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Joe Biden and the radical left are taking us down a path of no return...


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Principal photography for Avatar began in April 2007 in Los Angeles and=20
Wellington. Cameron described the film as a hybrid with a full live-action=
=20
shoot in combination with computer-generated characters and live environmen=
ts.=20
"Ideally at the end of the day the audience has no idea which they're looki=
ng=20
at," Cameron said. The director indicated that he had already worked four=
=20
months on nonprincipal scenes for the film.[66] The live action was shot wi=
th a=20
modified version of the proprietary digital 3-D Fusion Camera System, devel=
oped=20
by Cameron and Vince Pace.[67] In January 2007, Fox had announced that 3-D=
=20
filming for Avatar would be done at 24 frames per second despite Cameron's=
=20
strong opinion that a 3-D film requires higher frame rate to make strobing =
less=20
noticeable.[68] According to Cameron, the film is composed of 60%=20
computer-generated elements and 40% live action, as well as traditional=20
miniatures.[69] Motion-capture photography lasted 31 days at the Hughes=20
Aircraft stage in Playa Vista in Los Angeles.[54][70] Live action photograp=
hy=20
began in October 2007 at Stone Street Studios in Wellington and was schedul=
ed=20
to last 31 days.[71] More than a thousand people worked on the production.[=
70]=20
In preparation of the filming sequences, all of the actors underwent=20
professional training specific to their characters such as archery, horseba=
ck=20
riding, firearm use, and hand-to-hand combat. They received language and=20
dialect training in the Na'vi language created for the film.[72] Before=20
shooting the film, Cameron also sent the cast to the Hawaiian tropical=20
rainforests[73] to get a feel for a rainforest setting before shooting on t=
he=20
soundstage.[72] During filming, Cameron made use of his virtual camera syst=
em,=20
a new way of directing motion-capture filmmaking. The system shows the acto=
rs'=20
virtual counterparts in their digital surroundings in real time, allowing t=
he=20
director to adjust and direct scenes just as if shooting live action. Accor=
ding=20
to Cameron, "It's like a big, powerful game engine. If I want to fly throug=
h=20
space, or change my perspective, I can. I can turn the whole scene into a=
=20
living miniature and go through it on a 50 to 1 scale."[74] Using conventio=
nal=20
techniques, the complete virtual world cannot be seen until the motion-capt=
ure=20
of the actors is complete. Cameron said this process does not diminish the=
=20
value or importance of acting. On the contrary, because there is no need fo=
r=20
repeated camera and lighting setups, costume fittings and make-up touch-ups=
,=20
scenes do not need to be interrupted repeatedly.[75] Cameron described the=
=20
system as a "form of pure creation where if you want to move a tree or a=20
mountain or the sky or change the time of day, you have complete control ov=
er=20
the elements".[76] Cameron gave fellow directors Steven Spielberg and Peter=
=20
Jackson a chance to test the new technology.[65] Spielberg said, "I like to=
=20
think of it as digital makeup, not augmented animation ... Motion capture=
=20
brings the director back to a kind of intimacy that actors and directors on=
ly=20
know when they're working in live theater."[75] Spielberg and George Lucas =
were=20
also able to visit the set to watch Cameron direct with the equipment.[77] =
To=20
film the shots where CGI interacts with live action, a unique camera referr=
ed=20
to as a "simulcam" was used, a merger of the 3-D fusion camera and the virt=
ual=20
camera systems. While filming live action in real time with the simulcam, t=
he=20
CGI images captured with the virtual camera or designed from scratch, are=
=20
superimposed over the live action images as in augmented reality and shown =
on a=20
small monitor, making it possible for the director to instruct the actors h=
ow=20
to relate to the virtual material in the scene.[72] Due to Cameron's person=
al=20
convictions about climate change, he allowed only plant-based (vegan) food =
to=20
be served on set.=20


A number of innovative visual effects techniques were used during productio=
n.=20
According to Cameron, work on the film had been delayed since the 1990s to=
=20
allow the techniques to reach the necessary degree of advancement to adequa=
tely=20
portray his vision of the film.[13][14] The director planned to make use of=
=20
photorealistic computer-generated characters, created using new motion capt=
ure=20
animation technologies he had been developing in the 14 months leading up t=
o=20
December 2006.[74] Innovations include a new system for lighting massive ar=
eas=20
like Pandora's jungle,[80] a motion-capture stage or "volume" six times lar=
ger=20
than any previously used, and an improved method of capturing facial=20
expressions, enabling full performance capture. To achieve the face capturi=
ng,=20
actors wore individually made skull caps fitted with a tiny camera position=
ed=20
in front of the actors' faces; the information collected about their facial=
=20
expressions and eyes is then transmitted to computers.[81] According to=20
Cameron, the method allows the filmmakers to transfer 100% of the actors'=
=20
physical performances to their digital counterparts.[82] Besides the=20
performance capture data which were transferred directly to the computers,=
=20
numerous reference cameras gave the digital artists multiple angles of each=
=20
performance.[83] A technically challenging scene was near the end of the fi=
lm=20
when the computer-generated Neytiri held the live action Jake in human form=
,=20
and attention was given to the details of the shadows and reflected light=
=20
between them.[84] The lead visual effects company was Weta Digital in=20
Wellington, at one point employing 900 people to work on the film.[85] Beca=
use=20
of the huge amount of data which needed to be stored, cataloged and availab=
le=20
for everybody involved, even on the other side of the world, a new cloud=20
computing and Digital Asset Management (DAM) system named Gaia was created =
by=20
Microsoft especially for Avatar, which allowed the crews to keep track of a=
nd=20
coordinate all stages in the digital processing.[86] To render Avatar, Weta=
=20
used a 930 m2 (10,000 sq ft) server farm making use of 4,000 Hewlett-Packar=
d=20
servers with 35,000 processor cores with 104 terabytes of RAM and three=20
petabytes of network area storage running Ubuntu Linux, Grid Engine cluster=
=20
manager, and 2 of the animation software and managers, Pixar's RenderMan an=
d=20
Pixar's Alfred queue management system.[87][88][89][90] The render farm=20
occupies the 193rd to 197th spots in the TOP500 list of the world's most=20
powerful supercomputers. A new texturing and paint software system, called=
=20
Mari, was developed by The Foundry in cooperation with Weta.[91][92] Creati=
ng=20
the Na'vi characters and the virtual world of Pandora required over a petab=
yte=20
of digital storage,[93] and each minute of the final footage for Avatar=20
occupies 17.28 gigabytes of storage.[94] It would often take the computer=
=20
several hours to render a single frame of the film.[95] To help finish=20
preparing the special effects sequences on time, a number of other companie=
s=20
were brought on board, including Industrial Light & Magic, which worked=20
alongside Weta Digital to create the battle sequences. ILM was responsible =
for=20
the visual effects for many of the film's specialized vehicles and devised =
a=20
new way to make CGI explosions.[96] Joe Letteri was the film's visual effec=
ts=20
general supervisor.[97] Music and soundtrack Main article: Avatar: Music fr=
om=20
the Motion Picture James Horner =E2=80=93 "Jake Enters His Avatar World" 0:=
32 listen to=20
a clip from the score of the 2009 film Avatar. Problems playing this file? =
See=20
media help. Composer James Horner scored the film, his third collaboration =
with=20
Cameron after Aliens and Titanic.[98] Horner recorded parts of the score wi=
th a=20
small chorus singing in the alien language Na'vi in March 2008.[99] He also=
=20
worked with Wanda Bryant, an ethnomusicologist, to create a music culture f=
or=20
the alien race.[100] The first scoring sessions were planned to take place =
in=20
early 2009.[101] During production, Horner promised Cameron that he would n=
ot=20
work on any other project except for Avatar and reportedly worked on the sc=
ore=20
from four in the morning until ten at night throughout the process. He stat=
ed=20
in an interview, "Avatar has been the most difficult film I have worked on =
and=20
the biggest job I have undertaken."[102] Horner composed the score as two=
=20
different scores merged into one. He first created a score that reflected t=
he=20
Na'vi way of sound and then combined it with a separate "traditional" score=
 to=20
drive the film.[72] British singer Leona Lewis was chosen to sing the theme=
=20
song for the film, called "I See You". An accompanying music video, directe=
d by=20
Jake Nava, premiered December 15, 2009, on MySpace.

At times, our affiliate partners reach out to the Editors at Smart People M=
ail=20
with special opportunities for our readers. The message below is one we thi=
nk=20
you should take a close, serious look at.


=E2=80=8A


Avatar is primarily an action-adventure journey of self-discovery, in the=
=20
context of imperialism, and deep ecology.[104] Cameron said his inspiration=
 was=20
"every single science fiction book I read as a kid" and that he wanted to=
=20
update the style of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter series.[11] He=20
acknowledged that Avatar shares themes with the films At Play in the Fields=
 of=20
the Lord, The Emerald Forest, and Princess Mononoke, which feature clashes=
=20
between cultures and civilizations, and with Dances with Wolves, where a=20
battered soldier finds himself drawn to the culture he was initially fighti=
ng=20
against.[105][106] He also cited Hayao Miyazaki's anime films such as Princ=
ess=20
Mononoke as an influence on the ecosystem of Pandora.[106] In 2012, Cameron=
=20
filed a 45-page legal declaration that intended to "describe in great detai=
l=20
the genesis of the ideas, themes, storylines, and images that came to be=20
Avatar."[107] In addition to historical events (such as European colonizati=
on=20
of the Americas), his life experiences and several of his unproduced projec=
ts,=20
Cameron drew connections between Avatar and his previous films. He cited hi=
s=20
script and concept art for Xenogenesis, partially produced as a short film,=
 as=20
being the basis for many of the ideas and visual designs in Avatar. He stat=
ed=20
that Avatar's "concepts of a world mind, intelligence within nature, the id=
ea=20
of projecting force or consciousness using an avatar, colonization of alien=
=20
planets, greedy corporate interests backed up by military force, the story =
of a=20
seemingly weaker group prevailing over a technologically superior force, an=
d=20
the good scientist were all established and recurrent themes" from his earl=
ier=20
films including Aliens, The Abyss, Rambo: First Blood Part II, The Terminat=
or=20
and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. He specifically mentioned the "water tentac=
le"=20
in The Abyss as an example of an "avatar" that "takes on the appearance of.=
..an=20
alien life form...in order to bridge the cultural gap and build trust."[108=
]=20
Cameron also cited a number of works by other creators as "reference points=
 and=20
sources of inspiration" for Avatar. These include two of his "favorite" fil=
ms,=20
2001: A Space Odyssey, where mankind experiences an evolution after meeting=
=20
alien life, and Lawrence of Arabia, where "an outsider...encounters and=20
immerses into a foreign culture and then ultimately joins that group to fig=
ht=20
other outsiders." Cameron said he became familiar with the concept of a hum=
an=20
operating a "synthetic avatar" inside another world from George Henry Smith=
's=20
short story "In the Imagicon" and Arthur C. Clarke's novel The City and the=
=20
Stars. He said he learned of the term "avatar" by reading the cyberpunk nov=
els=20
Neuromancer by William Gibson and Islands in the Net by Bruce Sterling. The=
=20
idea of a "world mind" originated in the novel Solaris by Stanislaw Lem.=20
Cameron mentioned several other films about people interacting with "indige=
nous=20
cultures" as inspiring him, including Dances with Wolves, The Man Who Would=
 Be=20
King, The Mission, The Emerald Forest, Medicine Man, The Jungle Book and=20
FernGully. He also cited as inspiration the John Carter and Tarzan stories =
by=20
Edgar Rice Burroughs and other adventure stories by Rudyard Kipling and H.=
=20
Rider Haggard.[108] In a 2007 interview with Time magazine, Cameron was ask=
ed=20
about the meaning of the term Avatar, to which he replied, "It's an incarna=
tion=20
of one of the Hindu gods taking a flesh form. In this film what that means =
is=20
that the human technology in the future is capable of injecting a human's=
=20
intelligence into a remotely located body, a biological body."[10] Cameron =
also=20
cited the Japanese cyberpunk manga and anime Ghost in the Shell, in terms o=
f=20
how humans can remotely control, and transfer their personalities into, ali=
en=20
bodies.[109][110] For the love story between characters Jake and Neytiri,=
=20
Cameron applied a star-crossed love theme, which he said was in the traditi=
on=20
of Romeo and Juliet.[108] He acknowledged its similarity to the pairing of =
Jack=20
and Rose from his film Titanic. An interviewer stated, "Both couples come f=
rom=20
radically different cultures that are contemptuous of their relationship an=
d=20
are forced to choose sides between the competing communities."[113] Cameron=
=20
described Neytiri as his "Pocahontas," saying that his plotline followed th=
e=20
historical story of a "white outsider [who] falls in love with the chief's=
=20
daughter, who becomes his guide to the tribe and to their special bond with=
=20
nature."[108] Cameron felt that whether or not the Jake and Neytiri love st=
ory=20
would be perceived as believable partially hinged on the physical=20
attractiveness of Neytiri's alien appearance, which was developed by=20
considering her appeal to the all-male crew of artists.[114] Although Camer=
on=20
felt Jake and Neytiri do not fall in love right away, their portrayers=20
(Worthington and Saldana) felt the characters did. Cameron said the two act=
ors=20
"had a great chemistry" during filming.[113] A gray mountain in the middle =
of a=20
forest. Pandora's floating "Hallelujah Mountains" were inspired in part by =
the=20
Chinese Huangshan mountains (pictured).[115] Zhangjiajie National Forest Pa=
rk=20
For the film's floating "Hallelujah Mountains", the designers drew inspirat=
ion=20
from "many different types of mountains, but mainly the karst limestone=20
formations in China."[116] According to production designer Dylan Cole, the=
=20
fictional floating rocks were inspired by Huangshan (also known as Yellow=
=20
Mountain), Guilin, Zhangjiajie, among others around the world.[116] Cameron=
 had=20
noted the influence of the Chinese peaks on the design of the floating=20
mountains.[117] To create the interiors of the human mining colony on Pando=
ra,=20
production designers visited the Noble Clyde Boudreaux[118] oil platform in=
 the=20
Gulf of Mexico during June 2007. They photographed, measured and filmed eve=
ry=20
aspect of the platform, which was later replicated on-screen with=20
photorealistic CGI during post-production.


