James Cameron Explains Why Hollywood is Screwing Up 3D
For over a year now, I’ve been referring to one quote from James Cameron over and over in the many articles I’ve written about 3D. Cameron stated way back in 2008 at the 3D Entertainment Summit, while talking about Alice in Wonderland (which is incidentally due out in a few weeks), that it “doesn’t make any sense to shoot in 2D and convert to 3D.” In another new interview segment at MTV, Cameron talks about how 3D is still being used improperly in Hollywood. “But it’s typical of Hollywood getting it wrong, right?” he asks. Indeed it is. But his new quotes from this are some of the best I’ve heard. You tell ‘em Cameron!
They start by referencing the red and blue 3D from the Grammys and how big of a trend 3D has become.
“So there is an evolution, people are now starting to not accept inferior forms [of 3D], which is good. But it’s typical of Hollywood getting it wrong, right? We do a film that’s natively authored in 3D, shot in 3D, so they assume from the success of that, that they can just turn movies into 3D in 8 weeks… and that’s going to work somehow.”
Cameron was then asked if he’s optimistic about Clash of the Titans and goes on to say that he has no hope.
“But it’s just not the way to do it, if you want to make a movie in 3D, make the movie in 3D! And by the way, it should be a filmmaker driven process, not a studio driven process. I’ve been telling filmmakers for the last five years, [there's] this whole new way to paint, a whole new set of colors, and they’ve all kind of hung back. Now it’s getting crammed down from above, and people are getting told to make movies in 3D, and it should’ve been the other way around, they should’ve been banging on the doors of the studio saying, ‘I want to make a movie in 3D, let me do it!’ And it didn’t happen.”
This is why I love James Cameron. Everything this guy says is just solid gold. I love it, this is exactly what I believe about 3D, too. If only Hollywood (and filmmakers) would’ve been smarter from the start about 3D, it wouldn’t have been ruined by this point, and we could still be appreciating it in proper doses. Not to say we can’t appreciate great 3D movies like Avatar and Coraline, but it’s now become this annoying trend in Hollywood to convert everything to 3D. But the problem is really what Cameron is saying – they’re all trying to convert it to 3D after the fact. Why don’t they shoot in 3D from the start? That’s how it should be done.
If you’ve been reading this site since we published that quote back in 2008, you’ve probably heard me gripe about 3D more than enough over the last few years. But every time I see a new quote like this, I just have to feature it, because it’ll help everyone understand what needs to be done for 3D to get on the right track. We got a taste of how great 3D can be with Avatar, but Hollywood and the studios need to learn that converting movies like Clash of the Titans and Robin Hood to 3D in post-production doesn’t mean it’ll look any good. As Cameron says, “people are now starting to not accept inferior forms [of 3D].” When will they learn?
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Indie Trailer Sunday: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trailer
There have been some really strong films coming out of Sweden recently (need I mention Let the Right One In) and this is another one to add to that list. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo got a lot of buzz when it showed in the Cannes Marketplace and buyers went crazy for it, but it’s only now making its way to the US. This film is the first in a trilogy about a journalist and a young female hacker wrapped up in a murder mystery. Not only does it seem like a very intricate and fascinating story, but this trailer is pretty sleek. All of it looks great, the cinematography and story and acting. I’ll be checking this out this spring. Take a look!
Watch the official US trailer for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo:
You can also watch The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trailer in High Definition on Apple
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, aka Män Som Hatar Kvinnor in Swedish, is directed by veteran Swedish filmmaker Niels Arden Oplev, of Chop Chop, We Shall Overcome, The Eagle, and Worlds Apart previously. The screenplay was co-written by Swedish writers Nikolaj Arcel & Rasmus Heisterberg. This is the first film in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy series of novels. This was first released in Europe last year but is just hitting US theaters now thanks to Music Box Films. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will start showing in very limited theaters on March 19th. For more info, visit the official UK website. Anyone else interested?
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Depp Confirms Knightley & Bloom Won’t Return for Pirates 4
Actor Johnny Depp recently appeared at a press event this weekend for Alice in Wonderland and talked briefly about Pirates of the Caribbean 4 (via Collider), officially known as Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which will start shooting this summer in Hawaii. Depp confirmed that Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, who played Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner, won’t be returning for this sequel. Depp also said, “we’re coming at it from a different angle at this point, Rob Marshall and [a] totally new take, it’s a new story.” Some photos of the Black Pearl arriving in Oahu recently showed up on Hawaii News Now, too.
So we know that Johnny Depp is back, Geoffrey Rush may return as Barbossa, and Penélope Cruz is in, too, but not many others from the original will be back (that we know of at least). So does that mean more Jack Sparrow in On Stranger Tides? “I don’t know. I don’t think we’d ever throw too much Jack Sparrow in there. There will be a little bit of everybody,” Depp said at a press conference. With a new cast and a new director, I think this movie can be pretty much called a reboot, or at least a virtual restart, even though its got some of the same cast returning. Info on this sequel is sparse right now, but it looks to finally be coming together.
