What's Next for 3-D Cinema

Two big stories today on the new wave of 3-D releases...

I like the one in USA Today best. But there's also this Wall Street Journal piece.

A few good data points from the USA Today piece:

Of North America's nearly 40,000 screens, about 2,000 will be 3-D capable in time for Monsters— thousands less than [DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey] Katzenberg predicted last year.

That means fewer chances to charge an extra $3 or more a ticket to see the atomic-age-inspired romp in all its extra-dimensional cheesiness — a premium that audiences have been glad to pay in the past for such movies as 'The Polar Express' and 'Journey to the Center of the Earth.' 'Monsters vs. Aliens' also will be available in standard 2-D on multiple screens at about 1,400 locations.

Katzenberg thinks that is enough to cover the $15 million or so the process adds to a film's budget as well as make a profit, especially given the recent surge in theater attendance. But he seems less concerned about whether 'Monsters,' budgeted at an estimated $165 million, conquers the box office than he is about 3-D taking over the planet.

Almost every movie would benefit from being 3-D, the way nearly every movie benefits from being in color," he says, though the format has been best served by animation so far. "When James Cameron comes forward with 'Avatar,' it will mark a whole new era of live-action films. When other filmmakers see what he has done, they will want to use it."

The WSJ piece misses the point that eventually, with 3-D displays in the home, that will create a nice "aftermarket" for all these 3-D movies the studios are making.

3-D Gets 'Bloody'

What do you think.... will Lionsgate's 'My Bloody Valentine 3-D' help or hurt the deployment of digital 3-D equipment?

The New York Times wrote today about the mid-January release:

If “My Bloody Valentine 3D” is a success — and with a modest budget of about $20 million, success is easily within reach — the next big thing in horror could be at hand, said Joe Drake, the co-chief operating officer of Lionsgate and the president of the studio's motion picture group. “We see 3-D horror as financially lucrative and creatively exciting,” he said. “We want to break some new ground here in R-rated fare.”

...For studios like Lionsgate that focus almost exclusively on young moviegoers, the rush to 3-D technology is an attempt to adapt to the demands of the texting-while-driving-while-eating crowd. Teenagers and young adults, crucial to the health of movie exhibition, are increasingly unaccustomed to sitting still for two hours in a theater, studio executives say.

“I was excited to pursue the 3-D element because it feels really fresh and unique,” Patrick Lussier, who directed the “My Bloody Valentine” remake, said. “It’s visually stunning and a new way for this audience to experience a film but isn’t painful in the way some of the old 3-D films were, where they just rammed stuff in the audience’s face.”

The last time I talked with James Cameron about the spread of 3-D cinematography, he did express some worry about "down-market" 3-D releases. "Hopefully [3-D] doesn’t fall into that ghetto where it used to live, with 'Friday the 13th' or 'Jaws 3,'" he said.

'Journey to the Center of the Earth' Hype Begins

'Journey to the Center of the Earth,' starring Brendan Fraser, opens next Friday, and there are already some articles showing up touting its use of the Fusion camera system developed by James Cameron and Vince Pace. It's based on the Sony HDC digital camera, and it was used for the recent 'Hannah Montana' 3-D concert film.

The Boston Globe writes:

"Journey" is the first live-action non-documentary feature to be shot completely using the Fusion System, a versatile 3-D camera rig engineered by Cameron and cinematographer Vince Pace to record with greater artistic control than traditional equipment. Technical partners for the better part of a decade, Cameron and Pace did some earlier R&D for the rig on the director's underwater IMAX documentaries "Ghosts of the Abyss" and "Aliens of the Deep" - which, like "Journey," were produced with Boston-based Walden Media.

Fusion's goal is to capture imagery with photorealism - to make viewers feel that they're being pulled into the movie, rather than having the movie artificially pop out at them.

Cameron has been talking up the system for a few years now. In my last chat with him in 2006, we talked a bit about traditional cinematographers getting comfortable with 3-D cameras. "There's always resistance to change," Cameron said, "because people can't parade themselves as the world's greatest expert. But some people like challenges -- they like to push themselves and test themselves. What haven't you done yet? That's the only interesting thing to be doing. That's what gets me up in the morning."

On the set of 'Journey,' Pace told me, it was possible to review dailies or rehearsals in 3-D, if necessary, on a 25-foot screen. That's cool.

Oddly, Vince Pace's Web site makes no mention of the camera at all... but there is a separate single-page Web site for the Fusion camera.

Cinematical assesses the 3-D elements of 'Journey.' Slashfilm has an early take praising the 3-D effect, but snarking about everything else. VFXworld talks about the film's 3-D production pipeline.

The LA Times offers a PDF document from Real D showing the planned 3-D releases for 2008, 2009, and beyond. A dozen are expected next year...

Stan Winston on Art & Innovation

Special effects innovator Stan Winston died on Sunday, at 62. He'd won four Academy Awards for his work in movies such as 'Aliens' and 'Jurassic Park.' Here's the LA Times obituary.

