More upcoming 3D movies

[Krakalakachkn]

80's cult film staples "Gremlins" and "Ghostbusters" are both looking to get new 3D sequels.

 

First up MarketSaw reports that a third "Gremlins" film is in the works and will be shot in 3D. The project is a brand new film rather than a 3D retrofit of the original but as it's so early there's no word on who will be penning the script.

 

The same site also says the previously reported on third "Ghostbusters" film is proceeding as planned, but with 3D now added into the mix.

 

Lee Eisneberg and Gene Stupnitsky are penning the script.

[Emperor]

I hate this.

[Krakalakachkn]

Hopefully it's just a temporary fad.  The good news is that they can't release them to DVD format in 3D as no one has 3D capabilities on their home tvs.

[Emperor]

Well until later this year...

[Krakalakachkn]

Looks like the next two Harry Potters and Clash of the Titans will be going 3D as well...

 

Warner Bros. Pictures will release the next two "Harry Potter" films in 3D reports Heat Vision.

 

As previously reported, the studio has been testing footage from its upcoming "Clash of the Titans" converted into 3D. The tests have apparently gone well enough that not only is 'Titans' getting the treatment but 'Potter' is as well.

 

Warners refused to confirm the decisions Tuesday, but an announcement on 'Titans' is expected by week's end. Unofficial sources however are all saying the 3D retrofit has not only been approved but work is already well underway on them.

 

Earlier this week a source told me the film would be pushed back a week to April 2nd to accommodate the 3D change and make sure they have enough screens locked down for the release.

 

I got in touch with the Warner online publicist covering the film who denied the change, saying the film was still very much set for March 26th. Now this 'Potter' article on HV is also alleging the April 2nd delay will happen and has a studio insider talking about the delay. C'mon Warners, make some kind of announcement already.

[Pookie]

Okay, that's hillarious.  I was just talking to my husband earlier this week about 3D movies post-avatar and saying I bet before the HP series is over they'll run one of them in 3D.  :)  His response, "That would be weird".  My response, "Quidditch". 

[Krakalakachkn]

Disney is hopping on the bandwagon too...shocker.

 

Walt Disney Pictures’ magical animated classic Beauty and the Beast returns to the big screen in Disney Digital 3D, introducing a whole new generation to the Disney classic with stunning new 3D imagery. The film captures the fantastic journey of Belle (voice of Paige O’Hara), a bright and beautiful young woman who’s taken prisoner by a hideous beast (voice of Robby Benson) in his castle. Despite her precarious situation, Belle befriends the castle’s enchanted staff—a teapot, a candelabra and a mantel clock, among others—and ultimately learns to see beneath the Beast’s exterior to discover the heart and soul of a prince.

[Krakalakachkn]

World's first 3D porn underway

 

 

Veteran Italian erotic film director Tinto Brass is planning what he calls the world's first-ever 3D pornographic production says The Hollywood Reporter.

 

Brass is most famous for 1979's "Caligula", the controversial Gore Vidal-penned all-star film version of the life of the insane Roman emperor.

 

The project achieved a level of infamy when producer and magazine publisher Bob Guccione took the project out of Brass' hands and inserted scenes of hardcore pornography into the action without Brass' consent.

 

Brass says the time is right for 3D technologies to be used to create an erotic film which will also be the first 3D film of any type made in Italy. Presently a few select adult websites offer 3D porn, but using the old fashioned red/blue glyph technology rather than the modern 3D stereoscopic version.

 

Story wise he says with the film he plans to "revisit an abandoned project about a Roman emperor that was ruined by Americans, and go from there."

 

Casting and script work is already underway with filming to kick off in May or June.

[SinisterDeath]

all I have to say is..

 

MY EYE! STOP POKING ME IN THE EYE! :P

[Silver]

I'm sure you have to say that often.

[SinisterDeath]

I'm sure you have to say that often.

 

I have a cat, of course I do.

[Krakalakachkn]

Shit just keeps getting worse and worse

 

It comes as no huge surprise that the third "Transformers" film looks to be happening in 3D with Michael Bay, Paramount and Industrial Light & Magic all in talks to discuss going the extra dimension with the film reports Variety.

 

Due to the time factor, Bay's filming style and the complexity of the visual effects, it may just be 'converted' rather than shot and produced in 3D.

 

The move comes amidst a '3D conversion' boom with many upcoming and catalog titles getting the 2D-to-3D treatment. Korean company Stereo Pictures for example is at work on converting the upcoming "Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore" into 3D as well.

