Avatar mental news round-up

It's set to become the highest-grossing movie ever, but The Pope doesn't like it because the Na'vi sex scene made him so depressed he considered suicide. Or something.

Man, you know a film has really captured the zeitgeist when it's still generating headlines almost a month after release. James Cameron's Avatar is a juggernaut that's still opening punters' wallets, and it's this huge popularity that's seen it on the tip of everyone's tongues, including those in the media.

First, some cold hard facts. As it stands, Avatar is currently the second highest-grossing movie of all time. The first, in case you needed reminding, was James Cameron's Titanic. People sneered when he said he was "King of the world" but you can't argue with numbers like that.

Analysts and bookies are confident that Avatar will eclipse Titanic still. It's yet to open in Italy in Georgia, but seeing as Georgia's national currency is the potato, their gross isn't expected to make much of a difference.
Next, a textbook case of media manipulation. According to numerous sources, including CNN, the 3D world of Pandora is so beautiful, it's been throwing thousands of viewers into unending spirals of depression, because they'll never experience its wonder. Hm.

While it's true that there is an Avatar forum with a thread entitled 'Ways to cope with the depression of the dream of Pandora being intangible', which did contain a number of slightly upsetting posts alluding to suicide, fans are hardly painting themselves blue and throwing themselves off of cliffs. A bit of research revealed that only 16 people participated in the discussion. Avatar: it's the new Swine Flu.
Meanwhile, the review everyone's been waiting for is in: The Vatican City's local newspaper. Unsurprisingly, given Avatar's positioning of nature-as-religion, they didn't like it. Churchy's take? "Not much behind the images," says the headline. Fair enough, chaps. They can't all be Passions Of The Christses.
Finally, in news that will please weirdos around the world, comes news that James Cameron originally wrote a sex scene between Jake's avatar and Neytiri. Yeah, alien sex. Turns out those hair plug thingies that connect to Pandora's flora and fauna can also be connected to other Na'vi - but only if they're feeling kinky.

Read Avatar's sex scene in full here, but only if you live alone.