Warner Bros played to a full house this morning for their 2012 product presentation
at the enormous Caesars Palace Colisseum theatre on the second day of the Cinemacon exhibitors convention in Las Vegas. One reason was certainly pre-publicity about 10 minutes of footage of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit being debuted in the revolutionary new format of 48 frames per second. The exhibs had to wait until the end of Warner topper Jeff Robinov's entire presentation to see how this potential game-changer looks. But before they did Jackson gave them a history lesson on the subject in taped introductory remarks (also shot in 3D but at 24 frames per sec) from New Zealand where he is working on the first of the two new films , The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey which opens December 14 (the second follows a year later). Jackson explained as the process got more talked-about in the industry he became intrigued by it and was hopeful Hobbit could be the first mainstream major studio feature to be projected at 48 Frames ( 24 Frames has been the norm for the last 80 years). Now having done it he feels there is no reason at all to stick with 24. "It gives you much more of an illusion of real life. In 3D it also offers much less eye-strain," he said saying with digital technology taking over the exhibition industry now , it's "simple" and he asked for the exhibs support. With that he intro'd ten minutes of footage but warned the crowd that it might take their eyes a little time to get used to. He also noted that the footage was far from finished but that this taste will give them the idea.
No question the crisp, high-def-to-the-max look of the work-in-progress shown was wildly different and quite startling to those used to film and 24 frame digital 3D. One industry observer next to me said afterwards, "it was like seeing Live From The Met at IMAX. Kinda cold." Another three-time Oscar winner in attendance who has worked on innumerable classic films told me later , "I think we should let him finish it and see what it's like then, but it seems a little like the look of a soap opera". Still another media member thought it looked "extraordinary" but felt the high-defness of it all would deeply divide moviegoers, especially those who like the grain of film.
Of course with every new innovation it takes time to get used to and ten unfinished
minutes isn't the whole story but applause from the exhibs was only polite. For me, I'm a purist. I am already kinda missing film. As the clip from the 1957 musical Silk Stockings that opened this morning's confab reminded, "you've gotta have glorious technicolor, breathtaking cinemascope and stereophonic sound".
They seemed much more enthusiastic about the preceding film clips Warners trotted out from its summer schedule. First up Robinov introduced Tim Burton, director of their May release , Dark Shadows who said he was a devoted fan of the original ABC gothic soap when he was in school and bonded with his frequent star, Johnny Depp on their mutual love of "weird cultural phenomena". With that he brought on Depp who just simply waved to the crowd and said he hopes they enjoy it. They seemed to, especially the twisted comic tone of the footage.
Robinov next brought on director Christopher Nolan to intro his third in the Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises (July 20). Robinov noted Nolan has only made 7 films but they have collectively grossed $2.5 billion , music to this crowd's ears. A selection of short scenes were shown to nice effect and Nolan noted he's been working on this trilogy now for 9 years so it is nice to be able to go out on this kind of scale. One third of it was filmed with IMAX cameras. Following that footage, Rock Of Ages director Adam Shankman was a little perplexed. "I just watched that and I wanted to say 'you fucker, that's some badass shit!'". As for his own film which opens June 15 he said he went to New Line and Warners and said "I want to make a movie I haven't seen before. I want to make a movie with Tom Cruise in ass-less chaps. When I saw the play on Broadway I was stunned because every straight man there knew all the lyrics to every song". The footage, mostly what's in the trailer, was very well received. I have seen the whole film and it delivers. Cruise could even find himself with a supporting Oscar nomination. He dominates every scene he's in as veteran (off his) rocker Stacey Jaxx.
Perhaps the most vocal reaction from the crowd came during footage from the August 10th political comedy, The Campaign a raucous laffer starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis as candidates throwing mud at each other. Director Jay Roach introduced it saying they decided to release it in August in case the real campaign turned out to be funnier than their movie. The clips drew huge laughs with Robinov promising that was just a small sample of what we can expect.
On tape from Australia director Baz Luhrmann said the Warners brass had to 
convince him to show his "untouched" footage of the holiday release, The Great Gatsby , a rare 3D drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan. As exhibs put glasses on to watch it seems he didn't have to worry based on the response . This is pure Baz in Moulin Rouge- form delivering a visual style with elaborate costumes and sets that promises a Gatsby like no other, certainly not the still-life 1974 flop starring Robert Redford.
After The Hobbit presentation Robinov mentioned several other 2012 titles including Magic Mike , Gangster Squad, Cloud Atlas , Gravity and Argo from director and star Ben Affleck which one Warners exec told me at this year's Oscars could be their big contender next year. Looks like they might have a few but whether The Hobbit can come close to replicating the Oscar and boxoffice success of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy is a big question that may come down to something as "simple" as 48 frames.
Awards Columnist Pete Hammond - tip him here.
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