Wow. Director Michael Apted is not involved with the 3D conversion of THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER?
Apparently so according to Joe Dante, a friend of Apted (via herald.ie): "A lot of directors don't necessarily want to add 3D, it's done without their consent. My friend Michael Apted just did a Narnia picture, and he was very upset that they insisted that his finished film be turned into 3D, because he had no intention when he was making it of doing it. He said, 'if I was gonna' do a 3D movie, I would have done it differently'. And the fact is that, when you make a 3D film -- if you're doing it correctly -- you shoot it for 3D. To just take a film that was created to be in 2D, and send it to India and have it come back in this dark, fuzzy, View-Master slide kind of 3D, is a disservice to the movies and it's frankly picking the pockets of the audience."
Very well said Joe. I agree. When you have the availability of the filmmaker you should use him/her absolutely. I would take that stance when talking about catalog conversions too. If you don't think James Cameron or George Lucas won't have any say in their previous efforts being converted - think again!
I am shocked that Apted is not involved. From what I can see, the conversion looks great so far so fingers crossed. But I will always wonder what DAWN TREADER would look like if Apted was involved - I can't help it.
Jim here. Have a look at Joe Dante's (GREMLINS) new trailer for THE HOLE 3D. I have been following the development of this project for some time now and it is satisfying to peek at the end result!
I get the same type of comic relief that GREMLINS had from the movie so it is right in Dante's strike zone for sure. Anxious to see the whole thing!
Joe Dante has been around the block so I expect a great movie from him. Let me know what you think of the trailer...
Jim here. Speaking of combining horror with comedy (GHOSTBUSTERS 3D), up comes another prime example of that genre - GREMLINS. Again I have very good information from a top source that tells me another GREMLINS movie is coming to the silver screens and it will be in stereoscopic 3D! It is in the early stages with still lots of hurdles to pass, but it is being developed. This is not a 3D conversion of the original to be clear.
Seems like a good idea to me - especially in light of the GHOSTBUSTERS news we broke on Wednesday. The original GREMLINS was directed by THE HOLE's Joe Dante, with executive producer STEVEN SPIELBERG and writer CHRIS COLUMBUS.
The story centered around a pet purchased at a curious shop in NYC's Chinatown which had some quirks, namely rapid reproduction when introduced to water (one new creature per drop of water) and turning into gremlins after midnight if they feed.
From what I have been hearing, THE HOLE has been getting good critical reviews and it is so nice to have Joe Dante back behind the camera! It would make sense to bring him back for the S3D version of GREMLINS but I have not heard any more details. When I get more you will be the first to know :-) Looks like edgy family fun is on it's way back with GREMLINS and GHOSTBUSTERS, both in S3D of course!
Special thanks to my sources who keep us all in the loop!! You know who you are.
Jim here. Got some photos of THE HOLE's after party at the Toronto International Film Festival's 3D Lounge.
A good time was had by all!!
That's Nathan Gamble beside the movie poster and James Stewart with Joe Dante... Their photo was taken with a Fujifilm Real 3D W1 Camera!
Sponsors included our own RealD and PassmoreLab!
By the way - THE HOLE won Best 3D Movie over at the Venice Film Festival!! Congrats Joe!
Jim here. AICN has got a nice writeup from someone who has seen Joe Dante's THE HOLE in 3D at the Venice Film Festival. And it sounds good! More than good really...
Here is an excerpt: "I've seen Joe Dante's Hole and it doesn't stink. There's a sentence I never thought I'd write, but it's true. I knew very little about this film going in. I knew it was in 3D and I'd been told it was like Disturbia but with a bottomless hole, which it is for the first ten minutes, then it becomes a dark, really dark, episode of Eerie Indiana. Dante gets to flex his big screen muscles here and he's been away for far too long. You really get the sense he's put everything he's got into this film and the big set pieces are a master at work."
...and this about the 3D in the film: "The 3D is so restrained that at times I was begging for something to make me duck into my seat. You don't really get that, but Dante spoke before the film about 3D being here to stay and it being up to the film makers to be worthy of it. So, I guess he deliberately stayed away from any of the "coming at ya" stuff. He tries to use the technique to create an immersive environment, but you sort of expect a bit of cheesy stuff from a 3D movie. Well I do anyway. They showed some footage of a upcoming Japanese horror beforehand called Shock Labyrinth and that had stuff flying at you in spades so, I guess you can take your pick. It looked very cool and very Japanese."
Make sure you read the whole thing over at Ain't It Cool. Some mild spoilers there too. Joe Dante is re-igniting his career with this one - TIFF is getting a screening too. Can't wait to see it! And hats off to Joe for not caving into the 3D gimmicks - even in a horror film! Awesome man.
Jim here. Exclusive update guys - I just got an update from Kyle over at Paradise FX who were shooting Joe Dante's THE HOLE in 3D last week and I had to share it with you.
THE HOLE 3D is about a mother who moves to a rural area from the big city with her two boys (18 and 10 years old) for some mysterious reason. The two brothers come across a strange door in their floor with locks on it after they had moved some things around. After managing to get the door open, they uncover a deep, black "hole" that of course they venture into that "leads to the darkest corridors of their fears and nightmares".
Click on the images to blow up. If you want to see higher res copies of these, let me know!