[aemonkristen]

3D is nice and all, but why make EVERYTHING 3D. Honestly, I think if it doesn't add to the story then it's being used to distract you from a weak story. Dazzle the eye and boggle the mind.

[Krakalakachkn]

Finally some good news!

 

The next sequel to the Underworld franchise, confirmed to have both Len Wiseman and Kate Beckinsale return in their respective roles, has been moved from January 14th 2011 to September 23rd. What's curious is that this report has stated that it will not be in Digital 3D.

[Krakalakachkn]

And more lame news (from Team Jacob)

 

"Twilight" hunk Taylor Lautner has been officially confirmed to play the title character in "Stretch Armstrong 3D" for Universal Pictures.

 

The film itself will be released in 2012, a little later than estimated but done to give the filmmakers time to "shape the project into a 3-D superhero adventure and to accommodate Lautner's existing commitments" according to a press release.

 

Universal co-chairman Donna Langley says "In the past two years, Taylor has emerged as a real star at the global box office. He brings the perfect balance of energy and athleticism to the role of an unlikely super hero with a fantastic super power. We couldn't be more pleased that he has agreed to be our Stretch."

 

Steve Oedekerk ("Bruce Almighty") penned the script while Brian Goldner and Bennet Schneir will produce.

[SinisterDeath]

Hopefully the events of hte movie 2012 will happen before stretch armstrong releases.

[Krakalakachkn]

Despicable Me

 

“In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by a small army of minions, we discover Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon (Yes, the moon!) in Universal’s new 3-D CGI feature, Despicable Me.Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad.The world’s greatest villain has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes.”

 

 

[Krakalakachkn]

Step Up 3-D  (what a terrible pun)

 

It’s like we always say: whether a movie is good or bad is irrelevant when compared to its opening weekend box office. The Step Up franchise is a perfect example. Step Up 2 the Streets was on par with direct to video movies as far as quality goes, but an almost thirty million dollar opening on President’s Day weekend has purchased the movie a third picture.

 

Since the second movie basically took the first flick and reversed the key roles, the third movie is desperately in need of some sort of gimmick to help sell it. What better a gimmick than the currently mega-popular trend of 3-D. Variety reports that Disney is moving forward with Step Up 3-D, allowing the movie to take a new ridiculously long dance sequence and put it right in the audience’s faces.

 

Unfortunately, first director Anne Fletcher appears to be staying away from the franchise she originated. Instead it appears Step Up 2 the Streets director Jon Chu is most likely returning for the third chapter. What a shame. Chu managed to take a guilty pleasure flick and churn out a listless sequel with nothing enjoyable to it at all, guilty or otherwise.

 

Even the dance sequences that made the first movie fun were lacking in Step Up 2, and I’m not sure adding 3-D effects could save those. I’d almost rather they digitally augment the first Step Up and just release that in 3-D. At least we know it’s entertaining, and I doubt there are many girls out there who wouldn’t want to see Channing Tatum popping off the screen at them.

[Krakalakachkn]

Another movie based on children's toys.  I smell a Transformers rip-off

 

Indie producer Helix Films and the Meccano Toy Company are teaming to develop an original 3D feature film based on Meccano's Erector Set toy line reports Coming Soon.

 

Meccano was conceived in England in 1901 as a model toy construction system which enables the building of working models and mechanical devices. The products are currently sold in more than 80 countries.

 

The tone will be a family fantasy/adventure but plot details are being kept quiet. The project is developing an original script with the aim of creating a film franchise.

 

For those of you (Like me) who don't know what Meccano is, here are some pictures:

 

 

 

[SinisterDeath]

Wow, We always called those Erector Sets.

http://www.erectorusa.com/

[Ashaman DeRouge]

Liar.

 

You clearly call them Erection sets, just like every other person who reads the name.

 

Also what a terrible idea for a movie...

[Krakalakachkn]

Sony on Wednesday joined the 2012 3D tentpole rush, announcing that its much-fussed-over "Spider-Man" reboot will premiere in the format on July 3 of that year.

 

As announced earlier, ("500) Days of Summer" director Marc Webb will oversee the project, which is being penned by James Vanderbilt and Avi Arad.

 

Appropriate dates on the 2012 calendar to release big 3D movies seem to be going fast. On Friday, for example, Universal set two Hasbro-toy-themed 3D tentpoles for 2012, including “Stretch Armstrong,” which will debut on Memorial Day weekend and star “Twilight’s” Taylor Lautner.