As for another Johnny Depp project we’ve been waiting for an update on, Depp was asked if he thinks Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows will still start shooting this year even though Pirates 4 is shooting, too. “No, I see it going this year. I hope it does. I do, yeah.” Again, he doesn’t say much, but it sounds like he’s trying to fit in both projects this year. We’ll keep you updated, so stay tuned! Anyone worried about Pirates 4 yet?
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Up in the Air and The Hurt Locker Win Writers Guild Awards
The 2010 Writers Guild Awards were held tonight at the Hyatt Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. Up in the Air, written by Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner, and The Hurt Locker, written by Mark Boal, took the top awards tonight (in the adapted and original categories, respectively). The Cove also won the documentary award. This is pretty much exactly what we expected to happen at the WGA, no big surprises. This was also where 500 Days of Summer got a good nomination, since it didn’t get one at the Oscars, but I didn’t expect it to win anyway. Plus, this may be a sign of what will happen at the Oscars in a few weeks.
While there were some other good nominees in the WGA Awards this year, like A Serious Man, Star Trek, and Precious, I’m happy with these winners. And if both films go on to win Oscars in a few weeks as well, I’ll be satisfied. I think these are two of the better scripts, although I wouldn’t mind seeing District 9 break out and get some Oscar love (since it wasn’t nominated for the WGA Award). Last year’s big winners were Milk and Slumdog Millionaire, both of which later took home an Oscar, it’s likely this will happen again. A lot of scripts were disqualified this year, including Inglourious Basterds, Pixar’s Up, and District 9. Thoughts?
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DiCaprio the Latest to Work on Aaron Guzikowski’s Prisoners
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m getting pretty tired of writing about all the different hands this script has gone through. Aaron Guzikowski’s script Prisoners was first unleashed upon Hollywood back in March of last year. At one point Bryan Singer was set to direct with Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, but that never happened. Then they attached Training Day’s Antoine Fuqua late last year to direct a “lower budget” version, eventually hooking Hugh Jackman as well. But now apparently both of them have fallen off and Leonardo DiCaprio is now the latest to to be “taken” by the script. Now he’s setting it up at Warner Bros.
Deadline Hollywood is reporting that DiCaprio is interested, but will only star in it if they attach the right director. He apparently only works with top notch directors like Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, Ridley Scott, Sam Mendes, and so on. Prisoners has a Mystic River-meets-Taken storyline, and DiCaprio wants to play the lead role, a small-town carpenter who takes matters into his own hands when his daughter and her friend are kidnapped. “In the 12 years we’ve run this company, this is the most interesting, morally complex thriller we’ve ever gotten, and we can’t wait to make the movie,” Alcon exec Andrew Kosove said.
So if this script is as incredible as it sounds like (I haven’t read it yet), then why the heck is it taking so long to get made? Shouldn’t some actor or producer or director scoop this up and do whatever it takes to get it made, if it’s so damn good? I don’t understand. Why did Fuqua drop out? While he wasn’t the perfect choice, I thought he would’ve done a great job with this. This project has gone from exciting to annoying, and I hope they figure out their plans soon before I lose all interest. I want to see Prisoners with a great cast and a great director, but every time they get someone good attached, it falls apart. Wonder what will happen this time.
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Cheech & Chong Confirm that ‘Up in Smoke 2′ is on the Way
I received an email from a reader named Brandon tonight linking to a YouTube interview with legendary stoners Cheech and Chong talking about all things geek, movies, and, well, Cheech and Chong. But at one point (about 1:02 in) they talk briefly about what they’ve got coming up for movies and Chong says there’s three things: a concert movie, out on 4/20, called Hey Watch This! (pre-order on Amazon); an animated feature, “a bunch of those” Chong says (not just one movie), but the first one will get released “sometime after 4/20″; and lastly, they reveal that “we’re also working on a movie movie, Up in Smoke 2.” Hell yes!
They both go on to joke that they’re going to call the sequel “Avatar 2: Escape from Guantanamo,” which doesn’t really make sense, but whatever. The big news coming from this interview is that their are a “bunch” of animated movies on the way, as they’re just animated sequences of clips from their old stand up shows, so they have plenty to pull from. The other big news is that they are apparently working on a sequel to Up in Smoke, which I would say is the most popular of the Cheech and Chong stoner movies. I’m sure this has been rumored for years, but this is the first time we’ve heard either of them mention it. Heard anything?
The original Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke, released in September of 1978, is the infamous stoner movie that first introduced Cheech and Chong to the world. It was actually a fairly big success, too, earning around $44 million total (which was impressive for the time). The plot follows “two stoners” who take a van made entirely out of marijuana from Mexico to LA. Sure, I know they followed that up with plenty of other movies that could be called sequels, but I think they want to make a direct sequel or a “revisit them 35 years later” kind of thing. Who knows? But I can’t wait to see it. Glad to see Cheech and Chong back in action! Agree?