The first photo of the film was released on August 14, 2009,[124] and Empir=
e=20
released exclusive images from the film in its October issue.[125] Cameron,=
=20
producer Jon Landau, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, and Sigourney Weaver appear=
ed=20
at a panel, moderated by Tom Rothman, at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con on Ju=
ly=20
23. Twenty-five minutes of footage was screened[126] in Dolby 3D.[127] Weav=
er=20
and Cameron appeared at additional panels to promote the film, speaking on =
the=20
23rd[128] and 24th[129][130] respectively. James Cameron announced at the=
=20
Comic-Con Avatar Panel that August 21 will be 'Avatar Day'. On this day, th=
e=20
trailer was released in all theatrical formats. The official game trailer a=
nd=20
toy line of the film were also unveiled on this day.[131] The 129-second=20
trailer was released online on August 20, 2009.[132] The new 210-second tra=
iler=20
was premiered in theaters on October 23, 2009, then soon after premiered on=
line=20
on Yahoo! on October 29, 2009, to positive reviews.[133][134] An extended=
=20
version in IMAX 3D received overwhelmingly positive reviews.[132] The Holly=
wood=20
Reporter said that audience expectations were colored by "the [same]=20
establishment skepticism that preceded Titanic" and suggested the showing=
=20
reflected the desire for original storytelling.[135] The teaser has been am=
ong=20
the most viewed trailers in the history of film marketing, reaching the fir=
st=20
place of all trailers viewed on Apple.com with 4 million views.[136] On Oct=
ober=20
30, to celebrate the opening of the first 3-D cinema in Vietnam, Fox allowe=
d=20
Megastar Cinema to screen exclusive 16 minutes of Avatar to a number of=20
press.[137] The three-and-a-half-minute trailer of the film premiered live =
on=20
November 1, 2009, during a Dallas Cowboys football game at Cowboys Stadium =
in=20
Arlington, Texas, on the Diamond Vision screen, one of the world's largest=
=20
video displays, and to TV audiences viewing the game on Fox. It is said to =
be=20
the largest live motion picture trailer viewing in history.[138] The Coca-C=
ola=20
Company collaborated with Fox to launch a worldwide marketing campaign to=
=20
promote the film. The highlight of the campaign was the website AVTR.com.=
=20
Specially marked bottles and cans of Coca-Cola Zero, when held in front of =
a=20
webcam, enabled users to interact with the website's 3-D features using=20
augmented reality (AR) technology.[139] The film was heavily promoted in an=
=20
episode of the Fox series Bones in the episode "The Gamer In The Grease"=20
(Season 5, Episode 9). Avatar star Joel David Moore has a recurring role on=
 the=20
program, and is seen in the episode anxiously awaiting the release of the=
=20
film.[140] A week prior to the American release, Zoe Saldana promoted the f=
ilm=20
on Adult Swim when she was interviewed by an animated Space Ghost.[141]=20
McDonald's had a promotion mentioned in television commercials in Europe ca=
lled=20
"Avatarize yourself", which encouraged people to go to the website set up b=
y=20
Oddcast, and use a photograph of themselves to change into a Na'vi.[142] Bo=
oks=20
Avatar: A Confidential Report on the Biological and Social History of Pando=
ra,=20
a 224-page book in the form of a field guide to the film's fictional settin=
g of=20
the planet of Pandora, was released by Harper Entertainment on November 24,=
=20
2009.[143] It is presented as a compilation of data collected by the humans=
=20
about Pandora and the life on it, written by Maria Wilhelm and Dirk Mathiso=
n.=20
HarperFestival also released Wilhelm's 48-page James Cameron's Avatar: The=
=20
Reusable Scrapbook for children.[144] The Art of Avatar was released on=20
November 30, 2009, by Abrams Books. The book features detailed production=
=20
artwork from the film, including production sketches, illustrations by Lisa=
=20
Fitzpatrick, and film stills. Producer Jon Landau wrote the foreword, Camer=
on=20
wrote the epilogue, and director Peter Jackson wrote the preface.[145] In=
=20
October 2010, Abrams Books also released The Making of Avatar, a 272-page b=
ook=20
that detailed the film's production process and contains over 500 color=20
photographs and illustrations.[146] In a 2009 interview, Cameron said that =
he=20
planned to write a novel version of Avatar after the film was released.[147=
] In=20
February 2010, producer Jon Landau stated that Cameron plans a prequel nove=
l=20
for Avatar that will "lead up to telling the story of the movie, but it wou=
ld=20
go into much more depth about all the stories that we didn't have time to d=
eal=20
with", saying that "Jim wants to write a novel that is a big, epic story th=
at=20
fills in a lot of things".[148] In August 2013 it was announced that Camero=
n=20
hired Steven Gould to pen four standalone novels to expand the Avatar=20
universe.[149] ance Post released a special limited edition stamp based on=
=20
Avatar, coinciding with the film's worldwide release.


 Dear Fellow American,

 Joe Biden and the radical left are taking us down a path of no return.

This is my third and possibly FINAL warning about the death of our economy.

 Ignore this message at your own risk.=20
<https://www.bropom.com/TM0378/sterlingwhg@gmail.com/044SPM/B/PASO1>

The android Vision first appeared in The Avengers #57 (published in August=
=20
1968 but with a cover date indicating October). The cover of the issue was =
an=20
homage to the first page of the first comic story to feature Aarkus. When=
=20
Thomas created Ultron, he gave the robot an origin of having been created b=
y=20
Dr. Hank Pym and then turning on his creator. Thomas mirrored this by havin=
g=20
Ultron create the Vision to be his son and ally, only to then have the new=
=20
android join his enemies, the Avengers. To cement the character was not tru=
ly=20
as cold and emotionless as he might appear, and that the stories would not=
=20
treat him as if he were, The Avengers #58 included a scene where, after=20
realizing he has been accepted by the Avengers not only as a new teammate b=
ut=20
as a person, Vision excuses himself and silently cries. Vision appeared wit=
h=20
Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Up #5 (1972), "A Passion of the Mind", in which t=
hey=20
defeat a giant robot scout from the Kree-Skrull War that was interfering wi=
th=20
Vision's brain waves. In The Avengers #75 (1970), Wanda Maximoff (the Scarl=
et=20
Witch) rejoins the team with her brother Pietro (Quicksilver). Over time, W=
anda=20
became a love interest for Vision. Thomas recounted, "I felt that a romance=
 of=20
some sort would help the character development in The Avengers, and the Vis=
ion=20
was a prime candidate because he appeared only in that mag... as did Wanda,=
 for=20
that matter. So they became a pair, for just such practical considerations.=
 It=20
would also, I felt, add to the development I was doing on the Vision's=20
attempting to become 'human.'"[4] Originally, Thomas considered the Vision =
to=20
be an android entirely created by Ultron. Later, Ultron had built the Visio=
n=20
from the body of the original Human Torch, who had been described in his Go=
lden=20
Age stories as a perfect, synthetic replica of a human being. Thomas only=
=20
planted a vague clue to this in The Avengers #93 before leaving the series =
as=20
writer. This aspect of the Vision's origin was finally revealed in The Aven=
gers=20
#134=E2=80=93135 (1975). Writer Steve Englehart explained, "That plot was w=
ell known=20
in-house for years, and since Roy [Thomas] and Neal [Adams] hadn't had a ch=
ance=20
to do it, I did it on my watch with Roy's blessing."[7] After learning that=
 he=20
had once been the original Human Torch in another life, Vision felt a stron=
ger=20
sense of identity. Englehart then had Vision and Scarlet Witch marry in=20
Giant-Size Avengers #4 (June 1975). However, in a story written for the "Wh=
at=20
If...." anthology but intended to be in continuity,[8] Thomas suggested tha=
t=20
the Vision was actually built by Ultron from a different android that, like=
 the=20
Human Torch, had been designed and built by Phineas Horton, known as Adam=
=20
II.[9] Years later, the couple starred in their first limited series called=
 The=20
Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1=E2=80=934 (Nov. 1982 =E2=80=93 Feb. 1983), =
by writer Bill=20
Mantlo and penciller Rick Leonardi. The mini-series showed Vision and Wanda=
=20
moving into a house in Leonia, New Jersey, hoping to strengthen their marri=
age=20
by enjoying a life and experiences outside of the Avengers. This was follow=
ed=20
by a second limited series that lasted 12 issues (Oct. 1985 =E2=80=93 Sept.=
 1986),=20
written by Steve Englehart and penciled by Richard Howell. Despite their=20
previous home being burned down by people who consider the marriage of an=
=20
android and a mutant to be unnatural, Vision and Wanda move back to Leonia =
and=20
again attempt to live a suburban life outside of their duties as superheroe=
s.=20
The series cemented that the Vision and Simon Williams (Wonder Man) now=20
regarded each other as twin brothers, since part of Vision's programming wa=
s=20
based on the brainwave pattern of Simon. Early in the series, the Scarlet W=
itch=20
is a colony of sorcerers during a deadly, magical ritual. The Scarlet Witch=
=20
temporarily taps into this powerful magical energy and is able to grant her=
self=20
a wish for a family. She becomes pregnant and nine months later gives birth=
 to=20
twin boys, Thomas and William ("Billy"). Englehart later took over as write=
r=20
for the Avengers spin-off series West Coast Avengers, featuring a new branc=
h of=20
the team that was based in Los Angeles. Having grown fond of Vision and Wan=
da,=20
he added them to the Avengers West team. Later on, John Byrne took over as=
=20
writer/penciller for West Coast Avengers (which would soon be retitled Aven=
gers=20
West Coast). Byrne believed it was a mistake to give an android character=
=20
emotions and to give him and Wanda a family. His "Vision Quest" story in We=
st=20
Coast Avengers #42=E2=80=9345 (March =E2=80=93 June 1989) had the Vision di=
smantled, his human=20
brain patterns wiped out, and his artificial skin rendered chalk-white (mod=
ern=20
printing techniques and paper meant it was now more feasible to give a=20
character chalk-white skin or costumes). Rather than portray the Vision as =
a=20
synthetic man, Byrne depicted his parts as purely robotic and his skin as a=
=20
costume-like shell. Journalist Karen Walker later commented, "This image al=
one=20
has probably done more to shape how future writers (and readers) perceive t=
he=20
character than anything before or since. Once seen broken down into compone=
nt=20
parts, it's hard to truly move past that image and think of Vision as a=20
synthetic man, not a machine."[4] Vision's memories were restored but not h=
is=20
emotions. As such, he could no longer reciprocate Wanda's feelings or even=
=20
express love for his children, which led to the annulment of their marriage=
.=20
Byrne then went further, undoing the Vision's origin by revealing he was no=
t=20
the original Torch. The same issue depicted the original Human Torch being=
=20
reactivated and meeting the Vision face to face. Following this, Byrne reve=
aled=20
that the children of Vision and Wanda were not real, explaining that Scarle=
t=20
Witch had suffered a "hysterical pregnancy" and her temporarily increased p=
ower=20
had projected this desire for children into creating imaginary constructs. =
The=20
children were then wiped from existence. Further trauma led to Wanda becomi=
ng=20
catatonic soon afterward. Rather than nurse his wife, Vision left Avengers=
=20
West, concluding he could not help Wanda further and his presence would be =
more=20
useful as a member of the NYC based team. Byrne also had Vision refuse an o=
ffer=20
by Wonder Man to restore human brain patterns to his mind, possibly restori=
ng=20
his capacity for emotions in the process. In Avengers Spotlight #40 (1991),=
=20
Vision realized a human brainwave pattern was necessary for his operation a=
nd=20
gained one based on deceased research scientist Alex Lipton. This restored =
some=20
of Vision's for emotion and empathy. The same story featured Vision gaining=
 a=20
personal holographic projector so he could assume the guise of an average=
=20
person and mingle with humanity more to learn a greater understanding of=20
people. This identity was called "Victor Shade." Marvel later decided to=20
restore the Vision's original red-skinned appearance. To do this, an emotio=
nal=20
and villainous Vision from a parallel timeline was introduced as member of =
the=20
Gatherers, a new group of enemies to the Avengers. This alternate Vision=20
(sometimes called Anti-Vision) infiltrated the Avengers team by exchanging =
his=20
mind with the heroic Vision.[10] After another battle with the Gatherers, t=
he=20
Anti-Vision escaped, still housed in the chalk-white body. The heroic Visio=
n=20
returned to the Avengers, now once again with red-colored skin.[11] This=20
occurred in The Avengers #360-363, by writer Bob Harras and artists Steve=
=20
Epting and Tom Palmer. In late 1994, writer Bob Harras and penciller Manny=
=20
Clark produced the first Vision limited series, lasting 4 issues.[12] The=
=20
series featured Vision suffering a mental breakdown, as his original=20
personality (based on the brainwaves of Wonder Man) began to emerge and cla=
sh=20
with the Adam Lipton emotions. After fighting the Anti-Vision again, Vision=
=20
found mental and emotional balance again, now with full emotional capacity=
=20
restored. Later on, he revealed that this also meant he had regained the=20
emotions tied to his memories from before being dismantled, including his=
=20
feelings for Wanda. A four-issue series, Avengers Icons: The Vision, was=20
published in late 2002, written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Ivan Reis. T=
he=20
mini-series featured Vision meeting people related to Phineas T. Horton, th=
e=20
original Human Torch's creator. Vision considered these people to now be hi=
s=20
family. The story arc Avengers Disassembled featured the Vision being=20
destroyed. The story included an explanation that he was damaged beyond rep=
air.=20
Soon afterward, the original Young Avengers series introduced a new Vision,=
=20
whose personality was created by a combination of the synthezoid Vision's=
=20
programming and mental engrams of the hero Iron Lad. It is later revealed t=
hat=20
the Young Avengers members Wiccan and Speed are teenage reincarnations of W=
anda=20
and Vision's children Billy and Thomas, indicating they might have been rea=
l=20
all along. The original android Vision is fully rebuilt and restored in The=
=20
Avengers vol. 4 #19 in 2012 and once again becomes a regular star of the=20
series. After the series is cancelled in 2013, Vision becomes the star of t=
he=20
series Avengers A.I. where he joins a team of fellow synthetic and=20
cybernetically enhanced beings, including the cyborg Victor Mancha, another=
=20
"son" of Ultron. Vision again appeared in a new 12-issues Vision series=20
published from November 2015 to October 2016. The series featured him creat=
ing=20
an android wife and two android children in another attempt to live a happy=
,=20
family life in the suburbs. This attempt largely ends in failure. A later=
=20
encounter with the Hulk leads to the Vision's destruction again in Avengers=
=20
#685. He is later rebuilt but his core remains damaged, meaning he will=20
eventually die. In Champions vol. 2 #22, Vision concludes life is meant to =
be=20
finite. Later, Vision is fully healed due to the energies of the House of I=
deas=20
in Avengers No Road Home #9-10. Sincerely,

