bethymouse
Well-Known Member
Very interesting! So... Cameron does have a "hidden" message to his Avatar films.LOL
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Avatar starts filming this fall...2,3 and 4 to be filmed at same time.
- Thread starter CinematicFusion
- Start date
bethymouse
Well-Known Member
It's Tim Burton- wow he's not associated w/ Disney is he? LOL. Unless you're a Tim Burton fan, I just don't see it???
toolsnspools
Well-Known Member
Disney needs an expansion of AK very badly. Creating a completely immersive land is going to be just what the park needs. Something with a ton of night time potential is even better. Whether or not that needs to be Avatar based is debatable. I'd much rather see them go with something completely unique, but no-one in Disney management seems ready to let the Imagineers go there. If they do Pandora justice, this can work very well. I'm content for now to hold judgement until we see details.
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
I actually liked Avatar and am looking forward to the sequels, but I'm not sure I like this. Filming a whole bunch of movies in a row really limits your flexibility from movie to movie... people better like the first sequel. Remember how negative the reaction to the Matrix Reloaded was? And then the third movie was already in the can at that point, so more of the same! I think it probably takes your focus off of making each individual movie as great as it can be if you're thinking on this giant three film level. Andrew Stanton butchered the story from the John Carter books, because he was "setting up for the sequel". Make one good movie at a time! Although, I will say that if any filmmaker has earned the right to do this, it might be James Cameron and if any movie deserves it, it's the highest grossing movie of all time.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
That's all it takes. Radiator Springs Racers, Indiana Jones Adventures, and Star Tours are attractions based on popular franchises that I don't dislike, but definitely don't love either. My appreciation of the source material doesn't take away from the ride. Comparatively, I love the Back to the Future trilogy, but towards the end of that ride's shelf life I couldn't even stomach it.
After coming back from Carsland, I will say one thing that I hope they do differently. Don't build one E-ticket draw and two B/C tickets to round out the land. I would much rather see a single E-ticket and a solid, high capacity D-ticket that has a broader appeal than the B/C ticket kiddy rides. Kiddy rides aren't going to work in Avatar because it's not a children's franchise.
FigmentJedi
Well-Known Member
cheezbat
Well-Known Member
I totally agree with you except I would not give Cameron that much credit...but I sure as heck would do it for Christopher Nolan! That guy is a genius!
A movie should be looked at individually. If it merits a sequel that's awesome, but planning it with a bunch of sequels in mind often muddies what could be phenomenal movies. Your Matrix reference is a perfect example.
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
You don't have to debate the artistic talents of Cameron vs. Nolan, because even if you personally don't like Cameron, you have to admit that he makes popular movies. Knock a billion dollars off of Avatar and it's still one of the most popular movies ever. Popular isn't always good, of course, but it's not like the movie was complete trash.
PeterAlt
Well-Known Member
Just checked IMDB.com and that article is wrong. Only two sequels are planned and will be made. Cameron has been planning his next mega block buster "Battle Angel" for a number of years. The screenplay is already done, and, according to IMDB.com, it's already in pre-production. The Avatar sequels are just something he had promised the studio he would do because the first was such a success. His heart's really not in these sequels, as it's in Battle Angel. A third Avatar sequel (made by Cameron) would only further delay production of Battle Angel, something I believe Cameron would like to avoid.
bubbles1812
Well-Known Member
Haha. I think that was a movie made by the SyFy channel...but I could be wrong. Seems like something they would do. My fav all time was Sharktopus. (My family is a big fan of watching the so terrible they are good/funny in all the wrong ways movies they put out).
Anywho... They are making 3 more?? I thought there was only going to be two sequels. I think the humans are returning as the bad guys in the second one but if they make them be the bad guys in all the films, that will get really old really fast.
I don't think the upcoming Avatar movies will be "John Carters." No way that happens. Plenty of people liked the film and Cameron will most likely keep pushing the technology used forward as much as he can, which was part of the draw of the films anyways. Hopefully there is a stronger story this time. I don't think they'll make as much money as the original (which would be a pretty steep hill to climb), but I don't think they will flop either.
bubbles1812
Well-Known Member
Ahh, ok, I thought there were only two planned. But I'd dispute what you said about Cameron not having his heart in the sequels. If you have seen him interviewed a lot (I follow what he does to a degree just because while I think he's a very mediocre script writer, he sure does push the boundaries of technology in everything he does so I like seeing what projects he has going), he's always talked about wanting to do Avatar sequels. He said this even before Avatar came out originally back when the entire world was predicting it would be a flop. He has talked about wanting to explore more of Pandora (I think he really loves the world he created and wants to show more of it to the audience) numerous times. And Fox supports it now because Avatar made a ridiculous amount of money.
