ECUADOR: Avatar Downfall a Blow for Indigenous Communities

By Gonzalo Ortiz

QUITO, Mar 9, 2010 (IPS) - Science fiction blockbuster Avatar was the big loser in the Oscar awards ceremony - not only a blow for director James Cameron but also seen as a symbolic reverse in the struggle to recover Amazon rainforest areas in Ecuador from the effects of oil pollution.

Several environmental organizations, like the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) and the Amazon Defense Coalition, had asked Cameron to "let his legions of fans know that while Pandora is fictional, what is happening to (indigenous) communities in Ecuador is as real as it gets."

In the film, Pandora, a moon orbiting the planet Polyphemus, comes under threat when human beings decide to extract a mineral essential for energy supply on Earth from its surface.

Rebecca Tarbotton, acting head of RAN, compared Avatar's story-line to the real-life drama of the struggle of Ecuadorean indigenous people who have brought a multi-billion dollar lawsuit for environmental damages against the oil giant Chevron.

After an email campaign last month, backed up by weblog columns and press releases, Tarbotton called on Cameron Sunday morning to make good the promise he had made to use the movie to inspire mass environmental activism.

But Avatar failed to win the Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture, taking awards only in three minor categories out of the nine for which it had been nominated, so Cameron never got a chance to deliver a speech during the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards ceremony held Sunday in Los Angeles.

Cameron has also been swamped by other requests: Survival International, the movement for tribal peoples, for instance, took out an advertisement in Variety magazine asking him to help the indigenous Dongria Kondh people of India, who are struggling to defend their land against a British mining firm bent on extracting bauxite from their sacred mountain.

At any rate, Cameron need shed no tears over not winning the Oscar, as his movie has already raked in 2.5 billion dollars, making it the greatest box office success in the history of cinema.

What has really lost out is the environmental cause, even as the 16-year-long Chevron trial continues to crawl through the courts.

Speaking of records, this is the biggest class action suit ever launched against a transnational corporation: the indigenous communities of northeastern Ecuador, where the oil drilling took place, are demanding 27 billion dollars in reparations for damages.

The plaintiffs, some 30,000 indigenous people and mestizo (mixed ancestry) settlers, have accused Texaco, a company acquired by Chevron in 2001, of ditching 18 billion gallons of toxic waste water and spilling about 17 million gallons of crude into the rainforest during its operations in Ecuador from 1964 to 1990.

These illegal actions contaminated the soil, groundwater, rivers and streams in the area, causing cancer, congenital defects and abortions among the indigenous population, according to the plaintiffs.

At first Chevron refused to be tried before Ecuadorean courts, so the case was transferred to the United States. However, the U.S. courts ruled that Ecuador did have jurisdiction.

The changes in jurisdiction and various legal maneuvers by the defense have dragged the trial out for over 16 years.

Since mid-February the new judge presiding over the trial at the provincial court in the northeastern province of Sucumbíos is Leonardo Ordóñez. He replaced Judge Juan Núñez, who Chevron alleged had taken bribes.

"All we ask of Judge Ordóñez is that he enforce the law transparently and impartially, and not allow Chevron to continue delaying the trial," said Pablo Fajardo, lead counsel for the Amazon Defense Coalition, in a statement.

The U.S. oil company's manipulative strategies have included attempting to block the extension of preferential tariffs in the United States for Ecuador's trade goods, as the former Ecuadorean foreign minister, Fander Falconi, confirmed in January.

According to Falconi, in 2009 Chevron's lobby against the renewal of preferential tariffs for Ecuador was "one of the strongest and fiercest that Ecuadorean foreign policy has ever faced."

By hiring law firms and expert negotiators and engaging in intense action on the diplomatic front, the Ecuadorean authorities managed to neutralize Chevron's political and diplomatic influence in Washington, Falconi said before leaving the post of foreign minister.

The import tariffs he referred to are granted by the United States for hundreds of products from Ecuador, Colombia and Peru, in exchange for cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking. Bolivia was also a beneficiary of the scheme until it was excluded last year.

Source: IPS.
Link: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50610.

Avatar is Chinese choice

Chinese film fans were mostly disappointed by the unexpected shutout of Avatar in the major categories at the 82nd Academy Awards. Most bet on the $2 billion juggernaut for the Best Picture award, and when my fellow guest at Sina.com's Oscar show openly rallied for The Hurt Locker, he instantly received text messages denouncing him.

