How the Phantom Menace 3D Trailer Really Improves Episode I

From: http://gizmodo.com/

Watching the official trailer, I get the feeling that not even Lucasfilm is convinced that a third dimension is going to improve The Phantom Menace. So they've instead they've opted for Plan B in the trailer for the 3D re-release: the eradication of Jar Jar Binks.

Can we finally agree that likes 3D? The effect doesn't enhance the moviegoing experience even when originally shot with fancy 3D technology, but the Phantom Menace was released well before the 3D fad ruined our Friday nights. So it has to be manually converted to leap from the screen, with results that Ebert has lambasted far more eloquently than we could.

But we see through you, Lucasfilm! You can hide Jar Jar Binks in this trailer all you want, and the movie actually looks kind of decent without him. But you and I both know know he's still out there, lurking, waiting to shove his particularly awful brand of terribleness that even more in our faces, floppy ears jangling wildly as he jumps out of the screen and into our nightmares. [YouTube via TheForce.net]

The Episode I -- 3D Poster

From: http://furiousfanboys.com/

Transformers 3: Or, How James Cameron Got Michael Bay to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love 3-D

by Jen Yamato
from http://www.movieline.com/

When Michael Bay’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon barrels into theaters this summer in 3-D — the first 3-D outing for the film series and for Bay himself — you’ll have one man to thank for it: James Cameron. Fittingly, Bay took the stage at a Transformers 3 footage screening Wednesday night on the Paramount Studios lot to compare notes on the format, its future, and its frustrating limitations with none other than Cameron himself.

Sitting side-by-side with moderator Jay Fernandez of The Hollywood Reporter leading a conversation filled with tech details and friendly banter, Bay and Cameron took it back to the beginning, when Avatar had yet to prove itself worth the giant leap of faith and money and Bay was still hesitant to leave his comfort zone.

Having once invited Bay years ago to the set of Titanic, a film whose vertical sinking ship set piece is evoked in a building-toppling sequence from Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Cameron welcomed Bay onto the set of Avatar while he was in production. But Bay, a purist at heart who still prefers film over digital, felt alienated by Cameron’s tech-heavy production. “3-D is all ones and zeroes,” Bay explained to the audience of journalists and film students. When Paramount asked him to make Transformers 3 in 3-D, Bay says, Cameron (“the man who talked me into it”) insisted he give it a shot: “[He said] Michael, we’ve done everything. You’ve got to look at it as a toy, another tool to get emotion and character in the experience.”

Cameron, meanwhile, has been drinking the 3-D Kool-Aid for years. It was his desire to make 3-D a viable cinematic form that led him to abandon film for digital in 1997, knowing that the advancement of digital tools was a prerequisite for working in 3-D.

[SLIDESHOW: Click for images from Transformers: Dark of the Moon.]

But current 3-D rigs aren’t yet ideal in weight or versatility — at least, current to the time when Bay was filming Transformers 3. So in order to shoot his film in 3-D, Bay had to adjust his preferred methods: shooting 10 shots per day instead of 50, for example. And the unique risks involved were unprecedented to the director. After the first day of filming on Dark of the Moon, Bay woke up exclaiming, “I’m in love with 3-D,” only to discover that the hard drives housing that day’s worth of footage had been corrupted and his precious footage lost.

Bay, then, is much more frustrated with the limitations of current 3-D filmmaking than Cameron seems to be; practically speaking, it requires him to change the way he shoots. But judging from the approximately 10 minutes of footage shown, including the first five minutes of Dark of the Moon and an extended reel of footage, 3-D might have been one of the best things to happen to him.

Perhaps because working with 3-D required him to slow things down in terms of action, Bay’s action sequences appear to be clearer and more discernible. Extensive hand to hand robot fight sequences, robot transformations, aerial scenes, and a show-stopping set piece involving a massive robot constricting itself around a skyscraper in downtown Chicago are much easier to follow than similar scenes in the first two films. Also impressive are scenes of a squadron of military paratroopers, led by Josh Duhamel, who leap out of a plane mid-air and wind their way through a cityscape in freefall like flying squirrels caught on the wind.

