Avatar: Perfecting the Art of Hype

Today, August 20, James Cameron released the teaser trailer for his new film Avatar, and unless you've been living under a rock for the past 5 years, you've probably heard something about this film already. If you haven't, you will soon, and this is no accident. Cameron, who has not made a feature film since Titanic (1997), has perfected the art of how to build hype around his projects before their release.

Titanic, 12 years after its release, is still the most financially successful film ever made, and considering the inflation of ticket prices since '97 this is most impressive. To put it in perspective, the most successful film worldwide since Titanic is Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), and in order to match Titanic's $1.8 billion gross it would have needed to make an additional $700 million. That's the entire amount the hugely successful film Transformers made worldwide in 2007.

James Cameron is no dummy, and he learned a lot from his Titanic experience. A lot of factors went into making Titanic the massive phenomenon it became. Everyone knew the story behind the making of Titanic before they ever saw a single frame. It was the most expensive film ever made, had one of the most complicated productions of all time, and featured two of the biggest rising stars on the planet. It was also the subject of rumor and speculation long before principal photography had completed. There had been talk in Hollywood that the film wouldn't get finished due to massive problems on set, and the fact that it took so long to produce added credibility to the rumors. The release date was pushed from July to December 1997, and by the time the film came out there was such anticipation that everyone just had to see what all the fuss was about. Now Cameron is recreating some of the same factors that helped make Titanic a success.

He's learned that the story behind the story is just as important, and he's been writing the tale behind Avatar for a long time. Cameron first envisioned Avatar 15 years ago as a sweeping Sci-Fi epic filled with adventure, romance (sound familiar), and mind blowing special effects that blend reality seamlessly with fantasy in 3-D. He realized that the technology required to fulfill his vision did not yet exist, so he waited. He made Titanic, worked on TV documentaries and did screen tests until he felt conditions were right to begin. And while it may be true that technology has come a long way in the last 15 years, the length of time between Cameron's major projects has helped feed the hype narrative. This is not to suggest that he delayed purposely just to build a backstory. Conventional wisdom would have been to complete another film quickly in order to capitalize on the success of Titanic, but he knew that waiting would only help in the long term.

Cameron is a legendary perfectionist, a larger than life figure who gets exactly what he wants, and nothing less, no matter what. For the last 5 years he's been working night and day to make Avatar exactly the way he envisioned it almost 2 decades ago. Unlike Titanic, this time Cameron has taken a page from Star Wars and hired a cast of virtual unknowns, led by Sam Worthington. Cameron was the visionary behind the Terminator franchise in the early 80s, so perhaps it's fitting Worthington just broke out as the surprise star of Terminator Salvation, overshadowing Christian Bale. Worthington shot his Avatar performance before Terminator, which is yet another indication of how long it's taken to finalize the film.

Controversy is one of hype's closest allies, and to no surprise Avatar has had some. There was a bit of a dispute between studios over the rights to the name "Avatar." M. Night Shyamalan directed an adaptation of the animated TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender, but when they attempted to register the name "Avatar" with the MPAA they discovered Cameron had beaten them to the punch. Shyamalan's film was renamed The Last Airbender and it's due out Summer 2010.
The biggest piece of hype, however, is the film itself. Cameron is a master at making his films a can't miss event. Tomorrow, August 21, is officially "Avatar Day." The trailer released today on Apple.com will be released in theaters around the world, along with special limited screenings of a 15 minute preview, and the unveiling of the video game and toys to coincide with the film. If all goes according to plan, by the time December 18 rolls around just about everyone will feel compelled to see the film. Today the public got their first glimpse of the rumored mind-blowing effects, but you can bet that Cameron is keeping the most amazing footage under tight wraps so that the audience leaves the theater feeling like they've just witnessed something they've never seen before. The key to Titanic's success was word of mouth recommendations and repeat viewers after the first wave of people came away captivated. You can bet Cameron is banking on the same thing happening for Avatar.

