Avatar, a 2009 epic sci-fi flick written and directed by James Cameron, has marked a major technological breakthrough and ushered in a new era in digital effects. Although development on the movie began in 1994, when Cameron wrote an 80-page scriptment for the film, the director soon found he would have to wait for the necessary technology to become available if he were to achieve his vision of the film.

Beginning Dec. 20, a special edition of Avatar is landing on Apple’s iTunes Store packing in interesting iTunes Extras unavailable on other platforms. According to the press release, these interactive digital enhancements let fans:

Other perks include an original screenplay by James Cameron, Cameron’s scriptment (a novella with some scenes broken out into dialogue), a gallery of 1,700 images and more. You can pre-order your digital copy of this highest-grossing movie of all time (Blu-ray best-seller, too) at www.iTunes.com/Avatar beginning today. The flick costs $15 in standard-definition (add a $5 premium to enjoy it in 720p high-definition).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj03N88Lpx0]

  • iTunes Store rolling out across Latin America (9to5mac.com)
  • iTunes Match international rollout was premature, Apple issuing refunds (9to5mac.com)
  • iTunes 10.5.2 hits, adds several improvements to Match and fixes for audio distortion problem in CDs (9to5mac.com)
  • What do these new items in iTunes mean about your Match Library? (9to5mac.com)