Some Avatar seen

True fans of sci-fi, genre cinema and next-tech are salivating for James Cameron’s upcoming 3D epic AVATAR.

He finally just unveiled some footage from his $300 million (!!!) project at the Cinema Expo in Amsterdam utilizing the RealD XL Cinema System. The 3D presentation was on a 55 foot screen with nearly 10 foot Lamberts of light, delivering the largest and brightest 3D presentation at Cinema Expo.

And the reaction seems to be incredibly positive. That is, what little of it has trickled out of the Expo — Fox and Cameron have kept a shroud of secrecy over what was seen, but samples of responses (via THR and MarketSaw) go something like this:

“sustained applause at the conclusion of the presentation“

“will change movie industry forever“

“Believe the hype“

THR says this: “The filmmaker also said the action gets nonstop in the latter portions of the film, which throughout is populated by strange life-forms in a world of unprecedentedly rich fantasy elements. Worthington plays an avatar — a remote-controlled character created by melding his crippled human form into a super-human being — whose fate lies ultimately in doing battle with his own former race.”

And in case all that’s somehow not enough to get you fired up, MarketSaw got some snaps (like the one above) from the afterparty, giving more tiny glimpses at the world Cameron has crafted. The movie opens in December, and I know what I want for Christmas (besides Jessica Biel).