[Krakalakachkn]

After the Tron Legacy Trailer Premiere Event in Los Angeles (video blogged here), Alex from FirstShowing and I were talking with director Joseph Kosinski and learned a bit of news. After telling Joseph how wonderful I thought it was to see the trailer fill so much of the huge IMAX screen, creating a more immersive 3D experience, Kosinski revealed to me that five action sequences from Tron Legacy will be shown in 1.7:1 aspect ratio, exclusively in IMAX Theatres.

If you’ve ever seen a theatrical 3D film on the IMAX screen, then you know that the movie doesn’t fill the whole screen, leaving huge bars to the top and bottom. With The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan shot a few sequences and establishing shots with IMAX cameras, allowing the screen image to switch aspect ratios and fill the entire huge IMAX screen. If you pay to see Tron Legacy in IMAX, you will see something similar.

 

Most of the film will be presented in widescreen, 2.35:1 aspect ratio, like it will be in your normal multiplex screen. But in the IMAX presentation, five special action sequences are being rendered at 1.7:1, which means that you will see a lot more on the top and the bottom. This makes a huge difference for a 3D presentation. As you know, an IMAX screen is up to eight stories high and are designed to extend to the edge of your peripheral vision, creating a more immersive experience.

 

 

 

I created the image above to give you an idea of the difference. While not 100% to spec, created using the Tron Legacy poster graphic (allowing me to show more horizontal), the image gives you a good idea of what to expect during these sequences. In the smaller Digital IMAX (”liemax) Theatres, the 1.7:1 ratio image will fill the entire screen (due to the different aspect ratio), but in the larger traditional IMAX theatres, there will be small black bars on the top and the bottom (as seen in the illustration). Again, remember, the whole movie will not be presented in that aspect ratio, and will revert back to the normal 2.39:1 ratio during the rest of the film.

 

I was also told that Disney would be releasing a special IMAX trailer online to show moviegoers the difference.  Tron Legacy hits theaters on December 17th 2010.

 

Update: Some people have been asking me this question, so maybe I wasn’t clear about it in my initial post. The IMAX presentation will not be zoomed in or cropped. Kosinski was very clear to me in saying that IMAX moviegoers would see more of the movie at the top and bottom of the frame.  No, the movie was not shot on IMAX cameras — it was shot using Sony CineAlta Fusion 3D cameras. I know that camera has a native 16:9 frame, which is close to the 1.7:1 frame of the IMAX presentation. So its very possible that the extra hieght was captured in camera during the shoot, and cropped out for the theatrical presentation. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was shot on that camera series in 16:9 and cropped to 2.35:1 for the release. But the bottom line is: Its not zoomed in or cropped, you will see more in the IMAX release.

[Krakalakachkn]

AN ALIEN PREQUEL!!!!

 

Luckily it's Ridley Scott doing the prequel and not David Fincher, Cameron, or Jean-Pierre Jeunet.  This is one movie where I could see 3D might add something to the experience.

 

With all of the announcements of upcoming movies being planned for 3D over the next few years, one would expect that whether or not an upcoming tentpole movie will be in 3D is going to replace the "PG-13 vs. R" question that most filmmakers tend to get. The latest movie that seems to be going that route is Ridley Scott and 20th Century Fox's planned Alien Prequel.

 

UK sci-fi site Shadow Locked had a chance to talk with art director Roger Christian who worked on Star Wars and Alien, and they asked him about the direction Scott might take with a prequel, the two of them having worked together on the original movie. Besides dropping the fact that it will be shot in 3D, he hinted at a possible trilogy in the franchise's future.

 

He told them: "Ridley's doing the next Alien in 3D. Ridley told me some of his ideas when we were here in Toronto. He has a very clear understanding of where this should go. They kind of stopped dead one of the greatest horror franchises there's ever been, and it had legs to go on. So I'm hoping he'll revive another three. The world certainly wants it, and the fans want it - everybody."

 

Christian met with Scott, but hasn't confirmed that he might be involved with the new prequel, reuniting the duo for the first time in over 30 years.

[Krakalakachkn]

Arabian Nights?

 

Aussie hunk Liam Hemsworth ("The Last Song," "Knowing") has joined the 3D action feature "Arabian Nights" for Inferno Entertainment and ROAR says Heat Vision.

 

The period epic is set in a kingdom which has just been overtaken in a coup which killed the King. Hemsworth plays a young commander who enlists the help of Sinbad and Aladdin to rescue Queen Scheherazade.

 

Chuck Russell will direct from a script he co-wrote with Barry P. Ambrose. Bill Johnson, Mark Ciardi and Gordon Gray will produce. Filming is aiming to kick off late Summer.