Cameron is lucky Peyo isn't around anymore.

was it the creators of Fern Gully?

I understand that blatant rip-offs are protected, but the general idea behind something? that makes no sense.

Is it this guy???

It's called Billy and the Clone-a-saurus!

Me. Everything is a ripoff. The Alphabet Song is a rip off of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Little Debbie ripped off Dolly Madison. And Bill Hicks ripped off Denis Leary.

$1.5 billion in damages? Please. Even if the story were ripped off exactly, Avatar didn't make a penny off of its story. The story had nothing to do with Avatar's success.

NobleHam: The story had nothing to do with Avatar's success.

Seriously. I've made this point before: Avatar was not about telling an original story, which was kinda lampshaded when they called the element "unobtainium." It's hard to take a story seriously when that happens. What Avatar was about was showcasing the rather groundbreaking technology that Cameron developed. The successful intergration of live and CGI elements in this movie was far and away better than anything seen to this point in cinema. And THAT'S what Cameron was trying for.

gunga galunga: Me. Everything is a ripoff. The Alphabet Song is a rip off of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Little Debbie ripped off Dolly Madison. And Bill Hicks ripped off Denis Leary.

Shut your blasphemous whore mouth!

NobleHam: $1.5 billion in damages? Please. Even if the story were ripped off exactly, Avatar didn't make a penny off of its story. The story had nothing to do with Avatar's success.

With a fark name like this, you need to go post in the Hanukkah Ham thread under the Main tab...

I just saw a preview for that upcoming David Fincher movie. Looks like a scene by scene ripoff of that Swedish movie Men Who Hate Women. But then again ripping people off is nothing new for Fincher. The Social Network is just The Paper Chase with Tron thrown in.

unbreathable atmospheres
appearance of mist in scene
sunlight to moonlight

Something tells me they share lawyers with Apple. Better make the movie for screens that are a differently shaped rectangle next time while you're at it, Cameron.

gunga galunga: Me. Everything is a ripoff. The Alphabet Song is a rip off of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Little Debbie ripped off Dolly Madison. And Bill Hicks ripped off Denis Leary.

I C WHAT YOU DID THERE

/Firefly was garbage
//Helen Mirren is not hot
///Dane Cook is a comedic genius while Louis CK is a hack
///Arrested Development is not funny

What is next? Someone will sue Fark?

The trailer for John Carter made me laugh.

Right as it opens... John Carter guts a giant wolly thing with blue blood. The blood splashes all over Carter who is wearing aboriginal clothing... and now blue from head to toe. What does he do next? He gives a rousing mobilizing speech to an army of aboriginal aliens.

Given that JC of Mars is one of the sources Cameron borrowed heavily from I've got to believe this is a deliberate poke.

gunga galunga: I just saw a preview for that upcoming David Fincher movie. Looks like a scene by scene ripoff of that Swedish movie Men Who Hate Women. But then again ripping people off is nothing new for Fincher. The Social Network is just The Paper Chase with Tron thrown in.

Maybe you need to go and read some of the information about the movie. Or not make your trolling so obvious in the future.

1/10

hypre: gunga galunga: I just saw a preview for that upcoming David Fincher movie. Looks like a scene by scene ripoff of that Swedish movie Men Who Hate Women. But then again ripping people off is nothing new for Fincher. The Social Network is just The Paper Chase with Tron thrown in.

Maybe you need to go and read some of the information about the movie. Or not make your trolling so obvious in the future.

1/10

I think your sarcasm meter might be very, very broken. You should probably upgrade to a newer model.

hypre: gunga galunga: I just saw a preview for that upcoming David Fincher movie. Looks like a scene by scene ripoff of that Swedish movie Men Who Hate Women. But then again ripping people off is nothing new for Fincher. The Social Network is just The Paper Chase with Tron thrown in.

Maybe you need to go and read some of the information about the movie. Or not make your trolling so obvious in the future.

1/10

Or he's making the point tha tthere are no new story ideas, and that everything comes from something that existed previously.

Either way.

PizzaJedi81: hypre: gunga galunga: I just saw a preview for that upcoming David Fincher movie. Looks like a scene by scene ripoff of that Swedish movie Men Who Hate Women. But then again ripping people off is nothing new for Fincher. The Social Network is just The Paper Chase with Tron thrown in.

Maybe you need to go and read some of the information about the movie. Or not make your trolling so obvious in the future.

1/10

Or he's making the point tha tthere are no new story ideas, and that everything comes from something that existed previously.

Either way.

The fax machine is a waffle iron with a phone attached to it.

/off to go yell at some clouds

gunga galunga: PizzaJedi81: hypre: gunga galunga: I just saw a preview for that upcoming David Fincher movie. Looks like a scene by scene ripoff of that Swedish movie Men Who Hate Women. But then again ripping people off is nothing new for Fincher. The Social Network is just The Paper Chase with Tron thrown in.

Maybe you need to go and read some of the information about the movie. Or not make your trolling so obvious in the future.

1/10

Or he's making the point tha tthere are no new story ideas, and that everything comes from something that existed previously.

Either way.

The fax machine is a waffle iron with a phone attached to it.

