"Club Penton" - Ask questions to Hollywood insider "Penton-Man"

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by cjamescook

Yep, we're working in the dark here in Mass. (had to come into work to get hot water.)

James, do you have power yet? Seems this thing really hit CT. hard. Where in Mass. are you located?

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by ole geezer

Penton....
Thanks for the Twitter link to this fascinating personality. Great reading and some good stuff. Example of a recent tweet by Mr Clark: "Watching #LionKing3D a library film 3D conversion. Theatre is full. Mostly adults at 9:55pm sat."

I'm not a fan of animated 3D, but...these films unquestionably draw a large audience.

Yeah, Graham’s a good guy. Although not revealed in his tweets, he didn’t view TLK at some special screening either, just a typical showing at a Multiplex where anyone has the access to view a flick, namely, this one –

http://www.amctheatres.com/Burbank/

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by ole geezer

Patton...huh. Now there's a thought....

lol, ole geezer,
Doctorossi is level-headed on this topic but, to the 3D haters out there, you probably represent Atilla the Hun.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Does anyone know anything about that "before the end of the year" Patton re-master that was mooted on the Bits in the summer? I'm guessing it must've been delayed... ?

Sgt Schultz knows nothing, nothing! - YouTube

[Doctorossi]

Ole geezer,

I hope you understand that I'm 100% with you on the value of/need for expansion of the "frame" of content one can see in theatrical 3D. I'd love to see more adult-minded fare hit the 3D market (just as I would like to see a greater proportion of it in cinemas in 2D, as well). I'd just like to see this content appear in the form of new movies, designed to express themselves in 3D and, hopefully, having something to say with the medium.

The publicly-expressed opinions, observations and experiences (and upcoming projects) of filmmakers like Ridley Scott and Martin Scorsese give me hope that we'll see the 3D market mature enough at least to get another generation of creators thinking about the real possibilities of the format.

[cjamescook]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

James, do you have power yet? Seems this thing really hit CT. hard. Where in Mass. are you located?

I'm in Westborough, which is on the I-495 belt around Boston, halfway to Worcester. It's the start of the serious power-outages, with more than half the town out. The western end of the state was hit worse than Hurricane Irene.

Fortunately, I was only out 48 hours, but there were still 200,000 households out as of this morning (down from over 300,000 on Monday).

[Penton-Man]

Every year (including this) I’m asked “is there an Academy Award given out for Color Grading”.
Ans .– No.

Also, I’m asked “what is the closest thing there is to an Academy Award for Color Grading”.
Ans. – Many industry professionals believe it be the HPA Awards (the awards ceremony is coming up in L.A. soon on Nov. 10). For those unaware, HPA stands for Hollywood Post Alliance which serves the professional community of businesses and individuals who provide expertise, support, tools and the infrastructure for the creation and finishing of motion pictures, television, commercials, digital media and other dynamic media content.

As an aside, the HPA holds an annual retreat which is usually headquartered out of a dog-friendly hotel so the wife and I can bring our domesticated canine with us to enjoy the road trip to the dez.

This is a short info clip about the retreat starting with a testimonial by Charles Poynton.

HPA Tech Retreat Promo - YouTube

Google his name in case you’re unfamiliar with his area of expertise and would like to get an idea of the quality of the speakers year-to-year. Anyway, the nominations in the various categories were announced last September and color grading, in particular, is at the top of the press release for easy locating…
http://data.memberclicks.com/site/ho...ees_090711.pdf

Two things of note:
1. The period of eligibility for these awards is on a different tract than that for the Academy Awards, namely for HPA - September 8, 2010 – September 6, 2011.
2. Steven Scott is to receive a special co-award for his work on The Tree of Life…
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/rac...-efilms-240972

[Penton-Man]

https://forum.blu-ray.com/blu-ray-mo...ml#post5388488

^ Early reports sound troublesome. This motion picture is of personal significance to me because as a youngster it inspired my family to do a sailing adventure (Dad was an Annapolis man) to the Society Islands, i.e. ‘Tahiti’.

As a young whipper-snapper, I was lucky/fortunate enough to be present in Papeʻete when the inaugural voyage Hokule‘a sailed into the harbor ….and then party all night during which time I lost my….

About Hokule‘a, if the wiki article doesn't mention it, in a nutshell, they sailed from Hawaii to Tahiti using the stars as navigation - no instruments
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokulea

I may still have thee ole commemorativeT-shirt of the voyage in my closet…if the moths haven’t eaten it by now.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by cjamescook

I'm in Westborough, which is on the I-495 belt around Boston, halfway to Worcester. It's the start of the serious power-outages, with more than half the town out. The western end of the state was hit worse than Hurricane Irene.

Fortunately, I was only out 48 hours, but there were still 200,000 households out as of this morning (down from over 300,000 on Monday).

Well, I have friends who live out in Pittsfield so I guess I should give them a call.

Good to at least hear that you're up and running.

[ole geezer]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

lol, ole geezer,
Doctorossi is level-headed on this topic but, to the 3D haters out there, you probably represent Atilla the Hun.

