Saturday, October 9, 2010

No 3-D for the "Hallows"

In the latest sign of Hollywood studios' growing ambivalence over converting movies into 3D, Warner Bros. on Friday said it canceled its planned 3D release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I," saying it ran out of time to properly convert the film into a 3D format.

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Warner Bros/Associated Press
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I."

Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc., will now only release the penultimate "Potter" installment on Nov. 19 in a 2D version, as opposed to releasing it in both 2D and 3D.

The film's final installment, however, will appear in 3D when it hits theaters next summer.

After James Cameron's 3D blockbuster "Avatar," which opened last December, became the highest-grossing film of all time, Hollywood studios rushed to produce 3D movies to take advantage of audience enthusiasm for the new medium—and the higher ticket prices it allows theater owners to charge. But that rush also created a divide in the Hollywood community over the best way to produce 3D films—and the quality of 3D needed to satisfy audiences hungry for films in the flashy format.

Earlier in the year, industry champions of 3D, including Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc. Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, criticized Warner Bros. for what they viewed as a sloppy, last-minute conversion of "Clash of the Titans." Despite the criticism, the movie performed well at the box office.

Those critics argued that films like "Clash" would turn audiences against the format because the 3D was of such poor quality.

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