# Predicting Cameron's Avatar: Waterworld or Titanic? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 1, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638 "2009-12-01T23:29:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/181 "2009-12-04T21:32:26Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > The main reason I am into Avatar is that it’s his baby. Which of course can go either way. Sometimes people love their baby so much that they coddle and spoil it. Othertimes the love and affection that they have for it creates a magnum opus. So I am willing to give Cameron the benefit of the doubt, and seeing what the quality of output will be when he finally gets to do what he really wants to, rather than rehashing other people’s concepts. The problem with this argument is that T2 was his baby (it included many concepts, such as the T-1000, that he didn’t have the money for with T1) and Titanic was his baby too (Jimmy loves diving and the Titanic and the water). So Avatar is his baby too, which means it could be a huge hit like T2 or Titanic, but the trailer makes me think he shook this baby. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/182 "2009-12-04T21:45:12Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > So Avatar is his baby too, which means it could be a huge hit like T2 or Titanic, but the trailer makes me think he shook this baby. I just made a very unattractive snorting noise in the back of my throat that makes me very happy I’m the only person in the office this afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/183 "2009-12-04T21:52:09Z")
Can we all agree that 10 foot tall blue alien cat chicks have nice tits? Can we all just agree on the one thing we know for sure about this movie? ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/184 "2009-12-04T22:50:26Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > To be fair, they’re giant, naked blue _aliens_. And if Mass Effect has taught me anything, it’s that naked blue alien women rock. Technically she/he was a hermaphrodite. Naked blue alien hermaphrodites rock. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/185 "2009-12-05T00:31:56Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > The problem with this argument is that T2 was his baby (it included many concepts, such as the T-1000, that he didn’t have the money for with T1) and Titanic was his baby too (Jimmy loves diving and the Titanic and the water). > > So Avatar is his baby too, which means it could be a huge hit like T2 or Titanic, but the trailer makes me think he shook this baby. This is wrong. It just isn’t the same. If you want to discuss this I suggest you actually read up on Avatar and why it’s different. I’m not interested in pithy, though clever responses. Avatar is the movie he always wanted to make when he was making those other films but the technology just wasn’t there. It was conceptualized decades ago and he has spent the last decade perfecting it. So I’m interested in it. You can desperately want it to fail all that you want. I don’t share the same assessment. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/186 "2009-12-05T00:34:35Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Now **that’s** the most persuasive thing you’ve said all thread. Hopefully he didn’t shake it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/187 "2009-12-05T01:36:33Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Still though, with that kind of good taste, assuming you live in a place where you have a good choice (and maybe you don’t) you should have found [several dozen other films](http://www.listology.com/list/2007-academy-award-eligible-films) worth seeing. Wow. Looking over that list, you are right. 2007 was a helluva year! ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/188 "2009-12-05T08:30:29Z")
> [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > Technically she/he was a hermaphrodite. Naked blue alien hermaphrodites rock. They reproduce by parthenogenesis, even if some sort of psionic mind-meld thing is required. Calling the species hermaphrodites is misleading. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/189 "2009-12-05T10:25:59Z")
Is it just me, or does this look like Dances with Wolves–IN SPACE! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/190 "2009-12-05T11:27:49Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Is it just me… Yes. It’s just you. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/191 "2009-12-05T12:01:06Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Is it just me, or does this look like Dances with Wolves–IN SPACE! You know, I thought it seemed more like The Last Samurai. ---
**Author:** ![cromulent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b4bc9f/32.png) [@cromulent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cromulent)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/192 "2009-12-05T14:26:05Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > [Binocular vision problems are more common than you might think. At least 12% of people have some type of problem with their binocular vision.](http://www.vision3d.com/whycant.html) I should point out that “stereoblind” is a _subset_ of “people who have some type of problem with their binocular vision.” The two are not synonyms. Plenty of people have problems with binocular vision and yet can still see stereo figures. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/193 "2009-12-07T20:52:42Z")
Fox is being very cagey as to exactly how much it cost, [Fox says 'Avatar' is costliest film it's ever made - CNN.com](http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/07/avatar.gianopulos/index.html), which makes me think it’s so grotesquely expensive that it will have to do very, VERY well to be considered anything other than a bomb. And I don’t think it will. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/194 "2009-12-07T21:19:02Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Fox is being very cagey as to exactly how much it cost, [Fox says 'Avatar' is costliest film it's ever made - CNN.com](http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/07/avatar.gianopulos/index.html), which makes me think it’s so grotesquely expensive that it will have to do very, VERY well to be considered anything other than a bomb. And I don’t think it will. Your article points out how much of the cost was put into advancing the new technology which I am sure Fox owns a piece of. So that all needs to be taken into account. Also, if they want to make a trilogy, which I believe Cameron does, it won’t cost nearly as much to make the next two because the tech is already developed. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/195 "2009-12-08T05:45:25Z")
But if it bombs there will never be a trilogy. Not with an upfront, part-one budget like that. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/196 "2009-12-08T05:50:12Z")
I haven’t read anything about a trilogy. Where is this coming from? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_Who\_Wasn\_t\_There](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ba0ec/32.png) [@The\_Man\_Who\_Wasn\_t\_There](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_Who_Wasn_t_There)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/197 "2009-12-10T18:27:15Z")
[Newsflash](http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/dec/10/james-cameron-avatar-preview); Avatar preview screening not completely woeful, just occasionally nauseating, quasi-political allegory crossed with thundercats. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/198 "2009-12-10T18:47:44Z")
Well, I, for one, am really looking forward to this one and will likely take the day off work next Friday so I can see it. And let’s face it: it’s our last, best hope for a movie to knock off _Transformers 2: The Revenge of the Idiotic_ from the top of the yearly grosses chart. I mean, really: Who do you want to be # 1 if your choice is James Cameron or Michael Bey? ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/199 "2009-12-10T18:50:23Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I haven’t read anything about a trilogy. Where is this coming from? From the article The Man Who Wasn’t There just linked to: _"If it does well – and there seems little doubt that it will not – then can we expect more? “We’ll see,” said Cameron. “But yes, I have a story worked out for a second film and a third film.”_ ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638/200 "2009-12-10T18:51:32Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I haven’t read anything about a trilogy. Where is this coming from? There’s a reference to a trilogy at the bottom of **Man Who Wasn’t There** ’s link. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predicting-camerons-avatar-waterworld-or-titanic/519638.md?page=11)