As a "Star Wars" nut, I'm a sucker for any story that boasts a rich universe as its backdrop. When I turn on a movie set anywhere outside the bounds of reality, I want to be able to pick out the tiniest feature of the background and know how it fits into the fictional landscape. This is why I'm so excited for "Avatar." The natural quality of the universe that director James Cameron draws me right in.
It's for that reason that I've recently come to enjoy thumbing through the book, "Avatar: An Activist Survival Guide." Presented as a government-sponsored file folder -- "A Confidential Report On The Biological And Social History Of Pandora," the cover reads -- the book details the flora and fauna found on the planet Pandora, the Na'vi culture and physiology, and the human elements present on the distant world. In the video below, "Avatar" producer Jon Landau talks about how the book will complement the movie for superfans and budding superfans.