In December, Avatar tickets will be among the hottest of the season, since Avatar is supposed to be the next big leap in cinema. Avatar tickets will be in small supply once James Cameron’s newest epic is released in IMAX 3D. But even now, Avatar tickets are hard to come by, even when they’re free, and even if people only get to see 15 minutes of Avatar. A special promotion for free Avatar tickets to an upcoming 15-minute trailer has already crashed, which may be a good and bad sign for Cameron and company.
James Cameron hasn’t done a non-documentary film since Titanic, and is finally coming back with a film that he is promoting as revolutionary. That kind of hyperbole is nothing new for Cameron, but Avatar may back that up. Cameron is pushing the IMAX and 3D envelope for his futuristic tale about a man who explores a stunning new world, discovers its native people, and tries to stop them from being conquered.
Tickets for Avatar the movie won’t be available until the film is released on December 18. But Cameron is attempting to build up hype by screening 15 minutes of the movie in IMAX theaters for Friday, and Friday only. To further hype that up, Cameron is using the Avatar website for fans to reserve free tickets to screenings at their nearest IMAX.
However, the rush to get free Avatar preview tickets has been immense, according to reports. In fact, many who have clicked to get their free tickets have not been able to get them, and have been taken to an error message instead. Either the Avatar site has crashed due to so many people trying to get IMAX tickets, or the site itself is out of wack.
Obviously, James Cameron and company would prefer it to be the first one, so they can build up even further hype about the movie. They have already positioned Avatar to be the next great step in cinema and in visual effects, and the next big step for IMAX and 3D. The fact that Avatar also marks Cameron’s return to narrative cinema is no less of a big deal.
Last month, Cameron showed over 20 minutes of Avatar footage to fans at Comic Con, and much of that footage will likely be in Friday’s screenings. The footage introduced the world of “Pandora”, some of the supposed ground breaking visual effects, and the stars that are interacting with them. Terminator Salvation breakout Sam Worthington, Cameron’s Aliens star Sigourney Weaver, and Star Trek’s Zoe Saldana as the lead blue alien character are the flesh and blood headliners.
For all of the promotion and hype Cameron has brought to Avatar, some were only slightly blown away by the Comic Con presentation. After all the heavy expectations, some were disappointed that the first footage wasn’t as game-changing as Cameron promised.
But with the footage now coming to IMAX theaters for a day, those lucky enough to get Avatar tickets will get to find out for themselves. However, even if they are all wowed by the preview footage, it will only put even more pressure on the movie itself to live up to Cameron’s promises.
For the next few hours, fans are still going on the official Avatar website to try and get those free tickets while they can. Even if they can’t, a shorter trailer for the movie will premiere on regular theaters this week, as the IMAX footage is just part of the new Avatar promotions on Friday. New posters, and previews for Avatar video games and action figures, will also be released.
James Cameron was king of this world 12 years ago, and hopes that audiences will love his brand new world of Pandora as much as he obviously does. The first test run for a wider audience comes on Friday, while fans who don’t get free Avatar tickets will have to pay for it before them. Or failing that, they will have to pay to see the shorter trailer in regular theaters, or wait for it to go online.
Sources
Official Avatar Movie Site- www.avatarmovie.com/
Associated Press- “Avatar site crashes as fans seek free tickets” www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gYwlQlY-sSdl0skrjLPTyVmyc51wD9A4T6VO0
Times Online- “Avatar Friday: the day film making may – or may not – change forever” entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article6799610.ece
Wired- “Reserve Your Tickets For Friday’s Avatar Sneak Peek” www.wired.com/underwire/2009/08/reserve-your-tickets-for-fridays-avatar-sneak-peek/