 Jim Rickards

P.S. What you saw happen on Election night was nothing compared to what I f=
ear=20
is next. The time to prepare is now.=20
<https://www.bropom.com/TM0378/sterlingwhg@gmail.com/044SPM/B/PASO1>=20

Initial screening Avatar premiered in London on December 10, 2009, and was=
=20
released theatrically worldwide from December 16 to 18.[156] The film was=
=20
originally set for release on May 22, 2009, during filming[157] but was pus=
hed=20
back to allow more post-production time (the last shots were delivered in=
=20
November)[80] and give more time for theaters worldwide to install 3D=20
projectors.[158] Cameron stated that the film's aspect ratio would be 1.78:=
1=20
for 3D screenings and that a 2.39:1 image would be extracted for 2D=20
screenings.[159][160] However, a 3D 2.39:1 extract was approved for use wit=
h=20
constant-image-height screens (i.e., screens that increase in width to disp=
lay=20
2.39:1 films).[161] During a 3D preview showing in Germany on December 16, =
the=20
movie's DRM "protection" system malfunctioned, and some copies delivered=20
weren=E2=80=99t watched at all in the theaters. The problems were fixed in =
time for the=20
public premiere.[162] Avatar was released in a total of 3,457 theaters in t=
he=20
US, of which 2,032 theaters showed it in 3D. In total, 90% of all advance=
=20
ticket sales for Avatar were for 3D screenings.[163] Internationally, Avata=
r=20
opened on a total of 14,604 screens in 106 territories, of which 3,671 were=
=20
showing the film in 3D (producing 56% of the first weekend gross).[164][165=
]=20
The film was simultaneously presented in IMAX 3D format, opening in 178=20
theaters in the United States on December 18. The international IMAX releas=
e=20
included 58 theaters beginning on December 16, and 25 more theaters were to=
 be=20
added in the coming weeks.[166] The IMAX release was the company's widest t=
o=20
date, a total of 261 theaters worldwide. The previous IMAX record opening w=
as=20
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which opened in 161 IMAX theaters i=
n=20
the US, and about 70 international.[167] 20th Century Fox Korea adapted and=
=20
later released Avatar in 4D version, which included "moving seats, smells o=
f=20
explosives, sprinkling water, laser lights and wind".[20] Post-original rel=
ease=20
In July 2010, Cameron confirmed that there would be an extended theatrical=
=20
rerelease of the film on August 27, 2010, exclusively in 3D theaters and IM=
AX=20
3D.[168] Avatar: Special Edition includes an additional nine minutes of=20
footage, all of which is CG,[169] including an extension of the sex scene[1=
70]=20
and various other scenes that were cut from the original theatrical film.[1=
69]=20
This extended re-release resulted in the film's run time approaching the=20
then-current IMAX platter maximum of 170 minutes, thereby leaving less time=
 for=20
the end credits. Cameron stated that the nine minutes of added scenes cost =
more=20
than $1 million a minute to produce and finish.[171] During its 12-week=20
re-release, Avatar: Special Edition grossed an additional $10.74 million in=
=20
North America and $22.46 million overseas for a worldwide total of $33.2=20
million.[5] The film was later re-released in China in March 2021, allowing=
 it=20
to surpass Avengers: Endgame to become the highest-grossing film of all=20
time.[24] Avatar was re-released in theaters on September 23, 2022, by Walt=
=20
Disney Studios Motion Pictures for a limited two week engagement, with the =
film=20
being remastered in 4K high-dynamic range, with select scenes at a high fra=
me=20
rate of 48-frames-per-second.[172] The reissue was prior to the December 20=
22=20
premiere of its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water.[173] Prior to this, Camer=
on=20
previously teased a re-release of the film back in 2017 when promoting the=
=20
Dolby Cinema re-release of Titanic, stating that there were plans in the wo=
rks=20
to remaster the film with Dolby Vision and re-release it in Dolby Cinema.


Home media 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released the film on DVD and=
=20
Blu-ray in the US on April 22, 2010,[175] and in the UK on April 26.[176] T=
he=20
US release was not on a Tuesday as is the norm, but was done to coincide wi=
th=20
Earth Day.[177] The first DVD and Blu-ray release does not contain any=20
supplemental features other than the theatrical film and the disc menu in f=
avor=20
of and to make space for optimal picture and sound. The release also preser=
ves=20
the film's native 1.78:1 (16:9) format as Cameron felt that was the best fo=
rmat=20
to watch the film.[178] The Blu-ray disc contains DRM (BD+ 5) which some=20
Blu-ray players might not support without a firmware update.[179][180] Avat=
ar=20
set a first-day launch record in the U.S. for Blu-ray sales at 1.5 million=
=20
units sold, breaking the record previously held by The Dark Knight (600,000=
=20
units sold). First-day DVD and Blu-ray sales combined were over four millio=
n=20
units sold.[181] In its first four days of release, sales of Avatar on Blu-=
ray=20
reached 2.7 million in the United States and Canada =E2=80=93 overtaking Th=
e Dark=20
Knight to become the best ever selling Blu-ray release in the region.[182][=
183]=20
The release later broke the Blu-ray sales record in the UK the following=20
week.[184] In its first three weeks of release, the film sold a total of 19=
.7=20
million DVD and Blu-ray discs combined, a new record for sales in that=20
period.[185] As of July 18, 2012, DVD sales (not including Blu-ray) totaled=
=20
over 10.5 million units sold with $190,806,055 in revenue.[186] Avatar reta=
ined=20
its record as the top-selling Blu-ray in the US market until January 2015, =
when=20
it was surpassed by Disney's Frozen.[187] The Avatar three-disc Extended=20
Collector's Edition on DVD and Blu-ray was released on November 16, 2010. T=
hree=20
different versions of the film are present on the discs: the original=20
theatrical cut (162 minutes), the special edition cut (170 minutes), and a=
=20
collector's extended cut (178 minutes). The DVD set spreads the film across=
 two=20
discs, while the Blu-ray set presents it on a single disc.[188] The collect=
or's=20
extended cut contains 8 more minutes of footage, thus making it 16 minutes=
=20
longer than the original theatrical cut. Cameron mentioned, "you can sit do=
wn,=20
and in a continuous screening of the film, watch it with the Earth opening"=
. He=20
stated the "Earth opening" is an additional 4+1=E2=81=842 minutes of scenes=
 that were=20
in the film for much of its production but were ultimately cut before the=
=20
film's theatrical release.[189] The release also includes an additional 45=
=20
minutes of deleted scenes and other extras.[188] Cameron initially stated t=
hat=20
Avatar would be released in 3D around November 2010, but the studio issued =
a=20
correction: "3-D is in the conceptual stage and Avatar will not be out on 3=
D=20
Blu-ray in November."[190] In May 2010, Fox stated that the 3D version woul=
d be=20
released some time in 2011.[185] It was later revealed that Fox had given=
=20
Panasonic an exclusive license for the 3D Blu-ray version and only with the=
=20
purchase of a Panasonic 3DTV. The length of Panasonic's exclusivity period =
is=20
stated to last until February 2012.[191] On October 2010, Cameron stated th=
at=20
the standalone 3D Blu-ray would be the final version of the film's home rel=
ease=20
and that it was "maybe one, two years out".[192] On Christmas Eve 2010, Ava=
tar=20
had its 3D television world premiere on Sky.[193][194][195] On August 13, 2=
012,=20
Cameron announced on Facebook that Avatar would be released globally on Blu=
-ray=20
3D.[196] The Blu-ray 3D version was finally released on October 16, 2012.[1=
97]=20
Reception Critical response On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 82% of 31=
9=20
reviews are positive, and the average rating is 7.4/10. The site's consensu=
s=20
reads, "It might be more impressive on a technical level than as a piece of=
=20
storytelling, but Avatar reaffirms James Cameron's singular gift for=20
imaginative, absorbing filmmaking."[198] On Metacritic =E2=80=94 which assi=
gns a=20
weighted mean score =E2=80=94 the film has a score of 83 out of 100 based o=
n 35=20
critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[199] Audiences polled by CinemaSco=
re=20
gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Every demographi=
c=20
surveyed was reported to give this rating. These polls also indicated that =
the=20
main draw of the film was its use of 3D.[200] Roger Ebert of the Chicago=20
Sun-Times called the film "extraordinary" and gave it four stars out of fou=
r.=20
"Watching Avatar, I felt sort of the same as when I saw Star Wars in 1977,"=
 he=20
said, adding that like Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship =
of=20
the Ring, the film "employs a new generation of special effects" and it "is=
 not=20
simply a sensational entertainment, although it is that. It's a technical=
=20
breakthrough. It has a flat-out Green and anti-war message".[201] A. O. Sco=
tt=20
of At The Movies also compared his viewing of the film to the first time he=
=20
viewed Star Wars and he said "although the script is a little bit ... obvio=
us,"=20
it was "part of what made it work".[202][203] Todd McCarthy of Variety prai=
sed=20
the film, saying "The King of the World sets his sights on creating another=
=20
world entirely in Avatar, and it's very much a place worth visiting."[204] =
Kirk=20
Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review. "The=
=20
screen is alive with more action and the soundtrack pops with more robust m=
usic=20
than any dozen sci-fi shoot-'em-ups you care to mention," he stated.[205] P=
eter=20
Travers of Rolling Stone awarded Avatar a three-and-a-half out of four star=
=20
rating and wrote in his print review "It extends the possibilities of what=
=20
movies can do. Cameron's talent may just be as big as his dreams."[206] Ric=
hard=20
Corliss of Time magazine thought that the film was "the most vivid and=20
convincing creation of a fantasy world ever seen in the history of moving=
=20
pictures."[207] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times thought the film has=
=20
"powerful" visual accomplishments but "flat dialogue" and "obvious=20
characterization".[208] James Berardinelli of ReelViews praised the film an=
d=20
its story, giving it four out of four stars; he wrote "In 3-D, it's immersi=
ve =E2=80=93=20
but the traditional film elements =E2=80=93 story, character, editing, them=
e, emotional=20
resonance, etc. =E2=80=93 are presented with sufficient expertise to make e=
ven the 2-D=20
version an engrossing 2+1=E2=81=842-hour experience."[209] Avatar's underly=
ing social=20
and political themes attracted attention. Armond White of the New York Pres=
s=20
wrote that Cameron used "villainous American characters" to "misrepresent=
=20
facets of militarism, capitalism, and imperialism".[210][211] Russell D. Mo=
ore=20
of The Christian Post concluded that "propaganda exists in the film" and st=
ated=20
"If you can get a theater full of people in Kentucky to stand and applaud t=
he=20
defeat of their country in war, then you've got some amazing special=20
effects."[212] Adam Cohen of The New York Times was more positive about the=
=20
film, calling its anti-imperialist message "a 22nd-century version of the=
=20
American colonists vs. the British, India vs. the Raj, or Latin America vs.=
=20
United Fruit".[213] Ross Douthat of The New York Times opined that the film=
 is=20
"Cameron's long apologia for pantheism [...] Hollywood's religion of choice=
 for=20
a generation now",[214] while Saritha Prabhu of The Tennessean called the f=
ilm=20
a "misportrayal of pantheism and Eastern spirituality in general",[215] and=
=20
Maxim Osipov of The Hindustan Times, on the contrary, commended the film's=
=20
message for its overall consistency with the teachings of Hinduism in the=
=20
Bhagavad Gita.[216] Annalee Newitz of io9 concluded that Avatar is another =
film=20
that has the recurring "fantasy about race" whereby "some white guy" become=
s=20
the "most awesome" member of a non-white culture.[217] Michael Phillips of =
the=20
Chicago Tribune called Avatar "the season's ideological Rorschach blot",[21=
8]=20
while Miranda Devine of The Sydney Morning Herald thought that "It [was]=20
impossible to watch Avatar without being banged over the head with the=20
director's ideological hammer."[219] Nidesh Lawtoo believed that an essenti=
al,=20
yet less visible social theme that contributed to Avatar's success concerns=
=20
contemporary fascinations with virtual avatars and "the transition from the=
=20
world of reality to that of virtual reality".[220] Critics and audiences ha=
ve=20
cited similarities with other films, literature or media, describing the=20
perceived connections in ways ranging from simple "borrowing" to outright=
=20
plagiarism. Ty Burr of The Boston Globe called it "the same movie" as Dance=
s=20
with Wolves.[221] Like Dances with Wolves, Avatar has been characterized as=
=20
being a "white savior" movie, in which a "backwards" native people is impot=
ent=20
without the leadership of a member of the invading white culture.[222][223]=
=20
Parallels to the concept and use of an avatar are in Poul Anderson's 1957=
=20
novelette "Call Me Joe", in which a paralyzed man uses his mind from orbit =
to=20
control an artificial body on Jupiter.[224][225] Cinema audiences in Russia=
=20
have noted that Avatar has elements in common with the 1960s Noon Universe=
=20
novels by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, which are set in the 22nd century on=
 a=20
forested world called Pandora with a sentient indigenous species called the=
=20
Nave.[226] Various reviews have compared Avatar to the films FernGully: The=
=20
Last Rainforest,[227][228] Pocahontas[229] and The Last Samurai.[230] NPR's=
=20
Morning Edition has compared the film to a montage of tropes, with one=20
commentator stating that Avatar was made by "mixing a bunch of film scripts=
 in=20
a blender".[231] Gary Westfahl wrote that "the science fiction story that m=
ost=20
closely resembles Avatar has to be Ursula Le Guin's novella The Word for Wo=
rld=20
Is Forest (1972), another epic about a benevolent race of alien beings who=
=20
happily inhabit dense forests while living in harmony with nature until the=
y=20
are attacked and slaughtered by invading human soldiers who believe that th=
e=20
only good gook is a dead gook".[225] The science fiction writer and editor=
=20
Gardner Dozois said that along with the Anderson and Le Guin stories, the=
=20
"mash-up" included Alan Dean Foster's 1975 novel, Midworld.[232] Some sourc=
es=20
saw similarities to the artwork of Roger Dean, which features fantastic ima=
ges=20
of dragons and floating rock formations.[233][234] In 2013, Dean sued Camer=
on=20
and Fox, claiming that Pandora was inspired by 14 of his images. Dean sough=
t=20
damages of $50m.[235] Dean's case was dismissed in 2014, and The Hollywood=
=20
Reporter noted that Cameron had won multiple Avatar idea theft cases.[236]=
=20
Avatar received compliments from filmmakers, with Steven Spielberg praising=
 it=20
as "the most evocative and amazing science-fiction movie since Star Wars" a=
nd=20
others calling it "audacious and awe inspiring", "master class", and=20
"brilliant". Noted art director-turned-filmmaker Roger Christian is also a=
=20
noted fan of the film.[237] On the other hand, Duncan Jones said: "It's not=
 in=20
my top three James Cameron films. ... [A]t what point in the film did you h=
ave=20
any doubt what was going to happen next?".[238] For French filmmaker Luc=20
Besson, Avatar opened the doors for him to now create an adaptation of the=
=20
graphic novel series Val=C3=A9rian and Laureline that technologically suppo=
rts the=20
scope of its source material, with Besson even throwing his original script=
 in=20
the trash and redoing it after seeing the film.[239] TIME ranked Avatar num=
ber=20
3 in their list of "The 10 Greatest Movies of the Millennium (Thus Far)"[24=
0]=20
also earning it a spot on the magazine's All-Time 100 list,[241] and IGN li=
sted=20
Avatar as number 22 on their list of the top 25 Sci-Fi movies of all time.=
=20


