James Cameron Calls 3-D 'Titanic' A 'New Experience'

But he's also 'not changing a frame' during 3-D conversion process, which he previewed for reporters Tuesday.
By Kevin P. Sullivan


James Cameron
Photo: Getty Images

In 2009, James Cameron announced to a crowd at San Diego Comic-Con that "Titanic," the iconic epic and king of the box office, would soon resurface in a theater near you, but this time in 3-D. Two years later, the conversion process is nearly complete and we're six months away from the April 6 release date.

But on Tuesday (October 11), James Cameron showed off about 20 minutes of newly 3-D-ified scenes to a handful of journalists in New York to give them an idea of what the finished product will look like next year and to explain the process and his reasoning behind the re-release for the 100th anniversary of the boat's sinking.

For Cameron, the re-release is about giving the audience a chance to relive an event that was more than just going to the movie theater. "I've always thought of watching this film in theaters as a social phenomenon, where parents will take their children or teenagers would go with their mom," Cameron said. "It would maybe be a woman going with a man she wanted to check out to make sure that his emotional plumbing was working before she made a big commitment."

But the name "Titanic" doesn't carry the same weight across the age spectrum as it did in 1997, and Cameron said he understands the need to appeal to a new audience. "There are younger kids we're going to have to sell to who don't know the movie. There's going to be a teenage audience who knows the movie only from video. The question is, do they know that just from peer-to-peer socially or is it passed on from watching it with their parents?" Cameron said.

Fans of the movie don't need to worry about any changes to the film they knew 14 years ago. Cameron explains that the only changes to the movie were the conversion to 3D. "We're not changing a frame. The ship still sinks. It ends the same way," Cameron said. Even some of the more dated special effects — "cringers," as Cameron referred to them — are there exactly as they were in 1997. The director said George Lucas and the ever-changing "Star Wars" trilogy helped him cope with that. "I see that as the example of what I don't want to do. I don't mean that as a slam," Cameron said. "[Lucas] considers his movies a perpetual work in progress. For me, the problem is, once you pull that thread, it all unravels. Where do you stop?'

By the time the new version of the film is released this spring, the 3-D conversion will have taken over a year with work from 300 artists and a cost of $18 million, but Cameron said he is proud of the conversion. "I think the film holds up pretty darn well. In 3-D, it becomes kind of a new experience," Cameron said. "It's a much more intimate and involving experience both with the characters and with the physical space." From the look of the eight scenes shown Tuesday, it looks like "Titanic" could be one of the most successful post-conversions to date, and it might bode well for more potential 3-D conversions for Cameron's other films. "The question is whether the film would benefit from a re-release and would there be a big enough audience for it. 'Terminator 2,' maybe. I think that would be a good place to start," Cameron suggested.

As we've seen with "Avatar," Cameron knows how to do 3-D well, and the clips shown Tuesday were no exception, especially the early scene of people boarding the ship. The effect does give a good sense of depth without gimmicky distraction. It was clear that care had gone into preserving the feel of "Titanic," while literally adding a new dimension. Only minutes after the clips began, the experience became more about seeing the film on the big screen again and less about the glasses on your face. That's the effect James Cameron hopes to achieve with audiences next spring.

"I think the story can't be 'It's "Titanic" in 3-D,' " Cameron said. "I think the story should be 'It's "Titanic" coming back to the big screen and it's in 3-D.' "

Check out everything we've got on "Titanic."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1672326/titanic-3-d-james-cameron.jhtml

Josie Maran Joss Stone Jules Asner Julia Stiles Julianne Hough

Reader Reviews

The movie tie-in edition of "20 Times a Lady"—now called "What's Your Number?"—is now available wherever fine books are sold!

To celebrate its publication, a few of my favorite readers came up with these great reviews...

"What's Your Number? is like Harry Potter minus the wizards, wands, and Lord Voldemort." —Michelle Bell

 

"‎What's Your Number? is like Gone With the Wind except with less hoop skirts and poverty and more beaus..." —Karen Meyer

 

‎"What's Your Number? is like To Kill a Mockingbird without all the racism and children." —Julie Stone

Thanks ladies!

Please add your review in the comments!

Source: http://www.prettyinthecity.com/blog/2011/9/7/reader-reviews.html

Mila Kunis Milla Jovovich Minka Kelly Minki van der Westhuizen Miranda Kerr

Michael Jackson Doctor Claimed He 'Took All Precautions'

Recording of Conrad Murray's interview with police two days after Jackson's death was played in court Friday (October 7).
By Gil Kaufman


Elissa Fleak
Photo: Pool/ Getty Images

After a day in which the defense attorney for Dr. Conrad Murray went on the offensive against a key prosecution witness in the physician's involuntary manslaughter trial, the focus on Friday (October 7) turned to a recording of the doctor's account of his actions while tending to Michael Jackson on the day the pop icon died.

During Thursday's proceedings, attorney Ed Chernoff accused lead coroner's office investigator Elissa Fleak of sloppy work in her investigation of Jackson's death. Chernoff suggested that Fleak made a number of mistakes, including leaving her fingerprint on a syringe found on Jackson's nightstand. In a sometimes heated exchange, Chernoff hammered Fleak about changes she made earlier this year to her report on Jackson's death, suggesting that they were intended to corroborate the testimony of key prosecution witness Alberto Alvarez, who has claimed that he helped Murray gather up medical evidence at the crime scene, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Toxicologist Dan Anderson also noted that trace amounts — equal to a few drops — of the surgical anesthetic propofol were found in Jackson's stomach. Murray's defense team has been trying to bolster their theory that Jackson fatally injected or ingested propofol himself.