More on the footage, briefly: [SPOILER ALERT] The opening first five minutes set up the premise of Dark of the Moon. A massive Star Wars-esque battle between robots is raging on Cybertron, where an escaping bot is attacked and crash-lands on the moon. Meanwhile, in 1960s America — think Michael Bay’s version of Mad Men — NASA and the government catch wind of the landing and race to put a man in space to beat the Russians to the crash site. Mixing archival footage with face-replicating CGI, Bay depicts the secret U.S. mission that we never knew about: Neil Armstrong isn’t on the moon to make one small step for man, he’s there to investigate the Transformers landing, bringing back to Earth the knowledge that we’re not alone in the galaxy. [END SPOILERS]

Reaction to the footage was mixed, though the reel drew applause. The 3-D looks fantastic — and, as Cameron himself complimented, one can’t tell the difference between native-shot footage and converted footage. (The percentages, according to Bay: 60 percent native 3-D, 15 percent digital, and the rest conversion.) “I like that you’re using 3-D aggressively,” he told Bay.

“The question is, how many millions more will it make in 3-D?” Cameron asked, turning to Bay. “I guarantee more than $30 million.”

But 3-D isn’t just an involving process, requiring complex added technical steps to shoot — it’s expensive, given the labor, equipment, and added post work involved. Bay spent seven months testing various conversion houses to find companies he trusted with the job, and made sure his fx techs got footage well in advance. The extra cost of 3-D for a film, Bay estimates, is $30 million. To Cameron, that $30 million is worth every penny. “The question is, how many millions more will it make in 3-D?” Cameron asked, turning to Bay. “I guarantee more than $30 million.”

Finally, conversation turned to the problem with the current state of 3-D filmmaking: Bad 3-D conversion jobs. “Bullshit 3-D is turning off audiences,” said Bay. Cameron agreed, citing bad 3-D as a step backwards in the struggle to get audiences back in theaters. The appeal of 3-D, he claims, is a direct solution to the threat of VOD. “But we’re abusing it,” he said, blaming studios for rushing through the time-consuming process of fine-tuning the 3-D treatment.

Another problem facing would-be 3-D filmmakers? Brightness levels in theatrical projection, another result of money-saving efforts, only controlled by theater owners. “Laser projectors are the future,” he predicted. Also in the near future, according to Cameron: Passive vs. active shutter home 3-D glasses, “tablets and laptops that don’t require glasses and are auto-stereoscopic,” and within 5 years, glasses-free 3-D television screens. We’re in the 3-D equivalent of the auto industry circa 1905, Cameron insisted.

Bay had a slightly different take: “It’s the Wild Wild West,” he said, of the current disconnect between filmmakers, exhibitors, technology, and the audience. But if Cameron has his way, it won’t be this way for long.

Peter Jackson’s First Hobbit Set Update

From: http://furiousfanboys.com/

Peter Jackson has updated his Facebook page with the first real update from the set of The Hobbit, and in addition to revealing a pic from the set; he confirmed they are shooting the movies at 48 frames per second.

Shooting and projecting at 48 fps does a lot to get rid of these issues. It looks much more lifelike, and it is much easier to watch, especially in 3-D. We’ve been watching HOBBIT tests and dailies at 48 fps now for several months, and we often sit through two hours worth of footage without getting any eye strain from the 3-D. It looks great, and we’ve actually become used to it now, to the point that other film experiences look a little primitive. I saw a new movie in the cinema on Sunday and I kept getting distracted by the juddery panning and blurring. We’re getting spoilt!

As for the image on the monitors…it sure does look at lot like Bilbo is exploring a certain cave. Jackson promises a video update very soon, and we’ll let you know as soon as it’s up.

China goes wild for 3D porn film

Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy is a world first, with technology that hopes to revive an ailing industry. But it is unlikely to be seen in full in the mainland

• Ben Child
• guardian.co.uk

Grappling with it ... Sexual content is cut for mainland audiences, for example from Ang Lee's Lust, Caution. Photograph: Supplied By Lmk
 
It is being billed as the world's first 3D porn film, a movie so salacious that Chinese audiences are reportedly flocking from the mainland to more permissive Hong Kong for the chance to see an uncut version. Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy will open in the former British protectorate and Taiwan next week. The £2m Cantonese language film is an ornate fantasy with high production values, set at the kinky court of Ming dynasty ancient China. It is ostensibly based on the classic Chinese erotic text, The Carnal Prayer Mat, and follows a young man as he befriends a duke and enters a world of royal orgies and other sexual peccadilloes. The film is also a reworking of an earlier Chinese movie, 1991's Sex and Zen. Writer and producer Stephen Shiu told local media the film would feature some "very graphic sex scenes". He added: "It will leave audiences feeling like they are sitting right there at the edge of the bed." Sex and Zen's content means it is unlikely to be screened uncut in mainland China, though there are reports of tour groups planning trips to Hong Kong and Taiwan so that people may see it. Such a development mimics events in 2007, when mainlanders travelled to the island to watch an uncut version of Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, the Chinese cut having excised key scenes which left audiences confused and disappointed. Last year during the shoot for Sex and Zen, Shiu told Reuters "It's because it's forbidden in China, (that there) is so much enthusiasm in China for this film." He added: "Somehow when you're doing a 3D movie you always want to make an impressive image because the viewers ... are going to buy tickets with double or even triple the ticket price to get into a world they've never seen before. It's not just erotica, they want some 'wow factor'!" Sex and Zen stars one Hong Kong and two Japanese actors in the main roles and is directed by Christopher Sun. Some are predicting it could be the first of a wave of softcore 3D films, helping the industry to emerge from a period in which it has been hit heavily by free internet porn. However, the costs of shooting in the format have so far proved prohibitive. Nevertheless, Italian director Tinto Brass is said to be planning a 3D version of his notorious 1979 erotic film Caligula, and there are rumours of a 3D porn spoof of Avatar titled This Ain't Avatar XX.

