Could “Avatar” Win Best Picture?

By Brett Hogan

 

Last week, the trailer for James Cameron’s sci-fi experiment “Avatar” debuted. While initially unimpressed with the teaser, I began to wonder: Could this film win best picture? 

 

Buzz has been generating for this movie for years. Years. The technology to make this movie didn’t exist when Cameron conceived it, so he invented it. When is the last time you heard of a director spearheading the invention of anything? The casting started in 2005. Most movies these days, even epics, are done in half that time. I could go on. 

 

The most important thing to take away from all of this is that people are saying this will be the future of movies. Now, I don’t agree with the idea that CGI will become more prevalent than it already is. But I do believe that this will set the bar miles higher for sci-fi. I mean, that is what Titanic did. And that won some awards if memory serves.

 

I’ll bet you’re asking yourself, how can you even suggest that a film like this will win Best Picture when the initial trailer was nothing better than visual stimulation? Well, there are a couple of reasons. First, the Academy has expanded Best Picture to ten films. This doesn’t guarantee anything other than improved chances for most films on the cusp.

 

Second, after last year’s Oscars debacle, which saw the best film of the year, “The Dark Knight,” not only get shafted in awards but nominations as well, the Academy is pulling out all the stops to appease those with the loudest voices in the film industry, the fanboys. Now, the Academy probably didn’t lose anything because of that other than some viewers of the award show. Perhaps if people are again outraged with the winners or nominees, the heads of the Academy would lose their jobs. So this is all about the Academy protecting itself, which is not so outrageous.  

 

 

Third, there is an economic motive here. I’ve heard this film will cost $190 million, not counting the R&D costs associated with Cameron’s inventions or the cost of getting 3-D cameras into every theater in the country. The Academy will do everything in its power to get people into the seats and make this the next “Titanic” or “The Dark Knight.” But the Academy doesn’t have much power, besides nominating and awarding, so they will slap the “Nominated for Best Picture” moniker onto every commercial and print ad to get the people who didn’t believe the critics to relent and see this movie.

 

Of course, all of this is pure conjecture, and no revolutionary film (Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, etc.) has ever won the Best Picture category because it changed the game. Except maybe Titanic. But still, could this movie actually win? My answer is no but a nomination is certain and who knows what could happen from there. We’ll know more come February 2010.

10 Movies That Could Make Good TV Shows

By Brett 1/10/08

With the upcoming TV show The Sarah Connor Chronicles set to debut this Sunday, I thought I would explore some possibilities for movies that could become good TV shows. It’s important to also understand that for the show to be good there must be solid casting, an involved and interesting storyline, and something new, either through the plot, setting, or visuals. Bear in mind that there are several shows that have become movies and vice versa that didn’t make the list for obvious reasons.

The Matrix (1999)The recently voted “Best Sci-Fi movie of the past 25 years” by Entertainment Weekly has the potential to be a pretty good show. It couldn’t really take place after Revolutions, but certainly has a place before the first one, or right after. There is a six month gap between the first and second movies that could be perfect for a series following Neo and crew kick some agent ass. It could air on any network with a big enough budget to afford bullet time. You don’t really need big name actors to fill the shoes of the original cast, just some that know martial arts, can speak prophetically, and have no qualms about wearing leather.

Lethal Weapon (1987)Richard Donner’s buddy cop films staring the impeccably cast Mel Gibson and Danny Glover will forever remain a benchmark for police movies. Even after four films, the unique partnership formed by the two cops is more than enough to start a series. The most important thing is to find the right place to start the show. It has to be sometime after the first one, of course, but before the third. Otherwise, Riggs needs his steady girl Lorna. It would be tricky to cast since Gibson and Glover are such great talents. Otherwise, I see some potential for this as a show.

Star Wars (1983)I know, they’ve had so many books, movies, video games, whatever, that it seems they can’t possibly get more out of this series. However, I have always been plagued by what happens after Episode VI. I know I could probably read it somewhere, but I want to see a director’s vision of Luke cleaning up the galaxy from traces of the empire. Maybe he could rebuild the Jedi Temple and train new students, some of which break off to the Dark Side. As long as the cast involves unknowns, we can be assured that pretty faces won’t get in the way of the storyline, the way Hayden Christensen did. The possibilities are endless for an endless saga.

