If you want something really, really bad...

Since Star Wars: The Force Awakens is poised to overtake Avatar`s domestic box office record today or tomorrow, I stumbled upon an interesting question earlier. Why does Avatar, as the highest-grossing movie of all time (at this point and I think it will keep the global record) have little to no pop-cultural impact?

Personally, I saw it pretty late in theaters and was pretty disappointed the first time around. I knew it was an "event movie" because of the visuals basically but because it was so hyped during that time, I expected it to be like other "event movie" where beyond the technical gimmick there would be a story/character(s)/mythos to really move and grab me. This didn`t. Like, at all. In a subsequent viewing, where I didn`t expected to be woo-ed, I liked the movie much, much better. Basically, like a fun popcorn flick.

It`s not a problem of simplistic stories and/or somewhat clichéd characters can never work because some of the most iconic movies/stories of all time basically have just that, if you get down to it. The storyteller just has to find a way to make them connect with people in a lasting way. This is an area where I think Avatar fell down. It works okay when I watch the movie but afterwards it`s done and gone. I had to actually look up the lead character`s name just now. Gone with the Wind is decades old and I know the lead is named "Scarlett O`Hara". My genre-hating Mom will happily hum the Imperial march from Star Wars. If I lower my voice and attempt a bad Italian accent, most people get the Godfather reference.

As such, I can totally understand why Avatar didn`t really seep into pop-culture. Beyond remembering the visuals that is. They were stunning for their time.

I only just learned there is a trilogy (seriously?) of sequels planned. Which, I will certainly see those movies and am open to them being good but this ain`t 2009. If Avatar did have an impact it was studios forcing 3D onto everything under the sun, to the point where people now go "I`m sick of 3D". So, that gimmick will no longer fly. And technology hasn`t advanced to the point where something is really new and groundbreaking. If a movie comes out in 4D or in interactive holodeck form or something, I believe then we`re talking again. That day has not yet come. So, Cameron has his work cut out for him.

Having recently gone back into a very, very old, maybe my first fandom ever which is Star Wars, this is a strange time to be a spoiler nut. The final trailer is supposed to drop today and maybe it will clarify some things because so far every day there seems to be a "secret new legit spoiler" coming out.

This being J.J.Abrams, the guy who swore up and down, it wasn`t Kahn in the last Star Trek movie, I am inclined to believe, the most commonly held theories will turn out to be true. Which would be deeply ironic because anyone familiar with the Legends stuff will surely go: WTF???

I read the novels for roughly twenty years and there was some great and some awful stuff but at least they kept the sense of accomplishment the original Trilogy finished on intact. If nothing else, I want the same from the new movie.

You know, I got together with a few old friends again and one told me how her nine year old son is very much into Star Wars at the moment, mostly courtesy of the Clone Wars series. And another friend told me her boss kids are crazy about it as well. Who knew? I had no idea it was popular with kids these days.

Anyway, it got me thinking on the real life TV show that Lucas announced ages ago so I invoked some google-fu and learned that it's in a state of "no idea if we're gonna make this" state right now. Scripts are there, production is on ice. The reason? Lucas said he'd need 50 Million bucks per episode!

Are you kidding me? Are you freaking kidding me? What kind of show does need fifty million bucks per episode to make? That's outrageous. Now I'm thinking the guy knows SQUAT about TV shows and he needs to get of his CGI kink, stat. Since that would obviously be the cost factor.

I mean, in the Stargate shows or BSG or any other Sci-Fi shows, I thought they had some damn good space battle scenes. And they obviously managed them on their meager budgets. So again, how can you get to costs of 50 million per! episode!? What do you plan to cgi there? Air? Bread? I...I was kinda speechless reading that.