Cameron Blatantly Steals For Avatar Plot?

Cameron Blatantly Steals For Avatar Plot?

Far too many similarities between old SCI FI novel and Cameron's upcoming 3D epic.

Editorial Opinion
By Keven - Oct 26, 2009 03:10 PM EST
Filed Under: Sci-Fi
Source: www.chud.com

Below is a synopsis of the 1957 book in question -



Call Me Joe centers on a paraplegic — Ed Anglesey — who telepathically connects with an artificially created life form in order to explore a harsh planet (in this case, Jupiter). Anglesey, like Avatar's Jake Sully, revels in the freedom and strength of his artificial created body, battles predators on the surface of Jupiter, and gradually goes native as he spends more time connected to his artificial body.

The book is in the SCI-FI hall of fame and the author of the novel actually wrote another novel called Avatar.

Wow. That's far - far too similiar to Cameron's film for the writer (or his family) to NOT take legal action. I would. SHUT IT DOWN JAMES - THIS ISN'T GOOD!
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thwhtGuardian
thwhtGuardian - 10/26/2009, 4:21 PM
That creature on the cover is even blue, hmmm
Betty
Betty - 10/26/2009, 4:22 PM
I think it's a little late to shut it down. Plus, this IS an old concept. So much so that no one cares if he "stole" it. It's like if you wrote a story about star crossed lovers. It's not the originality of the concept, it's the execution of the concept that matters.
Betty
Betty - 10/26/2009, 4:27 PM
Anyone else notice how much the scenes in Avatar look like "Yes" album covers?

Betty
Betty - 10/26/2009, 4:29 PM
Oh, and it's called creative borrowing.

invalensname
invalensname - 10/26/2009, 4:40 PM
@Betty- that looks very close!

If memory serves, Cameron got into trouble with The Terminator for poaching ideas. The writer Harlan Ellison, I believe, who after a court-case is now recoginzed on the credits of the film
InTylerWeTrust
InTylerWeTrust - 10/26/2009, 4:52 PM
Damn, I thought Avatar ripped off Dances With Wolves, Ferngully, The Last Samurai, and the Matrix, but I don't think they were as obvious as this one you've posted. The similarities are undeniable.
Betty
Betty - 10/26/2009, 4:53 PM
Uhm, yeah that is pretty specific.

I meant just the disembodied alien experience. I've read it classic sci-fi, current sci-fi, tv sci-fi, and it's happened to me personally.lol
Betty
Betty - 10/26/2009, 4:58 PM
teabag-- I remember you saying that! I went back and looked and you were totally right. This whole thing is retread. Screw what I said earlier.
flames809
flames809 - 10/26/2009, 5:18 PM
wow it ripped of a lot of thing this movie
InTylerWeTrust
InTylerWeTrust - 10/26/2009, 5:26 PM
And of course the Avatar fanatics will be here soon to defend the "revolution to the movie industry", as they always do whenever someone makes a negative comment about the movie...
invalensname
invalensname - 10/26/2009, 5:37 PM
@Tyler- it is a revolution. Its a revolution how much one man can steal ideas and receive such accolades for it!
InTylerWeTrust
InTylerWeTrust - 10/26/2009, 5:50 PM
Invalensname: LMAO dude! Though here is a bit of truth to that comment anyway ;)
InSpace
InSpace - 10/26/2009, 6:08 PM
Intyler@There are Avatar Fanatics?
InTylerWeTrust
InTylerWeTrust - 10/26/2009, 6:19 PM
InSpace: Dude, where have you been for the past 2 months?! In almost every article dealing with this particular movie there is ALWAYS at least one person who will continue to defend the movie and say it's amazing, and they will attack nearly anyone who has a negative view of the film.
Kyos
Kyos - 10/26/2009, 6:45 PM
Poul Anderson is great! If you can check out "The Broken Sword", a pretty dark, epic fantasy story. It has vikings, trolls, lots of Norse mythology and one of my favourite depictions of elves ever. Earl Imric, who is something like the elven ruler of faerie Britain, is a sick bastard and would kick Elronds ass!