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 <https://smartpeoplemail.com/>=20


 After the film's release and unusually strong box office performance over =
its=20
first two weeks, it was debated as the one film capable of surpassing Titan=
ic's=20
worldwide gross, and its continued strength perplexed box office analysts.[=
294]=20
Other films in recent years had been cited as contenders for surpassing=20
Titanic, such as 2008's The Dark Knight,[295] but Avatar was considered the=
=20
first film with a genuine chance to do so, and its numbers being aided by=
=20
higher ticket prices for 3D screenings[294] did not fully explain its succe=
ss=20
to box office analysts. "Most films are considered to be healthy if they ma=
nage=20
anything less than a 50% drop from their first weekend to their second. Dip=
ping=20
just 11% from the first to the third is unheard of," said Paul Dergarabedia=
n,=20
president of box-office analysis for Hollywood.com. "This is just=20
unprecedented. I had to do a double take. I thought it was a=20
miscalculation."[296] Analysts predicted second place for the film's worldw=
ide=20
gross, but most were uncertain about it surpassing Titanic because "Today's=
=20
films flame out much faster than they did when Titanic was released."[296]=
=20
Brandon Gray, president of Box Office Mojo, believed in the film's chances =
of=20
becoming the highest-grossing film of all time, though he also believed it =
was=20
too early to surmise because it had only played during the holidays. He sai=
d,=20
"While Avatar may beat Titanic's record, it will be tough, and the film is=
=20
unlikely to surpass Titanic in attendance. Ticket prices were about $3 chea=
per=20
in the late 1990s."[296] Cameron said he did not think it was realistic to =
"try=20
to topple Titanic off its perch" because it "just struck some kind of chord=
"=20
and there had been other good films in recent years.[297] He changed his=20
prediction by mid-January. "It's gonna happen. It's just a matter of time,"=
 he=20
said.[298] You've got to compete head on with these other epic works of fan=
tasy=20
and fiction, the Tolkiens and the Star Wars and the Star Treks. People want=
 a=20
persistent alternate reality to invest themselves in and they want the deta=
il=20
that makes it rich and worth their time. They want to live somewhere else. =
Like=20
Pandora. James Cameron on the success of Avatar[299] Although analysts have=
=20
been unable to agree that Avatar's success is attributable to one primary=
=20
factor, several explanations have been advanced. First, January is historic=
ally=20
"the dumping ground for the year's weakest films", and this also applied to=
=20
2010.[300] Cameron himself said he decided to open the film in December so =
that=20
it would have less competition from then to January.[287] Titanic capitaliz=
ed=20
on the same January predictability, and earned most of its gross in 1998.[3=
00]=20
Additionally, Avatar established itself as a "must-see" event. Gray said, "=
At=20
this point, people who are going to see Avatar are going to see Avatar and=
=20
would even if the slate was strong."[300] Marketing the film as a "novelty=
=20
factor" also helped. Fox positioned the film as a cinematic event that shou=
ld=20
be seen in the theaters. "It's really hard to sell the idea that you can ha=
ve=20
the same experience at home," stated David Mumpower, an analyst at=20
BoxOfficeProphets.com.[300] The "Oscar buzz" surrounding the film and=20
international viewings helped. "Two-thirds of Titanic's haul was earned=20
overseas, and Avatar [tracked] similarly ...Avatar opened in 106 markets=20
globally and was No. 1 in all of them", and the markets "such as Russia, wh=
ere=20
Titanic saw modest receipts in 1997 and 1998, are white-hot today" with "mo=
re=20
screens and moviegoers" than before.[300] According to Variety, films in 3D=
=20
accumulated $1.3 billion in 2009, "a threefold increase over 2008 and more =
than=20
10% of the total 2009 box-office gross". The increased ticket price =E2=80=
=93 an=20
average of $2 to $3 per ticket in most markets =E2=80=93 helped the film.[3=
00]=20
Likewise, Entertainment Weekly attributed the film's success to 3D glasses =
but=20
also to its "astronomic word-of-mouth". Not only do some theaters charge up=
 to=20
$18.50 for IMAX tickets, but "the buzz" created by the new technology was t=
he=20
possible cause for sold-out screenings.[301] Gray said Avatar having no bas=
is=20
in previously established material makes its performance remarkable and eve=
n=20
more impressive. "The movie might be derivative of many movies in its story=
 and=20
themes," he said, "but it had no direct antecedent like the other top-gross=
ing=20
films: Titanic (historical events), the Star Wars movies (an established fi=
lm=20
franchise), or The Lord of the Rings (literature). It was a tougher sell=20
..."[300] The Hollywood Reporter estimated that after a combined production=
 and=20
promotion cost of between $387=E2=80=93437 million, the film turned a net p=
rofit of=20
$1.2 billion.
------=_Part_1498355_1936222713.1704891117165
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table><table class=3D"row row-3" align=3D"center" width=3D"100%" border=3D"=
0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" style=3D"box-s=
izing: border-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0;"><tbody style=
=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><td styl=
e=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><table class=3D"row-content stack" align=3D"c=
enter" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentatio=
n" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; mso-table-rspace: =
0; background-color: #fff; border-radius: 0; color: #000; width: 600px; mar=
gin: 0 auto;" width=3D"600" bgcolor=3D"#fff"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing: bo=
rder-box;"><tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><td class=3D"column column=
-1" width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; ms=
o-table-rspace: 0; font-weight: 400; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 1px;=
 padding-top: 2px; vertical-align: top; border-top: 0; border-right: 0; bor=
der-bottom: 0; border-left: 0;" align=3D"left" valign=3D"top"><table class=
=3D"html_block block-1" width=3D"100%" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cells=
pacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; mso-tab=
le-lspace: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0;"><tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><=
td class=3D"pad" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><div style=3D"box-sizing=
: border-box; font-family: Arial,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-=
align: center;" align=3D"center"><div style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; disp=
lay: none; width: 0px; max-height: 0px; overflow: hidden; mso-hide: all; he=
ight: 0; font-size: 0; max-height: 0; line-height: 0; margin: 0;">Principal=
 photography for Avatar began in April 2007 in Los Angeles and Wellington. =
Cameron described the film as a hybrid with a full live-action shoot in com=
bination with computer-generated characters and live environments. "Ideally=
 at the end of the day the audience has no idea which they're looking at," =
Cameron said. The director indicated that he had already worked four months=
 on nonprincipal scenes for the film.[66] The live action was shot with a m=
odified version of the proprietary digital 3-D Fusion Camera System, develo=
ped by Cameron and Vince Pace.[67] In January 2007, Fox had announced that =
3-D filming for Avatar would be done at 24 frames per second despite Camero=
n's strong opinion that a 3-D film requires higher frame rate to make strob=
ing less noticeable.[68] According to Cameron, the film is composed of 60% =
computer-generated elements and 40% live action, as well as traditional min=
iatures.[69] Motion-capture photography lasted 31 days at the Hughes Aircra=
ft stage in Playa Vista in Los Angeles.[54][70] Live action photography beg=
an in October 2007 at Stone Street Studios in Wellington and was scheduled =
to last 31 days.[71] More than a thousand people worked on the production.[=
70] In preparation of the filming sequences, all of the actors underwent pr=
ofessional training specific to their characters such as archery, horseback=
 riding, firearm use, and hand-to-hand combat. They received language and d=
ialect training in the Na'vi language created for the film.[72] Before shoo=
ting the film, Cameron also sent the cast to the Hawaiian tropical rainfore=
sts[73] to get a feel for a rainforest setting before shooting on the sound=
stage.[72] During filming, Cameron made use of his virtual camera system, a=
 new way of directing motion-capture filmmaking. The system shows the actor=
s' virtual counterparts in their digital surroundings in real time, allowin=
g the director to adjust and direct scenes just as if shooting live action.=
 According to Cameron, "It's like a big, powerful game engine. If I want to=
 fly through space, or change my perspective, I can. I can turn the whole s=
cene into a living miniature and go through it on a 50 to 1 scale."[74] Usi=
ng conventional techniques, the complete virtual world cannot be seen until=
 the motion-capture of the actors is complete. Cameron said this process do=
es not diminish the value or importance of acting. On the contrary, because=
 there is no need for repeated camera and lighting setups, costume fittings=
 and make-up touch-ups, scenes do not need to be interrupted repeatedly.[75=
] Cameron described the system as a "form of pure creation where if you wan=
t to move a tree or a mountain or the sky or change the time of day, you ha=
ve complete control over the elements".[76] Cameron gave fellow directors S=
teven Spielberg and Peter Jackson a chance to test the new technology.[65] =
Spielberg said, "I like to think of it as digital makeup, not augmented ani=
mation ... Motion capture brings the director back to a kind of intimacy th=
at actors and directors only know when they're working in live theater."[75=
] Spielberg and George Lucas were also able to visit the set to watch Camer=
on direct with the equipment.[77] To film the shots where CGI interacts wit=
h live action, a unique camera referred to as a "simulcam" was used, a merg=
er of the 3-D fusion camera and the virtual camera systems. While filming l=
ive action in real time with the simulcam, the CGI images captured with the=
 virtual camera or designed from scratch, are superimposed over the live ac=
tion images as in augmented reality and shown on a small monitor, making it=
 possible for the director to instruct the actors how to relate to the virt=
ual material in the scene.[72] Due to Cameron's personal convictions about =
climate change, he allowed only plant-based (vegan) food to be served on se=
t. </div></div></td></tr> </table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbo=
dy></table><table class=3D"row row-4" align=3D"center" width=3D"100%" borde=
r=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" style=3D"=
box-sizing: border-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0; backgroun=
d-size: auto;"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><tr style=3D"box-si=
zing: border-box;"><td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><table class=3D"ro=
w-content stack" align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacin=
g=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; mso-table-ls=
pace: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0; background-color: #fff; background-size: auto=
; color: #000; width: 600px; margin: 0 auto;" width=3D"600" bgcolor=3D"#fff=
"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-=
box;"><td class=3D"column column-1" width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing: bor=
der-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0; font-weight: 400; text-a=
lign: left; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-top: 2px; vertical-align: top; bor=
der-top: 0; border-right: 0; border-bottom: 0; border-left: 0;" align=3D"le=
ft" valign=3D"top"><table class=3D"html_block block-1" width=3D"100%" borde=
r=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" style=3D"=
box-sizing: border-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0;"><tr styl=
e=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><td class=3D"pad" style=3D"box-sizing: border=
-box;"><div style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial,Helvetica N=
eue,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;" align=3D"center"><div style=
=3D"box-sizing: border-box; display: none; width: 0px; max-height: 0px; ove=
rflow: hidden; mso-hide: all; height: 0; font-size: 0; max-height: 0; line-=
height: 0; margin: 0;">A number of innovative visual effects techniques wer=
e used during production. According to Cameron, work on the film had been d=
elayed since the 1990s to allow the techniques to reach the necessary degre=
e of advancement to adequately portray his vision of the film.[13][14] The =
director planned to make use of photorealistic computer-generated character=
s, created using new motion capture animation technologies he had been deve=
loping in the 14 months leading up to December 2006.[74] Innovations includ=
e a new system for lighting massive areas like Pandora's jungle,[80] a moti=
on-capture stage or "volume" six times larger than any previously used, and=
 an improved method of capturing facial expressions, enabling full performa=
nce capture. To achieve the face capturing, actors wore individually made s=
kull caps fitted with a tiny camera positioned in front of the actors' face=
s; the information collected about their facial expressions and eyes is the=
n transmitted to computers.[81] According to Cameron, the method allows the=
 filmmakers to transfer 100% of the actors' physical performances to their =
digital counterparts.[82] Besides the performance capture data which were t=
ransferred directly to the computers, numerous reference cameras gave the d=
igital artists multiple angles of each performance.[83] A technically chall=
enging scene was near the end of the film when the computer-generated Neyti=
ri held the live action Jake in human form, and attention was given to the =
details of the shadows and reflected light between them.[84] The lead visua=
l effects company was Weta Digital in Wellington, at one point employing 90=
0 people to work on the film.[85] Because of the huge amount of data which =
needed to be stored, cataloged and available for everybody involved, even o=
n the other side of the world, a new cloud computing and Digital Asset Mana=
gement (DAM) system named Gaia was created by Microsoft especially for Avat=
ar, which allowed the crews to keep track of and coordinate all stages in t=
he digital processing.[86] To render Avatar, Weta used a 930 m2 (10,000 sq =
ft) server farm making use of 4,000 Hewlett-Packard servers with 35,000 pro=
