Avatar News: Banned in China, 23 Minute Featurette, and Man Dies From Excitement Dan Koelsch, January 20, 2010January 20, 2010 James Cameron’s Avatar tends to attract some pretty strange news. There has already been the report of a woman getting shot during an Avatar screening, and now we have another death related to Avatar. More on this story, plus China banning the film, and a 23 minute behind-the-scenes featurette. After Avatar had the biggest opening in China’s history, the Chinese government has pulled the 2D version of the film from all cinemas, according to BBC News. Why? The official statement from China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is that the 2D sales were poor (only 1/3 of the total revenue), so this is standard practice. However, not everyone is buying this answer. Critics of the decision are claiming that the film’s message is what caused it to be downsized. The film’s plotline of forcing natives to move for a corporation mirrors the country’s efforts to move citizens in order to build lucrative property. Also, the fact a movie with this message has done so well scares the Chinese government, so replacing with with more Communist-friendly films both supports the government and homegrown cinema. Interestingly enough, in the same part of the world, a Tawainese man died days after seeing Avatar in theaters. The 42 year old man apparently had already had health problems, and his doctor claims watching the movie made the man over-excited and thus caused his fatal stroke. Lastly, Yahoo has a nice behind the scenes featurette on Avatar that’s longer than most at over 22 minutes. Take a look: News Avatar
Google Viral: The Wizard of Oz Anniversary August 12, 2010August 12, 2010Every so often, Google likes to change their homepage logo to illustrate something timely. Often called a “Google Doodle”, it is usually done to commemorate a significant anniversary or holiday, and given how big Google is, it tends to get people talking. Often we find a way to tie in… Read More
New Tron Legacy Footage Shows Up In Singapore August 26, 2010Back in June, Nokia held their Connection 2010 conference in Singapore, an annual event where the tech company showcases their current devices and more. While showing the video playback feature on their Nokia N8 phone, they happened to show a clip from Tron Legacy. A clip with new footage that’s… Read More
“Real Steel” Starts a Viral Campaign March 15, 2011June 16, 2011Promotions for Walt Disney Pictures’ upcoming rock em’ sock em’ robots film Real Steel has been quiet as of late. Perhaps one of the reasons why is that rather than releasing clips or a new trailer the studio has gone forward with a viral marketing campaign. Marketing has started at… Read More