Weta Digital (in New Zealand) is creating the visual effects for “Avatar” and the live action portion of the project has been filmed using a new 3D technology system developed for the project by Cameron and his “team” (including Vince Pace and Rob Legato).

I’m with you on the glamorization of violence. It really bothers me, and it’s getting harder and harder to avoid. Final Destination Whatever is slicing and smashing its way into theaters as we speak.

And about the new Alien movie. I was pretty stoked when I heard they dropped Carl Rinsch (the commercial director in Scott’s commercial productions stable and reportedly dating Scott’s daughter, not that there’s anything wrong with that), in favor of the original man himself. I just really hope he can tap back into the spirit of his earlier films – the slower pace, the attention to detail, etc. – and God yes, please, pretty please, no Russell Crowe.

It might be worthwhile to campaign for some theatre chain to take up the challenge of screening the top 100 in proper format, even 70mm. I promise you it makes a huge difference.

I abhor glamorization of violence; believe me on this. But what I’m so captivated by in Cameron’s films is a unifying theme of mankind’s arrogant militant nature being constantly humbled by nature itself.

In The Terminator, an artificially intelligent computer decides that mankind is not capable of running things and sets out to cleanse the planet of homo sapiens. It had a humbling, unique premise and no end of suspense; and to this day, when I see the little Mexican boy take the picture of Sarah at the end as she is talking into her recorder professing her ‘lifetime of love in two days’ for Kyle, (as it was revealed earlier that Kyle spent his life wondering what she was thinking in that picture) I get a little lump in my throat. Call me a simpleton, but I do. Very seldom – if ever – do i see shoot ‘em up movies infused with such heart (that doesn’t seem contrived).

And I like both “Alien” and “Aliens”, but for very different reasons; I see them as two different types of films. The first is just purely classic horror/suspenseful mood/sci-fi while the second is thriller/action/comedy/sci-fi (the third was disappointing and the 4th was just pure comedy).

Since we are both Ridley Scott fans, we may have reason to celebrate as he will be returning to direct an Alien Prequel. My only hope is that he doesn’t cast his buddy, Russel Crowe.

Maybe it’s a matter of taste, like so many things. While I like “Aliens,” I LOVE “Alien,” because I’m more taken by the timelessness that Scott embraced for his movie than the military industrial complex-slash-jarhead slang that Cameron brought to his. So when I watch “Alien,” I’m reminded of nothing beyond the film itself. But when I watch “Aliens,” I’m reminded of a lot of 80’s era stuff that, I guess, I don’t really want to remember!

But you could watch “Aliens” tomorrow and dig it just as much as you did when it came out. Nothing wrong with that. Thanks for the argument.

The Terminator is as trapped in its 80’s amber as anything made by John Hughes.

and what’s so wrong with that? Would you find any literature fanatics complaining that The Illiad is trapped ca 700BC? Maybe some of us like a little 80s nostalgia now and then.

He’s not a great film artist

Oh, i didn’t hear you are taking over as Prez of the Academy from Tom Sherak? Personally, Terminator, Aliens and The Abyss are among my favorite sci-fi movies, ever… held far above any scifi Schpielberg has ever done. I’ve had this arguement with Joseph Childers already.

and Lucas used to be a great cinema artist with the first SW trilogy. The second was overloaded and ruined by its technical aspirations. We can only hope that the same fate doesn’t befall Cameron with Avatar. I agree the Hype only hurts things.

His movies tend to go for comic book emotions. Avatar seems to look like something I have seen on the discovery channel with CGI dinosaurs or journeys to some imagined planet. You make a good point about hype and I wish that hollywood would just shut up sometimes. Hype takes all the magic out of movies with how they did it specials on TV and geek sneaks.

When I stood in line at the Egyptian for the first showing of Alien I had no idea of what was in store…the experience was mind blowing and completely unexpected and I was in line the next day.