I guess you can look at 3D as a gimmick or as an actual film enhancement, the decision is up to you, but in reality it’s simply a marketing ploy. It’s a money-making scheme. Sure, James Cameron’s intentions to make Avatar in 3D were honest and pure, but 20th Century Fox execs liked it because it meant a $3 bump in ticket prices and several studios are seeing the advantages of that decision.
Most recently Warner Bros. decided to adjust the release date for Clash of the Titans so the film could be converted from 2D to 3D, something Disney did with today’s release of Alice in Wonderland. Warner Bros. hasn’t stopped with Clash either, recently announcing Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch and the comic adaptation Green Lantern will both be converted from 2D to 3D for their 2011 release dates. Also joining this bunch are both upcoming Harry Potter films with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One and Part Two now confirmed for 3D conversion.
It doesn’t stop there, recently Shadowlocked talked to Star Wars and Alien art-director Roger Christian and he revealed to them Ridley Scott plans on doing the upcoming Alien prequel in 3D. No word whether we’re talking conversion or shooting, but who really cares at this point?
Respected filmmakers are also coming out now in support of the format.
Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park recently told the BBC, “I’d like to see a 3D Plasticine animation – I think it would really suit it… In a way I’ve been a bit skeptical, but I have a feature idea up my sleeve which I’m thinking might be 3D.”
Perhaps the most outlandish comment came this past Tuesday when Martin Scorsese was quoted by the AP saying, “We see in depth, for the most part. We go to the theater – it’s in depth. Why couldn’t a film like Precious be in 3-D? It should be.”
Alice in Wonderland director Tim Burton is quoted in the same piece saying, “It’s just another tool. In fact, I’m very interested in kind of exploring it on some other levels, because it’s like sound… 3-D is just another element to draw you in a little bit more, that’s all.”
Michael Bay, a one-time detractor that called 3D “a gimmick” is now exploring the possibility saying, “It’s a process we’re testing with some Transformers scenes. How successful it is with my movie in terms of a lot of real stuff coming out of the frame, real dirt, real complicated little particles coming towards the lens, because hopefully that process will work. I’ve seen some tests that look great on other movies. I just want to see how it looks on my footage.”
Tron Legacy director Joseph Kosinski appears to be trying to avoid the negative reaction Avatar received after its first trailer debuted online and everyone was saying, “That’s it?” as the trailer for Tron Legacy hits theaters with Alice in Wonderland this weekend saying, “My suggestion is to see it in 3D in surround sound this weekend and download it next week and feel free to freeze-frame and analyze,” Kosinski said. “It was important to me that when people see it for the first time, they have the opportunity to see it in 3D on a big screen. The entire second half of the trailer is in 3-D. On your iPhone, it’s not quite the same.”
Oh really? You think we should spend money on one Disney film to see the promotion of another one? I wonder if money was falling out of his pockets while he said this.
However, Kosinski is right, it’s not the same seeing the trailer for a big action film on you computer or on an iPhone, but that’s because it’s on a tiny screen and not a big one. It has nothing to do with the 3D. I remember seeing Avatar footage in 3D on those crap screens they have at San Diego’s Comic Con only to be more wowed by a 2D version of the trailer a few months later on a traditional big screen. The 3D has nothing to do with it.
Perhaps if they come up with a way to truly make it 3D where the picture comes out of the screen as opposed to going back into it I will become more of a fan, but for now it’s just a distraction that either gets in the way of the storytelling or tries to cover up its faults. Nevertheless, it looks like my sarcastic proposition saying Mike Leigh will direct Vera Drake 2 in 3D isn’t as outlandish as I thought it was when I wrote it.
