We all know that Avatar is a bit of a cinematic freak of nature. The 2000s movie made a bucket load of cash at the box-office and is still the highest grossing movie of all time to this day. From a technical point of view too, the use of IMAX footage used was insane – so much so that one cinema just couldn’t handle the film.
The fantasy movie pioneered the use of 3D at the time to produce incredible visual elements and wow audiences around the world. With a runtime of over 160 minutes too, and a load of IMAX shots used, it’s not surprising that the physical film used to show the movie in cinemas is absolutely huge.
According to Jason St-Louis, the chief projectionist at IMAX Victoria, the film is so big that if you were to drop it on the floor there would be no way to pick it up and screen it in a cinema.
“We had an incident where Avatar got spilled on the ground and it was done. It was destroyed. We had to get another print expedited from Vancouver and we spent all night splicing like 50 rolls of film together,” St-Louis explained. “You can’t recoil it, it’s impossible,” he added.
Judging by the image of the absolutely monstrous spool of film on the floor and the face of the guy trying to scoop it up, the whole situation must be a nightmare. Honestly, we think we’d just tell audiences to pick another movie to watch.
But, the people love Avatar, and for good reason. The science fiction movie has a bit of everything really; action, romance, Sigourney Weaver. What more could you want?
Now, everyone can look forward to the Avatar 2 release date. But until then, check out our list of the best alien movies for more blue creatures and strange planets.