While some big shots in Hollywood, like James Cameron and Disney, are swimming in money thanks to the newest 3D craze, there’s a growing number of directors and insiders who are simply saying “no” to the 3D transition.
No fewer than 50 films are set to hit 3D theaters across the country in the next two years, ranging from family-friendly cartoons to R-rated horror films.
For moviegoers, it provides a unique experience – something that most of them cannot get from a home video or cable release of the film. For the studios, there’s the incentive of up to $5 more revenue for each ticket sold in 3D.
Not everyone sees the benefit, though. The New York Times reports that J.J. Abrams and Joss Whedon are two of the biggest names in film that want to go on record as blasting the market of 3D movies.
For those directly involved in a film’s production, 3D can be a daunting task. It requires significantly more equipment and even more time spent on making sure each shot is done perfectly.
Some of the biggest 3D titles, computer animated films like Monsters vs Aliens and Toy Story 3, are less taxing and easier to manipulate eye-popping 3D effects. Those titles seem to receive the highest praise and have been the first to transition to the new stereoscopic Blu-ray 3D format.
But movies like those involving Abrams and Whedon may see little return for the extra effort.
It’s becoming something of a battle between studio executives – who see the rise of 3D and think it’s crazy not to get in on the action – and filmmakers who realize that it may take twice as long to shoot a movie in 3D that more than half of its audience will only ever see in 2D anyway.
It may be a losing battle for those opposed to 3D, though, as the entire entertainment industry has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into pushing the new technology and trying to convince the still skeptical viewers that 3D is worth their extra money.
