A recent article published by the Los Angeles Times has announced the next step in film production: re-releasing in 3-D. Studios plan to take classics like Star Wars and Titanic and make 3-D movies out of them. Yes, 3-Dimensional films are the new medium and retain a huge following, but at what point do we draw the line? Just because 3-D is the new fad, are we going to convert every single movie ever made into this passing trend? I understand current pictures being filmed in 3-D, as it is the current technological breakthrough, but I see no point in even touching the old ones.
The chief motivation behind this push is, of course, money. How could producers not jump at the opportunity of not creating a new movie, releasing the same old ones, and making even more money than they did years ago? It makes fiscal sense, but I feel as if it’s just making them lazy. No new ideas, storylines, character, nothing; just the same old movies we loved decades ago.
Although these re-releases rake in mounds of dough, the process of 3-D conversion is quite costly. For Titanic, Paramount Pictures and director James Cameron are going to spend $18 million on its 3-D-ification. But for Disney’s The Lion King, only $10 million was spent on its conversion, yet it made over $30 million in one weekend. And due to software innovation, conversions are costing less and less.
But as consumers, wouldn’t you like to pay to see brand-new films? I know I won’t see The Lion King in 3-D because I’ve seen it a million times. In fact, many moviegoers haven’t noticed much difference between the 3-D and 2-D versions of the film. Not only that, but 3-D movies cost an extra few bucks. Yeah that makes sense, “I’m going to pay more money so I can see a movie I’ve been watching since I was a kid!” but in 3D.
I feel as though these studios are not leaving well enough alone. Great movies can be appreciated for generations to come without being altered every step of the way. For all we know, 4-D technology could be just around the corner, then 5-D, and maybe 6-D (although I don’t know what exactly they would entail). With technology improving every day, it would just be a waste of time and money to convert all the old classics into today’s movie fad: 3-D.
But that’s only one gal’s opinion, are you looking forward to the 3-D versions of classic films?
