Will "Avatar" Turn Gold for Cameron?

(CBS)  The new, big-budget film "Avatar," from director James Cameron, is sparking big buzz in Hollywood -- both good and bad.

But will that buzz translate into box office gold?

Moviegoers will have to wait to find out -- but the wait should be shorter than the 12 years since Cameron's last film.

CBS News correspondent Bianca Solorzano reports it's been that long since "Titanic" topped box office records, with $1.8 billion. That success, she says, enabled Cameron to focus on pretty much whatever he wanted. And, what he wanted most was to create something completely different.

Holiday Movies 2009
James Cameron
World Premiere of "Avatar"

Jeff Giles, executive editor of Entertainment Weekly, told CBS News, "After Titanic, you pretty much get a blank check to do whatever you want."

And "Avatar," is what James Cameron spent it on.

For "Avatar," Cameron created another world and developed new 3-D technology so the audience could live there --- for at least a couple of hours.

Solorzano says Cameron has pushed the technological envelope before -- but he's also pushed budgets.

"Terminator 2" was the first film to cost a studio $100 million, while "Titanic" was the first to run $200 million.

So just how big was the budget on what Twentieth Century Fox hopes to be this year's biggest holiday blockbuster?

Giles said, "The studio has been very up-front, because speculation is out of control. So they came out and said it cost $237 million to make and $150 million (has been or will be laid out for) marketing on it."

While Cameron may not have broken the bank this time out, expectations for the movie are pretty high.

Giles said, "I don't know if it will have allure of 'Titanic.' The movie's strength is mostly technology. It feels like you are on this moon in the middle of a jungle."

"James Cameron," he added, "isn't going to be thrown out of Hollywood. He has taken bigger risks and he has come out smiling, and he probably will this time, too."

Thom Geier, senior editor of Entertainment Weekly, said on "The Early Show" the movie works: "It's a huge spectacle and there's a lot of eye candy there. The fan boys are really going to come out and get their geek on."

Geier added the movie doesn't have the same emotional resonance as "Titanic," despite "Avatar"'s love story and perceived associations with Vietnam and Native Americans. He said, "You're not going to get the teenage girls tripping out eight times to see Leonard DiCaprio."

Can the movie make its money back?

Geier said there's a good chance it will, from box office earnings, DVD sales, foreign box office earnings and TV rights purchasing. "Certainly," he continued, "there's a lot of interest and a lot of enthusiasm from the people who have seen the film early on."

"Avatar" opens nationwide this Friday.

[PLS8395]

I took my son and nephew to see Avatar today. What a trip! An expensive trip that cost me $40 bucks! Against my better judgment, we decided at the last minute to see the 3D showing. I?ve seen a bunch of the 3D flicks and each time I regret it. The glasses and/or picture always seem out of focus. It seems like I always waist the first 20 minutes trying to clean and adjust them only to find that they will never be as clear as no glasses at all.

After I succumbed to the poor vision with the polarized 3D glasses, I settled in for the 2.5 hour movie. I won?t blow the details or the plot; it won?t be necessary. From the opening scene to the finish, the movie is completely predictable. That?s not much of a surprise in and of itself since the director/producer, James Cameron, came up with the whiz-bang plot for Titanic. Like we didn?t know how that one was going to end! I was surprised to see just how many clichés were implemented in the story line. All that aside, I need to point out the very cool equipment that was featured right out of 1985. Cameron managed to use all of my toys that I played with in the 1980?s. There were the AMP suits from Robotech and the RDA Scorpion Gunships based on the Hummel. The graphics were pretty neat too, although the 3D glasses and effects blurred the quality. The Shrek trailer was equally as impressive.

I took it as a smooth blend of Star Wars, G.I. Joe, Alien, and Rambo: First Blood. I enjoyed the movie because it drew me into the story and the effects seemed to work. I wish Cameron would have spent some time introducing a quality plot with twists and turns but after spending hundreds of millions on the effects, that wish proved to be too much to deliver. Unless you are going to make it a family event, you might want to wait and rent Avatar on Blu-ray.

PLS8395

[avigil2]

AVATAR is an amazing film. I can't wait to see it again (went to an early screening) but this time in the IMAX format.