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List of Cities Revealed Under Tron Legacy’s Viral Countdown
I love viral marketing. I love the mystery and intrigue surrounding big games like this, I love everything. Earlier this week we reported on the discovery of a new viral site for Tron Legacy called just Zero Hour (located at flynnlives.com/zerhour). A countdown clock was initially all that was discovered on the site, and it’s set to expire next Wednesday, February 24th at 8AM. However, a few days later a few mysterious pixels started showing up beneath the binary countdown clock, slowly forming a list of around 25 different cities which we think will be part of the next “game” (to be held locally in each city) when this countdown ends.
Here are the 25 cities listed on the site: Sydney, Denver, Madrid, Paris, Boston, Washington DC, Orlando, Atlanta, Raleigh, San Diego, New York, Philadelphia, Toronto, Austin, Minneapolis, Nashville, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and London. Our friends on the Tron Sector forums have been following this closely as well. We’re not sure what will happen on Wednesday morning, but if you live in one of those 25 cities, you will definitely want to get up at 8AM PST and find out what’s going on. Stay tuned for more next Wednesday!
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Must Watch: Trailer for Don Hahn’s Waking Sleeping Beauty
Disney has just debuted the trailer for Don Hahn’s wonderful Disney Animation documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty that I’ve been talking plenty about since seeing it at the Telluride Film Festival last year (read my review). It’s an incredible documentary, probably my favorite of 2010 (and 2009), and this trailer captures some of that magic. But, of course, you have to see the entire thing to get the full story. I can’t say enough good things about this and I hope everyone makes it their goal to eventually see this. “We went from hitting rock bottom to creating the most successful films ever. This is the story of how we got there.” Enjoy!
Watch the official trailer for Don Hahn’s Waking Sleeping Beauty:
You can also watch the Waking Sleeping Beauty trailer in High Definition on Apple
Waking Sleeping Beauty is directed by Disney producer Don Hahn and features a behind-the-scenes look at Disney Animation during that 10 year period and what they had to go through to make movies. Beyond that, it has a fascinating look at the power struggle between then-Disney execs Jeffrey Katzenberg, Michael Eisner and Roy E. Disney (who passed away recently). This is, hands down, a must see documentary for anyone that loves Disney or anyone that wants to see a honest and intimate look at the world of Disney Animation. Disney is bringing Waking Sleeping Beauty to limited theaters starting on March 26th this spring. See it!
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Tom McCarthy Directing Giamatti in ‘Win Win’ for Searchlight
Tom McCarthy is much more than just a talented actor (you’ve seen him in Duplicity and 2012 recently). He has also written and directed two great films – The Station Agent and The Visitor, the latter of which got Richard Jenkins an Oscar nomination last year. Now McCarthy is joining with Fox Searchlight to direct a new feature called Win Win that will star Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan, as announced on NY Mag’s Vulture. The drama is about “a suburban New Jersey family and the teen runaway who changes their lives and turns around the sagging fortunes of a high school wrestling team.” Shooting starts in April. Read on!
Vulture is calling Win Win “The Blind Side for indie literary types.” It makes sense that Fox wants another sports success story following The Blind Side’s unnecessary success (and likely Oscar win). A few weeks ago, McCarthy was out searching for a teenager wrestler to play the lead. “I’m looking for a real kid, wrestling experience is a plus,” McCarthy said. “Someone with an edge — Kyle [the runaway] is a quiet, tense young man with a tough past.” Sounds like an interesting project and I’ve got faith not only in McCarthy, but in Fox Searchlight, as they almost always produce films with great stories. We’ll keep you updated on this!
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Wes Craven is Officially Directing Scream 4 Starting This May
Last November we heard from actress Neve Campbell that it looked like director Wes Craven was going to be coming back to the horror franchise he helmed in the late 90’s with Scream 4. But with a more recent report saying Craven might have another project lined up, there wasn’t any certainty. Now it seems official as the LA Times’ Hero Complex recently profiled the legendary horror director and discovered that he will start filming the sequel this May. Thanks to occasional updates from writer Kevin Williamson on Twitter, we know he’s been hard at work on the script, and now it’s finally time for a return of the Ghost Face Killer.
Aside from Neve Campbell, franchise actors Courtney Cox and David Arquette will return for a story that will also introduce new characters and is set ten years after Scream 3. Plus, in the same way the originals made tongue-in-cheek references to horror cliches, Williamson has said that Scream 4 will allude to manga, Asian ghost girl movies, PG-13 horror movies, vampire films, M. Night Shyamalan movies and even torture porn. There’s plenty of new horror nonsense for Scream to poke fun at, but I hope Craven has new ideas to keep his slasher fresh, so it doesn’t become white noise amongst the rest of the upcoming franchise revivals.
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