Friday's highlights included:

» More testimony from Anderson, who sparred with Murray's lawyer over whether the trace amount of the sedative Lorazepam in Jackson's stomach was proof he'd swallowed the drug. According to the Los Angeles Times, defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan repeatedly suggested that there was no other explanation for how the drug ended up in Jackson's stomach, even as Anderson said there might be a reason, but that he was not qualified to explain it. Murray has acknowledged giving Jackson two injections of the drug, but the defense team has argued that the pop singer swallowed a handful of the pills on his own without Murray's knowledge.

» Los Angeles Police Department detective Scott Smith testified that the day after Jackson's death, the singer's family handed over a shaving kit containing degraded marijuana and empty bottles of the prescription insomnia drug Temazepam. He described Jackson's bedroom as "messy" and said he found empty bottles of the anti-anxiety drugs Diazepam and Lorazepam in the room.

» While Murray has not yet taken the stand and is not expected to, on Friday, attorneys played a recorded conversation Smith had with Murray and his lawyers two days after Jackson's death — on June 27 — that was set up at the request of Murray's team. In it, Murray disclosed the list of sedatives and painkillers he administered to Jackson in an effort to make him comfortable enough to sleep after a day of long rehearsals for his This Is It comeback concerts. Murray admitted to giving Jackson several medications: a 2-milligram Lorazepam IV, 10 milligrams of Valium and finally, 25 milligrams of propofol. Murray claimed in the recording that he "took all precautions that were available to me" in dosing Jackson.

» Also in the recorded conversation heard on Friday, Murray never mentions that he was on the phone with friends on the day of Jackson's death. Witness Sade Anding testified earlier in the week that she was on the phone with Murray around the time Jackson died.

Murray has pleaded not guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter. He faces four years in prison and the loss of his medical license.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1672211/michael-jackson-conrad-murray-trial-coroner.jhtml

Julianne Hough Julie Benz Julie Berry K. D. Aubert Karen Carreno

Britney Spears Joins Twitter Elite With 10 Million Followers

Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Barack Obama, Katy Perry and Kim Kardashian are only others who've reached milestone.
By Jocelyn Vena


Britney Spears
Photo: Ethan Miller/ Getty Images

Britney Spears has become the sixth person in Twitter history to break the 10 million mark. The Femme Fatale singer currently has 10,132,860 followers on the social networking site.

Spears is an active tweeter, using the site to send out personal greetings to her followers and to keep fans up-to-date on what's going on in her career and in her life. As of press time, she had sent out 1,095 tweets and was following 419,481 people.

Currently on tour in Europe, the singer frequently sends out tour updates on the site, leaving messages for her fans about the shows and posting video and pictures.

So who beat Britney to the 10 million mark? Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, President Barack Obama, Katy Perry and Kim Kardashian all reached the milestone before Spears.

Mediabistro.com reports that Shakira will likely be the next celeb to reach 10 million, assuming her followers keep growing at their current pace. Ashton Kutcher, who was the first celebrity to reach 1 million followers, may soon be knocked out of the top 10 with folks like Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah Winfrey and Selena Gomez all gaining on him.

Here are the current followings for the top 10 Twitter celebs: Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) with 14,381,470; Bieber (@justinbieber) with 13,309,185; President Obama (@barackobama) with 10,675,468; Perry (@katyperry) with 10,481,994; Kardashian (@kimkardashian) with 10,307,959; Spears (@britneyspears) with 10,132,860; Shakira (@shakira) with 9,088,877; Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) with 8,415,223; Rihanna (@rihanna) with 8,223,280; and Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) with 7,908,888.

Do you follow Britney Spears on Twitter? Tell us in the comments!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1672395/britney-spears-10-million-twitter-followers.jhtml

Sarah Michelle Gellar Sarah Mutch Jill Arrington Jill Wagner Joanna Krupa

Sharon Osbourne Doesn't Want to Be Called Grandma

Sharon Osbourne Doesn't Want to Be Called Grandma

Sharon Osbourne is thrilled to become a grandmother for the first time. After her son, Jack Osbourne, announced he and fiancee Lisa Stelly are expecting a baby, grandmum-to-be Sharon gushed her excitement on Wednesday's episode of The Talk.

"Our family is growing, and I love that," the mom of three said on her CBS talk show. "It's just a blessing, it's a joy. They're going to have a baby in April. Yes!"

Although her youngest son admitted he was "a little nervous" during the big reveal on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight, Sharon is ready to join husband Ozzy Osbourne (who has four grandchildren from his two oldest children from a previous marriage) in grandparenthood. And the couple is ready to give their grandchild "everything."

"That's what comes with being a grandmother," she says. "You can spoil, you can indulge, and then say, 'Okay, now let your parents be the ones to teach you right from wrong. I'm not. What do you want? Have it!'"

But one thing the 59-year-old television personality won't be giving her grandchild is the right to call her grandma: "The baby's going to have to call me Shazza or Misses O," she says. "In London, that's Sharon, the abbreviation is Shazza. They call you, 'Shazza.' 'Hello Shazza!'"

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/sharon-osbourne-doesnt-want-be-called-grandma/1-a-392866

Jordana Brewster Josie Maran Joss Stone Jules Asner Julia Stiles

Catherine Bell & Husband Adam Beason Split

Catherine Bell & Husband Adam Beason Split

Actress Catherine Bell has separated from her husband of 17 years, Adam Beason. The “Army Wives” star and screenwriter Adam Beason reportedly came to the [...]

Catherine Bell & Husband Adam Beason Split Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stupidcelebrities/~3/2_hdYiAeeWg/

Lokelani McMichael