Holy Crap: The James Cameron Music Video That Will Make You Forget All About Avatar

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I have no way of fact-checking any of this. And frankly I don’t really care to.

I love this story just the way it is.

Apparently in 1988, Bill Paxton – yes, the actor Bill Paxton – created a rock duo with vocalist-guitarist Andrew Todd Rosenthal. It was called Martini Ranch and it didn’t last long. But they recorded one awful song, called “Reach,” that they decided to turn into an epic feature-length music video. Directed by James Cameron. Yes, the Avatar James Cameron. And the video is just ridiculous. (See Techland’s complete Avatar coverage)

Behold:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KusApBvbxuM]

My favorite moment might be the mariachi band, getting dragged through the dust (see the screenshot above). And there’s also the roided-up blacksmith chick, with the shortest leather skirt you’ve ever seen.

All of Cameron’s favorite themes are present: The rogue outsider, the empowered female, the rolling tracking shot. But what’s different is that this video is just so, so bad. Watch how long it takes to actually get to the song. Egos and imaginations run amok here. And the music sucks. And the lighting’s bad. And the action’s preposterous.

We know Mondays at work suck, so consider this Techland’s Monday gift to you. Share away. And laugh your butts off. Just think about it: This dude is up for best director on Sunday night. Irony’s a bitch, ain’t it?

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