The book was first published the same year as "The Fellowship of the Ring", and you can recognize some similar themes and inspirations. But what Anderson created is not so much a heroic story about the battle between good and evil, but more like a Greek tragedy, with vengeful, scheming gods and flawed mortals who cannot escape the impending doom brought upon them by their dark desires, ambitions or simply the misfortune of a certain lineage.

What I really like about it is how big and epic the story feels (and is, actually!), although the book is not even 300 pages long. For me it's a welcome change to all the endless "sagas" some other authors tend to produce. There is little to nothing long-winded about the book, and though it might seem strange that for example one very big and important journey is summarized in merely a few pages, because “that is another story”, I think it works great.

So, if you like fantasy and haven’t read it yet: do it asap!


@topic: Haven’t read this Anderson story, but it does sound very similar to Avatar. Although it’s really not that easy to come up with something entirely original concerning Sci-Fi and fantasy, and even if you haven’t ripped off somebody’s work intentionally you should at least check if your story already exist and if so figure out how to deal with it. Anyways, I’ve not yet decided if I’m going to watch the movie. A huge hype like with Avatar usually tends to scare me off more than to entrain me. But we’ll see…
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 10/26/2009, 7:33 PM
[frick]! Could it be a coincidence? MMmmm. Its not very likely is it?

Heeeeeeere tauro tauro tauro....
InTylerWeTrust
InTylerWeTrust - 10/26/2009, 7:58 PM
Don't worry, Minotaur will arrive soon, it's only a matter of time ya know ;)

A negative comment about Avatar is his Bat-signal!
Betty
Betty - 10/26/2009, 8:53 PM
You know, I've read "Call Me Joe" now that I think about it. It's in a book of short sci-fi stories I have. It's not very note worthy. The point of view is mostly from "Joe's" perspective in his paraplegic self. He's like a miner or something. He has an alien body that resides on the surface that he can inhabit mentally and overlooks other organisms created by humans to mine or cultivate, something. Joe is happy doing his job and escaping mentally to the surface of the planet when some guy questions his motivation for his work.

Up to this point Joe didn't realize how trapped he felt in his real body. It's like his inquisitor put the idea in his head and he acted upon it, severing his ties to his real body and killing it in the process. I don't remember his genetically created body being cat-like. But as you can tell I don't remember much of the story at all.
Macksimus
Macksimus - 10/26/2009, 9:13 PM
Wait, let me get this straight...

So, Delgo copied this book, and then Cameron copied Delgo?

...whatever.

Anyway, Cameron ran into the same problems with "Terminator." Apparently, he stole much of the concept for that movie from an "Outer Limits" story or something. So, now, in the credits of "Terminator" there is a part that says "inspired by blah blah blah."

The guy pretty much rips off everything, but who cares?
He takes someone else's ideas and makes them better IMO.

kyle
kyle - 10/26/2009, 9:16 PM
idc if he copies ideas. as long as he makes it his own then why complain? aliens, t2, and titantic are his best films so far. lets hope this movie proves to live to the hype, and not like the blockbuster movies of the summer...
WeaponX
WeaponX - 10/26/2009, 9:33 PM
Maybe it's unintentional? It wouldn't be the first time someone has pitched an idea rolling around the back of their mind only to find out that it was based on something they read years ago as a kid or heard about a long time ago. It does happen.

One would be hard pressed to come off with a completely, uninfluenced, original idea. Not in this day and age anyway.