It is understandable why Chinese filmgoers prefer Avatar. It is a runaway hit, and is still packing them in at all 3D venues. People can read all kinds of messages into it and many regard a trip to Pandora as their best movie experience.

The Hurt Locker, on the other hand, is harder to decipher. Most here tend to misinterpret its message. Even the normally liberal Beijing News reckoned it was Pentagon propaganda. It's a war movie, but it does not offer much fun or gratuitous violence. The impact of war on the protagonist and the morbid nature of his fascination with danger, simply eludes those not familiar with the culture, or not interested in anything except the explosions.

This gap between Oscar voters and movie viewers in China is a clear testament to the power of movies as escapist or fantasy fare to audiences here. People do not want to go to the theater to watch a sharper replica of reality, but to forget about it.

But the Academy, by doling out the highest accolades to The Hurt Locker, has taken a big step by embracing small movies that make us face the ugliness of our world and human nature.

Chinese audiences also love big stars. If we could vote, we would no doubt have made George Clooney the Best Actor and Meryl Streep the Best Actress. Sandra Bullock is less appreciated here for her role in The Blind Side because we are not familiar with southern women with their sharp personality and unique twang. I often remind movie fans here that the role of an American southern femme is more or less like a northeastern woman in China. If a Hong Kong star was so convincing in such a role, she would surely be recognized by her peers as a good actress.

Quentin Tarantino has a loyal following in China. They rallied for his Inglourious Basterds, which nabbed only one award, for Best Supporting Actor. Tarantino has won a lot of goodwill in China partly because he is a big advocate of Hong Kong movies and he shot his Kill Bill in Beijing. The way he manipulated violence as a dramatic element also appealed to a young male demographic.

To my surprise, The Cove, which won Best Documentary Feature, has been available to a lot of people and elicited strong reactions. There has been an avalanche of condemnation against the Japanese practice of killing dolphins. Some swore that they would never eat shark's fin again. Although it is almost impossible for documentaries to be screened in theaters, the underground distribution of this and the other nominated works, to a certain extent, will serve to awaken some people to the need for a healthier and nature-friendly lifestyle.

With all three submissions from Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan for the Best Foreign Language Film shut out from the final round of Oscar competition, this year's Oscar season had little for domestic fans to jump up and down about. They prayed for James Cameron - Titanic was also huge in China - but failing that, they will keep queuing up for tickets to the floating mountain that some have claimed was based on a peak in Hunan province's Zhangjiajie.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/6913347.html.

James Cameron: "Avatar" Reflects Destruction Of Life On Earth

December 11 2009

At the premiere in London of Avatar, James Cameron’s first film in over 10 years, the director opened up on the environmental message of the movie — and how he hopes it inspires people to look at the destruction around them.

“The point is that we are devastating habitat and biodiversity at a terrible rate,” he told the UK Sun. “We are causing a global climate change that’s going to be absolutely devastating to the coral reefs. Science is unable to keep up with our industrial society. We are destroying species faster than we can classify them. We are destroying the food chain faster than we can understand it. The politicians are over in Copenhagen talking about climate change now – but there are other issues as well.”

Cameron mentioned that once the publicity and premieres for the new film have wrapped, he will head back to his solar-powered eco-ranch in Santa Barbara, California. Him and his wife are also planning on installing wind turbines soon.

Source: Ecorazzi.
Link: http://www.ecorazzi.com/2009/12/11/james-cameron-avatar-reflects-destruction-of-life-on-earth/.

James Cameron: Fox Wanted Treehugging "Crap" Removed From Avatar

February 18 2010

In a new interview with MTV, director James Cameron offers a bit of interesting backstory to Avatar’s green message — and how he used it to inspire people to make a different on this planet. Here are some highlights:

On FOX Studio Execs reading the script and reacting to the green elements:

“When they read it, they sort of said, ‘Can we take some of this tree-hugging, “FernGully” crap out of this movie?’ And I said, ‘No, because that’s why I’m making the film.’ ”

On how the film’s message inspires people to effect change here on Earth:

“If you’re tuned in to what’s happening in ‘Avatar,’ you start to feel a sense of moral outrage when you see the tree fall [destroying the Na'vi's home], and it’s a compassionate response for these people. Then you feel a sense of uplift at the end as good vanquishes evil. If you put those two things together, it actually creates a ripe emotional matrix for people to want to do something about it.”