If the 3D haters had to look at the same old flat 2D images spread out over the decades the same way I had to, they too would readily appreciate the refreshing 'kick in the butt...in your face' dynamics that 3D now brings to the screen.

Hey...maybe 2D fatigue is part of the reason why a lot of the older more successful Directors (Cameron, Lucas, Spielberg, Zemeckis, Scorsese, and Ridley Scott just to name a few) are embracing 3D.

[fitprod]

Originally Posted by ole geezer

maybe 2D fatigue is part of the reason why a lot of the older more successful Directors (Cameron, Lucas, Spielberg, Zemeckis, Scorsese, and Ridley Scott just to name a few) are embracing 3D.

Um... I might buy that for their new films, like Tin Tin, Prometheus, etc. But any 2D to 3D conversion re-release is a pure attempt at a cash grab.

Fitprod

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by fitprod

But any 2D to 3D conversion re-release is a pure attempt at a cash grab.

I think, in the case of Titanic, it may be more of an indirect cash grab. I think Cameron is more interested in buoying the market for well-produced 3D event releases for future purposes. Meanwhile, he's very aware of the cash grab value it represents to distributors and this makes it an excellent lube with which to grease the wheels.

Star Wars, on the other hand... yeah, I'd say pretty much cash grab.

[Steedeel]

Trust in Cameron. (and i don't mean our prime minister!)

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Star Wars, on the other hand... yeah, I'd say pretty much cash grab.

Why? Lucas has been talking about Star Wars in 3D since at least 2005.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Why? Lucas has been talking about Star Wars in 3D since at least 2005.

I'm not sure what the longevity of his cash grab plans has to do with their cash-grabbiness quotient, but to answer your question, I just think Lucas is acutely aware of the product-renewal cycle he needs to keep hitting in order to fund all of his operations the way he wants to and because of the way it slots right into them, I suspect that's his prime motivator for the 3D project.

... which is not to say that they can't be interesting.


... and that is not to say that they will be.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Why? Lucas has been talking about Star Wars in 3D since at least 2005.

Does the statute of limitation run out on "cash grab"? I couldn't think of a more blatant example of a cash grab than this.

[DenonCI]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Why? Lucas has been talking about Star Wars in 3D since at least 2005.

Lucas has been more than talking about it...he's paying to have Episode I converted to 3D as we speak.

[ole geezer]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Ole geezer,

I hope you understand that I'm 100% with you on the value of/need for expansion of the "frame" of content one can see in theatrical 3D. I'd love to see more adult-minded fare hit the 3D market (just as I would like to see a greater proportion of it in cinemas in 2D, as well). I'd just like to see this content appear in the form of new movies, designed to express themselves in 3D and, hopefully, having something to say with the medium.

The publicly-expressed opinions, observations and experiences (and upcoming projects) of filmmakers like Ridley Scott and Martin Scorsese give me hope that we'll see the 3D market mature enough at least to get another generation of creators thinking about the real possibilities of the format.

We actually share the same desires going forward but, alas, my focus and interests lie in the past with yesterday's old classics.

Blame it entirely on James Cameron. He set a high standard for 3D productions with Avatar that simply WOW'ed world wide audiences and left them (me) screaming for more... and in a few months, he's going to deliver again by re-releasing Titanic 3D and setting the ground work for another standard in 3D conversions as well as wetting the appetites of classic film fans that want to see their favorites up dated and converted to 3d. I wouldn't mind it if Spielberg, Scorsese or Scott jumped on the conversion choo choo train with some of their classics. I wouldn't mind it at all.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by ole geezer

We actually share the same desires going forward but, alas, my focus and interests lie in the past with yesterday's old classics.

Blame it entirely on James Cameron. He set a high standard for 3D productions with Avatar that simply WOW'ed world wide audiences and left them (me) screaming for more... and in a few months, he's going to deliver again by re-releasing Titanic 3D and setting the ground work for another standard in 3D conversions as well as wetting the appetites of classic film fans that want to see their favorites up dated and converted to 3d. I wouldn't mind it if Spielberg, Scorsese or Scott jumped on the conversion choo choo train with some of their classics. I wouldn't mind it at all.

That may be jumping the gun a bit, as the proof will be in the proverbial pudding...but if anyone has that Midas Touch, it's certainly Mr. Cameron! It will be interesting, going forward, as more & more information on this project becomes available!

[Dotpattern]

Originally Posted by ole geezer

We actually share the same desires going forward but, alas, my focus and interests lie in the past with yesterday's old classics.

Blame it entirely on James Cameron. He set a high standard for 3D productions with Avatar that simply WOW'ed world wide audiences and left them (me) screaming for more... and in a few months, he's going to deliver again by re-releasing Titanic 3D and setting the ground work for another standard in 3D conversions as well as wetting the appetites of classic film fans that want to see their favorites up dated and converted to 3d. I wouldn't mind it if Spielberg, Scorsese or Scott jumped on the conversion choo choo train with some of their classics. I wouldn't mind it at all.

I personally think there have already been some great conversions that have set that "standard" - Transformers 3 being at the top of my list. But having seen the demos for both Titanic and Top Gun in 3D, I'm personally very excited for the future of 2D to 3D conversions.