cessor cores with 104 terabytes of RAM and three petabytes of network area =
storage running Ubuntu Linux, Grid Engine cluster manager, and 2 of the ani=
mation software and managers, Pixar's RenderMan and Pixar's Alfred queue ma=
nagement system.[87][88][89][90] The render farm occupies the 193rd to 197t=
h spots in the TOP500 list of the world's most powerful supercomputers. A n=
ew texturing and paint software system, called Mari, was developed by The F=
oundry in cooperation with Weta.[91][92] Creating the Na'vi characters and =
the virtual world of Pandora required over a petabyte of digital storage,[9=
3] and each minute of the final footage for Avatar occupies 17.28 gigabytes=
 of storage.[94] It would often take the computer several hours to render a=
 single frame of the film.[95] To help finish preparing the special effects=
 sequences on time, a number of other companies were brought on board, incl=
uding Industrial Light & Magic, which worked alongside Weta Digital to crea=
te the battle sequences. ILM was responsible for the visual effects for man=
y of the film's specialized vehicles and devised a new way to make CGI expl=
osions.[96] Joe Letteri was the film's visual effects general supervisor.[9=
7] Music and soundtrack Main article: Avatar: Music from the Motion Picture=
 James Horner =E2=80=93 "Jake Enters His Avatar World" 0:32 listen to a cli=
p from the score of the 2009 film Avatar. Problems playing this file? See m=
edia help. Composer James Horner scored the film, his third collaboration w=
ith Cameron after Aliens and Titanic.[98] Horner recorded parts of the scor=
e with a small chorus singing in the alien language Na'vi in March 2008.[99=
] He also worked with Wanda Bryant, an ethnomusicologist, to create a music=
 culture for the alien race.[100] The first scoring sessions were planned t=
o take place in early 2009.[101] During production, Horner promised Cameron=
 that he would not work on any other project except for Avatar and reported=
ly worked on the score from four in the morning until ten at night througho=
ut the process. He stated in an interview, "Avatar has been the most diffic=
ult film I have worked on and the biggest job I have undertaken."[102] Horn=
er composed the score as two different scores merged into one. He first cre=
ated a score that reflected the Na'vi way of sound and then combined it wit=
h a separate "traditional" score to drive the film.[72] British singer Leon=
a Lewis was chosen to sing the theme song for the film, called "I See You".=
 An accompanying music video, directed by Jake Nava, premiered December 15,=
 2009, on MySpace. </div></div></td></tr></table><table class=3D"text_block=
 block-2" width=3D"100%" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" r=
ole=3D"presentation" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; =
mso-table-rspace: 0; word-break: break-word;"><tr style=3D"box-sizing: bord=
er-box;"><td class=3D"pad" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padding-bottom:=
 7px; padding-left: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-top: 2px;"><div style=
=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Tahoma,Verdana,sans-serif;"><div c=
lass style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; font-family: Roboto,=
Tahoma,Verdana,Segoe,sans-serif; mso-line-height-alt: 14.399999999999999px;=
 color: #7da496; line-height: 1.2;"><p style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; lin=
e-height: inherit; margin: 0; text-align: center; mso-line-height-alt: 14.3=
99999999999999px;">At times, our affiliate partners reach out to the Editor=
s at&nbsp;<strong style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;">Smart People Mail</stro=
ng>&nbsp;with special opportunities for our readers. The message below is o=
ne we think you should take a close, serious look at.</p></div></div></td><=
/tr></table><table class=3D"divider_block block-3" width=3D"100%" border=3D=
"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" style=3D"box-=
sizing: border-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0;"><tr style=3D=
"box-sizing: border-box;"><td class=3D"pad" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box=
; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 1px; padding-right: 1px; padding-top: =
5px;"><div class=3D"alignment" align=3D"center" style=3D"box-sizing: border=
-box;"><table border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"pres=
entation" width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; mso-table-lspace:=
 0; mso-table-rspace: 0;"><tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><td class=
=3D"divider_inner" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1px; line-he=
ight: 1px; border-top: 1px solid #000;"><span style=3D"box-sizing: border-b=
ox;">&#8202;</span></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></td></tr></tb=
ody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table class=3D"row row-5" align=3D"c=
enter" width=3D"100%" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=
=3D"presentation" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; mso=
-table-rspace: 0;"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><tr style=3D"bo=
x-sizing: border-box;"><td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><table class=
=3D"row-content stack" align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cell=
spacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; mso-ta=
ble-lspace: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0; background-color: #fff; border-radius: =
0; color: #000; width: 600px; margin: 0 auto;" width=3D"600" bgcolor=3D"#ff=
f"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><tr style=3D"box-sizing: border=
-box;"><td class=3D"column column-1" width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing: bo=
rder-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0; font-weight: 400; text-=
align: left; vertical-align: top; border-top: 0; border-right: 0; border-bo=
ttom: 0; border-left: 0;" align=3D"left" valign=3D"top"><table class=3D"htm=
l_block block-1" width=3D"100%" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=
=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; mso-table-lsp=
ace: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0;"><tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"> <td cl=
ass=3D"pad" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><div style=3D"box-sizing: bor=
der-box; font-family: Arial,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align=
: center;" align=3D"center"><div style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; display: =
none; width: 0px; max-height: 0px; overflow: hidden; mso-hide: all; height:=
 0; font-size: 0; max-height: 0; line-height: 0; margin: 0;">Avatar is prim=
arily an action-adventure journey of self-discovery, in the context of impe=
rialism, and deep ecology.[104] Cameron said his inspiration was "every sin=
gle science fiction book I read as a kid" and that he wanted to update the =
style of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter series.[11] He acknowledged that=
 Avatar shares themes with the films At Play in the Fields of the Lord, The=
 Emerald Forest, and Princess Mononoke, which feature clashes between cultu=
res and civilizations, and with Dances with Wolves, where a battered soldie=
r finds himself drawn to the culture he was initially fighting against.[105=
][106] He also cited Hayao Miyazaki's anime films such as Princess Mononoke=
 as an influence on the ecosystem of Pandora.[106] In 2012, Cameron filed a=
 45-page legal declaration that intended to "describe in great detail the g=
enesis of the ideas, themes, storylines, and images that came to be Avatar.=
"[107] In addition to historical events (such as European colonization of t=
he Americas), his life experiences and several of his unproduced projects, =
Cameron drew connections between Avatar and his previous films. He cited hi=
s script and concept art for Xenogenesis, partially produced as a short fil=
m, as being the basis for many of the ideas and visual designs in Avatar. H=
e stated that Avatar's "concepts of a world mind, intelligence within natur=
e, the idea of projecting force or consciousness using an avatar, colonizat=
ion of alien planets, greedy corporate interests backed up by military forc=
e, the story of a seemingly weaker group prevailing over a technologically =
superior force, and the good scientist were all established and recurrent t=
hemes" from his earlier films including Aliens, The Abyss, Rambo: First Blo=
od Part II, The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. He specifically =
mentioned the "water tentacle" in The Abyss as an example of an "avatar" th=
at "takes on the appearance of...an alien life form...in order to bridge th=
e cultural gap and build trust."[108] Cameron also cited a number of works =
by other creators as "reference points and sources of inspiration" for Avat=
ar. These include two of his "favorite" films, 2001: A Space Odyssey, where=
 mankind experiences an evolution after meeting alien life, and Lawrence of=
 Arabia, where "an outsider...encounters and immerses into a foreign cultur=
e and then ultimately joins that group to fight other outsiders." Cameron s=
aid he became familiar with the concept of a human operating a "synthetic a=
vatar" inside another world from George Henry Smith's short story "In the I=
magicon" and Arthur C. Clarke's novel The City and the Stars. He said he le=
arned of the term "avatar" by reading the cyberpunk novels Neuromancer by W=
illiam Gibson and Islands in the Net by Bruce Sterling. The idea of a "worl=
d mind" originated in the novel Solaris by Stanislaw Lem. Cameron mentioned=
 several other films about people interacting with "indigenous cultures" as=
 inspiring him, including Dances with Wolves, The Man Who Would Be King, Th=
e Mission, The Emerald Forest, Medicine Man, The Jungle Book and FernGully.=
 He also cited as inspiration the John Carter and Tarzan stories by Edgar R=
ice Burroughs and other adventure stories by Rudyard Kipling and H. Rider H=
aggard.[108] In a 2007 interview with Time magazine, Cameron was asked abou=
t the meaning of the term Avatar, to which he replied, "It's an incarnation=
 of one of the Hindu gods taking a flesh form. In this film what that means=
 is that the human technology in the future is capable of injecting a human=
's intelligence into a remotely located body, a biological body."[10] Camer=
on also cited the Japanese cyberpunk manga and anime Ghost in the Shell, in=
 terms of how humans can remotely control, and transfer their personalities=
 into, alien bodies.[109][110] For the love story between characters Jake a=
nd Neytiri, Cameron applied a star-crossed love theme, which he said was in=
 the tradition of Romeo and Juliet.[108] He acknowledged its similarity to =
the pairing of Jack and Rose from his film Titanic. An interviewer stated, =
"Both couples come from radically different cultures that are contemptuous =
of their relationship and are forced to choose sides between the competing =
communities."[113] Cameron described Neytiri as his "Pocahontas," saying th=
at his plotline followed the historical story of a "white outsider [who] fa=
lls in love with the chief's daughter, who becomes his guide to the tribe a=
nd to their special bond with nature."[108] Cameron felt that whether or no=
t the Jake and Neytiri love story would be perceived as believable partiall=
y hinged on the physical attractiveness of Neytiri's alien appearance, whic=
h was developed by considering her appeal to the all-male crew of artists.[=
114] Although Cameron felt Jake and Neytiri do not fall in love right away,=
 their portrayers (Worthington and Saldana) felt the characters did. Camero=
n said the two actors "had a great chemistry" during filming.[113] A gray m=
ountain in the middle of a forest. Pandora's floating "Hallelujah Mountains=
" were inspired in part by the Chinese Huangshan mountains (pictured).[115]=
 Zhangjiajie National Forest Park For the film's floating "Hallelujah Mount=
ains", the designers drew inspiration from "many different types of mountai=
ns, but mainly the karst limestone formations in China."[116] According to =
production designer Dylan Cole, the fictional floating rocks were inspired =
by Huangshan (also known as Yellow Mountain), Guilin, Zhangjiajie, among ot=
hers around the world.[116] Cameron had noted the influence of the Chinese =
peaks on the design of the floating mountains.[117] To create the interiors=
 of the human mining colony on Pandora, production designers visited the No=
ble Clyde Boudreaux[118] oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico during June 200=
7. They photographed, measured and filmed every aspect of the platform, whi=
ch was later replicated on-screen with photorealistic CGI during post-produ=
ction. </div></div></td></tr></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></=
tbody></table><table class=3D"row row-6" align=3D"center" width=3D"100%" bo=
rder=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" style=
=3D"box-sizing: border-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0;"><tbo=
dy style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;">=
<td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><table class=3D"row-content stack" al=
ign=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"pre=
sentation" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; mso-table-=
rspace: 0; background-color: #fff; border-radius: 0; color: #000; width: 60=
0px; margin: 0 auto;" width=3D"600" bgcolor=3D"#fff"><tbody style=3D"box-si=
zing: border-box;"><tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><td class=3D"colum=
n column-1" width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; mso-table-lspac=
e: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0; font-weight: 400; text-align: left; padding-top:=
 5px; vertical-align: top; border-top: 0; border-right: 0; border-bottom: 0=
; border-left: 0;" align=3D"left" valign=3D"top"><table class=3D"html_block=
 block-1" width=3D"100%" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" r=
ole=3D"presentation" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; =
mso-table-rspace: 0;"><tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><td class=3D"pa=
d" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><div style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; =
font-family: Arial,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;=
" align=3D"center"><div style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; display: none; wid=
th: 0px; max-height: 0px; overflow: hidden; mso-hide: all; height: 0; font-=
size: 0; max-height: 0; line-height: 0; margin: 0;">The first photo of the =
film was released on August 14, 2009,[124] and Empire released exclusive im=
ages from the film in its October issue.[125] Cameron, producer Jon Landau,=
 Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, and Sigourney Weaver appeared at a panel, moder=
