io9 
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San Francisco, 8:21 AM
Tue Dec 22
25 posts in the last 24 hours
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12/21/09
12/21/09
1) Wrong Side of The Tracks Love
Pretty sure Billy Shake-a-spear filed the original patent on this particular plot device, though the greeks pioneered it a thousand years earlier with any tale that involved the Gods and their mortal lovers.
2) Power Loader
Actually, they look a heck of a lot more like the Armored Personnel Units from the Matrix sequels then the Power Loader from Aliens, which themselves were more influenced by anime mecha then western cinema according to the brothers Wachowski.
3) Breathing Masks
Really? So was Cameron copying Leviathan and Deep Star Six, two underwater scifi flicks that came out before Abyss, that also featured full face breathing masks? The full face breathing mask is a scifi mainstay for the reasons you already listed, not a Cameron signature piece.
4) Save Her From Her Destiny
Was there any point in which Neytiri seemed unhappy about her future? She totally dug Tsu'Tey and was happy with her life before Jake came around, she just happened to be more into him as time went on. Yeah, Tsu'Tey wasn't exactly thrilled with how things worked out, but he didn't try to kill the both of them or even hold much of a grudge about it afterward.
5) The Samson Versus Hunter Killer
We already have a modern day version of the Sampson, it's called the V-22 Osprey. The US military has been experimenting with ducted fan VTOL craft since the late 40's, and the Sampson resembles several of those designs a lot more then the flying HK's from the Terminator franchise. I'm guessing James watches the History channel a lot more then you do Mer.
6) Military BAD! Scientists Good!
Cameron has a much bigger beef with corporations and corporate greed then the military. In the Terminator franchise, Cyberdyne was the enemy, not the military. In Aliens, it was military and one Ellen Ripley versus corrupt corporation guy. In Abyss, Nitrogen Narcosis was the villain, poor Biehn was just a pawn with a bad case of the bends. And finally, as Jake's opening VO points out in the first 5 minutes of the film, the soldiers on Pandora were much more corporate merc's then Marines, and he was pretty ashamed of that. Quarich himself was more PTSD victim them military overmind, and if Burke, woops I mean Parker, had been doing his job, he would have recognized this and rotated him back home years ago.
12/21/09
12/21/09
As much as I want to link the Power Loader from Aliens, aside from it being a big user controlled robot there weren't any design similarities in the slightest. If anything, Cameron was stealing the Marauder suits from Starship Troopers... or more likely given his love of anime, Shirow's landmates from Appleseed.
12/21/09
12/21/09
06:30 AM
The landmates have a similar control system for the arms, although the cockpit is more in line with what you expect from a piece of military hardware. (The pilot is enclosed in metal with a display screen projected on the interior, his or her arms outside in enclosed control units very similar to the ones on film)
12/21/09
What's more, in fact, that's not enough, you gotta nuke them from orbit, because it's the only way to be sure
12/21/09
12/21/09
12/21/09
1)invention of the walking fork lift
2)discovery of large aliens
Then I can get in my lifter and go around saying "Get away from her, you Bitch"
12/21/09
12/21/09
12/21/09
12/21/09
12/21/09
12/21/09
12/21/09
12/18/09
"Now it's been a TV show, and two films since, and trying to go back and reshape it like that stuff didn't exist doesn't make sense."
Did Mister Cameron, Sir, just subtext:
"I saw TSCC"
"TSCC was good"
"TSCC 'owned' the Terminator timeline"
"I saw T3 and Salvation"
"They were not good"
"Forget that timeline"
... and in the Toronto Sun 'interview':
"BTW, and FYI ... I'm not bidding, Schwarzenegger's not bidding, and this 'franchise' is now worth a dollar ...
... and fifty cents"
12/17/09
GRIZZLY BEAR: Grrrrr!
TERMINATOR: [fires machine guns]
Grizzly bear drops to ground with a thud.
12/17/09
from a submarine at the bottom of the world, whilst looking onto the wreckage of the Titanic and drawing a picture of a nude Leonardo Dicaprio as he weeps silently...
12/17/09
LOL
12/18/09
12/18/09
12/18/09
12/19/09
no, but the Titanic will!
"This summer, fear RISES!"
::the Titanic explodes out of the ocean and into the theater through his NEWER NEW 3D technology that involves actually swinging a life-size Titanic model from a crane, through the movie screen, flattening the audience::
"TITANIC 2! Titanic's Revenge!"
"From the director of Piranha 2!"
12/17/09
12/17/09
?
12/18/09
Or Terminator: Terducken.
12/18/09
(...you know, cus it's about time travel...)
12/18/09
12/18/09
12/19/09
12/19/09
Tech-Apoc, it's Terminator-o-clock!
12/19/09
12/17/09
12/17/09
12/17/09
Ha
"I'll buy that for a dollar!"
12/18/09
12/17/09
It seems to me Cameron hasnt gone back on his word about his feelings for the film, he's just slightly more reserved and possibly bitter about selling the rights so long ago for so little money. But I suppose its not much to dwell on when youve had the massive hit of Titanic and the innevitable onslaught of Avatar!
Cheer up Mr Cameron, the further away from Terminator you are..the further away from Linda Hamilton you are too. And we all know how that ended!!!!! Just concentrate on films and dont sweat the small stuff.
12/17/09
*Searches Wikipedia*
OH SWEET JESUS. Time has not treated her well.
12/18/09
12/18/09
J H CHRIST! I'm 62 and seeing a woman who's 51 and if Hamilton's 53, WTF has she done to her face?
12/18/09