We all know its part of our jobs to stay up to date on what the box office has to offer. Whether it be good or bad we need to be able to comment and intelligently critique the latest products of our industry. Nevertheless, unfortunately not everyone has access to screeners and private pre-released copies of the movies...or the spare cash to go to the movies 3 times a week (ejem..unemployed actors anybody?) So here is a great alternative from our friends at WiseBread. To read more: CLICK HERE.

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.

Don’t expect all the usual trimmings on the Hollywood party circuit this holiday season.

Showbiz party planners have begun to scale back soirees as part of industry wide belt-tightening. Several congloms have canceled their holiday bashes, while others are simply toning down the revelry. After-preem bashes are also being reassessed in this economy.

“It would be foolish if we weren’t taking a look at it,” one studio exec said.

However, scaling back preem parties is especially tricky for studios, which are bowing their biggest awards contenders in coming weeks. Number crunchers may not feel like celebrating right now, but studio execs maintain that it’s in their best interest to give these pics a nice sendoff.

“We still need to make a splash,” said one studio event planner. “We still need to make our filmmakers and talent happy.”

The big challenge is how to wield the budget ax in a way that won’t alienate the A-list or compromise the promotional value of the event. One catering exec who’s done scores of premieres says he’s being asked to do more for less, and the only choice is “to get creative” when the food budget is cut.

“The shrimp are in hors d’oeuvres instead of a buffet,” he said. “You cut back on things that take an inordinate amount of labor.”

Premieres also drive publicity, so in order to generate that publicity at lower costs, “what you’re going to see are more premieres at the Academy with a relatively inexpensive reception in the lobby and then a couple big, themed parties every quarter,” a planner said.

Another way to keep preems from getting too lean is to bring in more sponsorship. But that can be a slippery promo slope.

“You don’t want the product to suffer just to get some extra bucks,” said a planner.

Annual holiday bashes are considered more expendable. Disney and Viacom won’t be getting festive this year. Universal will let individual divisions decide how merry to get this holiday season. Sony, which usually has a tented party, will throw its bash on Main Street, increasing staffers’ holiday cheer by giving them the days off between Christmas and New Years.

Let me put it this way. CONTACTS are fundamental in this business. Making them from scratch or having some come as inheritance makes no difference. You need them. And every “smart” actor knows how hard this business is so will use anything they can to get a big break. So if you have someone who can help you: USE THEM. Dont try and be a martyr by saying things like: “I want to make it on my own…”. Its not how the world works. Its not real, and its not smart. NOBODY makes it in this world alone, not in this one or any other profession. So you need to stop holding yourself back and try and contact every single person you know remotely related to acting and theater or films….and ask them for an audition or a lending hand.

Trust that if you are good, you WILL be “making it on your own merits”. And if you are bad, they wont giveyou the job. Just the audition. So what can it hurt to try? Just try to make sure when they do give you a chance you are ready.

For an example of how many celebs and actors have used relatives to get where they are now, there is a cute website: Hollywood Nepotism. Its funny to find out just how MANYYYYYYY stars aren’t there “on their own merits” yet they are exactly where you want to be.

[Source: Variety] To see the article….Click Here.