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Film

Digital 3-D cost leaves fuzzy future

By STEVE PERSALL
Published April 8, 2005

LAS VEGAS - My first visit to the ShoWest convention of theater owners in 1999 - and each ShoWest since - featured a demonstration of digital cinema, a projection system ballyhooed as the future of movie theater projection.

Six years later, the future still isn't now.

But that doesn't stop filmmakers such as George Lucas and James Cameron from daydreaming of their works widely displayed in the sharpest, most durable fashion possible. Perhaps even in 3-D.

It may be their most farfetched fantasy ever.

Cameron and Lucas, creators of the top two moneymakers in movie history - Titanic and Star Wars - recently joined directors Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, The Polar Express), Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) and Randall Kleiser (Grease) on a ShoWest panel extolling the virtues of digital 3-D projection.

Their main arguments: We're making movies digitally these days, so that's how they should be shown. And we'd like to make a few blockbusters in 3-D, but we need theaters capable of showing them.

"Anybody who talks to me for two minutes knows I'm a man on a mission when it comes to 3-D," said Cameron, whose deep-sea documentaries Ghosts of the Abyss and Aliens of the Deep utilized the process.

"I have this problem now. I can't go back to shooting the way I used to shoot, with a lesser way of making movies. I plan to make my next feature film (the sci-fi adventure Battle Angel) in 3-D. They'll have to try to stop me. I'm going to try to make all my films 3-D but I need the cooperation of exhibitors to do that because I need a place to show them."

Never mind that statistics indicate theater owners aren't sold on digital projection, which at an estimated $100,000 per screen is too expensive for many to buy. Others hold out because, like computers, there always seems to be an upgrade around the corner. Why buy something that may be outmoded in a year?

The National Association of Theater Owners that annually hosts ShoWest represents more than 36,000 movie screens in the United States.

At last official count, only 82 of those screens are equipped for digital projection. A few more may have gone digital since the association's summer 2004 survey. But it's still a fraction of a fraction of the number that was predicted in 1999.

One digital theater screen was operated locally, but not anymore. The former ParkSide 16 in Pinellas Park closed in August 2004 during mall renovations. Rather than leave the equipment unused, R/C Theaters moved its digital projection system to a Daytona Beach location. The Pinellas Park theater is expected to open again later this month under new ownership by Regal Cinemas, using conventional film projectors.

Yet, despite the tortoise pace of digital expansion, Lucas, Cameron and the other directors spent 90 minutes urging exhibitors, not only to install digital projectors, but toss in a few thousand more dollars for state-of-the-art 3-D capabilities.

That's like trying to put two carts before a horse.

Lucas has visited ShoWest so often to support the technology that he introduced himself as "the proverbial digital penny that keeps showing up every other year to say: "Why haven't you got those projectors in your theaters yet?'

"I've always been a big proponent of quality in theaters. That's one of the reasons people come to theaters. They want something better than they can find at home. They're not used to watching movies at home (on cable TV and DVD) that are jittery, unfocused and all scratched up. So, I think it's time for movie theaters to catch up."

The possibilities afforded by digital cinema, 3-D or otherwise, are impressive. The ShoWest seminar included a digital 3-D demonstration reel composed of scenes from Star Wars episodes II and IV, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Cameron's documentaries and Terminator 3-D attraction created for Universal Studios theme parks, The Polar Express and Rodriguez's Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over.

Everyone seemed impressed by the clarity and depth of the image. Nobody was seen rushing for an order form.

"I've seen a lot of these (3-D demonstrations) over the last 25 years," Lucas said. "This is the first time that it actually, really works. Your eyes don't get tired, and it's a really beautiful projection."

Then, to sweeten the sales pitch, Lucas added:

"One of the reasons I'm promoting it today is that I'm extremely anxious to reissue that old group of films I made so long ago in a galaxy far away."

The idea of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi in 3-D created a stir among exhibitors who would love the experience, although likely at someone else's theater.

In the 1950s, when television was an entertainment breakthrough keeping potential customers at home, 3-D projection helped rekindle interest in a sagging theater industry. The process has occasionally been revived, most recently by Spy Kids 3-D. But the format has made as many enemies as friends, with complaints of poor or headache-inducing quality.

"Every once in a while a horror movie or something comes out in 3-D and everybody enjoys the novelty value for about two minutes, but it never catches on," Cameron said. "What's the reason for that? It's because in 35mm (film) the quality of the experience has never really been that good. The cameras were bad and the projection was worse.

"That's all changed now with digital stereo cameras that produce the double opticals necessary for 3-D. Post-production processing technology has improved. You just saw what the projectors can do. These advances will allow us to present a whole new theater experience for audiences.

"We have the chance to give people a reason to get up and out of their houses, away from the HD flat-screen TV, and get back out to the movies."

The key hurdle is the expense. Exhibitors and studios have disagreed on which side should pay for the upgrades; the people making movies or the ones selling theater tickets. New business models suggest that service providers such as Texas Instruments might cover the expenses for a percentage of each ticket sold. Of course, that could mean an extra dollar or two added to ticket prices for 3-D screenings.

"A lot of business and technical decisions will be made by smarter - and probably greedier - people than myself," said Cameron, who has never been shy about milking his movies for money.

"These things will get worked out when (exhibitors) have content, when we make 3-D movies for (theaters). This thing has to be content-driven. It's kind of like the opposite of "If you build it, they will come.' It's like: "If we come, will you build it?' "

The panelists pushed all the right buttons to get the exhibitors' attention. Cameron earned loud applause when he noted that 3-D movie piracy is practically impossible. Lucas suggested that film projection will become antiquated as digital entertainment, possibly 3-D, moves into households.

"Sure, it's inevitable," Lucas said. "It'll probably make it into homes through video games before anything else. But that's happening regardless of what (theater owners) do. They can be the last ones to have digital after everyone is getting it delivered to their homes."

Widespread digital 3-D projection is another future for moviegoers that won't arrive soon. It's simply a goal of filmmakers who have lots of toys at their disposal and need a playground. Or maybe, it's just artists with extraordinary clout doing whatever they want and expecting others to follow. Lucas poked fun at himself and the others in that regard:

"Once we get 3-D into theaters," he said, smiling, "we're probably going to start making silent movies."

- Steve Persall can be reached at 727 893-8365 or Persall@sptimes.com

[Last modified April 7, 2005, 09:07:02]