the m0vie blog

We’re still months away from a release date for Avatar – though there are rumours of a trailer coming soon in front of Transformers 2 (the most interesting talk I’ve heard about that particular film) – but things are still very quiet. All we know about the plot is that it is a Pocahontas-style narrative, with one of a bunch of exploitive explorers “going native”. We know that t will be in 3D – apparently mindblowing 3D. We know that one of the reasons that the movie has waited 14 years to get made it because Cameron was waiting for the technology to do it justice. And we know that – according to early word of mouth from insiders – he has succeeded. I have to say, I am quite eagerly anticipating this film. However, I find Hollywood’s new-found love of innovations within major blockbusters fascinating, given the traditional cautious conservatism of the studios.

Wow, Cameron really has a thing for giant walking hulks of metal, doesn't he?

Last year saw segments of The Dark Knight filmed in Imax – and Christopher Nolan has stated his desire to film a whole movie in that format – which resurrected a somewhat sickly format. Star Trek broke records when it came to Imax screenings – despite the controversy over whether it was an Imax experience or just a regular film shown on an Imax screen. The format looks to be making a comeback thanks to the willingness of the major studios to allow a summer tentpole flick experiment with it, which in fairness sounds like a risky proposition for a $200m epic. I don’t know how much the studios are paying James Cameron to revolutionise digital and 3D technology (I couldn’t dig up an estimated budget on-line), but I imagine quite a bit.

Helicopter vs. Alien Dinosaur confrontations are always cool

Of course, the major studios are never experimental with that kind of money, especially not in a recession (the major studios seem to have quitely killed – or at least slowed – their searches for indie Oscar-bait). The focus seems to be in giving the viewer an experience that they can’t replicate at home in order to lure them to theatres – and an attempt to slow privacy. Though there is some skepticism about whether 3D is really unfeasable on a home entertainment system (I don’t believe it is), it will always offer more “bang for your buck” on the big screen. Which is good, because it costs quite a bit more to see a 3D film. Still, that’s the way business works, there’s no rhyme or reason in making gambits like that if you don’t feel justified in making more money off them.

I don’t know if in the long term these gimmicks will pay off. The Dark Knight was a commercial juggernaut with or without Imax presentation – and filming it was expensive in more than a monetary sense (Nolan famously destroyed one of only six such cameras in the world). Star Trek beat that record without the expense of actually filming on Imax film. I imagine Avatar will be a monster, but I imagine that it woould be even if James Cameron filmed it using sock puppets. Still, I’m quite pleased to see the mainstream movie industry being so boldly innovative with the technological aspects of film production – if only they could get slightly more adventurous with the films themselves.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: 3d, avatar, blockbusters, box office, Christopher Nolan, hollywood, imax, james cameron, star trek, The Dark Knight |