Avatar, The Most Expensive Movie Of All Time?
Concept Art from James Cameron's 'Avatar'
UPDATE: Subsequent to this article going live, TIME Magazine announced they had corrected their own article and rounded down the budget of Avatar to “in excess of $200M.”
In an article that takes an in depth look at the future of digital 3-D films, Time Magazine has zeroed in on James Cameron’s Avatar. Buried within the article is a reference to Avatar costing ‘in excess of $300M’. It has been speculated for some time that Avatar might be the most expensive movie of all time and if the figure presented in Time is accurate, then we have our confirmation.
Additionally, the author of the article (which I recommend as a great read), was fortunate to have James Cameron show him clips from Avatar and his response will no doubt add to your anticipation to what is sounding like the most incredible movie of all time:
I couldn’t tell what was real and what was animated–even knowing that the 9-ft.-tall blue, dappled dude couldn’t possibly be real. The scenes were so startling and absorbing that the following morning, I had the peculiar sensation of wanting to return there, as if Pandora were real.
Cameron wasn’t surprised. One theory, he says, is that 3-D viewing “is so close to a real experience that it actually triggers memory creation in a way that 2-D viewing doesn’t.” His own theory is that stereoscopic viewing uses more neurons. That’s possible. After watching all that 3-D, I was a bit wiped out. I was also totally entertained.
Avatar will be released first in Belgium on the 16th December, in Australia on the 17th, and in the UK and USA on the 18th December 2009.
Source: Time Magazine via/Film
