Revolution Underway As 3-D Storms Ahead

As 3-D TV is beginning to get serious attention, the movie world is racing ahead with Hollywood preparing to re-release some past blockbusters.

Such has been the success of Avatar with its hugely successful debut at the box office that major movies including Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings trilogy are being hurried into 3-D following the record-breaking success of Avatar.

As reported by the Sunday Times, a 3-D version of Avatar has driven ticket sales to more than $1.14 billion (£700m) in just three weeks; only Titanic, Cameron's previous epic in 1997, has made more money at the box office.

It is now being said that 3-D will become the new multiplex standard within five years and will be as dramatic a shift as when the 'talkies' killed off silent movies in the early 20th century.

Retro-fitting a screen classic with 3-D imagery could take as little as four months, using software to manipulate a digital copy of the film.

The Lord of the Rings is expected to be re-released after Jackson has finished producing the two-part version of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit over the next two years. This would mean that a 3-D version of The Fellowship of the Ring, the first part of the trilogy, could be in cinemas by Christmas 2012.

But it may be beaten to the screen by a revamped version of Star Wars. George Lucas, the director, spent $13m filming the original in 1976, added special effects in 1997 and 2004, and will now spend another $10m to change it into a 3-D spectacular.

There's already other 3-D movies in production as conventional 2-D films commissioned last year are already being updated.

Sir Ridley Scott has asked for a further $8m from his backer, Universal Films, to add an extra dimension to his untitled Robin Hood venture starring Russell Crowe in the lead role and Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian. Two versions of the film will be released in May.

Academics also see the major shift in emphasis with University of Southern California publishing a report suggesting that after seeing a 3-D film in the cinema in 2009, 40% of people would prefer to watch television in 3-D, too.

Meanwhile, in the USA, Sony and LG both revealed 3-D television sets which will go on sale this summer.

While ultra-portable computers designed for surfing the internet and watching movies on the move got top billing at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the new TVs were also being promoted with Panasonic also showing a prototype 3-D television with a giant 152in screen.

As reported on 4RFV last December, Sky is preparing to transmit matches from the football World Cup in South Africa this summer on a dedicated 3-D channel, even if few homes will have the new televisions by then.

The pace of change is accelerating. The first 3-D films on Blu-Ray, the successor to the DVD, will be released by Christmas. They will be a mixture of 2010 hits and remastered old favourites.

See: Sky's 3D TV 'To Launch With Avatar'

(BMcC/GK)