Ridley Scott May Be Getting Into 3D By Buying A 3D Tech Company

Ridley Scott wants to shoot his Alien prequel (or possibly back to back prequels) in 3D. We thought that was just Scott doing what he always does — riding the current wave of popular cinema and doing his own tricks as he does.

Turns out there may be more to it than that. If Vulture's current report has it right, Scott is moving to purchase "an ownership stake" in one of the bigger 3D technology companies: MasterImage3D.

MasterImage 3D makes glasses and projection systems, and as such is a competitor to systems like RealD. Theoretically, the MasterImage tech could be a better deal, as Vulture says it is purchased outright by theaters, who do not have to pay a royalty back to the company. (I don't know how the MasterImage tech compares to RealD and other systems, so whether the scenario really does represent a good business deal is something I can't speak to.)

The obvious question here is: should Scott end up with a controlling share in a massive 3D technology company, can remastered 3D versions of his classic films be far behind? A 3D re-release of Alien to go along with the prequel(s) seems like a no-brainer from a business perspective, and one would assume Warner Bros. would play ball with a Blade Runner post-convert, providing Scott proves he could do a better job than the studio did with Clash of the Titans. And audiences would go nuts for the last shot of Thelma & Louise in 3D, providing Scott could re-orient it so that the car is flying towards the audience, rather than laterally across the screen.

(That is all sarcasm, obviously. The idea of 3D versions of any of those films fairly well disgusts me.)