Cameron takes film studios to task over 3-D

Cameron believes studios are rushing to take advantage of the publics appetite for 3-D films...

Avatar director James Cameron sees misguided thriftiness in Hollywood studios latest craze to convert big movie projects from 2-D to 3-D,but the pace of such conversions shows no signs of letting up. Cameron believes studios are rushing to take advantage of the publics appetite for 3-D films. But using computers to convert standard 2-D movies to 3-D,instead of filming in 3-D,gives audiences a cheaper-looking film and could do more harm than good if audiences get turned off. He ought to know. Shot in 3-D,Avatar is the top-grossing movie of all-time with $2.7 billion at box- offices.

And Cameron is not the only filmmaker questioning studios headlong rush to convert films to 3-D,in a brewing battle that pitches major directors against the studios that employ them. Transformers maker Michael Bay has questioned the move,too.
The problem is these decisions should be made by filmmakers,they shouldnt be made by studios,because if it was up to studios theyre going to sacrifice quality for lower cost, Cameron said,in an event to promote the April 22 release of the DVD for Avatar.

Studios are rapidly converting now that Walt Disney Co has seen its 3-D conversion Alice In Wonderland sell more than $570 million in tickets since its March 5 debut.
On April 2,Warner Bros,a division of Time Warner Inc,will release its action movie Clash Of The Titans as another 2-D to 3-D conversion.

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3-D FOR TENTPOLES
Warner Bros now plans to release all major tentpole movies in 3-D,Alan Horn,the studios chief operating officer,told the movie theatre convention ShoWest last week. He said conversion to 3-D doesnt lessen the experience of viewers.
Some estimates put the cost of a conversion as low as $5 million a film. Shooting in 3-D is far more expensive,industry watchers say,but difficult to determine because Avatar is one of the few live-action movies shot in 3-D.

It officially cost $237 million,although many reports have put the true expense over $300 million,and much of its cost was because new equipment created to make it.
Cameron said filmmakers should have been pounding on the gates of the studios saying we want to make movies in 3-D.
That didnt happen so now theyre paying the price,which is a top-down studio cramdown telling them to make their movies in 3-D and theyre caught with their pants down, he said.

Transformers director Michael Bay has also joined the debate,telling movie industry website Deadline.com this week that he is not sold right now on the conversion process.
Film purists see conversions as lower quality because it can produce more of a layered look,with slightly less of a smooth and continuous depth perception.

But not all filmmakers are sold on shooting in 3-D,either. Alice director Tim Burton told reporters last month there was no point shooting his film in 3-D because it would have added one more wrinkle in an already complicated production.
With all these tools,you can see good 3-D,bad 3-D,good conversion and bad conversions, he said.
Cameron himself plans to convert his 1997 blockbuster Titanic for a 3-D release in spring 2012,but he said that is different because he plans to take his time,instead of doing a slapdash conversion.

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Avatars Blu-ray pre-sales strong,Cameron says
James Cameron said that pre-sales for the April 22 home video release of Avatar are mirroring what happened in theatres,where audiences paid extra for 3D presentations. During a media event at a West Hollywood mansion,the Avatar director said presales of the higher-quality Blu-ray Disc version have consumers choosing a premium experience in the home,just as they did in theatres. The pic also will be available in a 2D version.
Cameron said he expects Fox Home Entertainments worldwide release of Avatar on Earth Day to drive sales of Blu-ray players and discs much in the way the movie convinced filmgoers to pay extra for 3D and pushed theatre owners to upgrade their movie houses.
Fox also announced a tie-in with the environmental group Earth Day Network,which will plant 1 million trees in 15 countries with the studios support.
Cameron told about 100 journalists in attendance that he has long been an environmentalist,but after writing and directing Avatar he is taking it to a whole other level. He said he hopes the home video release will enable more children to see historys top-grossing film and that they will become warriors for our planet,or else its not going to survive. Fox will follow the April 22 release with a more expensive set in November and a 3D version next year.