'Star Wars: Episode I' 3D Gets Theatrical Release Date From Lucasfilm, Fox

By Pamela McClintock

From: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/

Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images

George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic is supervising the 3D conversion.

Lucasfilm Ltd. and 20th Century Fox will release the 3D version of Star Wars: Episode I:The Phantom Menace on Feb. 10, 2012.

George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic is supervising the 3D conversion, with an eye for both technological considerations and artistic intentions.

Lucasfilm believes Star Wars is perfectly suited to be seen in 3D.


The Hollywood Reporter first reported that Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace would be converted to 3D.

Lucas hopes that releasing the film early in the year, outside of summer blockbuster season, will give it an open run at the box office and also set up the opportunity to sell merchandise through the balance of the year. The plan under discussion would make the release of the subsequent films in the series an annual event on the film calendar.

If the first in the series meets with success, the remaining five films would follow a year apart on comparable dates. However, depending on how the first release performs, the companies could also decide to open the subsequent entries in different spots on the calendar.

When the new special-edition version of the original three Star Wars movies were re-released in 1997, that cycle began with a re-release of Episode IV: A New Hope on Jan. 31, followed by Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back on Feb. 21 and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi on March 14.

Launching the movies during the first quarter of the year would also give Lucas Licensing the opportunity to launch new licensing programs that could run throughout the course of the year.

Keanu Reeves Reveals Plans For Matrix Four And Five

From:  http://www.contactmusic.com/
 
The fourth and fifth sequels to 'The Matrix' may be shot in 3D, with creators Andy and Larry Wachowski reportedly keen to ''truly revolutionise'' the action movie genre.
 

Keanu Reeves has revealed plans are underway for two more sequels to 'The Matrix'.
The actor - who appears as Neo in the first three movies of the sci-fi action drama - hinted he and the writers of the franchise, Andy and Larry Wachowski, have discussed the possibility of shooting the two new movies in 3D and are reportedly seeking further advice from 'Avatar' creator James Cameron.

However, the Wachowskis are said to be keen to deliver something which has "never been seen" in the movie world and would "truly transform" the action movie genre.

Hearing Keanu commenting during a key note speech at the London School of Performing Arts, a reporter for Ain't It Cool News said: "They have completed work on a two picture script treatment that would see him return to the world of 'The Matrix' as Neo.

"Keanu says the brothers have met with Jim Cameron to discuss the pros and cons of 3D and are looking to deliver something which has never been seen again. He stated that he still has an obligation to the fans to deliver a movie worthy of the title 'The Matrix' and he swears this time that the treatment will truly transform the action genre like the first movie."

However, according to the reporter, the Wachowskis are looking to complete their current work on new movie 'Cloud Atlas' before discussing the possibility of adding to 'The Matrix' series.

James Cameron Announces New Technology for 'Avatar' Sequels

From: http://fora.tv/


fora.tv — "We are going to be seeing the oceans of Pandora, and the ecosystems there. The only sweeping change between now, and when we release the second Avatar film. I want to author the film at a higher framerate... Movies are way behind, they are a century out of date!"

The 10 Best 3-D Movies And What Hollywood Can Learn From Them

By Josh, Katey, and Eric

From: http://www.cinemablend.com/


In the wake of Avatar 3-D is the next big leap and Hollywood hasn't been shy about putting everything they have into the format. Summer's over but the next few months will see even more movies released in 3-D. You'd probably better get used to wearing those glasses. Next week Piranha 3D shows up with a campy approach to the format and a few weeks later in September Resident Evil: Afterlife will take a much more technologically serious approach as it becomes one of the few movies since Avatar to use James Cameron's 3D Fusion Camera system. After riding the wave of a summer box office loaded with 3-D conversions we've talked a lot about all the ways that 3-D's been going wrong, but maybe there's something to be learned by looking back at all the times 3-D went right.

