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Conservatives have been very critical of the Golden Globe-winning film "Avatar" for its mystical melange of trite leftist themes. But what they have missed is that the essential conflict in the story is a battle over property rights. "Avatar," written and directed by James Cameron and set in 2154, is the story of young American Jake Sully, who joins a military mission to the distant moon Pandora, which has a supply of an expensive and almost impossible to obtain mineral (thus its name, "unobtainium")

SERIES Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: In two new episodes, an Iraq war veteran who has a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder triggered by, among other things, loud noises, lives near a rock quarry and a train yard. With help from Glenn Close, Ty and the team build a brand-new home in a quieter neighborhood (8 and 9 p.m. ABC). Kitchen Nightmares: Chef Ramsay attempts to make over a Burger Kitchen in Los Angeles (8 p.m. Fox). Supernatural: In this new episode Dean and Sam (Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki)

'Avatar' MPAA rating: PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language and some smoking Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes Playing: In general release

The $1.5 billion Paramount Park in Spain hopes to rival Disneyland Paris as a European tourist destination when the movie theme park debuts in spring 2015. > Photos: Paramount Park Murcia theme park in Spain Located on the Mediterranean coast about 270 miles southeast of Madrid, Paramount Park Murcia will feature 30 attractions with an adjacent shopping center, hotels and casino. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2012 on a 100-acre theme park set around a central lake that will combine the themed lands of Disneyland with the movie backlots of Universal Studios . While not an investor, Paramount Pictures will license movie properties to the developer and provide design direction for the theme park.

Forget the flying dragons and giant blue aliens, Sam Worthington is in search of human life amid all that extraterrestrial spectacle in "Avatar." Director James Cameron's sci-fi epic arrives Dec. 18 amid intense discussion of its state-of-the-art performance capture and 3-D innovations, but for Worthington, the 33-year-old Australian star of the film, none of that is as important as locating the human heart in the story. "I don't believe there's a certain way to act in an action blockbuster and I think it's a mistake to approach it that way," Worthington said.

James Cameron has set his return trip to Pandora. Fox announced Wednesday that "Avatar 2" and "Avatar 3," the sequels to last year's science-fiction blockbuster, will be Cameron's next films, with the director beginning work on the scripts in early 2011. Production on "Avatar 2" could begin as soon as late 2011, with the movie likely in theaters in December 2014, the studio said. Fox said that Cameron has not made a decision about whether to shoot the two films back to back but that he could, which would allow "Avatar 3" to come out as early as December 2015.

Remember when "Avatar" was just a movie? There have been breathless reports that "Avatar" is so vivid and so powerful that moviegoers walk out feeling let down by the gray world here on boring old Terra. "Movie-goers feel depressed and even suicidal at not being able to visit utopian alien planet" may sound like a headline from the Onion but, nope, there it was in the Daily Mail of London and, a day earlier, on CNN, which quoted a forum post by someone named Mike who glumly said that the majesty of the movie has left him feeling, um, blue.

Rick Carter, one of Hollywood's most celebrated production designers, whose credits include "Forrest Gump," "Jurassic Park," "War of the Worlds" and "The Polar Express," talks about his work on James Cameron's "Avatar." Here, in an excerpt from the Hero Complex blog, the Oscar-nominated designer, currently in Vancouver, Canada, at work on Zack Snyder's "Sucker Punch," talks about his work and Cameron's vision. -- Geoff Boucher You've worked with a relatively narrow group of directors but it's quite the list -- Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Robert Zemeckis and now Zack Snyder.

Director James Cameron had many reasons to be happy the morning that this year's Oscar nominations were announced; his blockbuster film "Avatar" tied for the most with nine, including best picture and best director. But he was dismayed that his cast, including stars Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington and Sigourney Weaver, was shut out. In fact, unlike the great majority of best picture nominees, the "Avatar" actors have not nabbed a single major critic's award, or guild prize. The snubs reflect the apparent ambivalence of the film community -- especially actors -- to "Avatar" and its revolutionary use of "performance capture," a new technology that combines human actors with computer-generated animation to create the blue, 10-foot-tall creatures who are the heart of the movie.

The Kids Are All Right Focus, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.98 Julianne Moore and Annette Bening play a lesbian couple whose teenage children go looking for their "donor daddy" in "The Kids Are All Right," a low-key indie drama with a strong sense of character. While Moore and Bening are very good as old marrieds who've started to take each other for granted, the movie's MVP is Mark Ruffalo, playing a free spirit who enters the lives of the children he didn't know he had, giving them an outlet for long-festering complaints.