But if in fact he is purposely blowing the dust off old stories and pawning it off as his, then that's just douchey.
Betty
Betty - 10/26/2009, 9:52 PM
Has imagination plateaued?
superdog
superdog - 10/27/2009, 7:29 AM
bettty@ pretty much. ever story today is just a variation of a theme thats been around forever. theres only so much core story ideas out there. the differences are in the margins. but those can be great. i think thats the situation we have here. as you said putting consciousness into another body is an old an common sci-fi story. its the subtle differences in the characters and plot that make it different.
theFACE
theFACE - 10/27/2009, 7:44 AM
Who would have thought, you can copy as many good and invenive ideas as posssible and still somehow make a shit movie.
superdog
superdog - 10/27/2009, 7:46 AM
tea@ im sure there are plenty of other flying vehicels out there that look like that. just scour through scifi books, movies, and tv show and im sure you'll find some. and the incredible ships were automated if i recall, but the avatar ones are piloted so you obviously dont know what your talking about :)
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 10/27/2009, 7:59 AM
Look, there is a big difference between using some age old story telling devices, or even "creatively borrowing" and blatantly ripping off specific plot details! I mean lets see, maybe next year Martin Scorsese will release a movie called The God-Uncle, about 3 generations of life in the Irish Mafia. And at the beginning, the God-Uncle will tell his son and heir that he will get him a big job because he is going to make the man standing in his way "an offer he dare not feckin refuse boyo". Now, would that be a "variation on a theme" or would that be stone cold stealing from the Godfather?
superdog
superdog - 10/27/2009, 8:04 AM
i duno. never seen the godfather. like peter griffen, i just cant get into it. never made it to the end, found it boring. but if he put a cows head in the bed instead of a horse head, then yes, a variation on a theme. :)
superdog
superdog - 10/27/2009, 8:12 AM
so its just like i said, you dont know what your talking about :)
Bandrews1
Bandrews1 - 10/27/2009, 8:35 AM
Who gives a [frick]. This movie looks like its going to be cool as hell.
FlashThompson
FlashThompson - 10/27/2009, 8:52 AM
Wouldn't be the first time this type of shit happened. There was a movie in the 80's named Troll that had a kid and a father names "Harry Potter" and "Harry Potter Jr." and they were Warlocks. Also had Sonny Bono and Julia Louise Dreyfus. Really shitty low budget movie but JK Rowlings had to have seen it. There is no way those similarities could just be a little quinky dink. It also was released like 10 years before the Harry Potter books. Besides, that movie is better than the drudgery that is a Harry Potter novel or movie.
Shaman
Shaman - 10/27/2009, 8:55 AM
Well let's examine the facts then:

1- This movie looks like shit.
2- They overhyped it up our asses so much that i can taste it.
3- And they COPIED off of too many ideas to freakin' count. A "creatively borrowed" idea here and there isn't much to bitch about but THIS!!!!! Even a blind man would hear reason... uh, wait a minute...

Either way, from the first time i saw the trailer, it looked like shit and since i've got an outhouse full of it, why the hell would i pay through the nose for more???
Betty
Betty - 10/27/2009, 9:18 AM
Shaman--I think it's because corporate america knows most of the population are a bunch of idiots who don't explore anything further than the tip of their penis.

Here, we are a sub, sub group of people that wont eat shit if you tell us it's pâté. Granted our niche of comic book movie lovers is climbing but most don't visit a site dedicated to these interests. We question these things because most of us know what we're talking about.

It's like Burger King. No matter in what order you put the patties, how much cheese, or if you top it with chicken fries, it's still a greasy ball of heart attack special. And people will come back for seconds because they say it's NEW and GOOD!
Shaman
Shaman - 10/27/2009, 9:33 AM
Good point, betty! But i think that things are coming to a change in our near future. All we need is to boycott the shit they're force feeding us. Like Avatar over here.

Next step in evolution: Stickin' it to the man!!!
Minotauro
Minotauro - 10/27/2009, 9:44 AM
All I got to say is...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

*falls to knees, then chest*
SkunkApe1
SkunkApe1 - 10/27/2009, 9:54 AM
Good book about man on Mars is "Man Plus".
StephenStrange
StephenStrange - 10/27/2009, 9:54 AM
hell yeah to that, Betty. Agreed on all points.....

Also @ Betty: In answer to your very profound question: maybe we have "plateaued" but imagination itself is infinite so it will never truly run out.

But on the subject of Avatar, I still intend to judge it on it's own merits.

It probably will be cliche filled and yawn inducing plot wise, but if it's pretty to look at, it will have been worth it at least one time on the big screen.

If Cameron plagerized, shame on him.
thwhtGuardian
thwhtGuardian - 10/27/2009, 10:21 AM
but they are tasty heart attack specials betty!
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