Fans Get Sneak Peak of 3D Avatar

A Glimpse of James Cameron’s Sci-fi Epic

With Avatar Day, the world finally got a taste of the 3D/IMAX sci-fi extravaganza in the form of 15 minutes of unabated action foreplay from James Cameron's latest, Avatar.

The move was intended to show what you're really missing out on by waiting for the film to trickle down to the local drafthouse, Netflix or downloading it illegally on your computer... (blasphemy!) It's just not meant for your computer screen.

Seeing it on the IMAX screen is more like being submersed in a dream world than catching a flick on Friday night.

James Cameron's Avatar

December 18th can't come soon enough. Virtual cameras? Real-time CGI? Advanced 3-D technology far beyond Muppets wielding paddleballs? Sounds like the Cameron we know and love.

Even Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson have been waiting the 4 years while Avatar has been in development; both have made several visits to the set to see just how this revolutionary new film was captured.

A day prior to Avatar Day, Apple released the Avatar trailer, which may not have lived up to the hype for some fans. This is because the film was shot specifically with IMAX in mind. It's a monumental difference to see it the way Cameron intended.

Cameron Develops New Technology for Avatar

Technology has always come to the rescue when cinema was in trouble. First sound in the late 20's, then Cinemascope and primitive 3D technology in the 50's, then on to digital surround sound. All with the same goal; boost theater patronage. Avatar ushers in a new age of movie technology that will make going to the movies an experience again; something you just can't get at home... atleast not yet.

In the 12 years since Titanic, Cameron has been hard at work developing technology that would allow him to direct CG characters on set rather than in the editing room, reinventing digital capture, while simultaneously making George Lucas blush.

Cameron was so secretive about his new technology that the cast was contractually sworn to secrecy, but now that the secret is out and the film has garnered a massive cinephile following, only December 18th will tell us whether the climax was worth the foreplay.

Sources:

"James Cameron on the Cutting Edge." BusinessWeek.com. April 2, 2007. Business Week.