James Cameron Tells Hollywood To Stop Making Trash 3D Movies

Proponents of 3D movies often point to Avatar, saying, smugly, “Well, look how great that movie turned out!” Yeah, that was the only one, and it was directed by James Cameron. Your typical Hollywood dross isn’t, in fact, directed by Cameron, nor does it take very obvious cues from Sega’s Panzer Dragoon series. Cameron has hit out at lazy Hollywood studios that think they can make a quick buck by converting their 2D movies into 3D at the last minute—Clash of the Titans being the worst offender. If you want a good 3D movie, he said, it has to be shot in 3D from the word go. Otherwise, don’t even bother.

You’ll recall that Avatar was planned as a 3D film from the very first days of pre-production, the result being a reasonably OK movie, but one where the 3D effects didn’t look tacky or rushed. Like with anything else, Hollywood saw that something worked once, and then ran it into the ground. How many vampire and/or zombie movies and TV shows have been produced in the past few years following the success of the Twilight books and movies?

Too many, exactly.

So maybe we really should thank Christopher Nolan for not bothering to film the next Batman movie in 3D?

Rather than waste time (and money) trying to tack on rubbish 3D effects, Cameron says that movie producers would be best served either A) leaving 3D to movies that are 3D from the beginning or B) converting old, classic movies into 3D.

Not movies like Casablanca, obviously, but Cameron suggested movies like Jaws and Indiana Jones.

These movies are actually good, and you can take your time, maybe work with the director, and see how you can make it a 3D wonder. At least then you’re not working under an artificial deadline, and you’ve already made money on the first run of the movie. Theatrical release, home video, DVD, Blu-ray, etc. Now, take a careful eye and apply a 3D effect and you’ve got another run out of the film.

I’m not sure how much diehard Indiana Jones fans will like that, but it’s not like Hollywood ever goes out of its way to please diehards anyway.