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LOS ANGELES (July 7, 2010) _ Twentieth Century Fox and James Cameron today announced that AVATAR: SPECIAL EDITION will be released in theaters August 27, in a limited engagement and exclusively in Digital 3D and IMAX 3D.
This version of Cameron’s history-making and groundbreaking epic will include more than eight minutes of new footage. Since – and largely as of result of — AVATAR’s release last December, the number of available digital 3D screens has exploded, and moviegoers who missed experiencing the film in 3D will now have that opportunity.
Commented James Cameron: “Audiences repeatedly told me they wanted more of Pandora, and wished they could have stayed there longer. So we’re making that possible. AVATAR: SPECIAL EDITION will be exclusively in 3D, and will have eight minutes of never before seen footage, including new creatures and action scenes. Whether you already love the movie, or you’ve never seen it, with this Special Edition, you’ll be seeing it like never before.”
Commented Fox Filmed Entertainment chairmen and CEOs, Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman: “AVATAR: SPECIAL EDITION is especially gratifying, because not only has AVATAR become one of the most beloved films in history, but after its initial theatrical release, we have been inundated with requests to re-release the film in theaters in 3D. Equally important, we’re thrilled that Jim Cameron is able to give audiences even more of what they loved about AVATAR.”
The Oscar and Golden Globe winning epic is the highest grossing film of all time, taking in over $2.7 billion in worldwide box office. It is also the top-selling Blu-ray disc of all time.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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If this is anything like all of the footage that was cut out of THE ABYSS, it will actually hurt Cameron’s credibility as as story-teller.
Thank God he took editor and studio notes on that picture… somebody tell Shama-lama-ding-dong he needs to do the same.
Wow.
“Special Limited Release” = eight whole minutes of unseen Pandora footage. How will they keep the masses away?
This smacks of pure, unadulterated greed.
Yawn. Wow, 8 whole minutes. I’m sure it will be a riveting.
After the collective domestic box office for MARMADUKE / THE A-TEAM / KNIGHT & DAY is 150 million…it’s no wonder that Fox is releasing this again.
I guess they have little faith that VAMPIRES SUCK in August will be their big summer hit.
disgusting cash grab
Jeremy, stop whining. Why not re-release the movie? I’ll go see it again. People enjoyed the movie in 3-D. Why buy the DVD when a huge chunk of the film is the 3-D experience? They should not have taken it out of theaters.
This is not Fox’s decision, this is all James Cameron, who felt 1) he left money on the table when it had to be pulled from Imax and 2) had a lot of fans telling him they wish they had seen it in 3D. Imax is looking for some more dough, too.
20 to 30 additional minutes of “Avatar” would be more to my liking, personally, as 8 minutes goes by rather fast, and you have to wonder if it would be worth your investment of 15 dollars per ticket, for said 8 minutes, overall? 20 minutes…is a good area to start that negotiation, and 30 minutes would have me sold, all the way. As I understand it, Michelle Rodriguez’ part was largely truncated in the movie, as her character had a bit of a brewing romance with one of the heroic male leads. Sadly, however, those sequences were cut from the film, and it would be nice to have the scenes in question restored to the movie…because you can tell while watching the film…that her part should be larger (and trust me, I am not Rodriguez fan). That said, as an audience member, given her level of public notoriety, it becomes obvious that something is missing…in terms of said character, as you wonder what Rodriguez is doing in the film, absent a bigger part? It just feels like an overlong cameo appearance, and that very fact, makes her role in the movie…play strangely?
Expand the part, and it will give added weight and body to the character, and better round the film, I think. The extra footage is there, James Cameron has said so, further, he said that he only edited it out, the Rodriguez romance scenes, for running-time purposes, not any issue of his final lock being a better edit.
That’s bullshit. Eight minutes on Pandora? C’mon!!! What about the scenes on an environmentally devastated Earth? Trudy and Norm’s romance? Grace’s subplot concerning her history with Neyteri’s sister? Some character development would be nice. If he were to give us the full 3 hr version that was essentially the script that leaked after the movie made a billion dollars then I would be excited, but this is just fat padding.
I actually want to see this in 3D again and am happy with the announcement.