/off to go yell at some clouds

Don't forget the onion for your belt!

I'm currently watching Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth, so I'm considering suing Hollywood on behalf of the world's culture of storytelling.

GungFu: I'm currently watching Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth, so I'm considering suing Hollywood on behalf of the world's culture of storytelling.

When did they make a movie out of that?

PizzaJedi81: GungFu: I'm currently watching Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth, so I'm considering suing Hollywood on behalf of the world's culture of storytelling.

When did they make a movie out of that?


Star Wars, for one.

All sarcasm aside, I was never bothered by Avatar's similarities to Ferngully, Pocahontas, Dances With Wolves, what have you. But I do believe he should add a "based on 'Call Me Joe'" to the credits and slide Poul Anderson's estate a nice chunk of cash.

gunga galunga: And Bill Hicks ripped off Denis Leary.

In all fairness, Leary at least managed to make Hicks' shtick funny.

I think the fact that so many people claim Avatar is a ripoff of so many things actually proves that it's NOT a ripoff. It's just derivative. Science fiction writers have been going to the same well now for more than a century.

Can we fast-track this one along with the (as far as I know still going) lawsuit from that Canadian woman who claims she wrote the Matrix

/saw the original "story" she had for that
//you gotta squint real hard to see the Matrix in that thing
///also be drunk
////and high

Timothy Zahn should sue him since Avatar rips off "Manta's Gift", right down to the paraplegic guy being turned into the alien.

Though Zahn should have something done to him for that book. The manta rape scene was...disturbing to say the least.

/It's sadly been a bit downhill since "Icarus Hunt" for him. Used to really like him

Comsamvimes: Timothy Zahn should sue him since Avatar rips off "Manta's Gift", right down to the paraplegic guy being turned into the alien.

Though Zahn should have something done to him for that book. The manta rape scene was...disturbing to say the least.

/It's sadly been a bit downhill since "Icarus Hunt" for him. Used to really like him

He's always bounced between hack and genuine talent his entire career. The man has never met a film, toy or game franchise he would refuse to novelize for money. I loved Icarus Hunt, I wish he'd get back to writing original work.

deadsanta: Comsamvimes: Timothy Zahn should sue him since Avatar rips off "Manta's Gift", right down to the paraplegic guy being turned into the alien.

Though Zahn should have something done to him for that book. The manta rape scene was...disturbing to say the least.

/It's sadly been a bit downhill since "Icarus Hunt" for him. Used to really like him

He's always bounced between hack and genuine talent his entire career. The man has never met a film, toy or game franchise he would refuse to novelize for money. I loved Icarus Hunt, I wish he'd get back to writing original work.

And BOY does he do it well. The Thrawn Trilogy, the Outbound Flight Duology, the Mara Jade books (Allegiance and Choices of One.) Some of my favorite books.

stealing the story for Titanic?

'The Lady and the Tramp', maybe?

PizzaJedi81: NobleHam: The story had nothing to do with Avatar's success.

Seriously. I've made this point before: Avatar was not about telling an original story, which was kinda lampshaded when they called the element "unobtainium." It's hard to take a story seriously when that happens. What Avatar was about was showcasing the rather groundbreaking technology that Cameron developed. The successful intergration of live and CGI elements in this movie was far and away better than anything seen to this point in cinema. And THAT'S what Cameron was trying for.

Basically Cameron is to movie what Carmack / ID Games is to videogames. Cameron was pimping his tech to others to buy into it.

Honestly, avatar wasn't bad by any means. But it was Dances with Wolves in Spaaaaaace. Which was Pocahontas, or a litany of any other culture shock stories from the past. Doesn't make it bad, just not very different.

Jamdug!: A better question is: Why would you even want to take credit for that story?

Call me crazy, but I'd guess the movie making $2.8 billion worldwide might have something to do with it.

gunga galunga: Me. Everything is a ripoff. The Alphabet Song is a rip off of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Little Debbie ripped off Dolly Madison. And Bill Hicks ripped off Denis Leary.

This is funny because denis leary's special is called no cure for cancer

While I think most people know the plot was an excuse for a fancy tech demo, I do have several armchair-hippie friends who gush about the story to this day. One dressed up as a avatar just this last Halloween.

-Poul Anderson might have something to say about all this...

my question is why does it always take these clownshows ten years to sue when people were tipped off years in advance..

/AVATAR was outright theft...200 threads on this already...
//yawning
///getting a kick

Finding out how popular this film was, after I saw it, made me lose all faith in humanity. The complete takeover by reality TV had started the process but this movie really pushed it over that edge.

PizzaJedi81: Avatar was not about telling an original story, which was kinda lampshaded when they called the element "unobtainium." It's hard to take a story seriously when that happens.

Wow, I never thought about that. I always thought calling it "unobtanium" was the writers just being uncreative and stupid.

Now I'm the one that feels stupid.

T-Bone42: Wow, I never thought about that. I always thought calling it "unobtanium" was the writers just being uncreative and stupid.

The term actually dates from 1950s and originated in the aerospace industry.

True story.

It was a cowboy and Indian movie, people. Let it go.