Tag: avatar: the last airbender

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Razzies crown Shyamalan’s Airbender worst film of 2010

The Oscars are upon us tonight! But in the meantime, we have the Razzies, which last night awarded M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, Worst Eye-Gouging Misuse of 3-D and even Worst Supporting Actor in Jackson Rathbone, who was dual-nominated for Twilight: Eclipse.

Surprisingly, that’s the only ‘award’ for any of the Twilight crew – and all the other genre offerings. Sex and the City 2 was the runner-up with three Razzies, including Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel and Worst Actress for Sarah Jessica Parker. The remaining acting awards went to Ashton Kutcher and Jessica Alba.

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Catching up with The Clone Wars

There’s no new Clone Wars tonight, but there are several tidbits of news.

First off, there’s another Chewbacca video and some finale rumor dispelling (Spoilers? Sort of?) going around.

On Twitter, an actress you might recognize reveals that she’ll be voicing a character… But given the lead time on these things, I’m guessing we probably won’t hear much more until next season.

More imminent is Free Comic Book Day on May 7 and StarWars.com has a preview of Dark Horse’s Savage Opress offering. (Psst, Avatar: The Last Airbender fans… That preview is over here.)

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Eclipse, Airbender lead Razzie nominations

True confession: The Razzies are my favorite movie awards, particularly in years that gave them plenty of crap to sift through. We’ve been so blessed this year: Genre nominations for worst picture include The Last Airbender and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, as well as the Matt Lanter-led spoof Vampires Suck.

Lanter was spared an lead acting nom, though nods went to Twilight’s Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart as well as Jonah Hex’s Megan Fox. In the supporting categories, Airbender’s Nicola Peltz, Dev Patel and Jackson Rathbone (also for Eclipse) all got nods. And not to leave anyone out, both Eclipse and Airbender are up for Worst Screen Ensemble.

Both films, plus Vampires Suck, also hold court in Worst Director, Worst Screenplay (if Shyamalan isn’t a lock for that, I’ll eat my ATLA DVDs) and Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel.

In the brand-new Worst Eye-Gouging Mis-Use of 3-D category, the nominations are Cats & Dogs 2: Revenge of Kitty Galore, Clash of the Titans, The Last Airbender, Nutcracker 3-D and Saw VII.

Basically, you know it’s a good/bad year when a dud like Clash of the Titans can’t muster up more than two nominations.

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And the rest: Game of Thrones, #Wookieeleaks, Legend of Korra and more…

A familiar face joins HBO’s Game of Thrones. Julian Glover, who you’ll remember as General Veers from Empire Strikes Back and Walter Donovan from his face-melting turn in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, has joined the cast of HBO’s adaption as Grand Maester Pycelle. He replaces Roy Dotrice, who had to step out for health reasons.

Torn from the headlines. NPR gives some love to #Wookieeleaks, the hashtag that took Twitter by storm last week.

Airbender successor series won’t be ongoing. UGO snatched some time with co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko at SDCC to bend a few new details on the upcoming Legend of Korra. Chief among them: It’s mini-series. But that does mean that DiMartino and Konietzko are writing each episode. This has done very little to temper my excitement. Maybe because I keep running into stuff like this.

Your moment of zen. Kate Beaton has produced the best Wolverine comic ever.

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Nickelodeon announces Airbender followup The Legend of Korra

'The Legend of Korra'

Some great news for fans of the cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender! We’re finally getting confirmation of the long-rumored new cartoon. Korra returns to the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender 70 years later, following Aang’s sucessor. Avatar Korra is “a passionate, rebellious, and fearless teenaged girl from the Southern Water Tribe.” Here are a few more plot details from the press release:

With three of the four elements under her belt (Earth, Water, and Fire), Korra seeks to master the final element, Air. Her quest leads her to the epicenter of the modern “Avatar” world, Republic City – a metropolis that is fueled by steampunk technology. It is a virtual melting pot where benders and non-benders from all nations live and thrive. However, Korra discovers that Republic City is plagued by crime as well as a growing anti-bending revolution that threatens to rip it apart. Under the tutelage of Aang’s son, Tenzin, Korra begins her airbending training while dealing with the dangers at large.

The series is headed up by Avatar creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and expected to premiere in 2011. This hasn’t been confirmed, but it’s worth noting that rumor mill has suggested that the series may feature some flashbacks to the characters from Airbender.