District 9: The Rebirth of Smart Sci-Fi

Good Science Fiction almost always has something of value to say about society. Because Sci-Fi's subject matter is often fanciful and other-worldly it's the perfect vehicle to showcase very real social issues through metaphor. Recently, mainstream Sci-Fi has largely abandoned this practice, opting instead to wow audiences with special effects rather than with social commentary, and we're left with worthless garbage like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Fortunately, District 9 is here to save the day, providing both jaw dropping action AND the social commentary that makes Sci-Fi important and worthwhile.

Written and Directed by newcomer Niell Blomkamp and Produced by Peter Jackson, District 9 might be the most politically charged and socially significant film of the year. Blomkamp was slated to direct a Jackson produced live-action adaptation of the video game Halo, but when the studios killed the project Jackson helped him develop his own original idea. And things couldn't have worked out better. Halo would have been exactly the type of empty Sci-Fi/Action film that's been all too prevalent of late, and instead District 9 is just what the doctor ordered.

The film opens at a brisk pace and never slows down for a second. Shot mostly in a documentary style, complete with interviews and grainy news footage, the 20 year back story is quickly explained before seamlessly blending into the present day action. An alien spacecraft practically the size of a city, reminiscent of Independence Day, arrives over Johannesburg, South Africa. Eventually humans fly up to it and take a look inside only to find the creatures inside weak, unorganized, and starving to death. Seemingly with good intentions, the aliens are taken from their mothership and placed in a camp called District 9 where they can be brought back to health. However, problems begin to mount as alien-human relations begin to go South and the rehabilitation camp becomes a locked down slum designed to keep the creatures separated from the rest of the city.

The setting of the story, South Africa, is significant in that the story seems to be an allegory of Apartheid. The aliens are given shacks for shelter and the means to survive, but they are segregated, discriminated against and exploited out of fear. But after all, they are, well... alien, and naturally don't interact well with humans. What they perceive as playful fun humans see as disruptive violence, and instead of making an effort to integrate them into society they are locked away and despised by the human majority. Under the guise of trying to help the creatures, an agency called MNU, sort for Multi-National United (whose trucks look more than a little bit like UN vehicles), are secretly trying to discover how to use alien weapon technology for their own gain, and all other ethical considerations are of no importance.

It is not an easy film to watch by any means. The violence is graphic, at times almost literally in your face, and there are several medically related scenes that make even the most jaded movie-goer a bit squeamish. Plus, it's actually about something. Unlike Transformers or Independence Day the political, moral, and ethical questions posed in the film make the experience all the more harrowing because the themes relate back to the real human experience. When the humans casually "abort" the eggs of the aliens it's almost impossible not to conjure images of ethnic cleansing. Violence is meaningless and ineffectual when there's no substance, message, or character development behind it, but here we truly feel empathy for the characters, both human and alien, when they are beaten, experimented on, or blown to bits.

Produced for only $30 million, District 9 will surely make a huge profit due to the buzz generated by its underground style marketing campaign, but audiences might not be prepared for what they're getting themselves into. More than a few people got up and left the theater within the first 30 minutes during the screening I attended. This film is unflinchingly brutal and is almost guaranteed to make you think and question your own set of moral values. Some people want to go the the theater only to be entertained, and while this movie doesn't lack spectacle and action, it's far from the mindless eye candy many have become accustomed to, which is a much needed change for the modern Sci-Fi genre.

District 9 (2009) 9/10

Use Your Brain! or, How to Avoid Robot Porn

I want to convey a simple message: Using your brain is a good thing. I know the phrase "mindless entertainment" gets used a lot, especially to justify big blockbuster films, but here's the thing... "Mindless entertainment" is really not entertainment at all.

To quote Jackie Treehorn from The Big Lebowski (1998), "People forget that the brain is the biggest erogenous zone." And it's true. Without things like character development, believable acting, good writing, and a strong narrative you basically just end up with porn. In the case of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)... Robot Porn. http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-284088

The media, through advertising, has been working very hard to make people believe that what they need to do in order to enjoy themselves is to "turn off" their brains. After all, the world is big, loud, and stressful, so sit back, take a load off for 2 hours and 50 minutes and watch some robots blast each other for fun! But ultimately, this should leave you unsatisfied. When a robot is destroyed in Transformers, it means nothing, because we are given no context, no reason to care about the fate of the characters. The action is there for prurient interest alone, which is the literal definition of porn.

