James Cameron Says He Must Find a Cheaper Way to Produce the Avatar Movies in Order to Continue With Avatar 4 and 5 - IGN

https://www.ign.com/articles/james-cameron-says-he-must-find-a-cheaper-way-to-produce-the-avatar-movies-in-order-to-continue-with-avatar-4-and-5

74 points · 60 comments · view on lemmy.world

60 Comments

LordMayor@piefed.social · 74 pts · 212d (1 reply)

He’s preparing everyone for an AI announcement, isn’t he?

mastod0n@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 211d

It definitely sounds like that to me.

hesh@quokk.au · 58 pts · 212d (3 replies)

Avatar, one of the most profitable film franchises in history, needs to cut costs?

sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works · 39 pts · 212d (1 reply)

This one only brought in 1.2 billion dollars so far. It's only the 29th highest grossing film of all time!

Zorque@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 212d

It took two whole days to break a billion dollars! That's like an eternity!

Janx@piefed.social · 2 pts · 211d

If there's a single dollar giant corporations and billionaires don't have, they'll destroy your life to get it. That's why their limitless greed is so dangerous to everyone, it's quite literally never enough...

mannycalavera@feddit.uk · 33 pts · 212d

He could just stop making them? There's a thought 🤔.

TheGoldenV@lemmy.world · 31 pts · 212d (1 reply)

Cut the runtime by a third?

tomenzgg@midwest.social · 4 pts · 212d

DarkFuture@lemmy.world · 28 pts · 212d (4 replies)

Or, hear me out, you could use your impressive creativity to make other non-Avatar movies that are beloved classics like you were making before Avatar.

The indiginous species have been oppressed by the shitty humans for 3 movies now. WE GET IT.

johnyreeferseed@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 13 pts · 211d (3 replies)

They also had the same bad guy for 3 movies...

FooBarrington@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 211d (2 replies)

And he got away again, I couldn't believe it!

ftp@feddit.uk · 4 pts · 211d (1 reply)

Wait for real?! Good thing I didn’t bother to watch 3 yet, after the end of 2 was just setting up yet another rematch.

FooBarrington@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 211d

Yep. Many parts of 3 were a literal repeat of 2, including whale hunting, a big showdown at the water village, and Quarritch AGAIN gets away at the end.

deacon@lemmy.world · 24 pts · 212d

Is this a story that needs telling?

reddig33@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 212d

He and the studio will just use this as a pretext to use AI.

Omgboom@lemmy.zip · 19 pts · 212d (3 replies)

Hear me out. Muppets.

TribblesBestFriend@startrek.website · 11 pts · 212d (1 reply)

Hear me out … don’t produce another

iamericandre@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 211d

Bingo

pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip · 8 pts · 211d

If James Cameron's; Muppet Avatar: The Way of Fuzz happens, I might never watch any other movie, ever again.

TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com · 18 pts · 212d

has he tried volunteering on set ? or perhaps a bake sale like US schools ?

ecvanalog@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 211d (1 reply)

It’s easy to joke about, but I feel like this is a microcosm of the problems plaguing Hollywood. The notion that a franchise routinely closing in on $2B a movie at the box office is somehow not profitable speaks to how absolutely unhinged the budgets are going in.

FatVegan@leminal.space · 6 pts · 211d

Everything about movies is just stupid. Napoleon dynamite cost 400k to make. Half of that money went into the jamiroquai song. Marketing for a movie costs more than a movie used to cost. A movie made 10 million dollars? Absolute failure. People like the rock get paid 50million per movie to just be there. I really hope Hollywood just collapses

Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works · 16 pts · 212d (1 reply)

Dude it’s okay, you can stop, in fact many of us prefer you do

simsalabim@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 211d
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roofuskit@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 212d

I guess they should can them and put the money into smaller original projects then... No? Just an excuse to fire most of the CGI contractors and replace them with AI?

mthomsonkiwi@piefed.social · 13 pts · 211d

Would making the movies cheaper translate into cheaper ticket prices? My local is $26 a ticket now. It's ridiculous! I'm not going to see everything that comes out when it costs that much, and we've got access to streaming now.

dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 212d

Easily done:

  1. Wait for AI bubble to burst
  2. Buy render farm on the cheap
  3. Avatar 4

Although I'm assuming that the raw rendering pipeline is what costs the most. I could be dead wrong about that - there's a whole army of artists, technical people, and actors that go into such a production too.

MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip · 10 pts · 212d

It was a fucking Trilogy man.

Limerance@piefed.social · 10 pts · 212d

Make the next Avatar movie happen all inside one cave. From time to time messengers arrive from the outside and bring news.