And if they don't shoot the two sequels back to back, I'd be shocked. It's less expensive to do it that way. Pirates did it. LOTR did it (well, they shot all three). It's a common trend now. And if they did it that way, would probably delay Battle Angel less (though I haven't really seen Cameron talk about that project, only Avatar, so I question even where it is on his priorities right now, even if the script is written).
PeterAlt
Well-Known Member
Since posting that, I read through the Cameron news archives to catch-up. Before I say what I learned, let me first state that I think James Cameron is the Steve Jobs of the film industry. Now, here's what I learned...
Cameron, at one point, tried to time the start of production on Battle Angel so that it could be done before Avator 2, but this effort was unsuccessful. Avatar 2 production is being held back because Cameron wants to develop a new 3D system that will solve the problem of people feeling sick - first - before he begins shooting. Apparently, he's spending LOTS and LOTS of money on developing new tools, while also writing at the same time (for Avatar 2). The thinking is he could later use these new "tools" for Avatar 3 (and Avatar 4, if he can fit it in) as well as Battle Angel.
The screenplay for Battle Angel has been through many drafts (as of two years ago). It is co-written with the original Japanese animated film author. The budget is expected to be TWICE that of Avatar! Cameron LOVES to set records on film budgets and Box Office receipts. The original Terminator cost $50 million. T2 cost $100 million (at that time, the most expensive movie made). Titantic was $200 million (at that time,the most expensive movie made). Avatar, when you add up what Fox and all the investors put in and total it, was $400 million. That means Battle Angel will cost $800 million!
That pretty much explains why he must make the Avatar sequels first. If they do good at the Box Office, he will have much of the money he will need to make Battle Angel. Then, he can retire!
bubbles1812
Well-Known Member
This is ultimately why I'm still paying money to see Cameron's films. It's not that I think they are spectacular from a story standpoint, but he does keep driving technology forward. He is definitely a pioneer of the film industry in that way. It's amazing to even watch say Titanic again, another of his movies where I thought the story was ok, but then to look at the special affects he pulled off...it really is amazing to watch. A lot of that ending sequence involved was done with real things, not just CGI. I'll be curious to see what he does. And I'm really hoping he incorporates whatever he observed at the bottom of Challenger Deep/Marianas Trench into the aquatic environment in some way. That was super cool.
Cameron does seem to love his records...it's not just a rumor that his ego is the size of China. That being said, his movies generally make back their budget and then some (or a whole lot) so I guess no studio can really complain too much. Though even I'm skeptical that a studio would allow him an $800 million budget. I think Avatar 1 is the most expensive ever made thus far and even that "only" got a budget of $280 million
He could have retired years ago! I think his house is probably just made of dollar bills because he doesn't know what to do with it all
Fox&Hound
Well-Known Member
Now that they know these movies will be going into AK, I fully believe that will influence what movies get made. They know they want food locations and merchandise options so don't be surprised when Avatar 2 introduces a signature restaurant or drink and a cute animal side kick goes on their next adventure.
I agree...same thing with deathly hallows with the gringotts ride and even the barrel scene in the last hobbit
MOXOMUMD
Well-Known Member
You're joking right?
Fox&Hound
Well-Known Member
I'm not saying it is a good idea artistically but you have to believe that Disney will pressure Cameron to make sure his future movies will help the park. If they can't find a restaurant idea or merchandise ideas from the first film then I'm sure there is pressure to have them in future films. Or, Cameron showed Disney execs the big picture and they thought it would be a good tie-in with what is coming down the road.
Bottom line: a lot of people hate on the fact that Avatar did not have enough to make it a suitable theme park tie in except for the visuals. But they are not done story telling and I'm sure they will write the sequels with the idea in mid, "What would be cool to see come alive is Disney parks".
kap91
Well-Known Member
True, but being in the film industry I can say its infinitely easier and cheaper to film the sequels as if they were all the same film. You don't need the actors/locations/crew coming back every few years, do all the redevelopment and scheduling, etc, etc, etc. Not to even mention acquiring the necessary financing for each film. You do it all at once and the studio has very little incentive to pull the plug on your remaining sequels, even if the first doesn't do spectacular as most of the money has been spent. And if for some reason the first sequel completely bombs and they can figure out why never underestimate the amount of changes that can be made in post production. Especially when the film is 95% animated.
This looks to be exactly what they're doing. Flight of Passage is generally being referred to as the expected E-Ticket (ignoring the people on this forum constantly deriding it as Soarin' 2) and the boat ride the D-Ticket. If the boat ride is what I think its going to be though, then it might very well become the e-ticket at least in the minds of people like myself. I'm assuming that it'll be a mostly set based ride (a la the concept art) based on the new Shanghai pirates ride system. This doesn't seem to be too much of a logic leap to make. Anyway, getting ahead of myself. In short, Disney looks to be doing exactly what you suggest.