James Cameron's Avatar

No its not Shyamalan's 'The Last Airbender', but it's Science Fiction hero James Cameron's labour of love Avatar. I must have been living under a rock to have not heard more about this $200 million film. The movie's premise is being described as, "an emotional journey of redemption and revolution. It is the story of a wounded ex-marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in biodiversity, who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival. The film's star is Sam Worthington who, ironically, was recently cast in the new Terminator: Salvation, the film series that Cameron is responsible for bringing to life.

Born out of an 80 page script that Cameron wrote back in the mid 90's, and it has been said that the films delayed release is due to the lack technology available to properly bring us into that world. Well, Avatar is set to be released this December using technology so advanced that Spielberg, Lucas and Peter Jackson have been involved in testing it. Cameron wanted to be able to create entirely CGI characters are photo realistic using motion capture. Wikipedia reports that: unlike previous performance capture systems, where the digital environment is added after the actors' motions have been captured, Cameron's new virtual camera allows him to directly observe on a monitor how the actors' virtual counterparts interact with the movie's digital world in real time and adjust and direct the scenes just as if shooting live action. This would also included the most advanced methods for capturing facial expressions ever used. If that wasn't enough the film will also be filmed in 3-D using proprietary equipment developed by Cameron.

Other interesting tidbits that only serve to ramp up this films skyrocketing expectations include an intricately conceived world that Stan Winston (who also worked on the Terminator films) will design and music by James Horner (Aliens, Titanic) that will include choral arrangements in which an entirely new alien language will be sung.

Reading this kind of news almost makes me forget how disappointing the new Terminator film was. Here's a video report on the film for more info.

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OldBoy

There has been much talk recently about the prospect of Will Smith and Steven Spielberg teaming up to do a remake of the Korean classic "OldBoy". While I think no matter who acts and directs this film, there will be die hard "OldBoy" fans out there groaning (including myself), I think there is legitimacy to the fear of this teaming. Personally I think Spielberg could handle this, but with Will Smith involved it will most definitely go from a stylish, yet gritty dark revenge story, to a slick, flashy commercial piece, with Will Smith crackin' the occasional hip joke.

The most recent news is that Will Smith has reportedly said that the film will not be a direct remake of the Korean film, but an interpretation of the manga the Korean film was based on. Apparently the Korean film added a lot of the more unsavory elements that made us squirm through the final third. Personally while the Korean film is still a masterpiece as far as style, acting, pacing, and crawl out of your skin surprise ending, I'm all for doing without the gag inducing reveal (which makes it a hard one to justify repeat viewings). But the reality is that, while this news may calm some angry fans who scoff at someone remaking their beloved film, it still will produce the same result. Seriously Will Smith, I would be delighted if you would prove me wrong. Here's the trailer to the original: