That noise you’re hearing is the frantic squeals of studio executives scrambling to move their wares as far away from the release date of James Cameron’s Avatar as is humanly possible.
Why? Because today Fox moved Cameron’s eagerly-awaited return to movies from the Memorial Day weekend in 2009 to December 18, 2009 – and as fate would have it, that’s the same, pre-Xmas weekend on which Titanic opened back in 1997.
Not that we’re necessarily saying that Cameron’s 3D futuristic sci-fi will do Titanic-style numbers, but from what we’re hearing about this project, it could well mark a new watershed in how movies are made/viewed – not to mention that it’s probably going to kick so much ass you’d think it had been directed by Chuck Norris. So make no mistake, this thing is going to be huge.
Fox have pushed the movie back from Memorial Day (the last weekend in May, for those who don’t know) to December to allow Cameron more time to finish the incredibly complex post-production on the movie, which is currently shooting in New Zealand. So now Cameron has 18 months of post, rather than a year. And, again, from what we hear, he’s going to need it and it’s going to be worth it.
Cameron isn’t going to complain too much about the date change – Titanic was also pushed back six months to allow for post to be fully completed, and we all know how that turned out.
Fox has been busy elsewhere with release date changes for other movies on its 2009 slate. Ben Stiller and Shawn Levy’s Night At The Museum 2: Escape From The Smithsonian has been parked on May 22, 2009 like a giant, kid-friendly bus.
This time around, Stiller’s security guard will be working at the famous Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC, when all hell breaks loose and the exhibits come alive (again). Casting for the movie, which we hope to God has more jokes than the first film, will be announced in the next few weeks. Reese Witherspoon has already been approached to play Amelia Earhart, while some figures from the first film are expected to return (we’d put good money on Steve Coogan and Owen Wilson coming back as the bickering centurion and cowboy).
Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon, who wrote the first movie, penned the script for the sequel, with Scott Frank doing a rewrite once more. It’ll be interesting to see how Night 2 does in the summer, given that the first movie opened around Thanksgiving/Xmas of last year, giving it a good run with little competition. Will Summer 2009 prove too crowded for Night 2 to breathe?
Fox has also announced that Ice Age 3, which is set for release on July 1, 2009, will be shot in digital 3D. Carlos Saldanha will direct the returning voice cast of Ray Romano, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah and John Leguizamo.
But, as you can probably tell, it’s the other 3D Fox release of 2009 that we’re most excited – and now we’ve got to wait another six months before seeing Avatar. It’s not fair!