Freed from the shackles of the mostly unsuccessful blue and red glasses 3-D which spared people to death, used properly and on the right movies, 3-D can and has added something to your viewing experience. Listen up Hollywood. Here's what it looks like when 3-D is done right.


Captain EO (1986)
When it debuted at Disney parks in the 80s Captain EO was regarded as the first 4-D film because it incorporated in-theater effects like laser lights along with the 3-D elements on screen. But really, it was just 3-D with lasers. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the short film starred Michael Jackson as the captain of a ragtag starship crew on a mission across the stars. The story was pretty silly, and since it starred Michael Jackson, prone to a lot of singing, but the movie's special effects were stunning. Coppola's groundbreaking 3-D camera tricks were so good that those 3-D effects still hold up pretty well today. In part that's because Disney went all out when making it. Captain EO cost, on average, $1.76 million per minute to make. For that money Disney parks got the first ever 3-D movie that actually really worked in 3-D. It was so well done that more than twenty years later Captain EO continues to show at Disney's parks around the world.


Jim Henson's Muppet*Vision 3-D (1991)
Captain EO got all the attention but Michael Jackson's weird, space adventure wasn't the only 3-D movie showing at Disney's parks in the 90s. If you were lucky, maybe at some point during a trip to Disney you've stumbled into a showing of Jim Henson's Muppet*Vision 3-D. The attraction first opened at Walt Disney World and Disneyland in 1991 and it takes 3-D beyond the screen. The presentation uses actual animatronic Muppets and other real special effects to heighten the impact of the 3-D elements in the movie. At some point while you're watching it becomes nearly impossible to distinguish between what's really there in the room with you and what's being projected, and since it's the Muppets, it's a lot of fun. Muppet*Vision 3-D was the last thing ever directed by the late, great, Jim Henson. If he'd stuck around longer, it's hard not to wonder what he'd have thought of the format now… or for that matter what brilliant new ways he'd have come up with to use it.


Ghosts of the Abyss (2003)
Back in 2003 people still thought of 3-D as red and blue lenses Elmer's glued into paper frames. 3-D was still the awful, clunky, unwatchable stuff of Jaws 3-D and audiences wanted no part of that. But quietly, behind the scenes, James Cameron was working to change everything. Before he shot Avatar he started testing a new kind of 3-D on a series of underwater documentaries. This Cameron directed film was the first Disney movie produced in 3-D and, if you were one of the few who made it to an IMAX theater to see it, it blew your mind. Sure a lot of the 3-D effects were wasted on pie charts, but oh what pie charts. Graphs are a lot more interesting when they're hovering of the head of the guy in front of you. Images leaped out of the screen with stunning clarity. As Cameron's robotic cameras dove into the wreck of the Titanic, it was easy to let yourself go and feel as though you were really there. It would be more than half a decade before Cameron perfected his 3-D technique, but he laid the groundwork here, quietly, and while no one was really looking.


Superman Returns: An IMAX 3-D Experience (2006)
When it was released in 2006 an alternate version of Superman Returns called Superman Returns: An IMAX 3-D Experience was released simultaneously in IMAX theaters. It was the first live-action Hollywood movie to get a combined IMAX 3-D release, though now its commonplace. Only 20 minutes of the film were actually converted into 3-D which resulted in the admittedly annoying process of taking your 3-D glasses on and off throughout the film… but oh what a 20 minutes. Superman's bright, sharp colors and director Bryan Singer's talent for stunning visual clarity made those 20 minutes of 3-D worth the trouble. Used primarily on action sequences, 3-D made the movie's biggest moments even bigger and grander. Combined with IMAX's unmatched picture and sound quality Superman Returns delivered an, at the time, unmatched of theater experience.


Meet the Robinsons (2007)
Meet the Robinsons was a turning point for Disney. The studio's second attempt at computer animation was also their first good one. They'd been struggling, their animated movies were no longer working, and then out of nowhere suddenly Meet the Robinsons did. It helped that they had a strong story rooted in the importance of family, but visually, I'm not sure the movie would have worked without 3-D. On its own Robinsons' animation looked dated and overly simplistic but when 3-D was used to add depth, suddenly the film's unexpectedly simple landscape design became deeper and more interesting. In applying 3-D to such basic computer animation Robinsons discovered something interesting: 3-D works best when you keep it simple.


Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)
While most movies use 3-D only to enhance what they're doing, Journey to the Center of the Earth existed solely in the service of 3-D. It was made, from the beginning, with 3-D in mind and the entire film was crafted from stem to stern with audiences wearing funny glasses as the plan. That paid off in a big way in sheer entertainment value. While the movie's story was, admittedly, a shallow, paint by numbers modern version of Jules Vernes' classic tale, the film's visual elements were such a blast that most went in and didn't care. The movie took full advantage of both the gimmicks and subtler nuances 3-D offers to delight and amaze. Journey to the Center of the Earth was the rare 3-D movie that there was literally no point in watching without 3-D. Without your glasses on, without 3-D effects, there was no movie. Maybe they didn't always get the story right but Journey knew how to get the most out of 3-D.


My Bloody Valentine (2009)
Before Hollywood started trying to promote 3D that was "subtle" and "enhanced the world of the film," My Bloody Valentine used the technology the way it was always intended-- to scare the hell of an audience by throwing things at them. I can't even tell you how many times a pickax swung perilously out over the crowd, or how many bulging eyeballs or body parts came up for our close inspection-- and that's mostly because I had to cover my eyes in terror every time it happened. I have no idea why a cheapie horror movie like My Bloody Valentine managed to do live-action 3D better than something massive like The Last Airbender, but I'd never been so happy to see real humans in the third dimension-- and then, of course, to see those real humans chopped to bits.


Coraline (2009)
As we've seen with many of the 3-D films released this year, it's often difficult to get the proper level of depth required for a positive 3-D experience with a live action movie. Henry Selick's Coraline, on the other hand, has depth to spare. Both filmed in 3-D and animated using 3-D figures, the movie actually establishes an immersive world for the audience, something that 90% of 3-D films lack. Be it expanding a tunnel into an alternate world filled with button-eyed doubles or fighting against the evil Beldam in a gigantic spider-web, Coraline was a movie experience made for 3-D. Watching it that way is like stepping inside the film's magical, stop-motion world. In Henry Selick's clay-molding hands, Coraline's 3-D experience was supremely effective.


Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
Monsters vs. Aliens was an endearingly goofy and over-the-top spin on the classic monsters movie, and how better to honor the B-movie roots than by showing the whole thing in glorious 3D? It wasn't just that it was better to have the various laser beams and monsters flying out of the screen at you, but that even the 3D was getting in on the fun, amping up the bright colors and crazy action so that you didn't have a choice but to jump in. As one of the first DreamWorks movies conceived in 3D, MvA's action sequences took great advantage of the format, sending Ginormica skating down the streets of San Francisco with cars as roller skates, and showing off every bit of alien weaponry in sharp 3D detail. Monsters vs. Aliens was too early in the 3D trend to take advantage of enough high ticket prices to earn itself a sequel, but it still represents one of the earliest and best examples of how animation can really work with the added dimension.


Avatar (2009)
James Cameron began developing Avatar in 1994 and much of the time between then and its 2009 release was spent developing the movie's groundbreaking 3-D effects. Live action elements were shot entirely on the 3-D Fusion Camera System and that worked. But much of the reason the film's 3-D succeeds is that 60% of the movie's scenes contain no live action elements and were done using photorealistic computer generated images created using a new kind of virtual camera system for motion capture. Under Cameron's direction 3-D is used to give the Pandoran jungles depth or to make seed pods float out over the heads of the audience, and at times what's happening on screen feels utterly real. Since its release Avatar has become the gold-standard in 3-D filmmaking, and if you're serious about making a 3-D movie, then you'll do it the Avatar way.

“World’s Fastest 3D Film Segment” clocked by Mercedes SLS AMG

Antony Marceles

From: http://www.nitrobahn.com/

Leave it to Mercedes to think about making a 3D movie that defines speed.

Ingredients:

Mercedes SLS AMG, a closed section of the Isle of man, an ex-Formula 1 star and BBC presenter David Coulthard, Britains best 3D teams, boom cars and choppers.

Procedure:

• Assemble Britain’s brightest talents in 3D technology.
• Ask David Coulthard to drive the SLS AMG as fast as he possibly could (and mind you – he is fast).
• Track the paces with “another” Mercedes SLS AMG with a boot 3D camera (driven by none other than rally ace – Robbie Head), a modified 4×4 with a V10 engine, special boom cars and several helicopters.

Note: Once the camera’s were off, Coulthard went on to accomplish his personal goal of clocking 162 mph on the snake-like Isle of Man, which is the country’s lone stretch of public roadway that doesn’t have a speed limit

Serving:

Check out the video (in true 3D) on Sky’s 3D pub channel this Sunday. Wired reports that the producers have brokered a deal “with a major electronics brand” to show it on the company’s gear across its stores.

