Friday, 27 June 2008

Exclusive Update From Cine Expo 2008: Avid MarketSaw Reader Fills Us In!

Hey guys - some interesting developments over at Cine Expo 2008 including an appearance by the man himself, Buzz Aldrin at the showing of his upcoming 3D animation "Fly Me To The Moon" - check out Rochelle's excellent report on what's happening with 3D there:

About 45 minutes of Fly Me to the Moon screened today. It's a family film that weaves fiction and fantasy into one nice ice cream cone of confection for young audiences. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin makes a surprise appearance at the end. Ben Stassen, the film's director, sadly didn't make it to the screening. Introducing the presentation, instead, was XpanD CEO Maria Costeira, a lovely powerhouse behind a diverse family of entertainment companies (including the aforementioned 3-D exhibition solution). Costeira said that she is already in production on two other 3-D movies, one slated for winter 2009 release.

3-D was everywhere at Cine Expo. 3-D technology and exhibition vendors from around the world were among the busiest on an otherwise quiet expo floor and the topic constantly came up during the panel discussions. In today's session, "The Industry Speaks Out - The Current Climate in the International Marketplace," several studio reps mentioned 3-D when asked about their top concern going forward. Both Andrew Cripps , President, Paramount Pictures International and Anthony Marcoly, President, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International, bemoaned the shortage of both 2-D and 3-D digital screens. Marcoly said that for a film to be released primarily in 3-D, it had to be shown on at least 2000 3-D screens. He predicted that only 1500 screens, at the most, would be installed by Christmas 2008, forcing DreamWorks to release movies in 2-D that were created with a 3-D aesthetic. Marcoly shared his fears that audiences would perceive the 2-D versions as less than, impacting box office performance.

And so it goes. This time we have the chicken and the egg, but no hen house.

Rochelle
Well, lets hope that the theater chains and the studios can work together to get this thing done. Recent agreements are all very good, but we need some action now. Great to see 3D front and center at the show!

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