Results tagged “AVATAR” from Birmingham Mail - Mega Movies

NOT ONE, but two 'world premiere' 16-minute teaser screenings of James Cameron's forthcoming blockbuster AVATAR were aired in 3D at Birmingham's Cineworld Broad Street cinema tonight.

And they were truly amazing!

I can't wait for the film to open on December 18 since it looks set to represent a once-in-a-generation quantum leap in filmmaking technique.

It's not just the scale of the film which looks astonishing, but its visual depth, too.

We saw several scenes from the first half of the film which, as Cameron said at the beginning during his introduction, didn't appear to give anything away.

The music wasn't great, but I would imagine that is still a work in progress and was a dummy track.

Visually, though, it was quite wonderful, especially the look in a creature's eye the second that it had been 'broken in'.

For me, this was the single most brilliant moment of the whole 16 minutes, a reflection of how startled audiences will be once they are finally let loose on a film that I'd say is 99.999 per cent guaranteed to win next year's special effects Oscar.

During his intro, it was interesting to see how Cameron is looking these days... he seems to be turning into a grey-haired Sir Paul McCartney (another genius!).

Since AVATAR will be released on December 18, 2009, it is sure to be THE film of 2010, too with repeat business offering Cameron the chance to top the box office in both years.

But it's definitely the film I'm most looking forward to since The Return of the King concluded The Lord of the Rings series in the UK on December 17, 2003 before going on to win a shed load of Oscars in the spring.

With a global box office worth almost $1.2 billion, ROTK is still the second highest grossing movie in film history (with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest third, The Dark Knight fourth and Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone fifth).

Cameron's Titanic is still the world's highest grossing movie with its 1997 box office worth $1.86 billion (but the Birmingham-influenced LOTR trilogy is still the world's highest-grossing trilogy with a global take of $2.92 billion!).

If you love movies like Alien, LOTR, Blade Runner, Terminator 2 and Howl's Moving Castle, I think you'll be gobsmacked by Avatar.

The current thinking is that the film will get a 12A certificate (anything surely can after The Dark Knight!), just like tonight's 16-minute special.

Expect AVATAR to gross more than $1 billion worlwide and for it to challenge Titanic right at the top of, er, Hollywood's iceberg.

Continue to reading here to journey inside the mind of James Cameron!

Parts of James Cameron's new movie AVATAR are to be screened at Cineworld Broad Street on Friday as part of a global attempt to raise awareness.

The man who gave us Terminator 2 is back with his first feature since Titanic smashed the global box office record in 1997 - a record it still holds today.

In addition on August 21, 20th Century Fox will take the wraps off its special "3-D"/lenticular one-sheet posters for the film, Ubisoft® will unveil the trailer for their videogame James Cameron's Avatar: The Game, and Mattel will reveal the action figures for the film's Avatar and alien Na'vi characters.

AVATAR will take us to a spectacular new world beyond our imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on a journey of redemption and discovery as he leads an heroic battle to save a civilisation.

The film was first conceived by Cameron 14 years ago, when the means to realise his vision did not yet exist. Now, after four years of actual production work, AVATAR will deliver "a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where the revolutionary technology invented to make the film disappears into the emotion of the characters and the sweep of the story."

AVATAR doesn't open in UK cinemas until December 18, 2009.

But, in the unprecedented worldwide August 21 experience, canny Cameron will debut the film's teaser trailer everywhere, while select cinemas and IMAX® theaters will screen hand-picked scenes in 3-D that have been specially prepared by the pioneering filmmaker.

The worldwide teaser trailer launch will be presented in all formats, including IMAX® 3-D, IMAX® 2-D, digital 3-D, digital 2-D, and 35mm 2-D. It will also be available online.

The extended look at AVATAR will have just two showings only on the evening of August 21 across the UK.

Public tickets can be obtained by registering at www.seefilmfirst.com and entering the code 302001.

Screenings will be ticketed and allocated on a first come first served basis, from today.

Remember: it's fastest fingers first! Good luck.

I SAW an exclusive preview of Madagascar - Escape 2 Africa (PG, 90 mins) tonight at the IMAX and I couldn't wipe the smile of my face from start to finish.

True, there's a scene of granny beating which goes over the top and way beyond Tom & Jerry, but the rest of the movie scarcely puts a hoof, or a paw, wrong.

For my money, it's the best animated sequel since Toy Story 2 (1999) and the 'courting' scene with two hippos is worth the admission alone.

Madagascar 2 is in cinemas everywhere this Saturday and Sunday thanks to special advance screenings.

But far and away the best place to see it will be at the extraordinary IMAX screen at Millennium Point.

Here, the ticket premium will more than 'pay' for itself given that you can see the adventure ten-times bigger than normal size and four times clearer thanks to the amazing technology involved with DMR (digital re-mastering).

IMAX DMR prices are £9.25 for adults and £7.25 for adults / concessions (two adults, two children - £30).

To book, visit www.imax.ac or call 0121 202 2222. The film's website is at www.madagascar-themovie.com

I'll be fully reviewing Madagascar 2 in the Mail on Friday, December 5.

Meanwhile, here's some exclusive news about forthcoming movies at IMAX.

Narrated by Jim Carrey, look out for Under the Sea 3D in February.

In March, there's Watchmen (2D), followed by Monsters vs Aliens 3D in April and Star Trek (2D) in May - the trailer looks amazing so try watching it at http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/startrek/small_trailer2.html

Also due in May is Night At The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2D).

June heralds Transormers: Revenge of the Fallen (2D) before Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince (2D & 3D) arrives in July, followed by A Christmas Carol (3D) directed by Robert 'Polar Express' Zemeckis.

Then, there will be the daddy of them all - Avatar 3D.

James Cameron's long-awaited first film since Titanic is due in December, 2009 to round off the first decade (gulp!) of the 21st Century in style.

All told, next year is going to be the making of the IMAX Cinema.

It's one of the world's great screens and it's right on our doorstep at Millennium Point, Curzon St - just five minutes walk from New Street and Moor Street railway stations.

If you haven't been before, now's the time to start getting attached. You won't regret it.

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Following our recent office move to Fort Dunlop and various training courses for colleagues, I've not yet had the time to reveal who has won our Queen + Paul Rodgers film concert competition.

But I'll be letting everyone know tomorrow afternoon so stand by if you entered...

Tickets are also on sale for Queen and Paul Rodgers: Let The Cosmos Rock (PG) which will play at 8pm on Monday, December 1 at Vue Star City. The AIDS-awareness gig was filmed in Ukraine in September in front of a record 350,000 fans. More details from www.myvue.com