Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy has been selected to direct the remake of Fantastic Voyage in which James Cameron is producing. Deadline is reporting that Levy will direct the remake of the 1966 classic film about a team of scientists who are shrunk into a ship in an attempt to save their colleague’s life. This high profile, big budget film has been in talks for sometime now with multiple directors interested in taking on the project. Darren Aronofsky and Paul Greengrass were two directors once interested in taking on directing the film.

Fox is looking for a director with commercial appeal for this movie which I am assuming will be very family friendly seeing that Levy is the director behind Night at the Museum, Cheaper by the Dozen, and most recently Reel Steel.

The original Fantastic Voyage was released in 1966 and starred Stephen Boyd, Raquel Welch, Edmond O’Brien, and was directed by Richard Fleischer.

Here is the plot synopsis for the original film:

Scientist Jan Benes, who knows the secret to keeping soldiers shrunken for an indefinite period, escapes from behind the Iron Curtain with the help of CIA agent Grant. While being transferred, their motorcade is attacked. Benes strikes his head, causing a blood clot to form in his brain. Grant is ordered to accompany a group of scientists as they are miniaturized. The crew has one hour to get in Benes’s brain, remove the clot and get out.

Watch the official trailer for the Collector’s Edition DVD and Blu-ray for James Cameron’s Avatar

EXTENDED COLLECTOR’S EDITION
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Announces Avatar Blu-ray and

Three-Disc Set of the Worldwide Theatrical and Home Entertainment Phenomenon Contains Even More of the AVATAR Experience with Over Eight Hours of Never-Before-Seen Material and In-Depth Exploration into the World of Pandora!

Director James Cameron is unlocking the secrets of Pandora and taking fans on a guided tour of his vision with the highly anticipated release of AVATAR Extended Collector’s Edition on Blu-ray and DVD releasing November 16th in North America and rolling out internationally from November 15th.  These exclusive Extended Collector’s Editions come with iconic, collectible packaging to get fans to experience Pandora like never before.  With three versions of the film, AVATAR fans will get an all-new extended cut of the film and hours of never-before seen material including over 45 minutes of amazing deleted scenes!

Click here to check out more details for this three-disc collector’s edition

Jon Landau, producer of Avatar, spoke to MTV about the film and dropped big news concerning the franchise. He said that director James Cameron is going to write a novel detailing the back story of Avatar, giving fans insight into Na’vi/human relations on Pandora, Col. Quaritch and his campaign on the deadly planet, the death of Tommy Sully brother and how Jake ended up in the wheelchair. I think this is a great idea, especially considering the weakest part of the huge hit film was the rushed introduction at the beginning of the movie. Read the comments Jon Landau gave in his interview below.

“It would be something that would lead up to telling the story of the movie, but it would go into much more depth about all the stories that we didn’t have time to deal with — like the schoolhouse and Sigourney [Weaver's character] teaching at the schoolhouse; Jake on Earth and his backstory and how he came here; [the death of] Tommy, Jake’s brother; and Colonel Quaritch, how he ended up there and all that.”

“I don’t think Jim has ever written a novel before, but his first step of writing a script is often in a novella format.”

“I think that what we want to do is find out what mediums those stories are best told in. There might be opportunities in publishing to tell some of the backstory, tell some of the Earth war stories, what went on in Jake’s life before the movie. And we’d have that lead up to the sequel that might take place on Pandora several years after our movie closed.”

He also commented that the story would not be a novelization, or direct retelling of the film’s story in a written format, but an undertaking by itself. Big and epic, just like the everything else James Cameron does.  Jon also added that it will likely be published by the end of the year. I always love seeing filmmakers passionate about their craft, and Cameron is showing everyone he cares so much about this story that he’s going to the greatest lengths to handle all the details carefully and personally. Are any Avatar fans excited for the upcoming novel?

If your sick of hearing about how Avatar is breaking all these box office records, then this will probably be one of the last articles we run on the matter. That’s because Avatar has now broken the last big record it had yet to accomplish: highest grossing movie of all time. On Tuesday, Avatar topped Titanic as the highest grossing film ever with over $600 million in domestic box office tickets. If James Cameron was “King of the World” after Titanic’s record-breaking run, then I am not sure what self-inflicted title he will give himself this time around. The man is the mastermind behind the two highest grossing films of all time, so the recognition is warranted. So, how far will Titanic go? Keep reading for our take on it.

