBC reports that the big names behind Titanic, Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, and James Cameron, have pulled together $30,000 to help Millvina Dean, a 97-year-old woman who just so happens to be the last living survivor of the Titanic disaster. The woman, who has been struggling with steep monthly bills at her nursing home, had begun to auction personal belongings and Titanic memorabilia to make ends meet. Now a fund has been set up for her, and the Titanic trio pitched in. Fund creator Don Mullan said: "I laid down the challenge to the Titanic actors and directors to support the Millvina Fund and I was delighted with the generosity they have shown in meeting that challenge."

Remember that whole "women and children" first thing? When the lifeboats had to be rationed? She was one of those children, saved along with her mother and sibling by her dad, who then perished when the ship sunk.

Now if only those who are accountable for people's hardships could be as generous...

Now that J.J. Abrams has reinvented, and especially, reinvigorated Star Trek for an all new generation of fake-pointy-eared fans, it would be unfair to let the filmmaker simply take time off to garden or crochet, much less celebrate the film's projected $72 million opening weekend. Especially since there are just so many other franchises and film series that deserve – or perhaps more accurately – need his golden touch. As such, we've thoughtfully assembled a short list of franchises that Abrams could and should take over, tackle, and reboot. And while we tailored our selections to suit the filmmaker's writing and directing strengths, we encourage you to leave your comments and suggestions which films and franchises you think might be better suited to Abrams' cinematic style.

In no particular order:

I will fess up here and now my inability to confirm this picture that accompanied a pop-up ad on Variety's website and its relationship, if any, to James Cameron's ultra-hush-hush Avatar. There is nothing on Attitude Studio's show reel that would deny as much, and I cannot get their gallery to open for whatever reason (if anyone can and sees something similar on there, let us know).

All I can note, though, is the image's striking likeness to Avatar's star, Sam Worthington (also of this month's Terminator Salvation -- the guy's on quite the roll). I could totally buy this being a representation of the lean, mean ex-Marine that he's supposed to play.

So Steven Soderbergh can vouch for it a wee bit, and so can some guy at Time Magazine. All I know is: even if this isn't a shot from the flick, when are we actually going to get a look at this digital revolution for ourselves?

Since we still haven't seen anything worthwhile from James Cameron's Avatar, save for the occasional behind-the-scenes green-screen shot or fan-made trailer, all we have to go on for the time being is word from other filmmakers or journalists who've been allowed behind the curtain for a sneak peek. Some say Cameron's big-budgeted (over $200 million) part live-action/part animated 3D extravaganza will change everything we've come to expect from your average moviegoing experience. Personally I hope that includes aliens bursting out of the screen and up the theater aisle hell-bent on massaging my neck for two hours -- but I'll take what I can get.

Speaking of teases, Coming Soon spoke with writer-director Steven Soderbergh while the man was doing press for his new film The Girlfriend Experience, and, surprisingly, he threw in an Avatar mention when asked why today's films don't have the impact or longevity of some classics. On Avatar, he notes, "I've seen some stuff and holy sh*t. It's the craziest sh*t ever." For Soderbergh, who's constantly experimenting and playing around with digital filmmaking, to use "craziest sh*t ever" in a sentence -- well, he really must have seen some crazy sh*t. The man went no further, but Cameron has to be really putting together something special and magical to elicit that sort of reaction from Soderbergh. Argh, show us something Fox! We're dying over here.

Avatar hits theaters on December 18.