There are a lot of huge James Cameron fans out there (including us), and something tells me that when “Avatar” hits theaters December 18th, there’ll be even more of them. Which makes us even more excited over some exclusive news we have to report, on a very-cool opportunity to help a good cause – and maybe even get yourself sitting next to the “Titanic” filmmaker in his own private screening room.

An auction recently went live benefiting Muse Elementary – a non-profit school in Malibu founded by Cameron’s wife Suzy Amis four years ago to help educate children on issues of global awareness. Among the drool-inducing items that will be won by lucky Cameron fans: Read more...

Sometimes a movie comes along that we know precious little about, except that we might want to keep an eye on this thing. “Paul” is one such project – a random mix of comedy and sci-fi starring fan favorites Simon Pegg, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig and Sigourney Weaver. Mix in the fact that it’s written by Pegg and his “Shaun of the Dead” partner Nick Frost, and directed by “Superbad” helmer Greg Mottola, and the recently-wrapped flick could be something special when it hits theaters next year.

Oh, and did I mention that it also stars Seth Rogen as an alien? Read more...

Not everyone is digging the look of the Na'vi in "Avatar," and frankly, neither was I -- until a picture of Sigourney Weaver as a Na'vi popped up online, that is. In an upcoming issue of Empire, the "Aliens" heroine -- who plays a scientist in the James Cameron-directed film -- is revealed in all of her blue-skinned, yellow-eyed glory... and holy heck if she doesn't look exactly like an aliened-up Ellen Ripley!

The transformation of Weaver got me wondering about other Cameron-directed characters who'd benefit from the "Avatar" treatment -- and it got our crack team of designers wondering, too! The result is our very own visual interpretation of five classic Cameron characters as Na'vi warriors! Read more...

All of us here at MTV are excited for Ridley Scott's "Alien" prequel. The director hasn't had anything to do with the series since the 1979 original, which is a bonafide classic. To honor Scott and his lasting contribution to badass women in film, we've paired up the lovely duo of MTV contributor Jenni Miller and Photoshop ninja/digital producer Sohyung Kang to produce a magical list of five leading ladies who could rock Ripley.

Although there aren't any hard and fast deets out there concerning Ridley Scott's prequel to "Alien," I've got my fingers crossed for a female badass to rival Sigourney Weaver's iconic Ripley. Since Weaver has stated publicly she doesn't think Ripley could be part of an "Alien" prequel, I have a few suggestions as to who could fulfill the role of cinema's favorite alien-killing, kitty-saving, space-feminist. Read more...

All of us here at MTV are excited for Ridley Scott's "Alien" prequel. The director hasn't had anything to do with the series since the 1979 original, which is a bonafide classic. To honor Scott and his lasting contribution to badass women in film, we've paired up the lovely duo of MTV contributor Jenni Miller and Photoshop ninja/digital producer Sohyung Kang to produce a magical list of five leading ladies who could rock Ripley.

Although there aren't any hard and fast deets out there concerning Ridley Scott's prequel to "Alien," I've got my fingers crossed for a female badass to rival the Sigourney Weaver's iconic Ripley. Since Weaver has stated publicly she doesn't think Ripley could be part of an "Alien" prequel, I have a few suggestions as to who could fulfill the role of cinema's favorite alien-killing, kitty-saving, space-feminist. Read more...

All of us here at MTV are excited for Ridley Scott's "Alien" prequel. The director hasn't had anything to do with the series since the 1979 original, which is a bonafide classic. To honor Scott and his lasting contribution to badass women in film, we've paired up the lovely duo of MTV contributor Jenni Miller and Photoshop ninja/digital producer Sohyung Kang to produce a magical list of five leading ladies who could rock Ripley.

Although there aren't any hard and fast deets out there concerning Ridley Scott's prequel to "Alien," I've got my fingers crossed for a female badass to rival the Sigourney Weaver's iconic Ripley. Since Weaver has stated publicly she doesn't think Ripley could be part of an "Alien" prequel, I have a few suggestions as to who could fulfill the role of cinema's favorite alien-killing, kitty-saving, space-feminist. Read more...

The franchise has admittedly flagged a bit in more recent outings, but the news that original "Alien" director Ridley Scott is stepping up to helm a prequel is nothing less than exciting. He left the series after that first movie. James Cameron's sequel was excellent, but the two subsequent entries from directors David Fincher and Jean-Pierre Jeunet went downhill fast. Let's not even talk about half-alien/half-human hybrids. Ever.

Still, Sigourney Weaver's turn as Ripley in those films, particularly the first two, represents a formative moment for female action heroes. So naturally, MTV's Josh Horowitz asked her about Scott's upcoming prequel when he spoke to her at San Diego Comic-Con. Ripley obviously won't be showing up in it, but she had some lovely things to say about her former director and about the franchise as a whole.

by Michael Avila

One of the more interesting panels at Comic-Con this year not specifically geared to plug an upcoming movie was Entertainment Weekly’s forum discussing the role of female heroes in modern pop culture. Sigourney Weaver, Eliza Dushku, Zoe Saldana and Elizabeth Mitchell were seated on the dais before an enthusiastic standing room only crowd. It took about 20 minutes for someone onstage to realize Saldana's and Mitchell’s nameplates were misplaced.

Before Buffy slayed, Lara Croft raided and Starbuck, er… drank, Weaver was bitch-slapping Paul Reiser and basically inventing the archetype for ass-kicking women as Ridley in James Cameron's 1986 sci-fi action flick “Aliens.” Five years later, Cameron would release “T2: Judgment Day” featuring another female action hero. Sarah Connor, played by Linda Hamilton, paved the way for the modern-day heroine who can balance motherhood with her need to pound skulls and work out. Read more...

It’s official: Ellen Ripley is the most badass female movie character of all time. So now the only question that remains is a simple one: Will we ever see her again? “You know, Fox was going to do another one,” Sigourney Weaver said to us recently while accepting Ripley’s honor. “They had it written. Joss Whedon wrote it.”

As Weaver remembered it, however, the script from the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” mastermind just didn’t rock her world. “It took place on earth,” she explained. “Which, I have to say, just really didn’t interest me. And I just felt that every time we went out there, we needed to have a really original piece.” Read more...

Who kicks ass without giving a damn? Who looks good while raining down body blows? Who pops off that killer catchphrase before laying on some serious hurt? Those are the heated questions we’ve been asking around the MTV News office and on our blog for the last month. Last night at New York Comic-Con, we settled on an answer, revealing to the assembled crowd our definitive Top 10 list of Greatest Movie Badasses.

On Monday morning we’ll bring you the full report, but for now here are some quick hits from the evening as our panel—Method Man, “30 Rock”’s Judah Friedlander, “Best Week Ever” contributor Chuck Nice, and James Toback, who directed the forthcoming Mike Tyson documentary—argued and joked over whether or not we got the butt-busting list right. Read more...