It’s quite apt that Fox decided to release the DVD & Blu-ray of its crown jewel, James Cameron’s stunning cinematic success Avatar, on Earth Day – and not just because of the film’s eco-conscious subject matter. Sure, there are plenty of parallels between the film’s message and those that principally define the 40-year-old environmentalist movement, but what I find more interesting is that, like Earth Day, Avatar has become an international phenomenon, one brought together people from all walks of life.
Last week I was fortunate enough to attend Avatar Media Day in NYC to preview the forthcoming home entertainment release and chat with the film’s Academy Award winning producer, Jon Landau, about all things Avatar. Here are some highlights from the event.
The day started off with a short but exhilarating preview of Avatar’s Blu-Ray release. Landau took a handful of HD-hungry journalists back to Pandora with four key sequences from the film, including the intense Thanator chase, the first interaction between Zoe Saldana’s Neytiri and Sam Worthington’s Jake, the thrilling mountain Banshee flight sequence (which Landau stated is director Cameron’s favorite in the entire film) and finally, a little taste of the climactic battle between the Na’Vi and the human military.
I hadn’t seen any of this footage since I’d donned my multi-dimensional viewing apparatus (a.k.a. 3D glasses) for an IMAX 3D screening of Avatar and I’m happy to say that revisiting Cameron’s wondrous world via Blu-ray disc is nearly as immersive as the theatrical presentation. Of course, the digital projector that was used undoubtedly took the vibrant colors, pristine picture and engrossing surround sound of high definition that much further than a typical HDTV might, but the superb quality of the transfer will delight home theater aficionados, despite the disc’s lack of bonus content.
Landau confirmed that the April 22 DVD and Blu-ray releases will include the feature film ONLY –- ensuring, he says, that the audio-visual elements will be of the highest order. When asked why it was necessary to omit the extra content, he answered candidly that Fox has been pushing for the Earth Day release, hoping to capitalize on the common ground between the movie and the highly publicized environmental exhibition as well as exploit its continued resonance in the marketplace after four months in theaters. “We could not put together a quality special edition in this time frame,” said Landau, adding that “the people who want the added content [are] a small section of the fan base.”
According to Landau, the special edition arriving in November will be a four-disc set that may include the same feature disc as the April release (unless a Blu-ray 3D conversion is ready in time — a possibility which Landau says has not been completely ruled out) as well as a two-hour making of documentary that will chronicle the film’s painfully long development period and take fans through the unprecedented production process, which Landau revealed began with test shoots in Fall 2005. It will also feature deleted scenes that are currently being completed by WETA Digital, Peter Jackson’s award-winning effects shop, as well as access to exclusive online content and much, much more.
Of course, the event wasn’t all about technical details and dollars and cents. Landau also talked a bit about his goals for Avatar’s positive effects on mother Earth. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and the Earth Day Network have generously committed to the Avatar Home Tree Initiative, a worldwide effort to plant one million tress around the globe by the end of 2010 and continue informing the public of the dangers of climate change and the consequences of their carbon footprint. The plan entails cultivating new native plant life in 15 different countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Brazil and more.
Speaking of Brazil, Landau briefly mentioned James Cameron’s publicized journey to South America, where he has been meeting with indigenous Brazilian tribes and seeking inspiration for the inevitable Avatar sequel. Unfortunately, other than stating that the film would most certainly not drop its rating to PG nor take place on Earth, Landau had no further details about the tentatively titled Avatar 2, adding that “we are nowhere” at the moment. There was also no talk of the anticipated Battle Angel adaptation, other than acknowledgment that the project is alive and in a lengthy state of development.
Going into the event as a fan, I was most interested in hearing Landau’s take on what the future holds for the Na’Vi and the film industry in general. As you might have imagined, the corporate marketing and merchandising machine will be manufacturing Avatar related products for many years to come. Landau detailed a cross-platform expansion of the fantastical world that he helped create, including sequels, novels (which Cameron had already confirmed he’d be writing), interactive action figures and other toys as well as more videogames to build upon the success of the original Ubisoft title, which Landau claims is still moving 20,000 units a week.
I made sure to ask him about the future of filmmaking technology, of which he and the entire Lightstorm team are industry leaders. Landau believes that the real technical breakthrough in Avatar lies in the performance capture techniques rather than the 3D elements of the production. He wants to make both processes cheaper and easier to utilize, though he’s not keen on rushing certain aspects of 3D, as you might imagine. Landau believes that a 3D film should be shot in 3D, but isn’t opposed to conversion in post-production if the appropriate amount of time is allotted to properly project the third dimension (he claims that window to be anywhere between 6 and 18 months). Whether or not filmmakers will actually heed his advice remains to be seen.
Avatar will be available on DVD and Blu-ray Thursday, April 22, 2010.