You can also check out the trailer for the film, and a “making of the film” below.

via PistonHeads

Jackass 3D Trailer Shoots Out Of The Internet And Onto Your Computer

By Josh Tyler
The first trailer for Jackass 3D has arrived and, it’s a trailer for another Jackass movie. By now you should know what you’re getting.

New this time around is the 3D element which, by all accounts, the Jackass boys plan to milk for all it’s worth. This won’t be some subtle and artistic use of the format, even in the movie’s 2D trailer below, you’ll easily see that they plan on shooting, farting, and rocketing as many things straight at the camera and out over the audience as possible. This is Jackass. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Here’s the Jackass 3D trailer, meet me afterwards for an observation:

Here’s something odd. Not all of the stunts in the trailer are entirely original. In fact, at least one of them has been routinely done by little girls on YouTube. You probably remember this scene from the trailer:


If you search YouTube for “flying girl bounce” you’ll find about a dozen videos of pretty much the identical stunt being pulled off rather routinely by teenage girls, some of them far more spectacularly than as done by the Jackass boys in the trailer. Here’s a few examples:






Apparently this thing is a fairly standard attraction at summer camps for teens around the world. But Knoxville and the boys, sensing a laugh opportunity, have added paintball to it. That's Jackass innovation at work.

Titanic 3D Confirmed by Avatar Director Cameron

by David Finklehorn
from http://gnews.com/

Avatar director James Cameron confirmed at the D8: All Things Digital conference that Titanic would be rereleased in 3D.

During an interview with Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg, Cameron was asked about the possibility of bringing a 3D uplift to his classic love story.



“We’re not thinking about doing that, we’re doing it. We’ll have it ready for the ship’s 100th anniversary,” Cameron said according to CNET News.



The triumph of Avatar has prompted a surge of 3D movies which have had varying degrees of success. “There are ways to do it well and there are ways to do it poorly, and I think we have seen examples of both; mostly the latter,” Cameron added. The stunning visuals of How to Train Your Dragon are perhaps the best example outside of Avatar of how 3D done properly can really add to a film. By comparison, the Clash of the Titans 3D experience was little more than cheap parlour tricks to jump on the 3D bandwagon.



Unlike Clash of the Titans however, Cameron promised that Titanic would be handled carefully and scheduled a Spring 2012 release of the 3D version to coincide with the centenary of the ship’s demise. Clash of the Titans was blitzed for 3D in two weeks, Cameron intends his project to take at least six months.

Asked whether other blockbuster classics would be renovated with a 3D treatment such as The Terminator, Cameron was coy: “It depends. We’re going to spend months and millions converting Titanic. But if we do lousy jobs of conversions, “pop-up book style”, that’s going to get old quickly.”

The 3D movement has been set in motion, but as far as Cameron is concerned, it’s a revolution that could be extremely short-lived if not handled properly. A lot rides on Titanic for the future of 3D retro films, let’s hope that it doesn’t sink in the dramatic fashion of the ocean liner.

by David Finklehorn

How Much Money Will Converting the Star Wars Films to 3D Make?

From: http://www.swtorstrategies.com/

Apparently, LucasFilm has decided to covert the Star Wars Trilogies into 3D. This is not exactly a surprise, as Hollywood is an a rush to make every movie 3D. But how big of a money maker will it be for the franchise?


The cost to convert a traditional 2-D movie into 3D can range between $50,000 and $100,000 per minute. If you split the difference, and say the cost would be $75,000 per minute, then the total price tag to convert all six films would be around $59 million.


In 1997, George Lucas released the special editions of Episode IV, V and VI into theatres. Star Wars opened in January and sold $138 million worth of tickets. The Empire Strikes Back opened a month later, but only had $67.6 million in tickets sales. Finally, Return of the Jedi opened in March, and ended its run with $45.5 million in sales.

Now, if you assume that the Original Trilogy films bring in exactly the same money in tickets sales for a re-release in 3D, then LucasFilm would stand to bring in $250 million in ticket sales on a $37 million investment. My guess is that if they do the 3D right, and do it quickly, then they are looking at tickets sales much higher than $250 million for this new release.

Clearly Lucasfilm will make their money back and then some, but is it worth doing? Does anyone care to see this or is it just another case of Lucas screwing around too much with the franchise?

Sharp shows 3-D touchscreen displays for mobile devices

By YURI KAGEYAMA , AP Business Writer
From http://www.physorg.com/

Enlarge

(AP) -- Sharp's latest 3-D displays deliver bright, clear imagery without the cumbersome glasses usually required for such technology. Now the bad news: They only work on a 3-inch (7.5-centimeter) screen held one foot (30 centimeters) from the viewer's face.