FooBarrington@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 211d

I have an idea: cut the film length in half, remove the warfare and turn it into a nature documentary.

My mom really likes the movies, so I went with her to the cinema. I like the progress in CGI and have read their papers on water rendering a bunch of times, and I can feel myself getting immersed when things start off. They are beautiful worlds with so much creativity!

And then the warfare starts and it all turns into a CGI mess with no story value. Such a disappointment.

0ndead@infosec.pub · 7 pts · 212d (13 replies)

Nobody wants more Avatars

IWW4@lemmy.zip · 10 pts · 212d (10 replies)

The last one made over 1 billion. It is more accurate to say everyone wants more Avatar movies.

TerraRoot@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 212d (9 replies)

I watch the last one. I will not be watching avatar 4 or 5

Decq@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 212d (5 replies)

I had the same feeling after the first one after delaying watching it for 15 years. It's really not a good movie. I don't get the hype.

andyburke@fedia.io · 4 pts · 212d (2 replies)

Even most people who say they like it can't name a single character. They might name an actor, but a character from the world? Mostly crickets. It's really the weirdest franchise. I think people just like going to James Cameron's virtual worlds. 🤷

LordMayor@piefed.social · 3 pts · 211d (1 reply)

He could probably do a nature documentary set in that world for cheap and people would pay to see it.

It would spare us the tiresome dialog.

andyburke@fedia.io · 1 pts · 211d

... you got me. I would certainly consider seeing that.

TerraRoot@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 212d

I enjoyed the first, in the cinema in 3d, it felt designed to be watched in 3d, rather then the tacked on bullshit jumpscare the rest of the 3d era movies were

myrrh@ttrpg.network · 0 pts · 211d
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sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 212d (2 replies)

The third one is easily my favorite. Action packed from beginning to end, and absolutely beautiful.

TerraRoot@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 212d (1 reply)

I sat and watched, didn't feel to bored, very surprised actually, but the test is, I feel, how much money would I accept to go watch it again? I think it would be quite painful.

sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 211d

I watched it three times and enjoyed it more each time.

sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 212d (1 reply)

It's amazing how everybody on the internet acts like the movies suck, but they're some of the best selling movies of all time. I love them. Especially the 3rd.

BertramDitore@lemmy.zip · 8 pts · 212d

I think they suck story-wise, and are quite lazy with the overall plots, but they’re gorgeous and innovative, and have surprisingly good acting for the shit those people must have to go through, so I’ll continue watching and rewatching them even though I still think they suck. The visuals and world-building are what keep me coming back. It’s a very weird franchise, but it makes sense that people have such a love/hate relationship.

Get rid of the human characters and make it all about Pandora and it’d be pure gold IMO.

HubertManne@piefed.social · 7 pts · 212d (2 replies)

hasn't all the technology already got cheaper???

swab148@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 6 pts · 212d

Not cheap enough, he should wait another 20 years

thejoker954@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 212d

In broad strokes - yes. But the refinement aspect is still expensive as hell.

There's a reason the films look so good. There is a lot of "invisible" work being done to tie everything together.

keyez@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 212d

This should be a fun thread

NachBarcelona@piefed.social · 5 pts · 211d

He could make blue giant dildos for merch, and simultaneously go fuck himself with one of those.

IWW4@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 212d (4 replies)

Wow.. that means he will change the cast out.

sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works · 0 pts · 212d (3 replies)

What makes you think that?

Gerudo@lemmy.zip · 6 pts · 212d (1 reply)

One of the easiest cost cutting moves in franchise movie making is replacing expensive talent. Why pay Sam Worthington or Zoe Saldana 30-45 mill each when you can get up and coming talent for 5 or less

sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 211d

I actually think this is a great idea. Saldana did a great job though. And Worthington was fine.

Edit: nobody's showing up for Worthington though. No offense to him.

IWW4@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 210d

Because it is the easiest way to save monney

HairyHarry@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 212d

Yeah, maybe don't film in HFR anymore.

NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone · 2 pts · 212d

Source Engine?

Eyck_of_denesle@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 212d (3 replies)

Why is everyone saying he'll use AI? Boring or not, he did make visually amazing movies with cgi. What makes you think he'll cheat?

mojofrododojo@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 212d (2 replies)
Eyck_of_denesle@lemmy.zip · 0 pts · 211d (1 reply)

Vfx cheaper. But in this article and everywhere else he does stress "if they do make one". It's clear he won't if he can't. I don't think he would use AI.

mojofrododojo@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 211d

wish he would go back to making cheaper movies and working within a constraint set. his older stuff was way better.

MyMindIsLikeAnOcean@piefed.world · 1 pts · 212d

…or find a way to make more people watch them, lol.