I was delighted to see that an old friend of mine, David Poland from Movie City News, was lucky enough to go on a press junket to Wellington recently. He was there at the invitation of Paramount to check out the technology used in making The Adventures of Tintin. David’s first entry is brief, but he promises more on the subject. Perhaps something relevant to The Hobbit will be mentioned.

One of the subjects that came up when Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg made a joint appearance at Comic-Con this past week was the supplemental fees charged for 3D movie screenings, reports the New Zealand Herald. Peter is quoted:

“I think the 3D situation is kind of interesting at the moment because, after Avatar, it survived for a while as this premium experience with higher ticket prices.

“But I think the audiences have now come to realise there are bad movies that can be in 3D as well and, on top of that, you’re being charged an extra $5 to see a movie that was as bad as one you saw in 2D,” said Jackson, sitting alongside Spielberg at popular culture convention Comic-Con.

Of course, the pair have a 3D film coming up, The Adventures of Tintin, co-produced by both and directed by Spielberg, and Peter is shooting The Hobbit in 3D. Spielberg added that he hoped 3D would eventually be used so skillfully that it would blend in with other film techniques and not call attention to itself:

“Then maybe they can make the ticket prices comparable to a 2D movie and not charge such exorbitant prices just to gain entry into a 3D one, with the exception of Imax, where we are getting a premium experience in a premium environment,” Spielberg said.

“But, to show a 3D movie in a similar theatre in a multiplex next to another similar theatre showing a 2D movie, [I’m] hoping some day there will be so many 3D movies that the point of purchase prices can come down, which I think would be fair to the consumer.”

But theaters aren’t charging premium prices because they assume the films are better and more attractive. They do it because it costs more to make a film in 3D or convert one to 3D. $30 million dollars more, on average for these big blockbusters. And mediocre films cost the same to make as good ones do. At some point 3D technology may become cheaper, and the price differential could disappear. That assumes that 3D is judged to be a successful technology.

It’s not just a matter of mediocre films, either. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 made only 43% of its record opening weekend gross in 3D-equipped theaters–that despite the fact that 68% of the locations where it played showed it in 3D. People who went to that film in 2D surely didn’t assume it was mediocre. On the whole, it has been getting very favorable reviews, and HP fans would surely spend the extra few dollars if they really wanted to see it in 3D.

But 3D may turn out not to be the cash cow that the studios had hoped. The decline in 3D revenues this year has been real and it has been consistent. In some, if not most cases, exhibitors are actually making more money showing 2D prints than 3D. (I’ll be posting about this soon on Observations on Film Art, my other blog, and I’ll post a link when the piece is up for those who are interested in this issue.) The explanation would seem likely to be that most people just don’t care very much about 3D.

Today The Hollywood Reporter posted a brief story showing off the first poster for the Tintin series. It doesn’t seem to be publicizing the first release, Steven Spielberg’s The Secret of the Unicorn, due out December 23. Instead, it just says The Adventures of Tintin, with “3D” immediately underneath.

I was particularly interested in this statement near the end: “Jackson’s Weta Digital developed the performance-capture technology that Jackson will use when he directs the second film in the franchise.” That same technology, as far as I know, was used for Spielberg’s episode as well. But this is the first time I’ve seen it stated that PJ will direct the second film. The original announcement was that there would be three films and that he and Spielberg would each direct one, with a third, unnamed director doing the other. Maybe the author is just assuming PJ will do the second. It would make sense, given that a third director has never been named, even in the wildest rumors–as far as I know. Plus, unlike LOTR, the Tintin films are not being shot concurrently. The idea obviously is to wait and see if the first film is a success before making the second.

[Thanks to Paulo Pereira for the link!]

Comingsoon.net has revealed that a screenwriter, Anthony Horowitz, has been hired to pen the Tintin sequel. The first film, Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (produced by PJ) is scheduled for a December 23 release. If it’s not a success, the sequel won’t get made, but obviously in order to prevent a really lengthy gap between films, preparations for the second one have to get started.

