Talking about various movie related topics, legendary director James Cameron said that he thinks 3D should be used forever.
James Cameron is undoubtedly one of the most successful directors of all time, evidenced by the fact that the top two grossing movies of all time are Avatar and Titanic, the only $two billion movies yet.
Despite (or perhaps because of) his success, Cameron doesn’t talk publicly much. Today, the famed director took to Reddit to do an “Ask Me Anything,” a popular series on the website. In the Reddit AMA, Cameron had a lot to say about the movie industry, including things he’s directly involved in as well as things he’s not.
The main reason Avatar is the highest grossing film of all time is that the 3D technology that Cameron used was revolutionary and audiences felt like it was something they had to see. He continues to be a huge proponent of 3D, and he had this to say about 3D as well as other technology that is becoming prevalent in movies:
48 fps to me is not a format, it’s a tool, like music it’s good to use sparingly and in the right spot. I believe all movies should be made in 3D, forever, but the projection needs to be better, and brighter. I want people to see in the movie theaters what I am seeing in my perfectly calibrated screening room, and people aren’t seeing that. Larger formats. I’d love to see screens get bigger. In terms of storytelling, I’d like to see Hollywood embrace the caliber of writing in feature films that we’re currently seeing in the series on television – more emphasis on character, and less on explosions and pyrotechnics. And I’m talking the big tentpole movies, I think they’re obnoxiously loud and fast….Not that I don’t like loud fast scenes, I just don’t like whole movies that are that way!
Cameron may believe that 3D is how all film should be made, but it seems like, on the whole, audiences are beginning to reject the format for the cheaper, and (at least currently) better 2D. Perhaps if all screens could be like the screens Cameron wants 3D could improve, but that’s not a reality in most theaters.
Cameron also revealed his favorite movie of 2013 and a recent one he really enjoyed:
This year, 2014, I haven’t seen that much that inspired me yet. My favorite film of last year, hands down, was Gravity, and I was hoping it would win best picture, but certainly happy that my friend Alfonso Cuaron won best director. I did think that this new Captain America was an interesting film for its genre, in that it tackled this idea of digital surveillance and the kind of dark side of our hyperconnected society.
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He of course gave birth to the Terminator franchise, and he gave some thoughts about the additions to the series since he left and what he’s heard about what is to come:
Well, I have to be objective, or as objective as possible about that. I’m not big fans of the films, I think that the big ideas of the first movies – I didn’t make the second film until I had an idea as big as the first film, and it had to do with the moral complexity of the story, and asking the audience by the end of the film to cry for a Terminator. I don’t think that the 3rd or 4th film lived up to that potential. Sarah Connor Chronicles I never really watched much of it, so I never gave it a chance I get to get hooked, like you have to with a TV series. I’m hopeful that the new films, which are being made right now as a reboot, but still involving Arnold, will be good. From what I’ve seen from afar, it looks like they will be quite good.
Cameron says that the scripts for the new Avatar sequels are close to completion, but it doesn’t look like Arnold Schwarzenegger will be in them:
As of right now, [Arnold] and I have not discussed it, and I don’t see a role as the scripts are coming together that would be appropriate for him, so I would say probably not.
The second, third and fourth films all go into production simultaneously. They’re essentially all in preproduction now, because we are designing creatures, settings, and characters that span all three films. And we should be finished with all three scripts within the next, I would say, six weeks.
There’s always pressure, whether it’s a new film or whether it’s a sequel, to entertain and amaze an audience. I’ve felt that pressure my entire career, so there’s nothing new there. The biggest pressure I feel right now is cutting out things I love to get the film down to a length that is affordable. There hasn’t been a problem finding new and wonderful things to include in the movie.
The full AMA contains so much more from Cameron, and it’s really worth reading what he has to say.
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