Sharp Corp. demonstrated liquid crystal screens Friday for mobile devices that showed 3-D animation, touch-panel screens that switched from one 3-D photo to another and a display connected to a 3-D video camera.

Movies and TVs in 3-D are no longer surprising. Sony Corp. and Pansonic Corp. of Japan, as well as South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics, already sell or are planning 3-D TVs.

The drawback until now has been the need for special glasses, which show different images to the right eye and the left eye. Sharp's 3-D technology doesn't require them because the displays are designed to shoot different images to each eye.

The technology may be applied to TVs in the future, said Executive Managing Officer Yoshisuke Hasegawa. But he acknowledged it now works better when the distance between the viewer and the screen is fixed.

The smaller displays, shown Friday, are intended for mobile devices such as cell phones, game machines and digital cameras.

The 3-D animation on the handheld screen looked like a miniature version of the 3-D animation we are used to seeing on larger TV screens, though images were less convincing than those seen in a darkened cinema.

Photos on the touch screen were less clear and even a bit blurry from certain angles, though Sharp said its latest technology does away with such "ghosting" effects.

Still, the system promises gaming and technology fans the potential for pop-up e-mail messages and taking 3-D photos of friends.

The technology is likely to show up in the next DSi portable game machine, which Nintendo Co. says will be 3-D. Sharp refused to confirm the names of companies it was supplying.

Sharp expects 3-D to replace two-dimensional displays the same way color replaced black-and-white in movies and television.

"The arrival of mobile 3-D is just around the corner," Hasegawa told reporters.

Sharp tried to sell 3-D products in the past but failed, largely because of poor image quality. This time, the Osaka-based company has made breakthroughs for displays that are twice as bright and clear as existing 3-D displays.

The displays can continue to show 3-D images when they are turned to the side, a key feature for smartphones, according to Sharp. Mass production of the 3-D LCDs is set to start in the first half of fiscal 2010, which began April 1, it said.

©2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Wizard of Oz set for 3-D remake

The Wizard of Oz is to be remade for the 21st century, with 3-D special effects and a very modern Dorothy.

By Anita Singh, Showbusiness Editor

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Judy Garland, as Dorothy Photo: AP

Inspired by the box office success of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, executives at Warner Bros are pressing ahead with an update of the childhood classic.

The studio is weighing up two rival projects which take Frank Baum's original story as their starting point, and will be very different from the 1939 film starring Judy Garland.

The first is Oz, produced by the team behind the Twilight franchise and aimed at the teen market.

The second, as-yet-untitled film has a darker tone and moves the action closer to the present day, with Dorothy's granddaughter returning to Oz to fight the forces of evil. The script has been written by Josh Olson, whose previous credits include David Cronenberg's A History of Violence.

Both projects have been in development for some time, but the surprise success of Alice in Wonderland has spurred Warner Bros into action, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Tim Burton's re-imagining of the Lewis Carroll tale has met with mixed review from critics but took an astonishing £210 million worldwide on its opening weekend, eclipsing Avatar.

The studio is keen to capitalise on the current vogue for 3-D movies, and believes a new Wizard of Oz film could spawn a franchise.

It has been remade before - The Wiz, released in 1978, featured an all-black cast including Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow.

Other remakes of Hollywood classics in the offing include a new version of My Fair Lady, with Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan frontrunners to take Audrey Hepburn's role of Eliza Doolittle, and Hugh Grant tipped to play Professor Henry Higgins.

3-D Can Be Explained [infographic]

Via: Online Schools.org

CBS Sports Will Telecast Men's Basketball Final Four Games in 3D

By Chris Littmann

By Eric Fisher, Staff Writer
SportsBusiness Journal

CBS Sports will show the semifinals and championship game of the NCAA men's basketball tournament in 3D, marking the network's first foray into 3D TV and the latest high-profile sports event to be shown in the enhanced format. The network has struck a deal with Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. to show the Final Four games in 100 movie theaters nationwide, with pricing yet to be established. CBS additionally selected Pace, whose 3D involvement includes work with the NBA and the record-setting Hollywood epic "Avatar," to aid with the production, with the choice based significantly on the firm's prior background with shooting basketball in 3D. "This is another experiment. We're looking to learn as much as we can," said CBS Sports Senior VP/Operations & Production Ken Aagaard. Aagaard added the 3D production is a likely forerunner for future such efforts by the network in football.

