At least it took George Lucas twenty years to expand and re-release the “Star Wars” movies.
Director James Cameron isn’t waiting twenty months for a potentially longer version of “Avatar” to head back to theaters. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the director is considering adding in ten more minutes of footage to the film and releasing it again in theaters sometime this summer.
The speculation on just how much footage could go back in the film began last week when Imax CEO Richard Gelfond told a a Gabelli & Co. investor conference in New York that Cameron had about 40 minutes of additional material that didn’t make the theatrical cut. He also predicted a rerelease, which he said probably would occur in the fall.
Cameron has stated that he thinks there are at least 10-12 minutes of cut scenes that could be inserted back in, including a scene scene where Jake Sully’s avatar proving himself to the Na’vi people and another involving a native festival during which tribe member Tsu’tey gets drunk.
The re-release could go to IMAX 3-D theaters, which could limit how much long the film would run. The maximum length a movie can be released in analog Imax theaters is 170 minutes—a number Cameron was aware of when he made his original edit—so he could add about 10 minutes to the 160-minute current run time and still be in all Imax locations.
The re-release and new edit would follow the DVD release of the film.
Weee, ten more minutes! Wow that’s worth another $15 – 20!
How about just remaking it as the original Project 820 script, and oh I don’t know, make it good
hey, im ok with the ten minute rerelease to make some additional $$$ but how about a blue ray release with the whole 40 minutes that was cut from the original movie so us sci fi fans can really enjoy the creative minds of the picture without being forced to buy, (1) the theatrical release, (2) the extended theatrical release, and (3) the directors cut with the 40 minutes added. hey, money is tight and god knows the movie has already made a ton or two of it!!!
I’ll be there. For the 5th time.
Weeee! More Avatar!
(Sigh…, only 10 minutes of 40?)
I have not gotten around to seeing Avatar yet, and this decides me. I will avoid it like the plague. I will not give a penny to a money grubbing production that pulls an idiotic stunt like this.
@Steeve… Don’t worry. I haven’t seen it either, but I AM waiting for the 3d bluray release as I feel that home cinema is the only way to enjoy it on the big screen. At least you have front-row seats… or in my case, front-row beanbags! 😉
Putting another ten minutes on a film, re-releasing it and making hundreds of millions of dollars off of people is about as greedy and low life an act as i have heard of since they started making these special cuts
Why not just add the 40 minutes Cameron talked about and put it on the original release coming out now and call it a special directors cut and sell it for a few bucks more. They make their blood money and we get to see the movie the way it was intended before FOX cut the hell out of it.
I was not pleased when Lord of the Rings came out a few months later with extended scenes. I bought it because i am a bit mental about Tolkien but even that was a bit much.
To do what i said about this release makes sense. it pleases us. Makes them money and allows you and I to see one of the greatest films made as if it were new.
By the way if they did the extended version with a 3d version I could understand because the technology is new but to do it for any other reason is just plain greedy.