On reaction from environmental groups:

“We’re getting a tremendous amount of feedback from environmental groups, from people with specific causes. Whether it’s indigenous people being displaced by companies to do mining or to do oil drilling, or if it’s environmental groups saying, ‘Let’s do some curriculum around “Avatar.”‘”

Source: Ecorazzi.
Link: http://www.ecorazzi.com/2010/02/18/james-cameron-fox-wanted-treehugging-crap-removed-from-avatar/.

Chinese author plans to sue Cameron over Avatar

A Chinese author is planning to file a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against James Cameron over his blockbuster Avatar, claiming that the Canadian film director and producer stole ideas for the science fiction epic movie.

Zhou Shaomou claims he wrote a science fiction novel called Tale of the Blue Crows in 1997 which bears striking similarities to the plot of Cameron's film.

"The book centers around a group of explorers who travel to a distant planet inhabited by blue-skinned beings," he said.

The Chinese writer added, "I wrote in my novel that their space journey took them six years, but in Cameron's movie the journey takes them five years, nine months, and 22 days. I was shocked when I first saw that — it is too close."

Zhou said he never thought he would get a publishing deal for the book, so he released it online, where he claims it has been read by over 10 million people.

He now plans to sue Cameron for $162 million for copyright infringement.

Zhou has reportedly tried twice to get his case heard in China but was denied both times.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120235§ionid=3510212.

It's official: 'Avatar' is king of the world

By Russ Britt, MarketWatch

Last Update: 5:47 PM ET Jan 26, 2010

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- "Avatar" has made it official; it now is the No. 1 worldwide hit of all time, box-office watchers said Tuesday.

The feature from director James Cameron beat the old box-office mark, set by Cameron's "Titanic" in 1998, on Monday, by raking in $1.859 billion in global receipts. "Titanic's" mark was $1.843 billion, according to Hollywood.com and BoxOfficeMojo.com.

"Avatar" came close to beating the mark over the weekend, falling about $4 million short. Avatar is distributed by Twentieth-Century Fox, a division of News Corp. NWS News Corp. also is parent of MarketWatch.com, publisher of this report.

"It was just a smidgen behind on Sunday," said Brandon Gray, president of BoxOfficeMojo.

Now the film is trudging toward uncharted territory, and could reach the $2 billion mark as early as this weekend, Gray said.

"Avatar" beat "Titanic's" mark in just 39 days, a mark achieved over a period of several months. "Titanic" stood atop the box office for more than three months on its way to setting the record. "Titanic" was jointly distributed by Fox and Viacom Inc.'s VIA Paramount Pictures.

But "Avatar" has sold little more than half the tickets that "Titanic" sold, thanks to inflation and higher admissions for "Avatar's" 3D screenings.

Despite the price inflation, Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office analysis for Hollywood.com., says setting the mark was "unthinkable six weeks ago."

"For James Cameron to break his own longstanding record in just 39 days is unprecedented," Dergarabedian said. "Cameron's rewriting the record books."

Source: Middle East North Africa Financial News (MENAFN).
Link: http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?StoryId={F75B6947-451B-48F5-B1F2-6644AFAE5AE3}&src=NLEN.

"Avatar" replaces "Titanic" in record books

"Titanic" just hit an iceberg named "Avatar."

James Cameron's sci-fi spectacular replaced his maritime melodrama as the biggest international release of all time during the weekend and is on the verge of claiming its worldwide crown, which also includes North American receipts, distributor 20th Century Fox said Sunday.

The News Corp-owned studio said "Avatar" has sold $1.841 billion worth of tickets worldwide during its unbroken six-week reign, and was a day or so away from surpassing the seemingly insurmountable $1.843 billion racked up by "Titanic" in 1997-1998.

The international portion stands at $1.288 billion, eclipsing the $1.242 billion haul of "Titanic."

In North America, "Avatar" may have to wait up to two weeks to sink the $601 million total of "Titanic," Fox said. Moviegoers in the United States and Canada have chipped in $552.8 million, enough to replace 2008's "The Dark Knight" ($533 million) as the second-biggest movie of all time.

Data are not adjusted for inflation, and "Avatar" ticket sales got an additional boost from premium pricing for 3-D screenings. Imax Corp said its big-screen engagements have sold a record $134 million worth of tickets worldwide.