It was one of the best experiences I had at the movies this year. My wife and I saw it once and never had the time to go back and see it a 2nd time which we wanted to do.
We refused to buy the blu-ray since watching this at home on our plasma would not be anything close to the same experience.
I think a lot of people hate this move because it’s a popular thing to do when you’re trying to be a hipster and differentiate yourself from the pack.
Seeing this film in Real 3D (I couldn’t get tickets for Imax) was one of the first times in a long time I remembered what it was like to be a kid in the 80′s going to see a movie for the first time and being blown away.
PS: I hope that James Cameron reconsiders the direction, and form, of the re-release, and makes the “Avatar”: Special Edition…his (own) “Apocalypse Now: Redux” (something that is considered to be a film restoration, and a work of art, not just another “ho-hum” standard…director’s cut). This would be ironic, and timely, since clearly…Apocalypse Now…inspired, and informed, several sequences in Avatar. For instance, you may recall the “Flight of the Valkyries” sequence from Apocalypse Now? See how it compares to the “Tribal Tree Attack” sequence in Avatar? Even the lighting and staging is similar.
My point is, this re-release can be made into a “real event” for fans, and something of great import…filmically, as opposed to something that could be viewed as a quick money grab. No, Cameron should treat this as an exercise in art meets commerce, with the artistic side taking the lead.
A far more extensive/expanded edit…would make this a powerful film-going experience…and would guarantee this re-release being a great, and a triumpant success, critically, and economically.
Cameron can choose to be viewed with respect here, or go the route of George Lucas, and lose some of the respect of those in his audience. I hope he chooses to learn from Lucas’ continued mistakes, by maintaining his credibility, and doing the extreme contrary of the Lucas example set over the last 20 years.
Greed? All movies are out there to make money. Besides, it hasn’t broke even yet.
You make a movie then. Puppie how can james credibility hurt after ALL he has done!
The Abyss Director’s cut was much better than the truncated theatrical release. Sorry about your brain tumor!
“…one of the most beloved films in history” ??? A bit rich, don’t you think? (I was going to make a joke here about how they all really *are*, but Nikki’s recent Harry Potter R.O.I. post made me reconsider!)
Maybe.
But huge DVD/Blue-Ray sales aside – who the hell wants to watch “Avatar” on video?
So we’re supposed to pay $12.00+ to see eight minutes?
I’m excited – never got to see it in the Three Deez!
How is this a cash grab? They aren’t going into the credit card accounts of people who’ve already seen the movie and charging them more. Here’s a newsflash — nobody leaves their home, drives to the IMAX, plunks down $15 and spends two and a half hours (plus 8 minutes) in the dark watching something they DIDN’T LIKE the first time. This is called leveraging a valuable asset. It’s what smart studios do. It’s what bankrupt studios fail to do (just ask MGM).
You have to sit through three hours of film to see 8 extra minutes? wtf? The Lord of the Rings put up to 45 extra minutes and they were never rereleased in theaters. Fox is idiotic. Just put Avatar in Imax again. It’ll bring in some more $$$ without having to trumpet the embarrassing 8 “riveting” extra minutes.
…and Whiskey dropping in here from his alternate universe to say the film wasn’t financially successful in 3…2…1…
If you look at all the movies on the top 20 all time money list almost all of them have been released in theaters many times over the years. I mean for God’s sake Gone With the Wind has been shown like 20 times and even played in theaters for four years straight at one point.
This decision to release Avatar again was made a long time ago. It has nothing to do with poor summer movies so far by Fox. And I understand a lot of snobs on this site look down on the movie and that is just fine. But there are a LOT of people out there who enjoyed them movie and visuals. And many of those people didnt get a chance to see it in 3D because of the lack of screens.
Though it may be a cash grab, I will watch it again so that I can see it in 3D again, because there is no way I am dumping money for a new TV/Player to watch 3D at home.
I’m there.
The one time I saw it I could only get a seat in the second row of an Imax theater! It still looked amazing, but I vowed to see it again from a better seat. Never got around to it.
So this may be my last chance to see it in the format it was made for. Of course, “last chance” in Hollywood is interpreted in different ways…
Avatar technology—
http://www.boffo.com/2010/07/fox-lightstorm-give-crack-credit.html?ref=ssp