Avatar Controversy [Re-write]

James Cameron has done it again! Avatar has truly made a name for itself in the film industry and has left audiences with a meaningful movie-going experience. Cameron made Titanic, which is one of the highest grossing films in history, and once again has won audiences over, with his new feature Avatar. Avatar envelops all your senses and brings you into a mesmerizing fantasy adventure that you will be so glad that you experienced.

Avatar is about a physically disabled human being, Marine Jake Sully, whose spirit and inner-soul and power was able to save the Na’vi tribe. When his brother was killed at the beginning of the movie, Sulley decides to take his brother’s place in the challenging mission. There, he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's intentions of driving off the native humanoid, Na'vi, in order to mine for the precious material that are known to be placed throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery – that will ultimately fix his legs – Jake gathers Intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the use of an "avatar" identity. While trying to fulfill the needs of the outer world in his undertaking, plans change as he falls in love with a Na’vi native, Neytiri. Only fate will determine what is in store for them in the future.

Being an avid moviegoer, I can tell when a movie is made for the dark room and is well worth seeing. And Ladies and Gentlemen, Avatar is one of those movies. I solidly believe movies are watched to escape reality and are seen for pure enjoyment. However, reading blog posts about this movie have proved me wrong. Many bloggers have expressed their views about Avatar’s hidden messages and how the movie acts as a religious controversy. Avatar was in the filmmaking process for over a decade, which proves that all the connection to war and politics are incongruent with time. I personally don’t understand how people can watch a beautifully made movie and then state that the movie was bad because they did not agree with the plot or the idea in the movie. I guess it can be argued that everyone does not see everything from the same lens and may perceive things a lot different than their peers, however, bashing the movie is not a way to go about stating one’s opinion.

Blogs such as “Heresy Corner” attacked the film for having an underlying political message that the American troops are evil because they are trying to ruin the living environment of the Na’vi people. According to this specific blog, the whole concept of the movie was striving to prove industrialism’s evils versus simplicity and natural life. However, I interpreted Avatar according to its face value and not according the political stigmas that lay behind this genius production. In fact, James Cameron was inspired to make Avatar because of his love for the natural world. He loved being in the woods as a child, so he mixed up his affection for the natural environment along with science fiction to create his Oscar winning Avatar. Cameron is also involved in numerous environmental efforts because his movie connected to environmentalists all around the globe. He released the movie on Earth day to remind his viewers that Avatar is an environmentally conscious film as the environment is one of the unique centerpieces of the movie. Sebastian states that the Vatican believes that the movie preaches pantheism, which is a nature religion. Cameron’s love for nature has vividly been revealed in this film; yet, to say that the movie preaches pantheistic beliefs, in my humble opinion, is simply pushing it. All these facts about Cameron also prove that Heresy Corner has truly misinterpreted chunks of the film.

Brent Riggs is another blogger who feels strongly that Avatar is a left-wing movie which promotes the principle that “white corporate America is greedy,” and that the “military is death-loving [and] peace hating.” He also acknowledges the fact that moviegoers are brainwashed and are used to movies like Avatar, so we accept the messages the movie is sending to us. However, Riggs does admit that it was a spectacular movie and an invigorating experience. Yet, I believe that Riggs looked at the context of the movie too in depth and did not appreciate the work that went into making Avatar. When the military is trying to mine for precious goods and resources in the Na’vi environment and tries to take over the Na’vi land, this practice simply shows Cameron’s belief that people should appreciate others’ land and appreciate the nature surrounding them.

Bloggers are not the only ones who see a problem with this film, as major corporations such as CNN have thoughts on Avatar as well. CNN has publically mentioned that their company believes that Cameron’s movie is anti-religious, yet pro-environment. Even though CNN agrees with one of the movie’s underlying messages of ‘nature’, its interpretation of Avatar as being anti-religious is certainly wrong. Simply because Cameron does not give the people living in the ancient world of Pandora a religion, it does not mean that the movie is meant to be anti-religious. CNN also states that Cameron is accused of making a film that depicts the military as the “bad guys”, trying to illustrate that Cameron does not respect American ‘military culture’. Newsflash! If CNN would research a little about Cameron’s life, they would find that he has a brother who was a former marine and that Cameron has great respect for the military.

Nevertheless, the majorities of people who have watched Avatar have appreciated the movie and have also stated their opinions all around the web and print media.

Waddah Jerk is a neutral blogger who mentions that Avatar relates to the Iraq war, spiritualism, and a greener environment. I believe that Cameron put these intertwining thoughts in his phenomenal motion picture in order to make Avatar relate to the widest audience possible; in turn yielding the greatest amounts of profits as well. Therefore, by intelligently inserting issues pertaining to the wide society, Cameron was able to connect to both moviegoers and non-moviegoers around the globe. In general terms, when audiences can relate to a piece of work that one has created, they feel a sense of connection to the filmmaker and people who are involved in the film, in turn developing a love for a maker of a movie and his or her skill set. Henceforth, when a new movie in the future comes out with Cameron’s name on it, (for example) massive audiences will rush to theaters to watch the film, as they are already aware of his brilliance and talent.

Huffington Post has praised the film for being “imaginatively absorbing.” Well-known movie critics agree with Huffington Post about Avatar and overall, their reviews, like mine are mostly positive.

All these blog posts and reactions are simply able to depict that audiences look into movies for more than pure and simple enjoyment, as they like to look at the deeper meanings of films and come up with their own positions of each film. All movies are seen from different perspectives and audiences have different outlooks on life, which in turn are able to make them interpret things differently.

