december-2009

48
DECEMBER 2009 | UNITED.COM
ACTION! James Cameron sees the future, and it’s in 3-D.
The Next Dimension
Can Avatar transform 3-D from novelty to
necessity? Hollywood hopes so. // BY ADAM K. RAYMOND
AT MIDNIGHT ON December 18, the
opening credits of James Cameron’s
sci-fi epic Avatar will fl icker onto movie
screens, and cinema as we know it will
change forever. At least that’s the idea.
The fervent anticipation of Avatar
(tickets went on sale fourth months
ALSO THIS MONTH
What else to watch on
the go in December
Robin Williams:
Weapons of
Self-Destruction
Thirty years after fi rst
appearing on HBO,
furry funnyman Robin
Williams returns with
his full repertoire
of goofy voices and
bizarre antics for his
fi rst stand-up special in
seven years.
Na-Nu Na-Nu.
On HBO December 6
ago) has less to do with the plot—
humans battling blue aliens—than the
presentation: motion-capture animation
mixed with live action displayed in
a revolutionary type of 3-D that’s
been called the biggest innovation in
fi lmmaking since sound and color.
Herb & Dorothy AK 100: 25 Films by
Akira Kurosawa
This charming
documentary tells
how a working-class
couple amassed one
of the world’s top
modern art collections
by snatching up works
by unknowns such as
Chuck Close and Sol
LeWitt.
On DVD December 15
Akira Kurosawa
directed 31 fi lms in
his masterful career.
Criterion celebrates his
100th birthday with
this collection of the
25 best, from Sanshiro
Sugata, his fi rst, to
Madadayo, his last.
On DVD December 8;
criterion.com
vision
This isn’t Vincent Price’s 3-D, mind
you. Known as RealD, the digital
stereoscopic projection technology used
for Avatar has been around only since
2005, when Chicken Little introduced it
to six-year-olds. Since then, RealD has
mainly been used for animation (Up,
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) and
movies that might not be especially
appealing without the added novelty
(The Final Destination, G-Force). That’s
why Michael V. Lewis, CEO of RealD, is
so excited to have the director behind
the most successful movie ever (it was
about a boat) utilizing the technology.
“James Cameron has spent the last
decade learning how to eff ectively tell
stories in 3-D,” Lewis says. “Avatar could
be the Citizen Kane of 3-D fi lms.” It may
sound as if he’s looking through 3-D
colored glasses, but Lewis is not alone.
DreamWorks CEO Jeff rey Katzenberg
thinks “Avatar will be to 3-D what The
Wizard of Oz was to color.” And Sony
Pictures Entertainment cochair Amy
Pascal believes “it could change the
world.” Meanwhile Tim Burton, Steven
Spielberg and Zack Snyder have 3-D
fi lms in development.
If all goes as planned, Avatar will
open the door for 3-D romcoms, 3-D
musicals and 3-D documentaries, and
Hollywood will reap the rewards. Ticket
prices for 3-D movies can be as much as
twice those of their 2-D counterparts,
and moviegoers appear willing to pay.
Of course, not everyone is convinced.
Roger Ebert has called 3-D “a marketing
gimmick,” and other detractors point
to a lack of screens around the country
capable of showing 3-D movies.
Shooting in 3-D also adds an estimated
$15 million in production costs, an
impossible luxury for many small fi lms.
Perhaps most important, no one knows
how the 3-D experience will translate to
the living room. But they better fi gure
it out soon. Sony and Panasonic are
releasing 3-D fl at screens next year.
Associate editor ADAM K. RAYMOND wears
his 3-D glasses at night.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF MARK FELLMAN/TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM
CORPORATION, COURTESY OF KATSUYOSHI TANAKA, COURTESY OF MTV, COURTESY OF HBO