On Tuesday Avatar sat at $601.14 million which is just a hair past Titanic which held the record for thirteen years with $600.7 million. In 2008 it appeared that The Dark Knight may have the power to knock Titanic down but it stalled out at an impressive $533 million as the second highest grossing film ever.

The big question now is how far can Avatar go? The movie will be entering its eighth week of release this weekend and should have no problem once again being the number one movie at the box office. As the film shows no signs of really slowing down, it should have no problem crossing $700 million. It is continually breaking the record, week after week, for the highest gross for that week of release. With week number eight coming up I would say it is safe to say Avatar should pull in another $20-25 million. The nine Oscar nominations are only going to push more people into the theater who have yet to see it.

How much do you think Avatar will make? Leave your thoughts below.

Following the success of James Cameron’s Avatar has become one of the most interesting stories in box office history. Most importantly because it will soon become the highest grossing film in history as it takes aim at Cameron’s other big film, Titanic. This weekend Avatar made it six straight weekends at number one and on Saturday surpassed The Dark Knight to become the second highest grossing movie of all time. And today we are able to report that Avatar has now topped Titanic internationally to become the highest grossing film worldwide. Continue reading for a full break down of this weekends box office results.

Since its release on December 18th, Avatar has remained at number one at the box office for six consecutive weeks. Passing Titanic as the highest grossing film worldwide is an incredible feat for director James Cameron who may not be “king of the world,” but he is undeniably king of the box office. Avatar will soon top the domestic gross of Titanic as the highest grossing movie domestically. Titanic has held the record since its release in 1997 with $600 million. Currently Avatar sits at $551 million and counting. The movie shows no signs of slowing down and to its advantage, the film has virtually no competition on the horizon. Movies like Legion, Extraordinary Measures, and The Tooth Fairy all challenged Avatar but failed miserably this past weekend at the box office.

Legion was the most successful (which is unfortunate because the movie is garbage.) Grossing $17.5 million opening weekend Legion came in at number two.

Close behind was last weekend’s number two movie, The Book of Eli, which fell only 52% making another $15.7 million. After two weeks of release Eli has earned a strong $60.7 million.

The Tooth Fairy which is the latest kids flick from former wrestler turned actor The Rock opened at number four with $14 million.

The number five spot went to Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones which brought in $8.4 million.

The other new wide release of the weekend was the Harrison Ford, Brenden Frasier medical drama Extraordinary Measures which opened with a dismal $6 million for an eighth place finish.

It is exciting to report how successful Avatar has become The film will undoubtedly surpass Titanic on the domestic box office in the coming weeks and will eventually cross the $2 billion mark as well. While some people will say the reason for its success is the added expense of a 3D movie ticket, the film has clearly shows it has legs. 3D or no 3D the film is dominating all box office records and will continue to do so for weeks to come.

Yahoo Movies has this 22-minute video which is a behind-the-scenes look at Avatar featuring commentary from various cast members. The video is titled “Creating the World of Pandora” and is a detailed look at how the movie came together. I really enjoyed seeing how the different creatures and plants were created and the work that was involved in creating an entire planet. The interviews on this feature consist of cast members as well as the technical crew who explain the work they did behind-the-scenes. This is an interesting feature that I recommend you check out after the break.

There have been many comparisons to James Cameron’s Avatar this past holiday season. Many felt that it was an amalgam of such great films as Pocahontas and Dances With Wolves with a hint of Fern Gully. While this may sound true, it doesn’t make Avatar any less a great film. I had been waiting for the You Tube elite to put together a version of the Avatar trailer mixed with any of the above film comparisons and thanks to Bloodrunsclear via You – Tube this mash-up was made. Also, we have an excerpt from Digg that shows how the movie may have been written.

See the trailer after the jump.

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Well, there you have it. A pretty good mix of Avatar and Pocahontas. I’m sure that there will be many more mash ups in the coming months that will highlight the comparisons of Avatar to other films, and if any of them are good we will post them for your enjoyment. Below is an idea of the writing process for the script.

Comments? Post below.

Source: Geeks of Doom

The magic of movies is in the ability to create a visual escape for an audience. Not in recent memory has a movie created a world that encompasses the idea of escapism better than Avatar. Director James Cameron has created a visual masterpiece. Watching the film in 3D on IMAX is an incredible experience that everyone should enjoy. The colors, the special effects, and the 3D all create this visual world of wonder that is so appealing that I found myself emerged in a completely different world. Escaping reality is the purpose of movies and James Cameron has crafted a detailed universe that is so intricate I believe there is another world out there called Pandora.