Avatar has set the bar for future films and I cannot wait until the sequel of Avatar will come to theaters, but until then . . . ☺

Deals in Movie Business

The following are types of deals between a studio and a writer, a producer, or other producing entity and how they differ from the others. If you want to know a little more about movie business, then this is for you :)

a. Development Deal: A non-exclusive arrangement between two parties to develop a screenplay from an original idea, or a novel, play, magazine article, into a screenplay. A producer creates an idea and will either hire a writer out of his/her own money or go to a studio for development money to hire a writer. It is usually between a writer and a producer, but may include a director as well. Since the two parties are not exclusive, unlike the First Look or Exclusive Deals, the producer is able to share the project with others if the main project plan does not work out.

b. First Look Deal: A producer presents any idea to a movie studio first and if the studio does not want to develop the idea, then the producer can pitch the idea to another studio or financier once the contract of the deal has ended. This is an agreement lasting three or more years between a movie studio and a producing entity on a first look basis. Producers, directors, writers and actors/actresses can act as the producing entities in a First Look Deal. This deal differs from a Development deal because it is more formal and has terms and agreements attached to it. Also the development deal is between a writer and a producing entity, while a First Look Deal is between a studio and a producing entity. In the First Look Deal the producing entity is able to present to idea over and over again to many studios until it finally works out, however, in an Exclusive Deal the producing entity is not able to jump around to different studios to present the same idea and the studio has the power to decide whether to release the idea’s rights or not.

c. Exclusive Deal: Similar to the First Look Deal, the Exclusive Deal is also an agreement that lasts three or more years between a movie studio and a producing entity, however, it is on an exclusive basis. A producing entity can be a writer, director, actor, or producer who can introduce an idea to a movie studio; However, if the movie studio is not fond of the idea and does not want to develop it, then the producing entity cannot go to another movie studio and share the same idea. In a First Look Deal, the producing entity is able to distribute the idea to other movie studios if the original movie studio does not want to develop the idea, but in an Exclusive Deal, the producing entity cannot. Also, the Development Deal is different from the Exclusive Deal because an in an Exclusive deal actually involves a certain agreement where the idea cannot shared with others, while the Development Deal is less formal and does not contain any strict rules or regulations.

Other Sources of Revenues For Movies

Here are just a few other ways for a movie to gain money outside the initial release at the box office.

a. Foreign Theatrical Release → which is the money from ticket sales in foreign countries, which does not include North America. There is also profit when the movie is released to DVD/VHS and revenue can also be accumulated by foreign cable and foreign TV.
b. Pay Per View Option → which charges money from licensed subscribers willing to pay a one-time fee to view a movie, most often utilized by hotel and airline guests.
c. DVD/VHS cassette sales and rentals → Revenue from the sale and rental of DVDs to the public, which can also be purchased online (Netflix) or video stores (Blockbuster).

Turnaround

Not all box-office hits are "green-lit" (accepted) by the studios at first glance. There is a process called turnaround." Turnaround is the process when a movie studio or the person financing the movie doesn’t want to spend any more money on the script, so it goes into abandonment. If the screenplay has a turnaround clause, the producer or movie studio can sell the screenplay to other companies and simply need to pay back the original cost to the studio with interest to the studio that put it through abandonment. A few turnaround movies are ET, Forrest Gump, and Shakespeare in Love. If a project goes into turnaround and no one picks it up then its dead and the producer or movie studio should move on. Also, during this whole process the script, producer, talent, or director can all change.
So, next time you see a movie you really enjoyed, know that it takes more than just money to make it.

Novel Cafe.

I have lived in Los Angeles all my life and I still have so much to see. I am trying this new thing where I am trying to go eat at restaurants and cafe's which I have never been too. Today was the start to my adventure and I went to Novel Cafe. They have a few locations in Los Angeles, but I went to the one on Ocean Park Blvd. in Santa Monica. The thing that caught my eye about this place was the wide selection of food. It served breakfast all day and had lunch AND dinner food. I knew that this place was calling my name and I needed to go. So I embarked on my journey. I went to dinner with a friend and our expectations were far less than what was percieved. We had a great experience and the service was FaNtAsTiC! They even had Ballroom dancing music playing in the background. We went a little late so there wasn't a lot of people there, but it was still a good place. Oh and the best part is that there was free WiFi, so if you want to ever study at a cafe, this is the spot

Movie Necessities.

The five major elements that a studio considers in selecting a project to put through the production process are the script/screenplay, director, producer, an acceptable budget, and “star power.” “Star power” refers to the actors and actresses that come with a specific project. The screenplay is ultimately “gold” because it is the building block for all the other four elements that essentially get a project made.

Also, three things that can happen to a screenplay developed at a major studio can . . .
1. It can be put into production and get ultimately made.
2. It can be abandoned and go into turnaround.
3. The movie studio can shop it and another financier (100%, 50%, etc) can pick up the project

It is very important that a studio tries to fill all these elements in a movie, because that is what can determine ultimate success.

the cheating game.

Whoever said cheating the system will get you in big trouble is certainly proven wrong over the Goldman Sach's Situation. They made $5.4 Billion over just three months of work all while being sued by the Securities & Exchange Commissions for Fraud facing an EU investigation. They are still going strong and are still the largest investment bank who will get out of this mess pretty quickly. Goldman Sach's made a crazy amount of money betting on mortgages, while the economy was going downhill. They thought they were doing something ethical, when in fact it was deemed as unethical. They took clients money when they knew that a deal would go bad. However, Goldman Sach's has been in trouble with the law quite often that they know how to play the cheating game and get away with it.