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Shyamalan’s ‘Airbender’ burned by critics

M. Night Shyamalan’s movie adaptation of Nickelodeon’s much-loved Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon has been controversial from the casting on down, spawning an entire movement of fans disappointed to see nearly all the leads in the Asian-inspired series cast as Caucasians. That’s been hard to miss, at least if you’re in fandom. But the film is opening this week and the reviews are brutal – even without the casting issue.

The grand poobah of movie reviewers, Roger Ebert, calls it “an agonizing experience.” While I’m not sure where he’s getting some of his facts,* little is spared from his critique, including ILM’s effects. (Ouch.)

*The story takes place in the future? Not in the cartoon. Misunderstanding or Shyamalanism?

Other reviewers aren’t much kinder: It’s currently running at 9% on Rotten Tomatoes. And even one of the few positive reviews calls Shyamalan’s script “wooden.”

While it’s hard to predict the reaction of consumers who propelled the brain–sucking Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen to #2 at the box office last year, between Shyamalan’s reeling reputation, the already overwhelmingly negative reviews, and the alienation of a core base of fans, things aren’t looking so good.

The most we can hope for is that the cartoon comes out unscathed: For fans, I can recommend Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Art of the Animated Series, which I finished this afternoon. It’s art and sketches from the original show, a nice look into the world the cartoon, and if you like Art of books, it’s hard to go wrong.

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Teaser: The Last Airbender

This is the SuperBowl spot for the other Avatar, and the one I am actually kind of legitimately looking forward to now. (Needs more Zuko, but still.) Don’t you dare screw this up, Shyamalan. Watch it in HD and see if you can spot Appa. (via)

(Is that who I think it is on voiceover?)

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Drive-by movie news: The Last Airbender blows, Transformers 2 sucks, Avatar leaks, and Alice in Wonderland… Burtons?

At least the effects are good. The first trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s live action adaption of Avatar: The Last Airbender is not the most captivating teaser ever, but it only blows in the literal sense. (And, well, there’s still that whole racebending thing…) The trailer unveiling (it’s attached to Transformers) also unleashed the film’s official site and a flurry of set visit pieces: MTV, SciFi Wire, io9, SuperHero Hype and IGN. But the movie isn’t out for a year, so don’t go expecting too much just yet.

Oh, Michael Bay. Everyone hates Transformers 2! (Really!) Including Roger Ebert, in fine form. For some reason, this warms the cockles of my black little heart…

The other Avatar. Footage of James Cameron’s Avatar, the 3-D one, was screened in Europe.

And since we’re on a name-brand director jaunt… First look at Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.

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Drive-by movie news: Benders, Fanboys, Terminators and Potters (oh my)

airbenderFirst Airbender pics are here. If you squint you can see Aang’s tattoo, but Zuko’s scar (and ponytail) seem MIA. Sigh.

Seriously, what if it sucks? Fanboys to head to Sydney for a sequel? Nice idea, but I’m not holding my breath.

You like Harry Potter, little fan? Have some Half-Blood Prince TV spots. Or perhaps a clip?

He’s John Connor. JOHN CONNOR! Terminator Salvation has already taken in $3 million, despite a a steady stream of bad reviews.

Obligatory Twilight news. Kristen Stewart looks thrilled to be in the New Moon poster. Meanwhile, poor Robert Pattinson confirms they’ll be taking the movies all the way through Breaking Dawn. I for one can’t wait to see how they handle the… Well, you know.

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Drive-by movie news: Fanboys, Christian Bale, Avatar, sequel news good and bad

fanboys posterThe Fanboys cometh. Director Kyle Newman interviewed at StarWars.com and Sci Fi Wire, while Billy Dee Williams talks to SciFi Scanner.

Meanwhile, TFN has the final theater count and a Chicago premiere report. And for those of us who are going to have to wait, Newman tells us what to expect on the DVD.

  • Bale’s short fuse. A recording of Christian Bale cussing out a crew member on the set of Terminator Salvation proved embarrassing for all involved, except maybe the guy who made it into a kicking techno remix. (And these guys.) Harry Knowles defended the actor, which might mean more if it was coming from someone other than Harry “Is Hollywood watching? Are they impressed?” Knowles.
  • Slumdog Millionaire star joins Airbender. M. Night Shyamalan’s Avatar adaption has a new Zuko – Dev Patel. Fan reaction has been mixed – folks are happy to see more diversity, but many are bothered about the implications of the film’s only Asian actor playing the villain.
  • Someone too committed to Sparkle Motion. There have been rumors floating around of a Donnie Darko sequel. Now, io9 has word of the direct-to-DVD S. Darko. Honestly, I have a hard time believing this isn’t a prank…
  • Bloop. No WALL-E sequel in sight. Phew.