The biggest movie of all time in North America -- adjusted for inflation -- is 1939's "Gone with the Wind," with sales of almost $1.5 billion, according to tracking firm Box Office Mojo. "Avatar" ranks No. 26 by that measure.

"AVATAR" RULES IN FRANCE, CHINA

During the latest weekend, "Avatar" earned $36 million in North America and $107 million from 111 international markets, far outpacing other offerings.

It led the field in at least 29 foreign markets, including France ($123 million to date), China ($102 million), Germany ($96 million), Russia ($95 million) and Britain ($93 million).

In North America, "Avatar" was trailed by the new supernatural action thriller "Legion" at No. 2 with $18.2 million, while the Denzel Washington drama "The Book of Eli" slipped to No. 3 with $17 million in its second weekend.

"Legion," released by Sony Corp's Screen Gems budget label, cost about $25 million to make, and played primarily to men, the studio said. Paul Bettany, Lucas Black and Tyrese Gibson star in the tale of an of-the-way diner that becomes the unlikely battleground for the survival of the human race.

"Eli," a similarly themed apocalyptic drama released by Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros. Pictures on behalf of independent producer Alcon Entertainment, has earned $62 million after 10 days.

Two other films opened in the top-10: Fox's Dwayne Johnson family film "The Tooth Fairy" at No. 4 with a promising $14.5 million, and the Harrison Ford medical drama "Extraordinary Measures" at No. 7 with a disappointing $7 million.

"Extraordinary Measures" is the debut release of CBS Corp's CBS Films, which said its fact-based storyline about a father trying to save the lives of his children made it a tough sell. Older audiences in the Midwest and mountain areas were the primary demographic, the studio said.

Fox said "Tooth Fairy" played well across the board, despite or because of its depiction of former wrestler Johnson, a.k.a. "The Rock" in a tutu and wings.

"It's a very sweet, wonderful message movie," said Chris Aronson, Fox's senior vice-president of domestic distribution.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/90875/6877262.html.

Avatar pulled for commercial reasons: Official

A senior Chinese film official denied rumors the government is forcing the movie Avatar off theater screens.

Zhang Hongsen, vice-director of the film bureau of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, told reporters on Tuesday that the decision to pull Avatar from 2-D screens in China was a commercial one, not a government order.

"The 2-D version has not performed very well at the box office, while the 3-D version's tickets are very hard to purchase," he said at a seminar on the James Cameron sci-fi blockbuster. "So to take the 2-D version off the screen is quite normal."

He emphasized that the 3-D and IMAX versions will continue to be screened.

Zhang revealed that the box office revenue of Avatar's 2-D version only makes up one third of the movie's total gross in China.

Many Chinese media have speculated that Avatar was being pulled to make way for domestic films, including a biopic on the respected ancient Chinese thinker Confucius, which will premiere on Jan 22.

Zhang denies the speculation and called it rumor.

"It may seem so because Confucius happens to be screening around that date," he said. "Confucius has no 3-D version, so there is no conflict."

Studio Twentieth Century Fox said they hoped audiences would still be able to see the film in theaters in China.

"As of today, Jan 19, Avatar is still playing in cinemas nationwide in China. Twentieth Century Fox hopes that cinema-goers in China will continue to have the opportunity to see this film, which has been enthusiastically embraced by audiences there and throughout the world," it said in a statement.

Since its premiere on Jan 4, Avatar has grossed 550 million yuan ($80 million) in the country and has broken 2012's record of 460 million yuan to become the highest grossing film ever in China.

China imports only 20 foreign films for theatrical release each year. Most of them are Hollywood blockbusters.

The World Trade Organization turned down a Chinese appeal and upheld on Dec 21, 2009 its earlier ruling against Chinese regulations on the import and distribution of books and audio-visual products. According to the ruling, China may have to open more channels to import and distribute those products in the country.

Zhang responded to the issue by saying that talks are ongoing and he does not know the details.

In 2009, China saw a booming box office, which reached a record 6.2 billion yuan ($911 million), rising 42 percent over 2008. It is still small compared to the $10-billion box office in the US.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/90875/6875747.html.