The report suggests that Peter is still planning to direct the sequel, which is currently entitled Prisoners of the Sun.

When the Tintin project was first announced, the series was to include three films, with Spielberg directing one, Peter another, and a still unnamed director a third.

I’m still trying to catch up with everything that accumulated during my recent month in Europe. One thing I ran across was an interesting interview with Peter Jackson in ICG, the magazine of the International Cinematographers Guild. It’s in the December, 2009 print issue or online here.

Interviews by professionals in the film industry tend to be a bit more substantive than those by entertainment journalists–not surprisingly. But don’t be put off by the thought that this one is full of technical terms that you won’t understand. It’s pretty straightforward stuff.

It’s mostly on The Lovely Bones, but there are a number of topics touched on that reveal Peter’s ideas about adaptation and cinematography in general. I recommend it.

We all know that Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens are powerful filmmakers. Here I’m not talking about their creative abilities, which are obvious, but about their power within the film industry to go after projects that appeal to them personally. The Lord of the Rings (and Peter’s other films, as we’ll see below) gave them the financial clout to proceed without a studio attached. more »

Yesterday blogger Anne Thompson posted an interview concerning The Lovely Bones on Indiewire. Two interviews, really, since she talked by phone with Fran Walsh and by flip cam with Peter Jackson. (His is posted as three clips adding up to around 15 minutes.)

There are many, many interviews that these two and their colleagues have done during the publicity tour leading up to the release of their new film. I link this one because Anne Thompson asks more sophisticated questions than most interviewers, and the discussion gets into some interesting topics, including the two level of narration by the heroine, Susie Salmon, and the way Peter and Fran approached the filming of the murder scene. As usual when asked to go beyond the standard Frequently Asked Questions, Peter has some cogent things to say the choices made in the adaptation process.

I also have an excuse to link the piece because Fran also refers briefly to The Hobbit:

All along, Walsh and Jackson were also juggling other projects, such as District 9, which they produced. Jackson also collaborated with Steven Spielberg on Tin Tin and with Guillermo del Toro on The Hobbit.

In that case Del Toro joined the usual troica of writers in a room and slugged it out on two scripts. “He brings a tremendous earthy sense of humor,” says Walsh. “The biggest issue is always length.” She was surprised at how joyful she was to return to Middle Earth after being relieved to leave it at the end of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Casting began on The Hobbit in Wellywood this week.

Anne’s piece also suggests that the next writing project for the pair is the second Tin Tin film, confirming what PJ said in an earlier interview.

Somehow I have gotten onto the mailing list for Paramount’s publicity department. I’m sure it’s not because I run “The Frodo Franchise” but for my husband’s and my other blog, “Observations on Film Art.” I guess the studio thinks we get more visitors than we actually do, though our traffic isn’t bad at all for an academic blog.

Usually there’s nothing relevant to this blog among Paramount’s press releases, but I just got an interesting one and thought I’d share it with you (condensed a little to include only the essentials):

“The Lovely Bones,” based on the critically acclaimed best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, and directed by Academy Award® winner Peter Jackson, has been selected for the Royal Film Performance 2009. The World Charity Premiere will take place in late November in Leicester Square.

“The Lovely Bones” is directed by Academy Award® winner Peter Jackson and stars Academy Award® nominee Mark Wahlberg (Jack Salmon), Academy Award® winner Rachel Weisz (Abigail Salmon), Academy Award® winner Susan Sarandon (Grandma Lynn), Stanley Tucci (George Harvey), Michael Imperioli (Len Fenerman) and Academy Award® nominee Saoirse Ronan (Susie Salmon), many of whom are expected to attend along with members of the Royal Family. (Full details to be announced)

“The Lovely Bones” is a DreamWorks and Film4 presentation of a Wingnut Production and is distributed by Paramount Pictures worldwide, on general release in the UK in January 2010. The film centres on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.

