Commenting Rules: Keep the conversation civil and on topic. If your comment does not add to the conversation, it will be removed. Debate intelligently. Insulting the author, /Film, or other commenters will result in comment removal and possible ban. If you want to point out a typo, correction, suggestion or criticism for /Film, please email us instead. Please use your name or nickname and not your business name (ie Discount Car Parts) as we might confuse and mark it as spam. If you would like to have your own Avatar show up with your comment, sign-up for a free Disqus account. Any Links will go into moderation before being approved. Anything we deem as spam will not be approved.

3D Star Wars, Wait You Must. Yes, mmmm.

Posted on Friday, August 8th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta

It looks like we’ll have to wait a few more years for 3D converted release of the Star Wars films. George Lucas told AP that LucasFilm is working on the technology to make it happen.

“We’re trying to do that,” Lucas said. “We worked on some, with a company that was developing the technology a few years ago to convert films into 3-D, we worked with them. But the system works great. It’s just not very practical. So what we’ve been working on since then is to develop a sort of practical way to do it. And we will get there. It’s just a technological challenge.”

In our recent interview with Dreamworks Animation head Jeffrey Katzenberg, he admitted that he wasn’t yet happy with the results, something that probably drove Lucas to taking the R&D in house

“The technology of retro-fitting a black & white movie to color has not gotten to a place where I would feel comfortable doing that and representing that as a quality experience,” Katzenberg admitted. “The tools are still being created and perfected for 2D translation to 3D and it’s too early to say it. Up until now I have not been that excited about the quality of it. But the guys across the street are doing it on Toy Story 1 and 2 which are crown jewels and they’re quality guys. And I know they’ve been working hard on these so that’s where they put a lot of focus on it so, you know, I suspect they’ve made some progress there that will actually allow us to put a quality….George Lucas is looking to take the whole “Star Wars” 6 episodes and to repurpose them into 3D. He’s very excited about it. He’s got the technical resources and he’s not going to put product out that’s anything other than I think first rate.”

Comments 

Related Posts

Tags

3D, Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi, Sequels, , ,

  • MrBabyMan
    As I understand it, the process they were using was the same process they'd previously used to convert Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas from 2D to 3D. It essentially involves rebuilding each scene, as detailed here: "If you have a shot of Jack Skellington, you have to build Jack, and you have to build the background behind him, his house and the snow, or whatever is behind him in a digital world. And then we project a movie on to that digital geometry and then move the digital camera over to the right and rephotograph that for the right eye version." (http://digitalproducer.digitalmedianet.com/arti... )
    While retooling a film like Nightmare where objects have very distinct distance planes and edges may be horrendously difficult, a film like Star Wars with multiple soft-edged characters, objects and backgrounds, all interacting on multiple moving planes would be virtually impossible, incredibly time-consuming, and prohibitively expensive utilizing the same technology.
    And when all is said and done, the Nightmare conversion was too subtle and not all that effective anyway.
    The ideal situation is one in which all the data exists digitally, as Katzenberg mentions with Toy Story 1 and 2, where Pixar could literally re-render the entire film from a camera angle three inches to the right of the original renders.
  • Leave it to Mr. Babyman to know what's actually going on.

    I agree, the Nightmare 3D is way too subtle. And I can certainly see how it would be a much bigger choir to convert a Star Wars film. I do know that when talk of this first came about, they had converted a sequence to show exhibitors at Showest, so it is possible.

    If anything, Lucas is a perfectionist in the R&D part of filmmaking. And if anyone will figure a better way to convert a film, it will be him. Besides, imagine all the money he could make with six 3D star wars films. That's more than enough incentive right there.
  • Rory
    Just Get SAMSUNG'S new 3D Plasma TV.
    It converts anything into 3D.
    But You still have to wear those faggy glasses.
  • One, there isn't enough weed on the planet that'd make me go see those recent films again. Second, even if they manage to show IV-V in 3D, if it's the revised Greedo shoots first-Jabba's in it, but on Jenny Craig-Falcon escaping the hangar-Boba Fett don't sound right-Cloud city has a background-Jabba's palace has a lounge act with back-up dancers/singers-galaxy in celebration-Hayden "Can't Fraking Act" Christensen replacing Shakespearean trained actor Sir Sebastian Shaw-raping that is the "Special Editions" then no thank you.
  • igroveman
    go lucas! create a 3-D digital elvis swinging through the jungle on monkey vines! Have Indiana Jones chase My Little Pony (also made out of translucent plastic like a particular skull), and stand around yawning for the final act!
  • George Lucas continues to rape my childhood. I'm wishing I never sold those original VHS Star Wars movies. The Special Editions are a joke, Prequels making Darth Vader into Darth Pussy, and the new Clone Wars looks horrendous.