CBS, meanwhile, has signed Capital One as the third presenting sponsor of March Madness on Demand, adding to AT&T and Coca-Cola. Capital One also recently signed with the NCAA as the newest corporate champion sponsor, joining AT&T and Coca-Cola. The network continues to project that MMOD advertising sales will finish well north of last year's $30M, though executives declined to disclose specifics.

Posted In: College Basketball

Michael Jackson fans line up at Disneyland for return of 'Captain EO'

Fans decked out in futuristic garb formed a line early Tuesday to see the return of the Michael Jackson film "Captain EO" to Disneyland after a 13-year hiatus.

At 10 a.m., the 17-minute, science fiction-themed musical returns to the Tomorrowland Theater for limited engagement. It replaces "Honey I Shrunk the Audience," which closed Jan. 3.

"Captain EO" debuted at the height of Jackson’s fame in 1986, featuring director Francis Ford Coppola and executive producer George Lucas. It cost a reported $30 million to make and ran as an attraction at the theme park until 1997.

Fans began lobbying for the return of the 3-D film soon after Jackson’s death last year, saying it would honor the King of Pop.

The Times' Brady McDonald, writing at the Daily Travel & Deal blog, says the return of Captain EO “presents a perplexing challenge to family-centric Disney: How to market a movie relic starring a controversial character without appearing to capitalize on his demise.”

The film stars Jackson as a captain leading a crew of aliens, robots and "fuzzball" on a spaceship on a mission to deliver a gift to a wicked alien witch played by Anjelica Huston.

A Disney spokeswoman told KTLA that there was no timeline for how long the show would run, but said it would stay for as long as it remained popular.

--Tony Barboza

Photo: "Captain EO" starring Michael Jackson thrilled Disneyland visitors from 1986 to 1997. The 3-D production reopens Tuesday at the theme park. Credit: Disneyland Resort

'Spider-Man' Movie Gets Release Date And 3D Treatment

by Rick Marshall
from: http://splashpage.mtv.com/

The new, live-action "Spider-Man" movie will hit theaters July 3, 2012, filmed in 3-D and directed by "500 Days of Summer" filmmaker Marc Webb.

Sony made the release date official today, and added that the film will debut in 3-D when it premieres. Production on the project, which has yet to name an actor for the lead role, is expected to begin later this year. The studio announcement also indicated that the film's title hasn't been finalized yet — though we're pretty sure the name "Spider-Man" will be in there somewhere.

“Spider-Man is the ultimate summer movie-going experience, and we’re thrilled the filmmakers are presenting the next installment in 3D," said Jeff Blake, Chairman of Sony Pictures Worldwide Marketing & Distribution, in the statement. "Spider-Man is one of the most popular characters in the world, and we know audiences are eager and excited to discover Marc’s fantastic vision for Peter Parker and the franchise.”


The "Spider-Man" movie is based on a screenplay by James Vanderbilt. In an interview with MTV News, Webb hinted that Marvel's "Ultimate Spider-Man" series could provide source material for the new film.
While no one has been cast in the film thus far, "Percy Jackson" star Logan Lerman recently indicated that he was in talks for the role of Peter Parker previously held by Tobey Maguire. The studio has indicated that the new film will bring Spider-Man and his supporting cast back to high school, relaunching the franchise with a newer, younger set of actors.

How Regular Movies Are Converted To 3D

Now that Avatar is officially the highest grossing movie of all time, it's inevitable that studios will continue to push 3D as the new frontier of cinema. But actually filming in 3D is prohibitively expensive. Here's how they fake it.

Not many directors share James Cameron's obsession with three dimensional authenticity, and not many films have the budgets to support the directors who do. Filming in 3D requires the use of two cameras, barely offset, capturing all the action in tandem. The technology involved, and the people who know how to use it, come with a high price tag (to the tune of seven figures). So most of the 3D movies that will be coming out of Hollywood in coming months, including the two new Harry Potter films as well as Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, create the effect in post-production.

Here's the gist of it: graphic artists separate shots out into layers of depth, which can number anywhere from two layers for shots with simple shots to eight for shots with more complex compositions. Then, the objects in each layer are carefully traced, creating a topographical map of the scene. Here, the computer steps in, simulating the second camera's perspective by generating another, slightly offset image. The images in the layers closest to the viewer are offset the most, creating the illusion of things popping off the screen, while the background is only offset slightly.

The more complicated the shot, the more work must be done by hand. With Tim Burton's detailed worlds, you can bet that a whole team of artists were doing a whole lot of tracing. To read about the process in more detail, head over to Slate. [Slate's Explainer]

Send an email to Kyle VanHemert, the author of this post, at kvanhemert@gizmodo.com.