With news that Disney has reached licensing agreements that will allow it to bring “Avatar” rides and attractions to its theme parks (Florida first, maybe as early as 2016), we have to ponder this question: How much do you really remember about the movie? It's only been a couple of years since the blockbuster film made its debut. And sequels are said to be in the works for 2014 and 2015. And, most important, the true aficionado will never forget. On the other hand, others may never have known.

Walt Disney Co. has struck a deal to bring flying banshees, giant blue aliens and other fanciful creatures from the blockbuster "Avatar" to its global theme parks, seeking to capitalize on the most successful film in Hollywood history. Disney reached a long-term, exclusive licensing agreement with "Avatar" director James Cameron and his producing partner Jon Landau, as well as the film's financier and distributor, 20th Century Fox, to develop theme park rides and attractions based on the 2009 hit and its two planned sequels.

It's bad enough that animation, action, fantasy and horror have been hijacked by 3-D mania. But the ground shifted for me when Werner Herzog's breathtaking documentary "Cave of Forgotten Dreams," a Zen meditation on ancient cave paintings and peoples, came with a bulky pair of 3-D glasses and a bloated ticket price. What I didn't get was a better moviegoing experience. The artistry of black brush strokes on cold stone brought those stampeding horses to life, not the legacy of a thousand greasy fingerprints I was forced to gaze through.

A roundup of entertainment headlines for Wednesday. Jon Hamm will have three more years of "Mad Men" in his future. ( Huffington Post ) Hey, kids. Here's the trailer for "Footloose. " ( Deadline ) Yahoo is interested in owning Hulu. ( Los Angeles Times ) Another day, another dead superhero. This week's edition: Spider-Man. What, oh what, will Marvel do now? ( Los Angeles Times ) Breasts and dragons are a winning combo: The "Game of Thrones" finale delivered a series ratings high.

Over the din of buzz saws and beeping forklifts, producer Jon Landau can barely contain his excitement as he strides into a 45-foot-tall soundstage that is barren except for workers building sets for a commercial shoot. "We're taking over these two buildings here. We'll have 200-plus people working down here. This is going to be the heart of the next two 'Avatars,' " he says, referring to the planned sequels to the highest-grossing film of all time. MBS Media Campus, formerly known as Manhattan Beach Studios, has just landed A-list tenant Lightstorm Entertainment, the production company led by "Avatar" director James Cameron and his longtime business partner Landau.

A roundup of entertainment headlines for Tuesday. The process has begun to evict Nadya Suleman, aka Octomom, from her home, according to a report. ( Radar Online ) Police have recovered Nicolas Cage's stolen Superman comic book, Action Comics No. 1, which is worth more than a million bucks. If he gets it back, will we be spared from another terrible Nicolas Cage movie? ( Los Angeles Times ) Tickets for Prince's 21-night residency in Los Angeles go on sale Tuesday.

Cinematography "Avatar" Mauro Fiore In tribute to the film's groundbreaking visuals -- a combination of live-action and computer-generated images -- the award for cinematography went to Mauro Fiore for his work on director James Cameron's "Avatar." The film was shot using high-definition digital cameras and a system for creating 3-D effects invented specifically for the film. "I want to thank the academy for this unbelievable honor," said the 45-year-old Italian-born Fiore, who received his first Oscar nomination for "Avatar."

It's no secret that "Avatar" has been stunningly successful on nearly every front. The James Cameron-directed sci-fi epic is already the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time, having earned more than $1 billion around the globe in less than three weeks of theatrical release. The film also has garnered effusive praise from critics, who've been planting its flag on a variety of critics Top 10 lists. The 3-D trip to Pandora is also viewed as a veritable shoo-in for a best picture Oscar nomination when the academy announces its nominees on Feb. 2. But amid this avalanche of praise and popularity, guess who hates the movie?

'Avatar 2' as innovator James Cameron plans another innovation for his next "Avatar" installment: shooting at double or more the film speed that has been Hollywood's standard since the 1920s, a move he says will greatly improve 3-D images. Cameron, whose 2009 sci-fi blockbuster raised the bar for digital imagery and put the 3-D craze on the fast track, told movie exhibitors in Las Vegas on Thursday that "Avatar 2" would be shot at 48 or 60 frames a second to reduce an effect called "strobing" that can blur moving images, particularly those in 3-D. For more than 80 years, the norm has been 24 frames a second.