ated by Tom Rothman, at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con on July 23. Twenty-fiv=
e minutes of footage was screened[126] in Dolby 3D.[127] Weaver and Cameron=
 appeared at additional panels to promote the film, speaking on the 23rd[12=
8] and 24th[129][130] respectively. James Cameron announced at the Comic-Co=
n Avatar Panel that August 21 will be 'Avatar Day'. On this day, the traile=
r was released in all theatrical formats. The official game trailer and toy=
 line of the film were also unveiled on this day.[131] The 129-second trail=
er was released online on August 20, 2009.[132] The new 210-second trailer =
was premiered in theaters on October 23, 2009, then soon after premiered on=
line on Yahoo! on October 29, 2009, to positive reviews.[133][134] An exten=
ded version in IMAX 3D received overwhelmingly positive reviews.[132] The H=
ollywood Reporter said that audience expectations were colored by "the [sam=
e] establishment skepticism that preceded Titanic" and suggested the showin=
g reflected the desire for original storytelling.[135] The teaser has been =
among the most viewed trailers in the history of film marketing, reaching t=
he first place of all trailers viewed on Apple.com with 4 million views.[13=
6] On October 30, to celebrate the opening of the first 3-D cinema in Vietn=
am, Fox allowed Megastar Cinema to screen exclusive 16 minutes of Avatar to=
 a number of press.[137] The three-and-a-half-minute trailer of the film pr=
emiered live on November 1, 2009, during a Dallas Cowboys football game at =
Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on the Diamond Vision screen, one of t=
he world's largest video displays, and to TV audiences viewing the game on =
Fox. It is said to be the largest live motion picture trailer viewing in hi=
story.[138] The Coca-Cola Company collaborated with Fox to launch a worldwi=
de marketing campaign to promote the film. The highlight of the campaign wa=
s the website AVTR.com. Specially marked bottles and cans of Coca-Cola Zero=
, when held in front of a webcam, enabled users to interact with the websit=
e's 3-D features using augmented reality (AR) technology.[139] The film was=
 heavily promoted in an episode of the Fox series Bones in the episode "The=
 Gamer In The Grease" (Season 5, Episode 9). Avatar star Joel David Moore h=
as a recurring role on the program, and is seen in the episode anxiously aw=
aiting the release of the film.[140] A week prior to the American release, =
Zoe Saldana promoted the film on Adult Swim when she was interviewed by an =
animated Space Ghost.[141] McDonald's had a promotion mentioned in televisi=
on commercials in Europe called "Avatarize yourself", which encouraged peop=
le to go to the website set up by Oddcast, and use a photograph of themselv=
es to change into a Na'vi.[142] Books Avatar: A Confidential Report on the =
Biological and Social History of Pandora, a 224-page book in the form of a =
field guide to the film's fictional setting of the planet of Pandora, was r=
eleased by Harper Entertainment on November 24, 2009.[143] It is presented =
as a compilation of data collected by the humans about Pandora and the life=
 on it, written by Maria Wilhelm and Dirk Mathison. HarperFestival also rel=
eased Wilhelm's 48-page James Cameron's Avatar: The Reusable Scrapbook for =
children.[144] The Art of Avatar was released on November 30, 2009, by Abra=
ms Books. The book features detailed production artwork from the film, incl=
uding production sketches, illustrations by Lisa Fitzpatrick, and film stil=
ls. Producer Jon Landau wrote the foreword, Cameron wrote the epilogue, and=
 director Peter Jackson wrote the preface.[145] In October 2010, Abrams Boo=
ks also released The Making of Avatar, a 272-page book that detailed the fi=
lm's production process and contains over 500 color photographs and illustr=
ations.[146] In a 2009 interview, Cameron said that he planned to write a n=
ovel version of Avatar after the film was released.[147] In February 2010, =
producer Jon Landau stated that Cameron plans a prequel novel for Avatar th=
at will "lead up to telling the story of the movie, but it would go into mu=
ch more depth about all the stories that we didn't have time to deal with",=
 saying that "Jim wants to write a novel that is a big, epic story that fil=
ls in a lot of things".[148] In August 2013 it was announced that Cameron h=
ired Steven Gould to pen four standalone novels to expand the Avatar univer=
se.[149] ance Post released a special limited edition stamp based on Avatar=
, coinciding with the film's worldwide release. </div></div></td></tr></tab=
le><table class=3D"html_block block-2" width=3D"100%" border=3D"0" cellpadd=
ing=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" style=3D"box-sizing: bord=
er-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0;"><tr style=3D"box-sizing:=
 border-box;"><td class=3D"pad" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><div styl=
e=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,sa=
ns-serif; text-align: center;" align=3D"center"> <table width=3D"100%" bord=
er=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" style=3D"box-sizing: border-bo=
x; max-width: 100%;"> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"> <td align=3D"c=
enter" valign=3D"top" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"> <table class=3D"pr=
imary-table-limit content-table" bgcolor=3D"#FFFFFF" border=3D"0" cellspaci=
ng=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; =
max-width: 600px;"> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"> <td class=3D"con=
tent-vertical-space" align=3D"center" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; padd=
ing-left: 20px; padding-right: 20px;"> <table class=3D"content-inner-table"=
 border=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" width=3D"100%" style=3D"b=
ox-sizing: border-box; width: 100%;"> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"=
> <td height=3D"30" width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-wid=
th: 100%;" class=3D"md-horizontal-space"></td> </tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizin=
g: border-box;"> <td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Roboto; =
font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5;=
 text-align: left; color: #000000;" align=3D"left"> <span style=3D"box-sizi=
ng: border-box; font-family: Roboto; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; f=
ont-weight: normal; line-height: 1.5; text-align: left; color: #000000;"> D=
ear Fellow American,<br style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><br style=3D"box-=
sizing: border-box;"> Joe Biden and the radical left are taking us down a p=
ath of no return.<br style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><br style=3D"box-siz=
ing: border-box;"> <strong style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;">This is my thi=
rd and possibly FINAL warning about the death of our economy.</strong><br s=
tyle=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><br style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"> <a =
href=3D"https://links.e.smartpeoplemail.com/u/click?_t=3Df88b7d4fa6b54c3095=
6d854ef81ba1b6&_m=3D5b24a515b19a47128912c627ff13aef3&_e=3DQ8KD9svODQFnNySro=
T-gi4TUHizSRFv4MD1uxyRT5SF_ucg82TasT7JuHLbipVkAbla5Guw1HaPum5DkYjzvtEMHIRZB=
UTHZPzAy2U913Xq7Oy0_SZ4JP3CpY0RH_hMCmsjd7JQ7fY2_dxg1oekuCoL-14jeQ1bMUYM6_vM=
rNiZE2MKj2Uhqo0Tv3iKWClrwTARnxLz8xnOgU4JgdCq-175Qsujxv4LmiBB3kxhHbMbYSKZt3E=
ol9MJL0gakVd4u" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Roboto; text-=
decoration: underline; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700;"> Ignore this mes=
sage at your own risk.</a><br style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><br style=
=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"> <div style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; display=
: none; width: 0px; max-height: 0px; overflow: hidden; mso-hide: all; heigh=
t: 0; font-size: 0; max-height: 0; line-height: 0; margin: 0;">The android =
Vision first appeared in The Avengers #57 (published in August 1968 but wit=
h a cover date indicating October). The cover of the issue was an homage to=
 the first page of the first comic story to feature Aarkus. When Thomas cre=
ated Ultron, he gave the robot an origin of having been created by Dr. Hank=
 Pym and then turning on his creator. Thomas mirrored this by having Ultron=
 create the Vision to be his son and ally, only to then have the new androi=
d join his enemies, the Avengers. To cement the character was not truly as =
cold and emotionless as he might appear, and that the stories would not tre=
at him as if he were, The Avengers #58 included a scene where, after realiz=
ing he has been accepted by the Avengers not only as a new teammate but as =
a person, Vision excuses himself and silently cries. Vision appeared with S=
pider-Man in Marvel Team-Up #5 (1972), "A Passion of the Mind", in which th=
ey defeat a giant robot scout from the Kree-Skrull War that was interfering=
 with Vision's brain waves. In The Avengers #75 (1970), Wanda Maximoff (the=
 Scarlet Witch) rejoins the team with her brother Pietro (Quicksilver). Ove=
r time, Wanda became a love interest for Vision. Thomas recounted, "I felt =
that a romance of some sort would help the character development in The Ave=
ngers, and the Vision was a prime candidate because he appeared only in tha=
t mag... as did Wanda, for that matter. So they became a pair, for just suc=
h practical considerations. It would also, I felt, add to the development I=
 was doing on the Vision's attempting to become 'human.'"[4] Originally, Th=
omas considered the Vision to be an android entirely created by Ultron. Lat=
er, Ultron had built the Vision from the body of the original Human Torch, =
who had been described in his Golden Age stories as a perfect, synthetic re=
plica of a human being. Thomas only planted a vague clue to this in The Ave=
ngers #93 before leaving the series as writer. This aspect of the Vision's =
origin was finally revealed in The Avengers #134=E2=80=93135 (1975). Writer=
 Steve Englehart explained, "That plot was well known in-house for years, a=
nd since Roy [Thomas] and Neal [Adams] hadn't had a chance to do it, I did =
it on my watch with Roy's blessing."[7] After learning that he had once bee=
n the original Human Torch in another life, Vision felt a stronger sense of=
 identity. Englehart then had Vision and Scarlet Witch marry in Giant-Size =
Avengers #4 (June 1975). However, in a story written for the "What If...." =
anthology but intended to be in continuity,[8] Thomas suggested that the Vi=
sion was actually built by Ultron from a different android that, like the H=
uman Torch, had been designed and built by Phineas Horton, known as Adam II=
.[9] Years later, the couple starred in their first limited series called T=
he Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1=E2=80=934 (Nov. 1982 =E2=80=93 Feb. 1983=
), by writer Bill Mantlo and penciller Rick Leonardi. The mini-series showe=
d Vision and Wanda moving into a house in Leonia, New Jersey, hoping to str=
engthen their marriage by enjoying a life and experiences outside of the Av=
engers. This was followed by a second limited series that lasted 12 issues =
(Oct. 1985 =E2=80=93 Sept. 1986), written by Steve Englehart and penciled b=
y Richard Howell. Despite their previous home being burned down by people w=
ho consider the marriage of an android and a mutant to be unnatural, Vision=
 and Wanda move back to Leonia and again attempt to live a suburban life ou=
tside of their duties as superheroes. The series cemented that the Vision a=
nd Simon Williams (Wonder Man) now regarded each other as twin brothers, si=
nce part of Vision's programming was based on the brainwave pattern of Simo=
n. Early in the series, the Scarlet Witch is a colony of sorcerers during a=
 deadly, magical ritual. The Scarlet Witch temporarily taps into this power=
ful magical energy and is able to grant herself a wish for a family. She be=
comes pregnant and nine months later gives birth to twin boys, Thomas and W=
illiam ("Billy"). Englehart later took over as writer for the Avengers spin=
-off series West Coast Avengers, featuring a new branch of the team that wa=
s based in Los Angeles. Having grown fond of Vision and Wanda, he added the=
m to the Avengers West team. Later on, John Byrne took over as writer/penci=
ller for West Coast Avengers (which would soon be retitled Avengers West Co=
ast). Byrne believed it was a mistake to give an android character emotions=
 and to give him and Wanda a family. His "Vision Quest" story in West Coast=
 Avengers #42=E2=80=9345 (March =E2=80=93 June 1989) had the Vision dismant=
led, his human brain patterns wiped out, and his artificial skin rendered c=
halk-white (modern printing techniques and paper meant it was now more feas=
ible to give a character chalk-white skin or costumes). Rather than portray=
 the Vision as a synthetic man, Byrne depicted his parts as purely robotic =
and his skin as a costume-like shell. Journalist Karen Walker later comment=
ed, "This image alone has probably done more to shape how future writers (a=
nd readers) perceive the character than anything before or since. Once seen=
 broken down into component parts, it's hard to truly move past that image =
and think of Vision as a synthetic man, not a machine."[4] Vision's memorie=
s were restored but not his emotions. As such, he could no longer reciproca=
te Wanda's feelings or even express love for his children, which led to the=
 annulment of their marriage. Byrne then went further, undoing the Vision's=
 origin by revealing he was not the original Torch. The same issue depicted=
 the original Human Torch being reactivated and meeting the Vision face to =
face. Following this, Byrne revealed that the children of Vision and Wanda =
were not real, explaining that Scarlet Witch had suffered a "hysterical pre=
gnancy" and her temporarily increased power had projected this desire for c=
hildren into creating imaginary constructs. The children were then wiped fr=
om existence. Further trauma led to Wanda becoming catatonic soon afterward=
. Rather than nurse his wife, Vision left Avengers West, concluding he coul=
d not help Wanda further and his presence would be more useful as a member =
of the NYC based team. Byrne also had Vision refuse an offer by Wonder Man =
to restore human brain patterns to his mind, possibly restoring his capacit=
y for emotions in the process. In Avengers Spotlight #40 (1991), Vision rea=
lized a human brainwave pattern was necessary for his operation and gained =
one based on deceased research scientist Alex Lipton. This restored some of=
 Vision's for emotion and empathy. The same story featured Vision gaining a=
 personal holographic projector so he could assume the guise of an average =
person and mingle with humanity more to learn a greater understanding of pe=
ople. This identity was called "Victor Shade." Marvel later decided to rest=
