Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Star Wars saga confirmed for 3D starting 2012

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Posted by Joseph L. Kleiman (Member # 3097) on 09-29-2010, 03:16 PM:

Variety
Tuesday, September 28, 2010

'Star Wars' saga gets 3D makeover
Converted 'Phantom Menace' to hit theaters in 2012

By DAVID S. COHEN

After more than five years of teasing, Lucasfilm disclosed today that work is under way on converting the "Star Wars" saga to 3D.

All six pics will get theatrical re-release in stereoscopic starting with "Episode I: The Phantom Menace," which returns to theaters in 2012.

Exact release date has not been announced, but a Lucasfilm spokesperson said the pic will open wide and "as close to day and date (worldwide) as possible."

The prospect of six "Star Wars" pics released in 3D should stifle speculation that the format is a fading fad. It also promises to reintroduce the franchise to young auds who are used to 3D and only know 'Star Wars' from homevideo and the "Clone Wars" Cartoon Network skein.

20th Century Fox will once again distribute. Fox domestic distribution prexy Bruce Snyder called the series "perfectly suited" for 3D and said "I expect this to be as much fun for people that have not experienced 'Star Wars' as it was for people who were there in 1977 staring at the screen with mouth agape."

Spacing of the re-releases has not yet been determined, as that will depend on the pace of the conversion effort.
There are no plans yet for a homevideo release.

John Knoll, visual effects supervisor for Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Magic, is overseeing the conversion, which is being done by outside vendors with close oversight by ILM.

Knoll said Lucasfilm is committed to ensuring that the 3D conversion delivers results as good as a movie shot and authored in 3D. Knoll said that it'll be used to make the experience more immersive and he'll avoid some of the more jarring, exaggerated uses of 3D that have marked previous stereoscopic pics.

"Having seen a lot of stereo material, I have very strong opinions about what I like and don't like about stereo," Knoll told Variety. "I'm going to be applying my aesthetic. It's not going to look like (conversions) we've seen in the past."

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 09-29-2010, 03:21 PM:

Beat ya to it over in the "Is 3D Already Dead" string [evil]

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 09-29-2010, 04:40 PM:

Hyperspace effect might be nice in 3D. Louis

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 09-29-2010, 05:54 PM:

Bah- "Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone" was shot in 3-D and released at the same time as "Return of the Jedi". I went to see Spacehunter first because it was in 3-D, and Jedi wasn't.

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 09-29-2010, 06:37 PM:

If Both James Cameron and George Lucas feel they can do wonders with TITANIC and the STAR WARS film with 3-D, we should all hope they succeed instead of making fun of their efforts. Unlike the filmmakers who produced films like THE CLASH OF THE TITANS and a few others in 2-D and made a terrible effort converting them to 3-D, I think if anyone can succeed converting 2-D into 3-D with very satisfactory results, both Cameron and Lucas should be able to do it because they both have a lot of money to undertake the projects.

-Claude

Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 09-29-2010, 07:28 PM:

George Lucas: once a good filmmaker now turned hack. I'll pass on seeing these in 3D.

Release it in 2D and then I'm in. I must admit, it'd be nice to hear Rydstrom's sound mixes for Episodes I and II theatrically again.

AJG

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 09-29-2010, 08:48 PM:

So here's your perfect chance to make it to Sydney Aaron. If I'm still here, come on by and we'll run it in 2D.

I seriously think if I had to watch any of these (but particularly Eps I and II) in 3D I would vomit.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-29-2010, 10:24 PM:

I read somewhere that watching Episode 1 in 3D would be like being part of a horrific car crash instead of simply watching it unfold. 3D won't make an absolute dogshit of a movie any better. It won't make Anakin any less of a winy little pussy bitch and the acting, writing, dialog, characters and directing is still gonna suck big time in the first 3.

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 09-29-2010, 10:40 PM:

Although I hope George Lucas & James Cameron are successful converting the STAR WARS films and TITANIC to 3-D, I can see no valid reason for it. For curiosity sake, I probably will see the 3-D TITANIC and probably episode four of STARS WARS but have no intention of seeing the others.

-Claude

Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 10-13-2010, 10:30 PM:

I wonder if Lucas and his soundmixers will retinker with the sound elements and release the films in discrete 7.1 sound for the 3D versions.

Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 10-14-2010, 04:35 PM:

If anyone thinks the conversion to 3D is for artistic purposes, they should look to the sky for those pigs with wings. It's all about the $$$.

Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 10-14-2010, 04:41 PM:

Conversions = [bs]

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 10-14-2010, 05:47 PM:

dear diary - i sure hope CITIZEN KANE, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, 2001 and MOMMIE DEAREST all get 3D conversion, as it will bring these masterpieces to young audiences who are accustomed to 3D - sincerely, manny knowles.