NASA‘s next Mars rover, going by the name Curiosity, is nuclear powered and the size of a small car. If that weren’t enough to make you want to ride it around some kind of Weird-West-Martian hellscape, it’s also getting a set of 3D cameras courtesy of James Cameron.

Malin Space Science Systems had already delivered a set of cameras capable of taking high-def color video of both near and far objects, but NASA has provided the funding for Malin to work with Cameron to develop two 3D cameras with zoom lenses.

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Roger Ebert is one of the most beloved film writers of all time and, recently, as he’s bravely battled the effects of cancer and its treatment, the esteem people have for him has only gotten greater.

However, at the same time, he’s also been showing another side to his persona; a crotchety old man who refuses to acknowledge that video games could ever be considered an artform. While his views on video games are pretty indefensible (the computer animators who design the entire world and the writers who plot out the entire game aren’t artists?), there’s one area where his Luddite sensibilities are right on the money. In an article in the current Newsweek, Ebert claims that 3-D movies are nothing but a trashy gimmick whose only real purpose is to steal extra money from audiences and this writer, at least, thinks he’s 100% right.

It stands to reason that Alien, directed by Ridley Scott, is an icon in sci-fi — and horror — filmmaking. This isn’t your everyday, run-of-the-mill hyperbole; released in 1979, with Star Wars’ popularity only growing, it broke some serious ground and put Scott on the map. What it did, it did very well, from the slow, breathtaking shots in the darkness of space, to the singularly original design of H.R. Giger‘s Alien itself. I’d bet money that even those who never saw the film have heard the tagline, “In space, no one can hear you scream.”

And its influence can still be felt today. Although Scott wouldn’t stay on for the film’s three sequels (No one is counting the Alien vs. Predator series), Sigourney Weaver did, turning the protagonist Ellen Ripley into an archetypal sci-fi heroine. In 2002, it was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. And gaming owes a major debt to it, especially when you consider Samus Aran of Metroid fame.

So to hear that Ridley Scott is working on two Alien prequels — and in 3D no less — made me both a little excited and a little anxious.

When someone puts a general poll on the internet, we get Lara Croft Way and Computer Engineer Barbie; in other words, wonderful things happen.

In this spirit, we’d like to give you some links to the more than 2 dozen geeky and geek beloved people on this year’s list of 200 vying for a spot in an issue of Time through open internet poll. If it’s going to be mostly unscientific anyway, let’s tilt it in our favor!

Speaking at a press conference to hawk Avatar‘s upcoming Blu-Ray release, James Cameron revealed his disdain for watching his opus on screens not big enough to contain its majesty.

Avatar on the iPhone? Definitely no-go. On a laptop? Still pushing it.

In 1988, James Cameron directed his first and only music video: “Reach,” for ’80s New Wave act Martini Ranch. It’s a remarkable video, in that:

*It stars Cameron’s ex, Kathryn Bigelow, as a rock n’ roll cowgirl

*Judge Reinhold and Paul Reiser are in it

*There are tarantulas and a monkey in it

*It is a music video that James Cameron directed

(h/t Ectoplasmosis)

Your first chance to grab Avatar on DVD will come next month on Earth Day, April 22nd. However, there is a twist.

On the one hand, this release is the bare-bones one. No special features.

On the other hand, the Los Angeles Times reports, “According to sources at Fox, “Avatar” will make history as the first Blu-ray new release from a major studio to hit stores without a single trailer or promotional content of any kind.” That’s right. Just a menu and the movie, so as to reserve the most disc space for all that less-compressed visual and audio data.

Last week, I Watch Stuff reported that James Cameron and Fox Studios are in talks to rerelease Avatar to theaters with some extra footage late this summer.

Now, hold it right there.  I’m going to come back to this.  But first, from the post:

Did Avatar‘s 162-minute running time leave you another to see another [sic] 10 minutes of mundane parable whitewashed with CGI?

I don’t want to specifically call out I Watch Stuff, a site that puts out good stuff; it’s one example of many.  But seriously: It’s been three months. Everyone, stop hating all over Avatar already.

We knew there was going to be an Avatar moment at the Oscars sooner or later, and Ben Stiller gave it to us: Appearing in full Na’vi regalia, he clicked and hissed his love for James Cameron and presented the Oscar for Best Makeup — which Avatar wasn’t actually in the running for. (Star Trek ended up taking the Oscar.) Stiller also claimed to have two Star Trek ears signed by Leonard Nimoy, which we are hoping against hope is true.

Video after the jump:

Sacha Baron Cohen, the shapeshifting comedic provocateur behind Borat, Ali G, and Brüno, has been totally cut from the Oscar telecast because producers were afraid his skit might bother James Cameron, Vulture reports.

Cohen’s skit was to have featured him painted blue, dressed as a female Na’vi, and would conclude with him accusing Cameron of fathering his alien love child. The fear was that Cameron might be so offended, he’d walk out of the Oscars: