The Hobbit green-lit to begin production

[thewayne]

Like this is a surprise. I had no doubt, there's too much money to be made on it.

And it looks like it will be in 3-D.

There are three things that I find interesting about 3-D (in a negative way). 1: it doesn't seem to be making the transition in to living rooms. Apparently 3-D TV sales are extremely low, and I didn't know this: they aren't mutually compatible. So if you have a Sony 3-D TV and I have a Panasonic 3-D TV, your glasses (currently) won't work on my TV. 2: very little material is being released for it, some of the best material is only available when you buy a 3-D set. And 3: you need an upright viewing position to watch it. That last one, in and of itself, is a deal-breaker for me. I frequently watch TV laying sideways in my chair, horizontal is a favored viewing position for me.

Not that it matters, I'm not going to buy one. My TV is over a decade old, weighs a ton and a half, but only costs about $75 to repair. I'm planning on running it in to the ground.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4241119/Jackson-to-direct-The-Hobbit-in-3-D

Comments

[hafoc.livejournal.com]

3d just doesn't do it for me. I think of it as being like my old Viewmaster, where the 3d effect was so exaggerated as to be unrealistic. The only point of it is to say oh, gee, wow, look, it's in 3d.

In fact, looking at the real world, I don't see much of a 3d effect in things beyond 20 feet or so. Considering that anything beyond a talking head scene is going to be filmed that far or farther, I can't see that 3d is going to add anything to it.

And I'd rather watch a good story in low res black and white than a bad story with all the Technicolor Cinerama in 3d Dolby Surround widgetry you care to throw at it.

One good thing about 3d, though, it will drive the price of modestly sized 2d flat screens down. If and when my old tube set fries (or I just need some pointless retail therapy, a vice I fall for all too often) I should be able to get something with more screen that takes up less space. Probably even hang it on the wall. That would be nice.

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

One of the things that makes my 26" Panasonic even more attractive is that it fits in the entertainment center that was built in to my wife's house. If we go with a larger TV, flat or not, we have to do some massive living room reengineering.

[silveradept]

Ah, yay, 3-D. Get all the people with vertigo and motion sickness away now so that you don't have to hear them complain about how the movie is excluding them.

I like three dimensions, but this seems very very gimmicky at the moment.