Peter Jackson To Shoot Films In 3D From Now On

You can now add Peter Jackson to the 3D bandwagon. In talking with MarketSaw, 3ality Digital Systems CEO Steve Schklair said that Jackson will be shooting all of his (directed) films in 3D from now on, using the technologies of Schklair’s 3ality company to do so.

Schklair said the following about the Lord of the Rings director with regards to 3D:

“..We were recently down in New Zealand with Peter Jackson, who is committing to shooting his films in 3D, and will be working with our rigs and technology to do so.”

Schklair went on to say that he thinks Jackson’s decision to shoot his movies in 3D will be a big boost for the advancement of 3D technology as a prominent way of viewing movies:

“I think this is big news for the industry because we are all pushing to get theaters built. Some theater owners are on the fence, asking, ‘If we do jump [into 3D], is there enough content?’ And having guys like Peter Jackson jump in and say things like “I’ll be making all my movies in 3D” is a great vote of confidence for the theater owners who are thinking about making the investment.”

As Alex Billington over at First Showing points out, there is currently a predicament with 3D movies in that a lot of movie theaters don’t want to convert to 3D because there simply aren’t enough 3D movies out there yet. And at the same time a lot of directors don’t want to shoot movies in 3D because there aren’t enough movie theaters properly equipped yet. But with Jackson joining James Cameron (and others) on the list of people shooting in 3D, it seems that will become much less of a problem sooner rather than later.

I’ve made it no secret that I think for the most part 3D is a gimmick and the novelty of wears off very quickly. Only in movies where the technology is applied subtly and in the right places (such as in Pixar’s latest film Up) does it work. But most 3D movies just use the technology very blatantly, shoving images down the audience’s collective throat more frequently than you can count as they appear to come out of the screen towards them. If Jackson is going to use 3D in all of his movies, I really hope he applies it with great precision and doesn’t just use it all the time just for the sake of it.

Jackson currently has his drama/horror/thriller The Lovely Bones lined up as director, but I wouldn’t hold my breath to see it in 3D (not least because it’s already in post-production). But beyond that Jackson has the sequel to Tintin (if it gets greenlit), so unless anything else gets announced (he’s producing The Hobbit, not directing it), Tintin 2 will be his first 3D movie. And going by this news, it certainly wouldn’t be his last.

What do you think about Peter Jackson apparently going to be filming all of his movies in 3D? Do you think the technology is a gimmick or an effective way of watching movies?

Sources: MarketSaw and FirstShowing