Anti-smoking group blasts Avatar

Tue, 12 Jan 2010

Los Angeles - A US anti-smoking group blasted the sci-fi blockbuster Avatar on Tuesday, saying that its portrayal of a character who lovingly tugs on a cigarette sent the wrong message to movie-goers. The group, called Smoke Free Movies, took out full-page advertisements in trade papers Variety and The Hollywood Reporter to protest the on-screen smoking of the scientist Grace Augustine, played by Sigourney Weaver.

The campaign was initiated by Stanton A Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, and argued that for every 100 million dollars the movie earns at the box office, it will "deliver an estimated 40 million tobacco impressions to theater audiences." The organization estimated that this presented the tobacco industry with some 50 million dollars worth of free advertising.

In comments to The New York Times, Avatar director James Cameron said he agreed that role models for young people should not smoke in films, but that "movies should reflect reality."

"I wanted Grace to be a character who is initially off-putting and even unpleasant. She's rude, she swears, she drinks, she smokes - we were showing that Grace doesn't care about her human body. Smoking is a filthy habit, which I don't support, and neither, I believe, does Avatar."

Glantz, however, dismissed the argument, telling the paper that the notion of a chain-smoking environmental scientist was a fantasy.

"I know lots of environmental scientists like the Sigourney Weaver character," he said. "Not a single one of them smokes cigarettes."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/303399,anti-smoking-group-blasts-avatar.html.

James Cameron's Avatar delivers a powerful message of connectedness with Mother Nature

Saturday, December 26, 2009
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

(NaturalNews) If you see just one film this holiday season (or even this year), make it James Cameron's Avatar. It's a powerful, inspiring film that demonstrates movie-making at its best, and it delivers a crucial message for our time: That all living beings are connected and that those who seek to exploit nature rather than respect it will only destroy themselves.

Much of the press about Avatar has focused on the special effects, the motion capture and the 3-D presentation. These are modern filmmaking marvels, for certain, but the film succeeds for a far more important reason: Its story -- and its message. Others have reviewed the film in a more critical light; notably Alex Jones who sees it as more of a propaganda piece (http://www.infowars.com/alex-jones-...). But I see the film differently, and I think it carries a strong, positive message. (Spoiler alert: This article discusses some of the plot elements of the film.)

With Avatar, Cameron has delivered a fast-paced fantasy adventure that weaves together a stream of powerful themes that are so important to our modern world that they extend far beyond the world of fictional film: Issues like corporations destroying nature for profit, the lack of respect for living creatures, and the failed policies of "military diplomacy" that the USA continues to pursue. The themes in Avatar reflect the greatest challenges of our modern world, and the message of Avatar is both deeply moving and highly relevant to the future of human civilization.

Not many who view Avatar will understand all this, of course. To the younger crowd, Avatar is simply a cool action-adventure film with a compelling love story that makes it a great date flick. But to those who've been around on this planet a little longer, the story of Avatar is a far important story of good versus evil, war versus peace, destruction versus healing and isolationism versus interconnectedness. This depth of sensitivity to life is rare to find in any film these days, much less a blockbuster feature film, but that's what makes Avatar so truly remarkable: It speaks to viewers at many different levels, intertwining the core themes of human mythology in an extremely tight, fast-paced screenplay that doesn't let a second go to waste.

That's classic James Cameron, of course: Cutting scenes, dialog and seconds out of the film until it becomes a polished, tightly-presented story that transports you into the on-screen world and doesn't let go of you until the credits roll. It's an emotional story, too. Much like Titanic, Avatar convincingly pulls you into the minds and hearts of the key characters, delivering an authentic emotional connection with the on-screen characters even though their skin is blue.

Colonialism
The overriding theme of Avatar is one of western Colonialism, where western nations use their military might to invade lesser developed countries, terrorize their people and pillage their lands for valuable natural resources.

And yet these acts of military imperialism are always justified by the imperialists. As the top military commander says in the film in response to the natives resisting their lands being pillages, "We'll fight terror with terror!"

It remains the standard operating procedure of any military imperialist nation: Invade whatever country you wish, and if the locals fight back, condemn them as terrorists and use that as an excuse to turn up the heat with even more bombs and weapons.

Gaia and the interconnectedness of nature
One of the more interesting elements in Avatar is the neural connection fibers that each living creature is born with on the planet. Animals, humanoids and even the trees have these neural connection fibers, allowing all living creatures to "plug in" to each other's neural networks. Once connected, they can feel each other's emotions and thoughts. They are, in essence, operating as one single being with expanded sensory awareness.