    George...please...just leave Star Wars alone!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • JJ
    Hey Sean -- the "raping my childhood" line was old 10 years ago. While your little childhood may be "raped," it takes a lot more than altering a few seconds of a movie to change any memories I have. And apparently the hundreds of millions of people around the world who saw the prequels multiple times and bought the DVDs disagree with you. (And if you REALLY must, you can always go out and get the $15 two-disc editions of Episodes IV, V and VI, which contain the "original" versions -- you know, the ones with astonishingly crappy effects, lousy grain throughout and three X-wings fighting in the Death Star trench.)
  • JJ
    Aw, hell, write to me at jt7335@yahoo.com and I'll send you my copy for free, just so your childhood memories will be saved.
  • ---,-J-E.,R,--RY --B-U.-T-L-E-
    Oh, George Lucas, you light hearted demi-god.......is there nothing you can't do! <3
  • Captain Awesome
    Milk those teats Lucas. Milk em' you sloppy whore!
  • JJ....thanks for offering to rescue my childhood. i'll pass on the freebie, though :-)

    Captain Awesome...my thoughts exactly. He'll be 80 years old re-vamping Stars Wars even more.
  • Chip
    A lot of the changes in the special edition releases are dumb (for me, the ones that bother me the most are Greedo getting to shoot and Boba Fett's voice being redubbed). And the prequels (except Episode III) really suck. I mean, I find AOTC nearly unwatchable now, and I could watch it easily three years ago.

    However, while Lucas may be doing some pretty dumb things (Indy 4 is another thing than comes to mind), cut the man some slack. I mean, we wouldn't have Star Wars or Indy (the original movies) if it weren't for him. Those who say he raped your childhood, what exactly was your childhood? From the way you make it sound, Lucas was the one who bought you your childhood.

    I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not crazy about what Lucas is doing either, he should just leave these things to rest. But we don't want to kill the man...do we?
  • Superman
    Lucas is a hack now. He's lost all his creative passion and thinks only of building better toys to play with. Look at this clone wars shit he's selling. Who the fuck cares about the clone wars anymore now that they've been made into a joke? Oh hey, what's the point of building an army to eradicate the jedi if the robots would have worked just fine? Fool me once and all that George. I'm keeping my money. 3d's just not going to sell especially for a conversion of a film never intended for the format.
  • Diel
    No but we do want to kill him, its the only way to keep him from fucking shit up.
  • Chip
    Okay, I've changed my mind. I'm not saying Lucas should be killed, but he should be put in jail or something. He's been messing with Star Wars way too much, and now he's unleashing his fury on Indiana Jones, too. I'm sorry, but Indy 4 was lame. And this is coming from someone who actually hadn't seen any of the movies until earlier this year, so don't even tell be it's because I'm too nostalgic or because my expectations were too high. Indy 4, while it had some good moments, was lame, boring, and just downright ridiculous.

    I mean, I didn't HATE it, but I wasn't overjoyed, and I certainly won't be shelling out $20 plus for the DVD.

    Also, I actually saw the first two Star Wars prequels before I saw the OT. I remember being bored to death by Phantom Menace and AOTC. I saw the originals in 2005 before ROTS came out, and I loved them. It was really the original films that turned me into a Star Wars fan. Somebody should really put Lucas into his place and tell him that stories actually CAN finish.
  • 790
    I will never watch Star Wars in 3D,,,, couldn't give a shit.
  • I think one of the real reasons they're not advancing it is because the expected upgrades to digital projection have not occurred at the pace Lucas and others anticipated. Cameron's Avatar may cause some ripples but right now there's no real incentive for theaters to upgrade (even though, financially, they would turn more profits over the long haul) and so, if nobody can show your 3D movie on 3000-screen scale (and altering a live-action movie to this 3D style would need to be cost-effective in order to justify it)... why go through all the work to convert them?
  • Carmen Michael Abramo
    WOW. I mean Wow, so this is where the old 1977 starwars fans go to die. It's quite funny actually. What are you guys still the omg greddo shot first fags?. Well while everyone else gets to enjoy what lucas is doing. why not go watch your precious untouched dvds of the orignal trilogy. Man grown men as babies. guess thats what you are.
  • Carmen Michael Abramo
    WOW. I mean Wow, so this is where the old 1977 starwars fans go to die. It’s quite funny actually. What are you guys still the omg greddo shot first dumb asses. Well while everyone else gets to enjoy what lucas is doing. why not go watch your precious untouched dvds of the orignal trilogy. Man grown men as babies. guess thats what you are.
  • Carmen Michael Abramo
    WOW. I mean Wow, so this is where the old 1977 starwars fans go to die. It’s quite funny actually. What are you guys still the omg greddo shot first dumb idiots. Well while everyone else gets to enjoy what lucas is doing. why not go watch your precious untouched dvds of the orignal trilogy. Man grown men as babies. guess thats what you are.

    lol its so cool that you are a dying breed and the kids who watched and loved the prequels are just gonna send u to the retiremnt home. man what a bunch of losers
  • Carmen Michael Abramo
    ok this is so unfair. I tried to actually voice my opinion but it was considered a hate speech. fine I'll candy coat it. aww por babies. not gonna enjoy the new starwars.
blog comments powered by Disqus

gorilla nation

/Film

Copyright © 2010 /Film. Web design by Pro Blog Design. Logo Concept by: Illumination Ink

All names, trademarks and images are copyright their respective owners.