I’ve heard of really liking a film, but this is a shame to rename the ancient Heaven and Earth Pillar after Avatar, just because they stole the image and CGI-ed it to death. It was a cool film, but the real deal is so much cooler. See, Avatar copied you, not the other way around.
Of course there are a million other antecedents to various aspects of Avatar, from Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom to Dragon Hunters, but who’s counting?
Zhangjiajie Mountain Renamed after Avatar
Zhangjiajie, a city in central China has renamed a craggy peak after floating mountains featured in US blockbuster movie “Avatar.”
Local government said the floating “Hallelujah Mountains” in the movie were inspired by the “Southern Sky Column,” as a Hollywood photographer had spent time shooting there in 2008.
The majestic peak in Hunan province previously known as “Heaven and Earth Pillar” or “South Sky Pillar” has been officially renamed “Avatar Hallelujah Mountain,” the Zhangjiajie city government said in a statement.
The statement, posted Monday on the government’s website, said the peak was believed to have inspired a floating mountain, one of the most dramatic images in the movie, set on fictional Pandora.
Many pictures he took then became prototypes for various elements in the Avatar movie, including the ‘Hallelujah Mountains, according to the local government.
The futuristic adventure was released in both 2-D and 3-D versions January 4 and has become China’s all-time box-office champion – Avatar has so far made around US$102 million on the Chinese mainland.
The mountain is in the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, which is famed for its soaring sandstone pillars and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.
“Pandora is far but Zhangjiajie is near,” the local government added on its Website.
