During a lengthy conversation conducted earlier this week, Titanic and Avatar director James Cameron expressed concern that 3D is no longer in the hands of directors deciding it’s right for their films, but being imposed upon them by studios hoping for the ticket price bump that 3D provides.”One thing is shooting in 3D and another is to convert to 3D,” Cameron told Mexico City’s technology forum TagDF on Wednesday. He said that studios hoping to make extra money are now forcing the format on directors who don’t want it.Of course, there are many who would point out that it’s the financial success of Avatar, the highest-grossing and most-hyped 3D movie of all time, that led to that dynamic. But it was what he said next that has comic fans reaching for the torches and pitchforks.The director singled out Man of Steel and Iron Man 3 as movies that “should not necessarily be in 3D. If you spend $150 million on visual effects, the film is already going to [look] spectacular [and] perfect.”Of course, fans are seeing headlines that say Cameron is slamming the films, which he didn’t do, and are reacting in kind with comments about what a hypocrite he is for upconverting Titanic for a 3D reissue. Ultimately, though, as the film’s director, that’s his prerogative and he doesn’t say that it shouldn’t be done, just that it’s being done too often and for the wrong reasons–both things that fans and other critics have been saying for a while. Heck, Christopher Nolan got a lot of goodwill from fans for refusing to let Warner Bros. pressure him into releasing The Dark Knight Rises in 3D.
