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
Creators of “Auto-Tune The News” Get a TV Pilot August 15, 2010The Gregory Brothers are one of my favorite acts on YouTube, and now they are finally getting their mainstream calling. The group, consisting of brothers Evan, Andrew, Michael, and Evan’s wife Sarah, often auto-tune subjects in viral videos to make full songs. They are also known for their self-explanatory “Auto-Tune… Read More
The Buzz: Man of Steel, Star Wars, and More! November 16, 2012November 17, 2012The Buzz is a feature in which we round up the Top 3 most-buzzed-about movie/TV stories of the week (in more-or-less chronological order). Why go through pages of blogs just to find out what everyone is talking about? We’ve got it all right here in The Buzz. Read More
Viral Video Round Up: Star Trek, Star Wars, James Bond, Portlandia, And More! January 28, 2013January 28, 2013The Internet is full of videos related to movies, whether they be fan made, studio made, or somewhere in between. We regularly bring you the best, most interesting, or just plain weirdest, and today we do it again. Check out the latest viral videos after the break. Read More