Sam Worthington (Jake Sully) -- Avatar
We’re always being told how moviegoers set new revenue records during the holiday.
Last weekend not only did the movie industry set the largest single weekend at the box office with three movies topping over $50M each, the blockbuster film from James Cameron, ‘Avatar’ set a new 10 day gross total of $212.7M. Maybe that doesn’t mean anything to you, but how about the fact that the movie has more than 400,000 fans on Facebook?
And though no motorcycles were featured in the movie Harley-Davidson managed to secure a primo clothing promotion from Sam Worthington’s character (Jake Sully) who established an “outlaw” biker image in wearing a H-D logo laden t-shirt in a bar. More than just a product placement it instantly helped create a rebellious tough guy tone with the audience. To be candid, I’m not sure I would associate a biker bad boy image with a $35 t-shirt, but like I said it’s a movie. More important it represents a rare opportunity for Harley-Davidson—a window if you will of opportunity—to be part of something successful and catch some PR/marketing buzz!
Sam Worthington is well known for movie parts with ties to motorcycles. In Terminator Salvation he played a terminator with amnesia that had motorcycle killing machines based on Ducati’s Hypermotard. Footage is featured on Ducati’s website, showing the motorcycle terminators being put through their paces during filming.
I’m a fan of James Cameron who is famous for writing and directing successful movies such as Terminator, Aliens and Titanic. However, as people dropped $15 of their hourly income to absorb the 3D cinematography in ‘Avatar’ — I can’t help but think he’ll be remembered more for being an arrogant ass and reinforcing I’m “privileged” and above the fray. TMZ posted a video of an alleged “fan” seeking Mr. Cameron’s autograph on an ‘Avatar‘ poster at LAX. The man is snubbed, threatened and called an ass by the famous and privileged director. Nice. Way to put your fans first.
Trying to smooth over the situation musical artist John Mayer wrote a nearly 1,000-word essay on his blog standing up for Mr. Cameron’s a’tude and basically stating it’s okay to be above the fray and crap on the hoi polloi or just ignore the teeming masses… Homey don’t play that no more John. Never having met the man who ask for Mr. Cameron’s signature, John Mayer quickly assumed he was an e-bay whore. Now isn’t that fascinating. Cool that you have an opinion, but talk about the pot calling the kettle black…did you ever stop to think that selling yourself out to corporations and shilling products works for more than just a musician? Hypothetically even if the guy was going to sell it on e-bay. So what? Step down from your mega-million-$$ ivory towers and mix with the regular people. How much do you think H-D paid Cameron to use that t-shirt?!
Celebrities and musicians are beholden to their audience, the public, and the consumers. And despite the undeniable pain of the global recession we have been willing to plunk down hard earned $$ to keep you famous for another fifteen minutes! We’ll forgive the mistake… make apologies and continue to try and get it right in the future. If not, then we all live with brand new rules because it’s an era of immediacy and 24 hour news cycles. You’re now in the pit with your customers and if you want to escape the groupies then you’ll have to live in a bathroom with the lights out!
Photo courtesy of Fox.
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Why is it that when certain women get married they start to act holier than thou as if they never had a sexual past? The second coming of the Virgin Mary they are not! Humph! This lady I know, I will call her Pam, was relating a story to me about her niece, I will call her Denise. Denise has been a bit reckless sexually, but she is young and we all live and learn. I am not excusing her behavior but I am saying we all make mistakes and she will learn. Now Denise does have a baby but c’mon she is 20 years old so she is an adult. Now I have listened to all of Pam’s stories about Denise but the one yesterday was over the line. Denise met a guy online, I will call him Jim, and they have been chatting for a while on the net. Jim lives in the carribean and he decided to come visit her for the first time. Keep in mind they have only been chatting for only two months. They were having a good time until and she even sexed him up. Denise left the house for work and while she was gone Jim decided to go through her computer. Now Jim is an IT/ MIS specialist so he knows how to pull up info you think you deleted. he pulled up all of her cpmuter history and saw all of her chats and nude pictures she was sending to other guys. He got pissed and fussed Denise out. He told her she was immature and she was not virtuous and yada, yada, yada. Jim told Denise he love her and could not believe she would break his heart this way. Ok stop right here. I can say I would have dropped Jim’s ass on the spot because he invaded Denise’s privacy. I mean he don’t pay for her internet access and he did not buy that computer so he should have kept his black ass hands off of it. They have only been chatting to two months and they have not even been dating because his ass lives on another country. Jim is dumb if you ask me and he is a hypocrite. He is also an evangelist so what is he doing sexing up Denise before marriage ummmm…hello? Then Jim wants to break up with Denise. I would have said, “NEXT!” Jim get your ass to the left. I mean he got some nerve going into her computer and looking at her stuff and then fussing at her. They were not even dating. They were only chatting online and it was only two months. He is the dumb ass to get his feelings all in it so quickly, and Pam, Denise’s aunt, agrees with Jim. Pam is a dumb ass too and all she is thinking about is money becasue Jim has a good career. If I was Denise I would kick Pam’s ass to the left also. So then Iasked Pam, “how many dicks did you jump on back in the day before you married?” “How many married men did you sleep with as a sinlge woman back in the day Pam?’ I am no condoning bad behavior, but I am saying let’s stop judging and talking down to women who make mistakes and let’s start teaching and uplifting each other.
