Tokyo International Film Festival opens with exclusive visit to world of Cameron's 'Avatar'
Roppongi Hills buzzed last night with the opening of the 22nd Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF). Stars, directors and even Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama walked the festival's recycled (!) green carpet to attend the world premiere of Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud's documentary "Oceans."
Following the post-screening soiree at the Grand Hyatt was a late-night showing of footage from James Cameron's long-gestating sci-fi epic "Avatar."
The MC reminded us that Cameron's "Titanic" had its world premiere at TIFF in 1997 and remains cinema's highest-grossing film. After a protracted rundown of Avatar's storyline, the audience donned 3D glasses.
As with the global 'Avatar day' preview back in August, things began with a message from the director, though this one specifically addressed Japan -- a trend that began with Spielberg's "AI" and later Peter Jackson's "King Kong." Japan rarely exceeds a ten percent share of worldwide gross for Hollywood films these days, but it's still a key market -- particularly for a production this pricey.
As promised, the 20-minute collection of scenes offered content not yet seen anywhere else.
On planet Pandora the character of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), inhabiting his three-meter-tall blue-skinned avatar, attempts to break a six-legged beast of burden to the amusement of female Na'vi Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). A stunning sequence showed Sully and his new Na'vi comrades climbing vines attached to floating mountains in Pandora's upside-down world.
Previously seen footage of Sully taming a flying lizard was followed by an aerial chase involving a giant red and orange dragon-pterodactyl.
The drama was painfully familiar and the dialogue often juvenile, but the look and 3-D quality is undeniably groundbreaking. But the Japanese market is not all about tech specs: the film's romantic story line will need to be marketed harder to warm up the all-important female demographic.
As impressive as the world of "Avatar" was, the impossible beauty and incredible 'creature design' of "Oceans" are what lingered in most minds at the end of the evening.
read most
commented