I interviewed Winston in 2005. He told me that he was "a storyteller and an artist first."

"For me, the way that I've been able to have had the chance to be innovative technically is to think innovative thoughts artistically. The art has to come in front of the technology."

Making a movie, Winston told me, "is the most collaborative art form of all time. Every artist is not only an artist, but a tool for another artist, and at the top of that food chain is the director."

We talked a lot about his collaborations with James Cameron and Steven Spielberg ... and how they often volleyed back and forth on the best way to achieve an effect -- stop-motion, CGI, animatronics, etc.

"Every brilliant director I've worked with has been my partner in creating new technology," Winston said. When Spielberg asked him if he could build a 25-foot dinosaur for 'Jurassic Park' - a T. rex that could act - Winston said, "I don't have a clue. But we'll figure it out, because that's what we do."

Winston was clearly someone who had great fun doing breakthrough work.

A Few Monday Reads: Piracy, Cameron, Blockbuster, and Digital Cinema Fees

- The NY Times has an interesting piece today that suggests that piracy is moving from NYC street corners to the Internet. (This may be in part due to a big enforcement initiative by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg.) Eric Taub writes:

Since December 2003, when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg started an initiative to stem the trade in bootlegged and counterfeit goods, [NYC enforcement agent Shari] Hyman has “seen a huge decrease in illegal DVDs being sold in buildings.” In a February sweep, the organization checked out three buildings and 32 storefronts for bootlegged DVDs, and found none.

But New York may not be the best barometer of piracy. Worldwide and on the Internet, video piracy remains rampant. The movie industry has devised new ways to fight piracy, and has pushed for antipiracy laws and run ads to discourage pirates.

Besides pirated DVD copies of first-run films, copies are also available online for illegal downloading, mainly through peer-to-peer file-sharing networks. High-definition camcorders, some not much bigger than a cellphone, can copy films from a movie screen with little loss of detail.

- James Cameron shares a lot about what he's learned about shooting in 3-D in this e-mail interview with Variety's David S. Cohen. It's full of juicy observations, advice, and opinions. A snippet:

COHEN: Right now, 3-D is pretty much being used for films that have some spectacle in them, whether it's "Journey to the Center of the Earth" or "U2 3D"; nobody's talking about using it for domestic dramas. But there are people wondering whether it will actually enhance the impact of character-driven stories. What are your thoughts on how 3-D changes the experience of watching actors act?

CAMERON: I plan to shoot a small dramatic film in 3-D, just to prove this point, after "Avatar." In "Avatar," there are a number of scenes that are straight dramatic scenes, no action, no effects. They play very well, and in fact seem to be enhanced by the stereo viewing experience. So I think this can work for the full length of a dramatic feature. However, filmmakers and studios will have to weigh the added cost of shooting in 3-D against the increased marketing value for that type of film.

- Blockbuster wants to buy Circuit City for more than $1 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. Why? Blockbuster's CEO wants to create a company that can sell digital and physical media, and also the devices you need to play it on ... "an $18 billion global retail enterprise uniquely positioned to capitalize on the growing convergence of media content and electronic devices," CEO Jim Keyes wrote in a letter.

- Studios and cinema owners are wrangling over the fees studios will pay each time they deliver a digital file to a theater. (Known as the "virtual print fee," this helps theater owners --or a third-party that installed the digital projector and server -- defray the cost of the digital equipment.)

Mavs in 3-D ... Other Alternative Digital Content ... HD DVD Credits

- Tomorrow night's Mavs/Clippers game will be broadcast live in 3-D to one Landmark Theater in Dallas. They're using the Fusion 3-D camera system developed by Sony, James Cameron, and Vince Pace.

- The NY Times wrote yesterday about non-movie content in movie theaters. There's apparently a boomlet happening. From the story:

Chains in Tennessee and New Jersey sell $25 tickets to performances of La Scala operas. AMC and Regal, two of North America’s biggest chains, have promoted concerts (Celine Dion), marathons of classic TV shows (“Star Trek”) and seasonal events (the St. Olaf Christmas Festival). On April 24, hundreds of theaters are scheduled to show highlights from the Drum Corps International World Championships.

Few think nonmovie content will supplant movies as the primary reason people trek to the multiplex. Rather, the hope is that all the niche offerings will add up to steady supplemental income.

This is the kind of stuff that wasn't possible before digital cinema...

- People who bought HD DVD players from Best Buy and Circuit City can return them for store credits or gift cards, the Times' Bits blog reports.

3-D Revival Story in Wired, Focused on 'Beowulf'

Wired Magazine used to be the place you read about trends and new technologies first...now it often seems like they're chasing stories a year or two after the mainstream media.