Source: NaturalNews.
Link: http://www.naturalnews.com/027810_Avatar_James_Cameron.html.

Does 'Avatar' Contain Hidden Messages?

by Brett Michael Dykes
December 23, 2009

Since it opened last week, James Cameron's much-anticipated film "Avatar" has won praise from movie critics and been a juggernaut at the box office. But some who have seen the film say that it contains hidden messages that are anti-war, pro-environment, and perhaps even racist.

For the benefit of those who haven't seen the film, a little nonspoiler background might be useful. The story is set in the year 2154 when Earth's inhabitants, having used up most of their natural resources through decades of living in excess, plan to use military force to conquer Pandora, a moon roughly the same size as Earth. Pandora, inhabited by a wise, peaceful, and nature-respecting people with blue skin called the Na'vi, is rich in a resource that the people of Earth desperately need.

The earthlings send in a crew of special-forces mercenaries armed with guns, bombs, and other sophisticated weaponry to attack and conquer the Na'vi (who some think resemble American Indians and Africans), despite the fact that they represent no direct threat to the inhabitants of Earth. Since humans can't breathe in Pandora's atmosphere, the military employs mind-controlled avatars that resemble the Na'vi in every way to venture out from their landing craft and explore the landscape. Sympathizing with the Na'vi after becoming acquainted with them and their customs, one of the human-controlled avatars becomes a turncoat and helps lead the people of Pandora in the defense of their homeland.

Are you beginning to get a sense of why some viewers noticed what they believe are underlying messages in the film?

Some prominent members of the media who screened the film certainly took note. In a glowing review for the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert noted that "Avatar" "has a flat-out Green and anti-war message" that is "predestined to launch a cult." Meanwhile Ben Hoyle, writing in the Times of London, noted that the film "contains heavy implicit criticism of America's conduct in the War on Terror." Further, Will Heaven of the Daily Telegraph said that the plot line involving people of color who wear "tribal" jewelry while sporting dreadlocked hair, being saved by a noble white man gave the film a "racist subtext" that he found "nauseatingly patronising."

But are these hidden messages really all that hidden? James Cameron himself hasn't been shy in publicly proclaiming the fact that he's an environmental activist who believes that humans and "industrial society" are "causing a global climate change" and "destroying species faster than we can classify them." In a recent interview with PBS' Tavis Smiley, Cameron admitted that he made "obvious" references in the film to Iraq, Vietnam and the American colonial period to emphasize the fact that humans have a "terrible history" of "entitlement" in which we "take what we need" from nature and indigenous peoples "and don't give back."

Further, one of the film's stars Stephen Lang told CNN that he is "not surprised at all" that some people have taken note of the film's political messages, mainly because the central theme of humans "destroying" a "pristine world" out of "blindness and greed" is so "overt."

Despite the obvious political undertones in "Avatar," at least one right-leaning critic doesn't think people who disagree with the film's ideology should totally dismiss it. In his review on the website Hot Air, Ed Morrissey writes, "Conservatives have more or less primed themselves to hate this film because of the presumed anti-war politics of the movie. It's there -- in fact, it's unmistakable -- but it's not as bad as one might presume." He goes on to note that "Avatar" is "entertaining" though "hardly a deep intellectual exercise."

List of Golden Globes nominations

Following is a complete list of Golden Globe nominations announced on Tuesday in Beverly Hills of Los Angeles.

Best Motion Picture, Drama

-- "Avatar"

-- "The Hurt Locker"

-- "Inglourious Basterds"

-- "Precious"

-- "Up in the Air" Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical

-- "(500) Days of Summer"

-- "The Hangover"

-- "It's Complicated"

-- "Julie & Julia"

-- "Nine"

Best Director in a Motion Picture

-- Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"

-- James Cameron, "Avatar"

-- Clint Eastwood, "Invictus"

-- Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air"

-- Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

-- Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"

-- George Clooney, "Up in the Air"

-- Colin Firth, "A Single Man"

-- Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"

-- Tobey Maguire, "Brothers"

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

-- Emily Blunt, "The Young Victoria"

-- Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"

-- Helen Mirren, "The Last Station"

-- Carey Mulligan, "An Education"

-- Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious"

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

-- Matt Damon, "Invictus"

-- Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"

-- Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"

-- Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"

-- Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

-- Penelope Cruz, "Nine"

-- Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"

-- Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"

-- Mo'Nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire"

-- Julianne Moore, "A Single Man"

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy

-- Matt Damon, "The Informant!"