Avatar is the story of Jake Sulley (Sam Worthington), a young marine who is confined to a wheel chair, but he doesn’t allow that to inhibit him from becoming part of project that will completely change his world. Jake is sent to the planet Pandora on a unique mission to learn about the culture of the inhabitants of Pandora who are known as the Na’vi. Pandora is a vision that Cameron has pieced together over the last 14 years  as this project has been developing in his mind. Pandora is an impressive planet that consists of foliage and fauna, animals, culture, and an elaborate ecosystem that is so detailed I honestly believe it exists.

On Pandora Jake’s mission is to become one with the Na’vi. He is to immerse himself in their culture, and by doing so he is gathering intelligence that the government he is working for is able to analyze. Inside the world of Pandora he meets Neyteri (Zoe Saldana) who teaches Jake’s avatar all about the world she lives in. He comes to understand the importance of the ecosystem she lives in, the hierarchy of those on Pandora, and the resources they value are vital to their survival. What begins as a mission for Jake turns into a deep connection with not only Neyteri but with the Na’vi as a culture.

As Jake becomes more involved in his mission he begins to appreciate and ultimately value the Na’vi. His attachment to his avatar becomes more of a dependence as he develops feelings toward Neyteri. Jake spends his time away from his avatar only at night when he is supposed to be asleep. During these times he is recording a video journal of his experiences – including what he has learned and what his thoughts and impressions are. While away from his avatar Jake works with Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) who has been studying the Na’vi and is assisting Jake with his mission. Weaver, along with co-star Stephen Lang bring a strong element to the supporting cast of the film which takes place outside the world of Pandora. Lang plays Colonel Miles Quaritch who is a jarhead that will not let anything, or anyone get in his way.

Avatar’s story of one man’s journey into a new world becomes the story of a man who becomes so immersed in a different world that he does not know who he even is anymore. Jake’s fondness and attachment to both Neyteri and the Na’vi prevent him from acting out the mission he was assigned to. The conflict Jake Sulley is struck with is his new loyalty to the Na’vi and his job as a marine who was assigned a mission. When the mission he was assigned to becomes an ethical conflict of loyalty and morality, Jake must chose which side he will represent. I don’t consider this to be a spoiler, since based on the trailer, you are able to tell what side he picks.

Avatar is not an original story. We have seen this story before just not presented the way James Cameron delivers it. The story has its protagonist in Jake Sulley, its antagonist in Colonel Quaritch, and an epic battle that pits the two against one another. While many critics may pan the story as unoriginal, the dialogue as cheesy and bland, and the characters as underdeveloped, I believe Cameron makes up for this with everything else he has created. That is not to say that special effects and bright colors are a substitute for a compelling story, but in the case of Avatar, it is one complete package and this movie delivers on many levels.

The most successful element of the film is its epic battle finale. Never have I been more entertained, more engaged, and more satisfied with a movie of this genre. Where Star Wars was epic science fiction for the 1970′s, Avatar is this generation’s sci-fi spectacle. James Cameron has created a world that is intense, vivid, and mind blowing when you place your 3D glasses on. Impressive barely describes the beautiful world Cameron has brought audiences and after 14 years of development, Avatar deserves all the hype, and all the buzz it has gained.

Avatar is a great adventure that in the hands of  a talented director like James Cameron will remain relevant for years to come.

Fanboyz Grade: A-

IMAX has released a final poster for James Cameron’s Avatar which will arrive in theaters now in less than 10 days. The feature will be shown in both digital and IMAX 3D when the film opens on December 18th everywhere. Check out the poster after the jump.

In the future, Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na’vi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture. Those from Earth find themselves at odds with each other and the local culture.

Last night Fox aired a new TV spot for Avatar which premiered new footage. Shown during a commercial break for Glee, the Avatar TV spot is similar to the trailer which we have seen, however keep watching and you will see some new footage! If you weren’t sold on how amazing Avatar is going to be than you need to watch this clip. James Cameron has created a visually stunning piece of work and that is evident from a 3 minute trailer! Watch this new TV spot and tell us what you think after the jump.

Avatar takes us to a spectacular new world beyond our imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on a journey of redemption and discovery, as he leads a heroic battle to save a civilization.

Avatar arrives in theaters on December 18th everywhere.