ore the Vision's original red-skinned appearance. To do this, an emotional =
and villainous Vision from a parallel timeline was introduced as member of =
the Gatherers, a new group of enemies to the Avengers. This alternate Visio=
n (sometimes called Anti-Vision) infiltrated the Avengers team by exchangin=
g his mind with the heroic Vision.[10] After another battle with the Gather=
ers, the Anti-Vision escaped, still housed in the chalk-white body. The her=
oic Vision returned to the Avengers, now once again with red-colored skin.[=
11] This occurred in The Avengers #360-363, by writer Bob Harras and artist=
s Steve Epting and Tom Palmer. In late 1994, writer Bob Harras and pencille=
r Manny Clark produced the first Vision limited series, lasting 4 issues.[1=
2] The series featured Vision suffering a mental breakdown, as his original=
 personality (based on the brainwaves of Wonder Man) began to emerge and cl=
ash with the Adam Lipton emotions. After fighting the Anti-Vision again, Vi=
sion found mental and emotional balance again, now with full emotional capa=
city restored. Later on, he revealed that this also meant he had regained t=
he emotions tied to his memories from before being dismantled, including hi=
s feelings for Wanda. A four-issue series, Avengers Icons: The Vision, was =
published in late 2002, written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Ivan Reis. T=
he mini-series featured Vision meeting people related to Phineas T. Horton,=
 the original Human Torch's creator. Vision considered these people to now =
be his family. The story arc Avengers Disassembled featured the Vision bein=
g destroyed. The story included an explanation that he was damaged beyond r=
epair. Soon afterward, the original Young Avengers series introduced a new =
Vision, whose personality was created by a combination of the synthezoid Vi=
sion's programming and mental engrams of the hero Iron Lad. It is later rev=
ealed that the Young Avengers members Wiccan and Speed are teenage reincarn=
ations of Wanda and Vision's children Billy and Thomas, indicating they mig=
ht have been real all along. The original android Vision is fully rebuilt a=
nd restored in The Avengers vol. 4 #19 in 2012 and once again becomes a reg=
ular star of the series. After the series is cancelled in 2013, Vision beco=
mes the star of the series Avengers A.I. where he joins a team of fellow sy=
nthetic and cybernetically enhanced beings, including the cyborg Victor Man=
cha, another "son" of Ultron. Vision again appeared in a new 12-issues Visi=
on series published from November 2015 to October 2016. The series featured=
 him creating an android wife and two android children in another attempt t=
o live a happy, family life in the suburbs. This attempt largely ends in fa=
ilure. A later encounter with the Hulk leads to the Vision's destruction ag=
ain in Avengers #685. He is later rebuilt but his core remains damaged, mea=
ning he will eventually die. In Champions vol. 2 #22, Vision concludes life=
 is meant to be finite. Later, Vision is fully healed due to the energies o=
f the House of Ideas in Avengers No Road Home #9-10. </div> Sincerely,<br s=
tyle=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><br style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"> Jim=
 Rickards<br style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><br style=3D"box-sizing: bor=
der-box;"> <b style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;">P.S.</b> What you saw happe=
n on Election night was nothing compared to what I fear is next. <a href=3D=
"https://links.e.smartpeoplemail.com/u/click?_t=3Df88b7d4fa6b54c30956d854ef=
81ba1b6&_m=3D5b24a515b19a47128912c627ff13aef3&_e=3DQ8KD9svODQFnNySroT-gi4TU=
HizSRFv4MD1uxyRT5SF_ucg82TasT7JuHLbipVkAbla5Guw1HaPum5DkYjzvtEMHIRZBUTHZPzA=
y2U913Xq_XAjYW5CsNcvNEAEflbcCSdnZskQyVXkekLUqq0NcvJXd55XrjCgyBLllCQPI08kDKv=
Q3sbtWA-ClcDaR0Bs1uJkd_4cSmRajO8sjPNDot5L8e2n8uAwzRBAAlVIzzlAlk4VYRrLyueogn=
wZjkHp8" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Roboto; text-decorat=
ion: underline; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700;"> The time to prepare is=
 now.</a> </span> </td> </tr> <tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"> <td he=
ight=3D"30" width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; max-width: 100%=
;" class=3D"md-horizontal-space"></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> =
</td> </tr> </table></div></td></tr></table><table class=3D"html_block bloc=
k-3" width=3D"100%" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=
=3D"presentation" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; mso=
-table-rspace: 0;"><tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><td class=3D"pad" =
style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><div style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; fon=
t-family: Arial,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;" a=
lign=3D"center"><div style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; display: none; width:=
 0px; max-height: 0px; overflow: hidden; mso-hide: all; height: 0; font-siz=
e: 0; max-height: 0; line-height: 0; margin: 0;">Initial screening Avatar p=
remiered in London on December 10, 2009, and was released theatrically worl=
dwide from December 16 to 18.[156] The film was originally set for release =
on May 22, 2009, during filming[157] but was pushed back to allow more post=
-production time (the last shots were delivered in November)[80] and give m=
ore time for theaters worldwide to install 3D projectors.[158] Cameron stat=
ed that the film's aspect ratio would be 1.78:1 for 3D screenings and that =
a 2.39:1 image would be extracted for 2D screenings.[159][160] However, a 3=
D 2.39:1 extract was approved for use with constant-image-height screens (i=
.e., screens that increase in width to display 2.39:1 films).[161] During a=
 3D preview showing in Germany on December 16, the movie's DRM "protection"=
 system malfunctioned, and some copies delivered weren=E2=80=99t watched at=
 all in the theaters. The problems were fixed in time for the public premie=
re.[162] Avatar was released in a total of 3,457 theaters in the US, of whi=
ch 2,032 theaters showed it in 3D. In total, 90% of all advance ticket sale=
s for Avatar were for 3D screenings.[163] Internationally, Avatar opened on=
 a total of 14,604 screens in 106 territories, of which 3,671 were showing =
the film in 3D (producing 56% of the first weekend gross).[164][165] The fi=
lm was simultaneously presented in IMAX 3D format, opening in 178 theaters =
in the United States on December 18. The international IMAX release include=
d 58 theaters beginning on December 16, and 25 more theaters were to be add=
ed in the coming weeks.[166] The IMAX release was the company's widest to d=
ate, a total of 261 theaters worldwide. The previous IMAX record opening wa=
s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which opened in 161 IMAX theaters=
 in the US, and about 70 international.[167] 20th Century Fox Korea adapted=
 and later released Avatar in 4D version, which included "moving seats, sme=
lls of explosives, sprinkling water, laser lights and wind".[20] Post-origi=
nal release In July 2010, Cameron confirmed that there would be an extended=
 theatrical rerelease of the film on August 27, 2010, exclusively in 3D the=
aters and IMAX 3D.[168] Avatar: Special Edition includes an additional nine=
 minutes of footage, all of which is CG,[169] including an extension of the=
 sex scene[170] and various other scenes that were cut from the original th=
eatrical film.[169] This extended re-release resulted in the film's run tim=
e approaching the then-current IMAX platter maximum of 170 minutes, thereby=
 leaving less time for the end credits. Cameron stated that the nine minute=
s of added scenes cost more than $1 million a minute to produce and finish.=
[171] During its 12-week re-release, Avatar: Special Edition grossed an add=
itional $10.74 million in North America and $22.46 million overseas for a w=
orldwide total of $33.2 million.[5] The film was later re-released in China=
 in March 2021, allowing it to surpass Avengers: Endgame to become the high=
est-grossing film of all time.[24] Avatar was re-released in theaters on Se=
ptember 23, 2022, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures for a limited two =
week engagement, with the film being remastered in 4K high-dynamic range, w=
ith select scenes at a high frame rate of 48-frames-per-second.[172] The re=
issue was prior to the December 2022 premiere of its sequel, Avatar: The Wa=
y of Water.[173] Prior to this, Cameron previously teased a re-release of t=
he film back in 2017 when promoting the Dolby Cinema re-release of Titanic,=
 stating that there were plans in the works to remaster the film with Dolby=
 Vision and re-release it in Dolby Cinema. </div></div></td></tr></table></=
td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table class=3D"row row-7=
" align=3D"center" width=3D"100%" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacin=
g=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; mso-table-ls=
pace: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0;"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><tr=
 style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><t=
able class=3D"row-content stack" align=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=
=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" style=3D"box-sizing: border-=
box; mso-table-lspace: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0; background-color: #fff; bord=
er-radius: 0; color: #000; width: 600px; margin: 0 auto;" width=3D"600" bgc=
olor=3D"#fff"><tbody style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><tr style=3D"box-siz=
ing: border-box;"><td class=3D"column column-1" width=3D"100%" style=3D"box=
-sizing: border-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0; font-weight:=
 400; text-align: left; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 5px; vertical-ali=
gn: top; border-top: 0; border-right: 0; border-bottom: 0; border-left: 0;"=
 align=3D"left" valign=3D"top"><table class=3D"html_block block-1" width=3D=
"100%" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentatio=
n" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; mso-table-rspace: =
0;"><tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><td class=3D"pad" style=3D"box-si=
zing: border-box;"><div style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial=
,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;" align=3D"center"=
><div style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; display: none; width: 0px; max-heigh=
t: 0px; overflow: hidden; mso-hide: all; height: 0; font-size: 0; max-heigh=
t: 0; line-height: 0; margin: 0;">Home media 20th Century Fox Home Entertai=
nment released the film on DVD and Blu-ray in the US on April 22, 2010,[175=
] and in the UK on April 26.[176] The US release was not on a Tuesday as is=
 the norm, but was done to coincide with Earth Day.[177] The first DVD and =
Blu-ray release does not contain any supplemental features other than the t=
heatrical film and the disc menu in favor of and to make space for optimal =
picture and sound. The release also preserves the film's native 1.78:1 (16:=
9) format as Cameron felt that was the best format to watch the film.[178] =
The Blu-ray disc contains DRM (BD+ 5) which some Blu-ray players might not =
support without a firmware update.[179][180] Avatar set a first-day launch =
record in the U.S. for Blu-ray sales at 1.5 million units sold, breaking th=
e record previously held by The Dark Knight (600,000 units sold). First-day=
 DVD and Blu-ray sales combined were over four million units sold.[181] In =
its first four days of release, sales of Avatar on Blu-ray reached 2.7 mill=
ion in the United States and Canada =E2=80=93 overtaking The Dark Knight to=
 become the best ever selling Blu-ray release in the region.[182][183] The =
release later broke the Blu-ray sales record in the UK the following week.[=
184] In its first three weeks of release, the film sold a total of 19.7 mil=
lion DVD and Blu-ray discs combined, a new record for sales in that period.=
[185] As of July 18, 2012, DVD sales (not including Blu-ray) totaled over 1=
0.5 million units sold with $190,806,055 in revenue.[186] Avatar retained i=
ts record as the top-selling Blu-ray in the US market until January 2015, w=
hen it was surpassed by Disney's Frozen.[187] The Avatar three-disc Extende=
d Collector's Edition on DVD and Blu-ray was released on November 16, 2010.=
 Three different versions of the film are present on the discs: the origina=
l theatrical cut (162 minutes), the special edition cut (170 minutes), and =
a collector's extended cut (178 minutes). The DVD set spreads the film acro=
ss two discs, while the Blu-ray set presents it on a single disc.[188] The =
collector's extended cut contains 8 more minutes of footage, thus making it=
 16 minutes longer than the original theatrical cut. Cameron mentioned, "yo=
u can sit down, and in a continuous screening of the film, watch it with th=
e Earth opening". He stated the "Earth opening" is an additional 4+1=E2=81=
=842 minutes of scenes that were in the film for much of its production but=
 were ultimately cut before the film's theatrical release.[189] The release=
 also includes an additional 45 minutes of deleted scenes and other extras.=
[188] Cameron initially stated that Avatar would be released in 3D around N=
ovember 2010, but the studio issued a correction: "3-D is in the conceptual=
 stage and Avatar will not be out on 3D Blu-ray in November."[190] In May 2=
010, Fox stated that the 3D version would be released some time in 2011.[18=
5] It was later revealed that Fox had given Panasonic an exclusive license =
for the 3D Blu-ray version and only with the purchase of a Panasonic 3DTV. =
The length of Panasonic's exclusivity period is stated to last until Februa=
ry 2012.[191] On October 2010, Cameron stated that the standalone 3D Blu-ra=
y would be the final version of the film's home release and that it was "ma=
ybe one, two years out".[192] On Christmas Eve 2010, Avatar had its 3D tele=
vision world premiere on Sky.[193][194][195] On August 13, 2012, Cameron an=
nounced on Facebook that Avatar would be released globally on Blu-ray 3D.[1=
96] The Blu-ray 3D version was finally released on October 16, 2012.[197] R=
eception Critical response On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 82% of 319=
 reviews are positive, and the average rating is 7.4/10. The site's consens=
us reads, "It might be more impressive on a technical level than as a piece=
 of storytelling, but Avatar reaffirms James Cameron's singular gift for im=
aginative, absorbing filmmaking."[198] On Metacritic =E2=80=94 which assign=
s a weighted mean score =E2=80=94 the film has a score of 83 out of 100 bas=
ed on 35 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[199] Audiences polled by =
CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Ever=
y demographic surveyed was reported to give this rating. These polls also i=
ndicated that the main draw of the film was its use of 3D.[200] Roger Ebert=
 of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film "extraordinary" and gave it four =
stars out of four. "Watching Avatar, I felt sort of the same as when I saw =
Star Wars in 1977," he said, adding that like Star Wars and The Lord of the=
 Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the film "employs a new generation of s=
pecial effects" and it "is not simply a sensational entertainment, although=
 it is that. It's a technical breakthrough. It has a flat-out Green and ant=
i-war message".[201] A. O. Scott of At The Movies also compared his viewing=
 of the film to the first time he viewed Star Wars and he said "although th=
e script is a little bit ... obvious," it was "part of what made it work".[=
202][203] Todd McCarthy of Variety praised the film, saying "The King of th=
e World sets his sights on creating another world entirely in Avatar, and i=
t's very much a place worth visiting."[204] Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood=
 Reporter gave the film a positive review. "The screen is alive with more a=
ction and the soundtrack pops with more robust music than any dozen sci-fi =
shoot-'em-ups you care to mention," he stated.[205] Peter Travers of Rollin=
g Stone awarded Avatar a three-and-a-half out of four star rating and wrote=
 in his print review "It extends the possibilities of what movies can do. C=
ameron's talent may just be as big as his dreams."[206] Richard Corliss of =
Time magazine thought that the film was "the most vivid and convincing crea=
tion of a fantasy world ever seen in the history of moving pictures."[207] =
Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times thought the film has "powerful" visu=
al accomplishments but "flat dialogue" and "obvious characterization".[208]=
 James Berardinelli of ReelViews praised the film and its story, giving it =
four out of four stars; he wrote "In 3-D, it's immersive =E2=80=93 but the =
traditional film elements =E2=80=93 story, character, editing, theme, emoti=
onal resonance, etc. =E2=80=93 are presented with sufficient expertise to m=
ake even the 2-D version an engrossing 2+1=E2=81=842-hour experience."[209]=
 Avatar's underlying social and political themes attracted attention. Armon=
d White of the New York Press wrote that Cameron used "villainous American =
characters" to "misrepresent facets of militarism, capitalism, and imperial=
ism".[210][211] Russell D. Moore of The Christian Post concluded that "prop=
aganda exists in the film" and stated "If you can get a theater full of peo=
ple in Kentucky to stand and applaud the defeat of their country in war, th=
en you've got some amazing special effects."[212] Adam Cohen of The New Yor=
k Times was more positive about the film, calling its anti-imperialist mess=
age "a 22nd-century version of the American colonists vs. the British, Indi=
a vs. the Raj, or Latin America vs. United Fruit".[213] Ross Douthat of The=
 New York Times opined that the film is "Cameron's long apologia for panthe=
ism [...] Hollywood's religion of choice for a generation now",[214] while =
Saritha Prabhu of The Tennessean called the film a "misportrayal of panthei=
sm and Eastern spirituality in general",[215] and Maxim Osipov of The Hindu=
stan Times, on the contrary, commended the film's message for its overall c=
onsistency with the teachings of Hinduism in the Bhagavad Gita.[216] Annale=
e Newitz of io9 concluded that Avatar is another film that has the recurrin=
g "fantasy about race" whereby "some white guy" becomes the "most awesome" =
member of a non-white culture.[217] Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune=
 called Avatar "the season's ideological Rorschach blot",[218] while Mirand=
a Devine of The Sydney Morning Herald thought that "It [was] impossible to =
watch Avatar without being banged over the head with the director's ideolog=
ical hammer."[219] Nidesh Lawtoo believed that an essential, yet less visib=
le social theme that contributed to Avatar's success concerns contemporary =
fascinations with virtual avatars and "the transition from the world of rea=
lity to that of virtual reality".[220] Critics and audiences have cited sim=
ilarities with other films, literature or media, describing the perceived c=
onnections in ways ranging from simple "borrowing" to outright plagiarism. =
Ty Burr of The Boston Globe called it "the same movie" as Dances with Wolve=
s.[221] Like Dances with Wolves, Avatar has been characterized as being a "=
white savior" movie, in which a "backwards" native people is impotent witho=
ut the leadership of a member of the invading white culture.[222][223] Para=
llels to the concept and use of an avatar are in Poul Anderson's 1957 novel=
ette "Call Me Joe", in which a paralyzed man uses his mind from orbit to co=
ntrol an artificial body on Jupiter.[224][225] Cinema audiences in Russia h=
ave noted that Avatar has elements in common with the 1960s Noon Universe n=
ovels by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, which are set in the 22nd century on =
a forested world called Pandora with a sentient indigenous species called t=
he Nave.[226] Various reviews have compared Avatar to the films FernGully: =
The Last Rainforest,[227][228] Pocahontas[229] and The Last Samurai.[230] N=
PR's Morning Edition has compared the film to a montage of tropes, with one=
 commentator stating that Avatar was made by "mixing a bunch of film script=
s in a blender".[231] Gary Westfahl wrote that "the science fiction story t=
hat most closely resembles Avatar has to be Ursula Le Guin's novella The Wo=
rd for World Is Forest (1972), another epic about a benevolent race of alie=
n beings who happily inhabit dense forests while living in harmony with nat=
ure until they are attacked and slaughtered by invading human soldiers who =
believe that the only good gook is a dead gook".[225] The science fiction w=
riter and editor Gardner Dozois said that along with the Anderson and Le Gu=
in stories, the "mash-up" included Alan Dean Foster's 1975 novel, Midworld.=
[232] Some sources saw similarities to the artwork of Roger Dean, which fea=
tures fantastic images of dragons and floating rock formations.[233][234] I=
n 2013, Dean sued Cameron and Fox, claiming that Pandora was inspired by 14=
 of his images. Dean sought damages of $50m.[235] Dean's case was dismissed=
 in 2014, and The Hollywood Reporter noted that Cameron had won multiple Av=
atar idea theft cases.[236] Avatar received compliments from filmmakers, wi=
th Steven Spielberg praising it as "the most evocative and amazing science-=
fiction movie since Star Wars" and others calling it "audacious and awe ins=
piring", "master class", and "brilliant". Noted art director-turned-filmmak=
er Roger Christian is also a noted fan of the film.[237] On the other hand,=
 Duncan Jones said: "It's not in my top three James Cameron films. ... [A]t=
 what point in the film did you have any doubt what was going to happen nex=
t?".[238] For French filmmaker Luc Besson, Avatar opened the doors for him =
to now create an adaptation of the graphic novel series Val=C3=A9rian and L=
aureline that technologically supports the scope of its source material, wi=
th Besson even throwing his original script in the trash and redoing it aft=
er seeing the film.[239] TIME ranked Avatar number 3 in their list of "The =
10 Greatest Movies of the Millennium (Thus Far)"[240] also earning it a spo=
t on the magazine's All-Time 100 list,[241] and IGN listed Avatar as number=
 22 on their list of the top 25 Sci-Fi movies of all time. </div></div></td=
></tr> </table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table c=
lass=3D"row row-8" align=3D"center" width=3D"100%" border=3D"0" cellpadding=
=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" style=3D"box-sizing: border-=
box; mso-table-lspace: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0; background-size: auto;"><tbo=
dy style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;">=
<td style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><table class=3D"row-content stack" al=
ign=3D"center" border=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"pre=
sentation" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; mso-table-=
rspace: 0; background-color: #fff; background-size: auto; color: #000; widt=
h: 600px; margin: 0 auto;" width=3D"600" bgcolor=3D"#fff"><tbody style=3D"b=
ox-sizing: border-box;"><tr style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><td class=3D"=
column column-1" width=3D"100%" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box; mso-table-=
lspace: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0; font-weight: 400; text-align: left; backgro=
und-color: #f5f5f5; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right:=
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0; border-bottom: 0; border-left: 0;" align=3D"left" bgcolor=3D"#f5f5f5" va=
lign=3D"top"><table class=3D"html_block block-1" width=3D"100%" border=3D"0=
" cellpadding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" style=3D"box-si=
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dding-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 5px; vertical-align: top; border-top: 0; bo=
rder-right: 0; border-bottom: 0; border-left: 0;" align=3D"left" valign=3D"=
top"><table class=3D"html_block block-1" width=3D"100%" border=3D"0" cellpa=
dding=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" role=3D"presentation" style=3D"box-sizing: bo=
rder-box; mso-table-lspace: 0; mso-table-rspace: 0;"><tr style=3D"box-sizin=
g: border-box;"><td class=3D"pad" style=3D"box-sizing: border-box;"><div st=
yle=3D"box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,=
sans-serif; text-align: center;" align=3D"center"><div style=3D"box-sizing:=
 border-box; display: none; width: 0px; max-height: 0px; overflow: hidden; =
mso-hide: all; height: 0; font-size: 0; max-height: 0; line-height: 0; marg=
in: 0;"> After the film's release and unusually strong box office performan=
ce over its first two weeks, it was debated as the one film capable of surp=
assing Titanic's worldwide gross, and its continued strength perplexed box =
office analysts.[294] Other films in recent years had been cited as contend=
ers for surpassing Titanic, such as 2008's The Dark Knight,[295] but Avatar=
 was considered the first film with a genuine chance to do so, and its numb=
ers being aided by higher ticket prices for 3D screenings[294] did not full=
y explain its success to box office analysts. "Most films are considered to=
 be healthy if they manage anything less than a 50% drop from their first w=
eekend to their second. Dipping just 11% from the first to the third is unh=
eard of," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office analysis for Hol=
lywood.com. "This is just unprecedented. I had to do a double take. I thoug=
ht it was a miscalculation."[296] Analysts predicted second place for the f=
ilm's worldwide gross, but most were uncertain about it surpassing Titanic =
because "Today's films flame out much faster than they did when Titanic was=
 released."[296] Brandon Gray, president of Box Office Mojo, believed in th=
e film's chances of becoming the highest-grossing film of all time, though =
he also believed it was too early to surmise because it had only played dur=
ing the holidays. He said, "While Avatar may beat Titanic's record, it will=
 be tough, and the film is unlikely to surpass Titanic in attendance. Ticke=
t prices were about $3 cheaper in the late 1990s."[296] Cameron said he did=
 not think it was realistic to "try to topple Titanic off its perch" becaus=
e it "just struck some kind of chord" and there had been other good films i=
n recent years.[297] He changed his prediction by mid-January. "It's gonna =
happen. It's just a matter of time," he said.[298] You've got to compete he=
ad on with these other epic works of fantasy and fiction, the Tolkiens and =
the Star Wars and the Star Treks. People want a persistent alternate realit=
y to invest themselves in and they want the detail that makes it rich and w=
orth their time. They want to live somewhere else. Like Pandora. James Came=
ron on the success of Avatar[299] Although analysts have been unable to agr=
ee that Avatar's success is attributable to one primary factor, several exp=
lanations have been advanced. First, January is historically "the dumping g=
round for the year's weakest films", and this also applied to 2010.[300] Ca=
meron himself said he decided to open the film in December so that it would=
 have less competition from then to January.[287] Titanic capitalized on th=
e same January predictability, and earned most of its gross in 1998.[300] A=
dditionally, Avatar established itself as a "must-see" event. Gray said, "A=
t this point, people who are going to see Avatar are going to see Avatar an=
d would even if the slate was strong."[300] Marketing the film as a "novelt=
y factor" also helped. Fox positioned the film as a cinematic event that sh=
ould be seen in the theaters. "It's really hard to sell the idea that you c=
an have the same experience at home," stated David Mumpower, an analyst at =
BoxOfficeProphets.com.[300] The "Oscar buzz" surrounding the film and inter=
national viewings helped. "Two-thirds of Titanic's haul was earned overseas=
, and Avatar [tracked] similarly ...Avatar opened in 106 markets globally a=
nd was No. 1 in all of them", and the markets "such as Russia, where Titani=
c saw modest receipts in 1997 and 1998, are white-hot today" with "more scr=
eens and moviegoers" than before.[300] According to Variety, films in 3D ac=
cumulated $1.3 billion in 2009, "a threefold increase over 2008 and more th=
an 10% of the total 2009 box-office gross". The increased ticket price =E2=
=80=93 an average of $2 to $3 per ticket in most markets =E2=80=93 helped t=
he film.[300] Likewise, Entertainment Weekly attributed the film's success =
to 3D glasses but also to its "astronomic word-of-mouth". Not only do some =
theaters charge up to $18.50 for IMAX tickets, but "the buzz" created by th=
e new technology was the possible cause for sold-out screenings.[301] Gray =
said Avatar having no basis in previously established material makes its pe=
rformance remarkable and even more impressive. "The movie might be derivati=
ve of many movies in its story and themes," he said, "but it had no direct =
antecedent like the other top-grossing films: Titanic (historical events), =
the Star Wars movies (an established film franchise), or The Lord of the Ri=
ngs (literature). It was a tougher sell ..."[300] The Hollywood Reporter es=
timated that after a combined production and promotion cost of between $387=
=E2=80=93437 million, the film turned a net profit of $1.2 billion. </div><=
/div></td></tr></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>=
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