3D Movies set to get asses in theater seats

[Mels_Smileys45]

New 3D Tech, Best thing since Sound



WE have seen the future of cinema, sort of, and it is called “Bolt,” the new Disney cartoon that opened Friday. “Bolt” is noteworthy not because it tells the story of a cute, big-eyed animal who overcomes incredible obstacles only after he accepts himself for who he is — that would be the story of nearly every animated movie — but because it is being released in Disney Digital 3-D on nearly 1,000 screens nationwide, the largest digital 3-D release to date. (It is also showing on 2,600 screens in a normal, “flat,” version.) Along with “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” which came out in 3-D in July, and spring’s Hannah Montana-Miley Cyrus concert movie, a surprise hit also in 3-D, “Bolt” represents a tipping point in what some very smart people in Hollywood expect will be a revolution.

My Bloody Valentine 3D Trailer


As many as a dozen 3-D films are scheduled for release next year, with, by one count, another 30 or so in various stages of gestation. The belief among those pushing 3-D — a group that includes Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Robert Zemeckis and John Lasseter — is that the process will be a game-changer for Hollywood, a 21st-century version of the talkies.


NYTimes

Coming soon: new generation of 3D films

· 10,000 US screens to be converted to digital
· Technology is new - but glasses remain the same

Being a studio mogul, Dreamworks chief Jeffrey Katzenberg does not do understatement.

"It is nothing less than the greatest innovation that has happened for all of us in the movie business since the advent of colour 70 years ago," the man who brought the world the Shrek movies told his audience this week.

Katzenberg was unveiling the first taste of a new breed of three-dimensional films set to hit US cinemas next year. Taking advantage of digital projection, four leading studios have struck a deal with exhibitors and distributors in North America to convert 10,000 screens to digital, doing away with the messy, heavy business of carting cans of film reels from cinema to cinema.

But while the technology may be shiny and new, the new 3D films promise to stay true to their heritage. While the boom years of the early 1950s brought such classics as It Came from Outer Space and Creature from the Black Lagoon, the new breed promises a similar dose of old-fashioned escapism.

Katzenberg treated the industry gathering in Las Vegas this week to clips from the forthcoming Monsters vs Aliens. Executives thrilled to the sight of the animated president of the United States - voiced by late-night cable TV host Stephen Colbert - proclaiming "I am a brave president!" as he shoots from a handgun while the military bombards an alien spaceship. The future, it appears, is the same as it ever was.

The return to 3D is Hollywood's latest attempt to persuade film-lovers to leave their home entertainment systems behind and venture out to a cinema. Last year 1.42bn cinema tickets were sold in North America, the same as the previous year, while DVD sales, which have sustained the studios over the past few years, slumped in 2007.

"There is a bit of that, 'If we build it,' meaning the movies, 'they will come,' meaning the theatres," Katzenberg said.

The decision to go ahead with the new format was partly fuelled by the success last month of a 3D film featuring teenage star Miley Cyrus.

Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert took $33m (£16m) on its opening weekend in February despite being released on just 683 screens.

That feat has emboldened the studios to push ahead with a programme to convert more screens to digital. The first 3,700 screens will be converted by October at a cost of $700m. So keen are the studios on the promise of the new technology that four of them - Disney, 20th Century Fox, Paramount and Universal - are bearing the cost.

Currently, only 4,600 of the estimated 38,000 cinema screens in North America are digital. Of those, just over 1,000 have the capability to screen films in 3D.

The realisation that there might be an untapped market for 3D animation came with the release of Chicken Little in November 2005. The 3D version more than doubled the per-screen box-office take of its 2D cousin.

The success of the 3D version of Polar Express also caught the attention of the studios, grossing more than $45m on its release in IMAX theatres in 2004.

Those successes have spurred a burst of 3D film-making, with enhanced versions of old animation hits being prepared, as well as a crop of new films. Toy Story 3 is being made in 3D, while the first two films in the franchise are being prepared for re-release in 3D versions.

Big-name directors are signing up to make 3D films, including Tim Burton and James Cameron, whose 3D Avatar is due next year. Other titles scheduled to get the 3D treatment include How to Train Your Dragon and a remake of Journey to the Centre of the Earth.


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[CutChaotic]

Yeah, My kids are getting into 3D movies since i got them Spykids and Journey to the Center of the Earth both 3D... Bolt will be their first 3D movie at the theater though. damn I wish I could remember when my dad took me to see JAWS 3D....

[mountain_rage]

To be honest, I've yet to be impressed by the technology, especially the system they implement for the living room, those red and blue glasses. Not only is the effect only create depth into the screen, but it also creates a ridiculous amount of ghosting. Found the same problem to be present in theaters. I've yet to experience the sensation that the objects are coming out of the screen, but maybe its just me.

[CutChaotic]

I find the effect to be ok, but they do need to improve the 3D glasses.

[Mels_Smileys45]

To be honest, I've yet to be impressed by the technology, especially the system they implement for the living room, those red and blue glasses. Not only is the effect only create depth into the screen, but it also creates a ridiculous amount of ghosting. Found the same problem to be present in theaters. I've yet to experience the sensation that the objects are coming out of the screen, but maybe its just me.

Me either. I hope this newish tech will be a bit better but they are totally ignoring the liquid crystal glasses like they use in Japan which I hear are amazing.

Ive heard the new Disney tech doesnt even use glasses. I wonder how that works

[mountain_rage]

Me either. I hope this newish tech will be a bit better but they are totally ignoring the liquid crystal glasses like they use in Japan which I hear are amazing.

Ive heard the new Disney tech doesnt even use glasses. I wonder how that works

You can get various monitors, phones, laptops that have 3d monitors that don't require glasses. The catch is that you have to be sitting directly in front of the monitor for it to work.

[shawners]

Until they make SAW 6 in 3D.. They lost me.. even before they released saw 3-5. I like it but its just kids dont like keeping glasses on. Like my 2-3 year old. The IMAX experience is awesome for movies, some of the sounds that come at you directly and behind you will make him jump. We watched ROVING mars. And every time the space ship lost a piece, it made an explosion noise. He jumped 10 times til their was a little ship flying to mars.

[Mels_Smileys45]

Until they make SAW 6 in 3D.. They lost me.. even before they released saw 3-5. I like it but its just kids dont like keeping glasses on. Like my 2-3 year old. The IMAX experience is awesome for movies, some of the sounds that come at you directly and behind you will make him jump. We watched ROVING mars. And every time the space ship lost a piece, it made an explosion noise. He jumped 10 times til their was a little ship flying to mars.

My Bloody Valentine 3D looks cool

[Movie Fan]

Bolt - $110M Box Office Gross.

That's great...

[fpu]

Bloody Valentine 3D
journey to the center of the world