Now, what I really wanted to review is the "substance or lack-there-of" of this multi-million dollar investment. AVATAR rumors and hype have circulated the net and subsequently our TV screens for months. Fans have written reviews before even seeing it, and not-so-fans hated it likewise. Honestly, if forced to choose… I was in the latter group. Not that I am not a fan of James Camerons previous work. I loved Alien (all of them), Terminator, The Abyss, Titanic, and even had a soft spot for Jamie Curtis doing her awkward strip-tease in True Lies…BUT after reading and hearing so much about AVATAR I pretty much decided prematurely that it was a retold combination of "Ferngully" and "Dances with wolves" starring some very large smurfs!

Little did I know how only 15 minutes into the movie I would come to find Sigourney Weaver's portrayal of a snarky scientist with a die-hard smoking habit mildly amusing. Even the typically bland Sam Worthington gained life when inside the avatar body with the help of the FX people! And the parts of the storyline you expect and can get "cliche"  (and there are plenty) were easily overlooked. Zoe Saldana (although the least recognizable of the cast) was also funny and suprisingly exciting to watch.

Hype normally becomes a problem for moviegoers (not for the studios) because high expectations are usually not met. In this case, I think it somehow set me up for disappointment in that it made me believe it would be another substance-lacking boring-as-hell blockbuster in the same league as "Transformers 2" or "Surrogates" has  been this year. And so I was almost blown away when presented with a movie I would actually want to go pay for and see AGAIN. Here is a filmmaker who, albeit not exactly "artistic" in the pure sense, has proven me wrong in thinking all Hollywood needs to make good action movies are bombs, robots and A-listers. To Mr Cameron; I congratulate you on another great action flick.

Want to live like a celebrity, even if only for a day? Celeb 4 A Day makes it possible for you to live like the stars, by providing you with a personal paparazzi service that puts your face on the cover of a faux magazine. While their services are available to just about anyone, they market themselves primarily to D-List celebrities, entertainers or bands looking to boost their publicity at a public event. After all, if you’re being followed by cameras , you must be someone big, right? Well…no, but that’s what they want the public to think.

Currently Celeb 4 A Day’s paparazzi experience services are US based and available only in Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. Each city offers a slightly different package, ranging from $299 – $1499 (plus tax!). No one ever said it was cost-effective to live like the rich and famous.

The cheapest package provides you with four personal paparazzi to greet you at the location or event of your choice and up to 30 minutes one-on-one time where you will be plagued with questions prying into your personal life, hear your name shouted into the streets and let’s not forget about the high-gloss photo that will appear on the cover of their MyStar magazine (not published, for your enjoyment only!)

If you’re willing to dish out the dough for the pricey MegaStar package, two more paparazzi are thrown into the deal, you have a limo at your disposal, receive a CD with all photos taken by your photography vultures (no matter how unflattering), a bodyguard to fend off your adoring public, and 2 full hours of personal paparazzi treatment. And, just incase their questions get out of line, they even give you a publicist that will field their questions on your behalf.

Finally, if it’s only the luxurious celebrity lifestyle you seek, you will have to get that charge card ready to have access to their $22,000 (plus tax) all-inclusive vacation for three, for just four nights in paradise. No consumers, I didn’t accidentally add a few extra zeroes onto that price; but what a profit!

Its been studied by different advertisement agencies that the age demographics most prone to watch television is that between 18 and 40. That means that as most people like to see stories about people like themselves, shows are more likely to be about a group of people in this age zone, instead of one on a geriatrics. Its cruel, but its true.

In film there may be some more leeway to this rule but not too much. And worst of all, is they will usually “age” a woman in their late 40′s to play the character in her 60s. Obviously to the industry its better if the 50 year old can age gracefully too. And lets not get started on the problem of marketing. A new found talent in his 20s  can have a “Very promising” career worth investing in. Whereas a man in a similar position of talent in his 50s isn’t.

With all this said, its not easy to age in front of a camera. Being an actor plays the need to be “beautiful” or at least young n most occasions, and actors aging find it hard to cope. What do you do? There is no one answer, with hard work, lots of exposure, a good management team, its still possible to have the career most actors dream of, even a few decades later. But there is a few things you shouldn’t do: Try too hard to look younger.

Take care of yourself and PREVENT bad aging? YES. But if you are 49, look 49, there’s nothing worse than seeing you dress like a 15 year old, act like one, or get operated to look like one. At any age, you need to embrace your appearance. Some actors look way beyond their years and play more mature parts, and others are lucky enough to look younger for longer. But whatever your case, embrace how you look. No-one cares if you are 50 if you can play a 35 year old, or if you are really 15 but don’t look a day under 24. In this business reality isn’t what counts as you know. So play up whatever you have to offer. And believe that there is nothing better than aging gracefully…in this one, or any other profession. Look at Hellen Mirren, or Meryl Streep, Harrison Ford and Stallone?? (actually, ignore this last one. There was nothing graceful about his last movie.). All of us would love to have any of their brilliant careers AND futures.

ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS & SCIENCES
(Oscars)
AMERICAN CINEMA EDITORS 
(Eddie Awards)
AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE 
(AFI Awards)
BAFTA/LA
(BRITANNIA AWARDS)
BROADCAST FILM CRITICS ASSN. 
(Critics’ Choice Awards)
CASTING SOCIETY AWARDS
(Artios Awards)
FILM INDEPENDENT’S SPIRIT AWARDS
HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSN.
(Golden Globes)
THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE U.S.
(Genesis Awards)
IFP GOTHAM AWARDS
INTL. PRESS ACADEMY
(Satellite Awards)
LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS ASSN.
NATIONAL SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS
PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA
SCREEN ACTORS GUILD
WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA

For a Complete list of awards and an explanation of each one: Click Here

Wikipedia says of Image Metrics:

“The Image Metrics proprietary facial animation system is a Markerless motion capture method in which an actor’s performance is filmed and a 3D animated model is generated directly from the raw images.The process uses pre-existing or newly recorded video of an actor’s facial performance shot with a video or High definition camera. All detail seen in the recorded video is then analyzed and mapped onto a computer-generated 3D model, including the detailed movements of teeth, tongue, lips and eyes.

The Image Metrics animation process captures facial details like eye movement, lip and tongue synching, subtle expressions and skin textures that can be compromised in the use of traditional motion capture methods. Advanced mapping technology allows Image Metrics to deliver facial animation results up to five times faster than motion capture methods and ten times faster than key frame animation.”

Its amazing what technology can do now-a-days and how the studios and film-makers are using it  leaves us in awe. Every year some new form of CGI or motion-sensors showed up. But now we are going to witness a whole new level. 3-D animation movies with people-like characters will no longer take years to make…and who knows what more developments this will lead to!

For more info go to:
http://www.image-metrics.com/