-- Daniel Day-Lewis, "Nine"

-- Robert Downey Jr., "Sherlock Holmes"

-- Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "(500) Days of Summer"

-- Michael Stuhlbarg, "A Serious Man"

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy

-- Sandra Bullock, "The Proposal"

-- Marion Cotillard, "Nine"

-- Julia Roberts, "Duplicity"

-- Meryl Streep, "It's Complicated"

-- Meryl Streep, "Julie and Julia"

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture

-- "The Hurt Locker," Mark Boal

-- "District 9," Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell

-- "Inglourious Basterds," Quentin Tarantino

-- "It's Complicated," Nancy Meyers

-- "Up in the Air," Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

Best Animated Feature Film

-- "Coraline"

-- "Fantastic Mr. Fox"

-- "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"

-- "The Princess and the Frog"

-- "Up"

Best Foreign Language Film

-- "A Prophet"

-- "The White Ribbon"

-- "The Maid"

-- "Baaria"

Best Original Score - Motion Picture

-- Michael Giacchino, "Up"

-- Marvin Hamlisch, "The Informant!"

-- James Horner, "Avatar"

-- Abel Korzeniowski, "A Single Man"

-- Karen O, Carter Burwell, "Where the Wild Things Are"

Best Original Song - Motion Picture

-- "Cinema Italiano" from "Nine," music and lyrics by Maury Yeston

-- "I Want to Come Home" from "Everybody's Fine," music and lyrics by Paul McCartney

-- "I Will See You" from "Avatar," music by James Horner and Simon Franglen; lyrics by James Horner, Simon Franglen and Kuk Harrell

-- "The Weary Kind Theme from Crazy Heart" from "Crazy Heart," music and lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

-- "Winter" from "Brothers," music by U2; lyrics by Bono

Best Television Series, Drama

-- "Big Love"

-- "Dexter"

-- "House"

-- "Mad Men"

-- "True Blood"

Best Television Series, Comedy or Musical

-- "30 Rock"

-- "Entourage"

-- "Glee"

-- "Modern Family"

-- "The Office"

Best Actor in a Television Series, Drama

-- Simon Baker, "The Mentalist"

-- Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"

-- Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"

-- Hugh Laurie, "House"

-- Bill Paxton, "Big Love"

Best Actress in a Television Series, Drama

-- Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"

-- Glenn Close, "Damages"

-- January Jones, "Mad Men"

-- Anna Paquin, "True Blood"

-- Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"

Best Actor in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical

-- Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"

-- Steve Carell, "The Office"

-- Thomas Jane, "Hung"

-- David Duchovny, "Californication"

-- Matthew Morrison, "Glee"

Best Actress in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical

-- Toni Collette, "United States of Tara"

-- Courteney Cox, "Cougar Town"

-- Tina Fey, "30 Rock"

-- Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"

-- Lea Michele, "Glee"

Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television

-- "Grey Gardens"

-- "Into the Storm"

-- "Little Dorrit"

-- "Taking Chance"

-- "Georgia O'Keeffe"

Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television

-- Kevin Bacon, "Taking Chance"

-- Kenneth Branagh, "Wallander: One Step Behind"

-- Chiwetel Ejiofor, "Endgame"

-- Brendan Gleeson, "Into the Storm"

-- Jeremy Irons, "Georgia O'Keeffe"

Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television

-- Joan Allen, "Georgia O'Keeffe"

-- Drew Barrymore, "Grey Gardens"

-- Jessica Lange, "Grey Gardens"

-- Anna Paquin, "The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler"

-- Sigourney Weaver, "Prayers for Bobby"

Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television

-- Neil Patrick Harris, "How I Met Your Mother"

-- Michael Emerson, "Lost"

-- Jeremy Piven, "Entourage"

-- William Hurt, "Damages"

-- John Lithgow, "Dexter"

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television

-- Jane Adams, "Hung"

-- Rose Byrne, "Damages"

-- Jane Lynch, "Glee"

-- Janet McTeer, "Into the Storm"

-- Chloe Sevigny, "Big Love"

The Golden Globe Awards will be presented Jan. 17 in Los Angeles.