The underwater scenes in the first two photos were shot late last week in Pasadena - you can see Paradise FX's new ParaCam Mini 2K-3D Underwater Housing. Nice tight seal baby!
Hmmmm. Pool = A hole of sorts. Think the hole in the basement is connected to the pool?
The dark outdoor photo was taken on set-up in Vancouver for night exteriors work. We can see the Paradise wide angle ParaCam 4K RED 3D rig on Techno Crane/Scorpio Head with Sterographer/Paradise Founder Max Penner & 3D Tech/1st AC David Mickey Taylor. Vancouver has got some great character buildings to draw upon (I lived there for a few years) and while it gets a bad rap for raining a lot in the winter, I didn't find that to be all that accurate. NORTH Vancouver on the other hand... Now we are talking rain. :-)
THE HOLE 3D is currently in post production and is slated for a 2010 release.
I love how much fun these guys are having - you can see that this isn't work for them, but a passion! That's how great things get done, and I am expecting great things from THE HOLE 3D. That's Joe Dante in the second picture (background) talking on his cell. Hoping to get more exclusives soon - stay tuned!
Jim here. Take a look at some behind the scenes teaser clips from our friends over at MovieSet for Joe Dante's THE HOLE 3D - thanks Graham. Personally, I can't get enough BTS clips as you get a true flavor for what is happening in the movie and how well the crew is interacting - their passion if you will.
These teasers are pulled from the full length clips available over at MovieSet. Have a look at those as well!
I am a big fan of Joe Dante (Gremlins, Innerspace, The Howling, Piranha) and excited to see him back in his native horror genre with full steam. Stay tuned for more when I get it!
Hey guys - Jim here. Fangoria just recently visiting the set of Joe Dante's THE HOLE which is being shot in stereoscopic 3D in Vancouver. We have been covering this story since it was first announced that the veteran horror director would be tackling this 3D project and it certainly seems to be building a lot of momentum in production.
I can't wait to see this movie - Dante is the guy that brought us GREMLINS and the writer of THE HOLE also wrote VACANCY (Mark L. Smith) which I thought was a nicely laid out script - and hey, yes there is a hole in that one too! :-)
From Fangoria: "Lancaster, of Bold Films, says Dante’s reaction to the script by Mark L. (VACANCY) Smith was extremely positive from the beginning. And of course, the reason the producers tapped the GREMLINS director to helm THE HOLE are obvious. “Joe has been a filmmaker through many decades in Hollywood,” Lancaster explains. “He was around during that previous iteration of 3-D, back in the ’80s, when it didn’t quite make it. But now, of course, with the advent of digital photography, the process has become much less cumbersome.
“What Joe [brings] to it is a depth and wealth of experience,” Lancaster continues. “Of having gone through that, having made the kinds of movies he’s made. This film is very much what Joe is great at. It’s Joe Dante back doing what he does best: scaring kids—but this time in 3-D.”
For more on THE HOLE, click here and here. This one looks like it has the goods - still scheduled for release in 2010.
Jim here. You all know Joe Dante's work (Gremlins, The Howling, Innerspace, Piranha) and I brought you up to speed on his latest project that takes him back to his horror roots, THE HOLE. (Read the storyline if you haven't already). Personally, I think the darkness plays especially well for 3D and the suspense could be off the charts for this one if I know Dante well enough.
Movie starts to shoot in December now, rather than this month in Vancouver, BC with a budget of $15m.
Dante told Screen Daily: "I've made a lot of horror movies but generally don't find much of interest in them because the material doesn't appeal to me," Dante says as he prepares to begin production in Vancouver in December. "This was different: it's essentially a family-oriented story and I found the quality of the writing and characters to be above average."
When he read the script for The Hole, a lightbulb clicked on inside his head. "3D seems to be in the news again due to the peripatetic efforts of Jeffrey Katzenberg, so I thought this might be the time to do a 3D movie."
Posters via DreadCentral
Jim here. Director Joe Dante (GREMLINS, THE HOWLING) recently told podcast This Is Some Scene, that his project THE HOLE will start shooting in November in 3D in Vancouver, BC. (Go to about the 53 minute mark of the podcast for the 3D related material).
The writer is Mark L. Smith (VACANCY, VACANCY 2) - and I kinda liked "Vacancy" - I thought it was quite entertaining.
THE HOLE is about a mother who moves to a rural area from the big city with her two boys (18 and 10 years old) for some mysterious reason. The two brothers come across a strange door in their floor with locks on it after they had moved some things around. After managing to get the door open, they uncover a deep, black "hole" that of course they venture into that "leads to the darkest corridors of their fears and nightmares".
Haley Bennett (THE HAUNTING OF SARAH MORGAN) has been tapped to join a rather small cast with not a whole lot of locations. Emphasis will obviously be on the story and the very intimate surrounding of the hole. Bold Films is the production company.
Dante will be using 3D as a psychological element rather than a "comin' at ya" gimmick which I am very pleased to hear.
I think most directors today have bought into this new reality and are truly looking to 3D as a creative and emotional tool to use to augment movies, without the audience staying aware that it is in 3D. That's the key. At first glimpse, this movie sounds awesome. We shall see! Look for a release for this movie in 2010 once a distributor signs on.