So just think. Literally! Think about how great it would be if Hollywood had decided to hire a good director and screenwriter to make a Transformers film. After all, the original cartoon was great, and it was filled with messages about environmentalism and the bonds of friendship and loyalty. In the original show, when Bumblebee is trapped under rubble you care because they spent time developing the characters and the audience becomes invested in their fates. Just think about how great it would have been if the film adaptation had a fraction of the show's emotional content, or at the very least, a script that wasn't laugh-out-loud awful. Steven Spielberg should be embarrassed that his name is on that movie and Michael Bay should never be allowed to direct another film again.

On the bright side, there are several examples of action/sci-fi films that are both entertaining and good. See: Star Trek (2009) and Terminator Salvation (2009). So, all I ask is this: The next time someone says "Dude, it's mindless entertainment! What were you expecting, Casablanca?" kindly explain that the brain is required in order to really have a good time. Hell, even porn itself is better when there's a bit of a plot.

Let's Get Started

First things first... If you're reading this, thank you! I was very hesitant to start a blog because somehow I just didn't think it was my style. But my co-worker and friend Duran gave me the idea and kept bugging me to get one started, and my girlfriend Johie was also very supportive. Their logic was very simple. "Alex, you talk and write about all this stuff anyway, so why not just go for it!" Point taken, and so here we are.


So now, here's my vision for what I want this blog to be, as well as a couple things about myself, and a few other points about how I will approach certain things.


I have always been a big fan of film and music. For as long as I can remember media has been a big part of my life, all the way back from when my dad would play Depeche Mode on his stereo for me to dance to when I was about 5 years old. And now that I think about it, my dad is really a major reason for why I developed certain tastes in music and movies. From the beginning, he's always emphasized that the media we ingest should be of a certain quality. Why listen to some piece of crap on the radio just because some record executive wants to push it down our throats?


Now, this is not to say that popular music and movies can never be good. They often are. But let me be very clear... a good amount of the mainstream is total shit, and even if it's enjoyable at a certain base level, it should always be viewed from the perspective of acknowledgement of how bad it really is. Here I'm talking about things like Transformers (2007) and Britney Spears. Sure, we all like to see stuff get blown up from time to time, and Britney is fascinating from a certain sociological point of view, but make no mistake, both Transformers and Britney contribute nothing of any real value to society.
So, this leads me to the point. In this blog I want to discuss issues like WHY so much terrible media is forced on us by the powers that be, and celebrate the great movies, television, and music that DO get made. I will review the movies I see and the music I listen to, and I will try to keep an eye on the bigger picture as much as I can. The fact is, we live in a society where we are bombarded with advertising from the moment we wake up until the moment we fall asleep, and it affects us in ways we don't realize. My goal is to help people separate what some big company tells them is good from the products that actually are good. I want people to learn to think for themselves and demand a quality product.


Just remember, every time you buy a ticket to a movie or buy an album, you're voting. You don't have to go see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) just because it's the only movie out. You don't have to go buy Lady Gaga just because you've heard that stupid Poker Face song on the radio 18 times in the last week. The more we, as a people, demand quality entertainment, and support the artists creating it, the more power gets transferred from them (the corporations) to YOU.



Just a couple other things...


-When I do reviews I will score out of a scale of 10, 10/10 being the highest possible score. I don't have an exact formula for how I arrive at my final score, but it's some combination of gut reaction and technical merit.


-When I refer to albums and movies I will include the year it was released in ( ) following the title.


-Other than that there are very few rules I will follow. I'll use this as a platform to talk about whatever I feel is worthwhile at the time in any format I deem appropriate. Most of the time I plan on writing articles or editorials that argue a certain viewpoint, but if I feel like posting a few sentences to rant about the latest thing that annoys me... so be it.

-ENJOY!