Katzenberg Says 3-D is the Future

In the next five to seven years, all movies (not just animated ones) will be made in 3-D predicts DreamWorks’ Jeffrey Katzenberg.  Katzenberg made the prediction while speaking at the 3DX Film and Entertainment Technology Festival according to the Hollywood Reporter.

“3-D is how we see, how we take things in. It’s natural,” Katzenberg said. “This is not a gimmick, it’s an opportunity to immerse the audience, to heighten the experience.”

Walt Disney Pictures Studios Motion Pictures Group president Mark Zoradi echoed Katzenberg’s sentiments and cited the success of 3-D films like “Chicken Little” and this year’s Hannah Montana concert movie. 

“Consumers clearly prefer 3-D if they have a choice,” Zoradi said, adding that 3-D films could bring in two to three times the business of a 2-D release.

Zoradi touted Disney’s new five-picture deal with Imax, which will kick off with Robert Zemeckis’ “A Christmas Carol” in November 2009, adding that the slate could involve projects from Tim Burton and Jerry Bruckheimer.  Zoradi offered no further details on the projects from Burton or Bruckheimer.

Producer John Landau, now working with James Cameron on “Avatar,” said that 3-D would “do for cinema what stereo did for the audio industry.”

All the film industry has to do is “demystify” 3-D for consumers, whose perception of 3-D may be of “gimmicks on B films” and “theme parks that forced things off the screen,” Landau said.

However, while there may be a rush on the studios part to go to 3-D movies, it may take longer than expected.  Earlier this year, we reported that due to the current economic slowdown, most major theater chains have slowed down on the rollout and upgrade to 3-D theaters.

But the 3-D revoluation may not be limited only to theaters. Katzenberg said he hopes the migration to 3-D will happen on all screens, including mobile phones and laptops.