Peter Jackson: “I am honoured that The Lovely Bones has been selected to be this year’s Royal Gala film, in support of the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund. This film has been an extraordinary journey, for myself as a filmmaker and for all of those who worked on it. On behalf of everyone involved, we are thrilled that Their Royal Highnesses and the CTBF audience will be amongst the first people in the world to see it.”

The Royal Film Performance™ is the principal fundraising event of The Cinema & Television Benevolent Fund (CTBF). All money raised from the event will go directly to the charity, which supports film and TV employees and their families in times of hardship. Details of how to purchase tickets will be available on the CTBF website www.ctbf.co.uk

Actually they’re already available at the charity’s site, with prices of £65 and £90 for non-member seating.

Fans in the UK who can afford those prices to support a good cause can get the jump on the rest of us by weeks!

stuff.co.nz, a New Zealand new aggregator, has published a brief but fascinating little story on Peter Jackson. While the rest of us are pointing out how incredibly successful Peter has been in carrying through on his ambitious plans, he’s apparently worrying about failing. The story quotes him:

“You’re always imagining the best, and then you always have to compromise for what you get in the real world,” Jackson said.

“It’s a process of constant disappointment. But somehow you have to hope that you set your goals high enough that even with the disappointment, you still end up with something that other people enjoy.”

I’m not sure that adds up to being “driven by fear of failure,” as the headline rather melodramatically puts it. I think anyone who’s had even a moderate degree of success fears failure.

Still, Peter has more reason to worry than most of us, since a great deal is riding on his continued success. Among the companies that Peter owns or co-owns–WingNut, Park Road Post, and Weta Ltd.–there are hundreds of employees. Thousands at the height of a big production, and the filmmaking infrastructure in Wellington seems always to be hard at work on a big production these days. Peter and his partners feel an enormous responsibility to those employees, and a big flop would affect many of them.

Along the way, the stuff.co article also mentions that Peter “has just finished the screenplay for the Hobbit film.” More confirmation that the script–and that would be for the first half of the two-part film–is finished. Now it’s presumably in the process of being budgeted and greenlighted. A film not likely to flop.

I doubt The Lovely Bones will fail, either. For a start, the trailer looks pretty good to me. Plus, now that Martin Scorsese’sShutter Island (originally October 2, now February 19) has been put back to the spring, Paramount has only two films due for release in the fourth quarter, Up in the Air, a George Clooney film gaining Oscar buzz (exact release date not announced) and The Lovely Bones (December 11). That will almost certainly lead the studio to concentrate on publicizing these two and pushing them for Oscar noms.

Thanks to fan and fellow blogger Ryan Rasmussen for alerting me to this story! You can find his blog, currently featuring a review of District 9 and multiple entries on his recent trip to New Zealand (with some beautiful photos) here.

With the release and success of District 9 and the first trailer for The Lovely Bones out, it seems to be a time for reflections on Peter Jackson’s success. I reflected here a couple of weeks ago. I linked to the Wall Street Journal reflections here. TORN’s MrCere reflected here, mostly on Comic-Con. Now New Zealand’s news aggregator stuff.co has posted a chatty reflective story by Barney McDonald from the Sunday Star Times, a weekly national newspaper published in Auckland. McDonald’s duties as a reporter have allowed him to be onset during some of the pickups for The Two Towers and The Return of the King, as well as to interview Peter on a number of occasions. (As usual, the writing carefully conceals whether McDonald was part of a group in a press junket or got to speak with the man one on one.) There’s nothing much that’s new in this article, but there are copious quotes from PJ, and it’s always good to read about things in the man’s own words.

We should, however, be coming up to that point where the script for the first part of The Hobbit goes off to New Line/Warner Bros., and we may be moving beyond reflection and getting some real news–not to mention the Tolkien Trust court date being only a little over two months away.