Blazing Saddles (1974)This comedy classic lends itself well to the small screen. It could feature the continuing antics of Headly Lamarr, trying to ruin a western town in order to build a railroad. I like Bart and Jim working together to stop him from such tomfoolery, but think the show could also present important themes, such as improving race relations. No one could replace Gene Wilder or Mel Brooks’ writing/directing, but I think people would be interested to see what happens after the characters ride out into the sunset.

The Transporter (2002)My main attraction to this film as a show is the transporting, more than the action. Ever since BMW put out The Hire series (which should come to DVD), I have been yearning for a continuous story involving plenty of car chases. Episodes could feature different cars, and could also showcase some sweet driving. The action element is an added bonus in my mind. It could work on any network and could explore what the films could not, like love, honor, and friendship.

Clerks. (1994)There is a twelve year gap between Clerks and Clerks 2, full of unknowns. I realize they tried an ill-fated TV show in cartoon form, but the problem there was the inability to use Jay and Silent Bob to their fullest. This can only be done by giving Jay plenty of filthy dialogue, requiring the show to exist on an HBO type network. Dante and Randel are more important to young people with no direction than most other characters on TV. Hell, with all the reality shows out there, audiences are dying to find crazy characters, not just crazy people. If they could get Brian O’Halloran and Jeff Anderson back it could work, even without Kevin Smith.

 Sin City (2005)Bear with me here. Many of you, and me included, recognize this film as a great achievement in moviemaking. You probably saw this and said, “He’s crazy, he wants to ruin genius.” No, I see this as almost a mini-series, with each part a different occurrence within Basin City. Each vignette could be about an hour long, and would give the audience a different point of view from intertwining stories. The problem, of course, is casting for a series such as this. Part of the greatness of the film could be credited to the performances given by the actors. However, this is what is creating problems for Sin City 2. Getting all the big names together for one film is hard. If they can get unheard of stage actors that can do one of the short stories, there is a chance to have success here.

Office Space (1999)I understand there is already a show about an office out there, and it’s very good. But the characters in Office Space make this a venerable show. From Lumbergh to the “oh face” guy, every piece of Initech could bring new meaning to hating your boring job. This could air as a sitcom, but those tend to run together after awhile. I’d prefer to see this as more true to the movie, with Peter constantly reaching his breaking point. The theme of not finding happiness in any job Peter, Michael, and Samir have could carry season to season, granted there are writers to do it. The actors can be anyone, mainly because the headliners in this movie were pretty much unknown when this film came out.

 The Punisher (2004)Many of you probably found this movie atrocious, but I actually enjoyed myself with this film. I’ve always seen Frank Castle as Marvel’s underprivileged Batman, in that he has no special powers, but is driven by vengeance. I see this as a Showtime or HBO show that focuses on the gritty aspect of one man’s war on crime. You certainly can’t candy coat a series like this that could be as powerful as The Wire or Oz. Honestly, I would want Tom Jane back for this one. No questions, I thought he was great.   

Ghostbusters (1984)You have got to love these movies. I mean, they’re busting ghosts! Granted, most of the greatness of these films is due to the comedy of Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, and Dan Aykroyd. While they already had a shot at this as a series in cartoon form, live action could be a whole other monster. All it requires is an actor who can pull off sarcasm like Murray, and two to be as smart as Ramis and Aykroyd. Oh yea, and get David Cross to play Rick Moranis’ part.

Some important factors to creating a TV show from a film include a devout fan base, solid actors, writing that is nostalgic of the movie, and the genre. Action films (particularly science fiction) are naturally better suited for television, because they can get the fan base better than most others. They also have more staying power, because of their creative possibilities. Comedy inevitably strays away from the material that made the film successful. All the films on this list are susceptible to this in some form, but these are merely the ones I see as being the ones that can resist it in some form.

Acting, writing, and directing all can pose problems for a prospective show. It is just impossible to get all the same talent back to recreate the greatness in the serialized version. Look at the ill-fated Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Crushed by the lack of talent. That and it wasn’t that funny. Compare that to Friday Night Lights which now has writing, direction, and acting that rival that of the film. I know the show is closer to the book than the movie, but still, everyone is comparing the two. So to all looking to cash in on the success of a film, please, use caution; consider what makes a TV show great and try to emulate that using the movie elements.