No, "Food for the Gods" is a film based on a short story of the same name, written by Patricia Hughes (who also happens to be the mother of the film's director, H. Scott Hughes). The title, "Food FOR the Gods" is also not precisely the same title as the Wells novel, which is "Food OF the Gods." Although the titles are similar (but not the same), that is also where the similarity ends. The plots of the Hughes story and Wells story are completely and 100 percent dissimilar. Furthermore, "Food of the Gods" is actually only the abbreviated title of the H.G. Wells novel which is, fully, " The Food of the Gods and How it Came to Earth" as it was published in 1904. There was a (very loose) 1976 film adaptation of Wells' novel, titled "Food OF the Gods," as well as an even looser sequel in 1989. This is perhaps in contrast to H. Scott Hughes' adaptation of his own mother's short story, "Food FOR the Gods," which is a much truer interpretation of her original intent. Finally, the difference between the two titles ("of" versus "for") might seem slight and subtle, but also represents more than a slight and subtle difference in meaning. Something that is said to be "of the Gods" (such as in the Wells novel) is NOT the same as people offering something "for the Gods" (which is what occurs in the Hughes film). Indeed, it's a very different meaning.
"Food for the Gods" came first!! "Food for the Gods" is based on a short story written over ten years ago, and the film adaptation was filmed and released in 2007 - a full TWO YEARS before "Avatar" appeared in 2009. Although there are some astonishingly (some might speculate, "suspiciously") similar themes between FFTG and the Cameron mega-blockbuster, it is simply not possible for the latter (Avatar) to have in any way influenced the former (Food for the Gods). That said (and just for the record), there is absolutely no evidence to support or suggest that James Cameron was even aware of FFTG's Kyontawa tribe when he first conceived of his blue aliens for "Avatar." Let's face it, the basic theme of both films is pretty timeless. Boy Meets Girl. Boy and Girl Fall in Love. All Hell Breaks Loose. Add into the mix: the Boy is an American astronaut and the Girl is an alien tribal princess and it takes place on another planet. But hey, wait a minute, this isn't new. This story has been done before. And it's quite likely that Hughes and Cameron did NOT borrow from each other, but both DID happen to borrow from the same source material (from history, as well as film). And we've seen that movie, too (in both film and animation). Only the Boy wasn't an astronaut, he was an English explorer and the Girl...well yes, she was a tribal princess, but she was NOT an alien. Her name was Pocahontas. And in fact, H. Scott Hughes originally pitched "Food for the Gods" as "'Pocahontas' meets 'The Outer Limits.'" Sometime around 2008 (still prior to Avatar's release in 2009), Hughes honored a request from a public library in another state, asking that he send them a copy of "Food for the Gods" for a literary discussion of the "Pocahontas story in film." At the time, Avatar had not even been publically announced and, therefore, a science fiction interpretation of Pocahontas seemed like a unique twist--which, at the time, it was. Finally, at the end of the day: Although FFTG and Avatar share some thematic similarities, they are no more similar to each other than "Star Trek" is to "Star Wars" is to "Battlestar Galactica" is to "Babylon 5" is to "Deep Space Nine." They are all space operas based around similar ideas (and if you like one, you'll tend to like the other),but each is wholly unique and original unto itself. Indeed, "Food for the Gods" is actually quite different than "Avatar" in both its tone and approach - and the characters are NOTHING alike. For one thing, there are no blue aliens in "Food for the Gods." All of the characters in FFTG are 100 percent human--including the Kyontawa tribe discovered on another world. They are an Asian civilization transported from Earth thousands of years ago. Indeed, the Kyontawa people of "Food for the Gods" have far more in common with the characters in "Last of the Mohicans" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" then they do with the very alien Na'vi.
Yes. "Megami: Legacy for the Gods" and "Megami: Search for the Gods" are both upcoming sequels to "Food for the Gods." The two short sequels are currently in post-production and will be released sometime in mid to late 2011. The sequels feature the entire original cast from "Food for the Gods," in an ensemble performance, as well as several new (but recognizable) faces. The added title "Megami" is Japanese, meaning "Goddess" and the new films will take on a more action/fantasy edge than their predecessor--promising plenty of guns, lasers, and lots of clanging katanas and martial arts. The new films are longer and aided by a larger budget and considerably larger scope. The production companies (a co-production of Sees Far Pictures and Rainfield Films, Inc.) see these new chapters, and the trilogy as a whole, as teasers for a possible franchise of features and/or series, anime, manga, and books down the road.
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