In the current issue, Frank Rose realizes that:

More than 50 years after its first run, 3-D is staging a comeback — this time in digital hi-def. Once a nausea-inducing fad, it's now touted as the biggest gun yet in Hollywood's ever-growing arsenal of f/x. When Beowulf comes out in November, it will premiere on nearly 1,000 3-D screens — the most ever.

It includes quotes from two of Hollywood's biggest proponents of 3-D filmmaking, James Cameron and Steve Starkey (Bob Zemeckis' producing partner.)

Pixar's Originality ... New Products Announced by Red ... Record Budgets

- I really enjoyed this NY Times piece about Pixar's commitment to making original movies, rather than churning out easy-to-market sequels. From Michael Cieply's story:

“It takes a lot more work,” Richard Cook, chairman of Walt Disney Studios, said of the effort to introduce original films. “The rewards can be unbelievable. But they’re clearly more difficult to market.”

That originality is a dying value on the blockbuster end of the movie business is no secret. In the last five years, only about 20 percent of the films with more than $200 million in domestic ticket sales were purely original in concept, rather than a sequel or an adaptation of some pre-existing material like “The Da Vinci Code.”

- Red Digital Cinema, which I've always thought of as just a camera company, announced at NAB that they're also going to make 4K projectors and displays. Mike Curtis, a sometime consultant to the company, has the details.

- The budget for 'Spiderman 3' may have passed the $300 million mark (or $350 million, if you believe some reports), according to Variety and Radar Online. James Cameron's 'Avatar,' scheduled for 2009, already has an "initial budget" of $195 million -- which could grow bigger as that project heads toward theaters. When it comes to summer tentpole releases, studios are willing to gamble big and hope they wind up with a movie that becomes a must-see.

Direct to DVD Releases Getting Some Respect ... Squabbles Over 3-D Release Dates

- The Wall Street Journal has a good piece about studios planning more direct-to-DVD releases, relying on solid tie-ins to other movies and clever marketing. Merissa Marr writes:

Direct-to-DVD has shaken off much of the stigma of its early days. Once considered a dumping ground for movies that weren't good enough for theatrical release, it is becoming a place that top-flight filmmakers are considering taking their projects. With studios curtailing the number of feature films they are releasing, direct-to-DVD is a low-risk way to extend franchises and increase profit.

"It's not the biggest part of the market, but it's the most important slice of home entertainment today due to the enormous growth potential for each studio," says Amir Malin, a managing principal at the media investment fund Qualia Capital, who oversaw such early DVD hits as "Barbie" in his previous role as a studio executive.

Still, it's a crowded market -- the number of direct-to-DVD titles has grown from around 430 in 2004 to about 630 last year, according to Adams Media Research. One of the keys is clever marketing. With that in mind, Warner brought in marketing expert Diane Nelson to run Warner Premiere. Ms. Nelson came from global brand management, where she was responsible for the studio's big-budget "Harry Potter" franchise, among other things.

One interesting idea mentioned is Warner Bros. plan to do a direct-to-DVD release called 'Get Smarter' that will come out 10 days after 'Get Smart,' starring Steve Carell, is released to theaters.

- DreamWorks and Fox are already sparring over Memorial Day 2009: each studio wants to release a 3-D movie that weekend. Fox's is James Cameron's 'Avatar'; DreamWorks' is the animated 'Monsters vs. Aliens.' The LA Times writes:

The nation's largest exhibitors...say they won't have room for both. As many as 5,000 screens are expected to be equipped to show 3-D movies by 2009, up from 700 today. But DreamWorks and Fox each want all of them. DreamWorks Animation Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, who has been campaigning to get theater operators to accelerate the conversion to 3-D, has told people that he needs 6,000 screens for "Monsters vs. Aliens."

"I would not want to be put in the position of choosing one over the other," said Mike Campbell, CEO of Regal Entertainment Group, the nation's largest theater chain. "I want both — just not on the same day."

Friday news: 3-D, Starz v. Disney, Red Camera Gets Feature Gig, Nameless New Video Site

- In 3-D news: James Cameron talks to BusinessWeek about motion capture and 3-D filmmaking. And 3ality, one of the pioneering production firms in digital 3-D, is building a new 20,000 sq. ft. facility in Burbank, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

- Starz Entertainment is suing Disney. Starz thinks that its deal with Disney prevents the Mouse from selling its movies through services like iTunes, and is asking for those profits as damages in its suit.

- Mike Curtis reports that the Red Digital Cinema camera will be used on its first studio feature starting next month. The Universal production stars Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. But it seems that the brand-new Red camera will be used primarily for visual effects shots, not principal photography.

- Variety has some juicy business details on yesterday's announcement of a new, as-yet-unnamed video site that NBC and News Corp. will create together. And Mark Cuban tells you why he thinks the site is such a great idea. His analysis is really sharp, especially this point:

This new venture, if it can launch in the next few months, will hit the ground with more and better content, and more monetization options than Google. It's a unique opportunity to set the rules of how video advertising is sold. Something Google thought they had wrapped up when they bought Youtube.