James Cameron unveils scenes from Titanic 3D

Hollywood director James Cameron has unveiled an 18-minute footage from his new 3D version of the 1997 mega-blockbuster hit 'Titanic'.

The new version of the Oscar-winning film will arrive in theaters on April 6 next year, said the Hollywood Reporter.

Eight scenes were screened so far, including footage of Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose DeWitt Bukater's (Kate Winslet) encounter on the Titantic's grand stairwell, their kiss on the bow of the ship and its sinking.

"There are certain films that aren't being brought back to the theater. There is a whole generation of people who haven't seen it at all," Cameron said.

The 1997 disaster epic is being converted into 3D at a cost of USD 18 million and the process, which is ongoing, is expected to take 60 weeks.

Titantic grossed USD 1.84 billion worldwide and won 11 Oscars, including those for best picture and best director.

It is the second highest grossing film of all time, behind Cameron's own Avatar, which grossed nearly double that amount.

Cameron also said that while he is typically very much against converting traditional films into 3D, he believes the conversion enriches the film.

"I totally believe 3D is an enhancement for the dramatic scenes not just the big action," he added.

The director said that there would be no changes to the content of the film.

Disney, Cameron to create theme-park 'Avatar'

LOS ANGELES: Moviegoers pining for a return to the lush moon of Pandora in James Cameron's film "Avatar" will finally get their chance -- first-hand.

Walt Disney Co is teaming with the Oscar-winning director and News Corp unit Fox Filmed Entertainment, to mimic the thriving green landscape depicted in the highest-grossing movie of all time in a section of its Orlando, Florida, theme park.

Under their agreement, Disney won exclusive global theme park rights to the "Avatar" franchise. It will begin building from 2013 and will eventually take Avatar "lands" beyond Orlando's Disney World.

"Our goal is to go beyond current boundaries of technical innovation and experiential storytelling, and give park-goers the chance to see, hear and touch the world of 'Avatar' with an unprecedented sense of reality," Cameron said in a statement.

At a news conference, Cameron said that when he began talks with Disney designers, he "quickly realized their vision for this thing was far beyond what I imagined, and I've got a pretty good imagination."

The estimated cost for the Orlando project is about $400 million, a source familiar with the matter said. Construction should take about five years.

Planning is in the early stages, and executives gave few details on how Disney would recreate the fantasy world of "Avatar" and the creatures that inhabit it. The section will be located within Disney's Animal Kingdom park.

"Avatar," the 2009 film that chronicled the struggle of the alien Na'vi against marauding resource-ravenous humans, grossed almost $3 billion worldwide and triggered the current renaissance in 3D-film making. Cameron is planning sequels to the blockbuster hit, which surpassed his own "Titanic" as the highest-grossing movie in history.

The first of the "Avatar" sequels is set for release around Christmas 2014, Cameron said.

Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said the company planned to bring "Avatar" to other locations beyond the Florida park. "We think we can clearly leverage the global interest in this property," Iger said.

The company is deep into several big theme park projects, including building a new park in Shanghai and adding a 12-acre section, set to open next year based on the animated "Cars" films, to its California resort.

Disney typically works with its own movies when developing themed sections and rides. It does have some attractions based on films from other studios, including the "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" franchises. (Reuters)

James Cameron to work on BBC’s 3D film

ACADEMY Award-winning director James Cameron is to supply his 3D filmmaking expertise for the BBC’s forthcoming multi-million pound Walking with Dinosaurs film.

Cameron | Pace, the joint venture between Cameron and 3D technology expert Vince Pace, will provide its Fusion 3D technology to Walking with Dinosaurs 3D, produced jointly by BBC Earth, Evergreen Films and Reliance Big Entertainment. The part CGI, part live-action 3D drama will combine factual content with the story of a dinosaur family living 70 million years ago. Fox holds the distribution rights to Walking With Dinosaurs 3D, and expects to release the film in the US, UK, France, Australia, Japan and several other countries in 2013.

Cameron, who was named a National Geographic explorer-in-residence in June, said: “Walking With Dinosaurs 3D offers a fantastic opportunity to push our advances in 3D even further.

“We’re inspired by the creative ambition behind the film and the opportunity to work on a feature that aims to bring audiences a real, visceral experience.” At the IBC conference in Amsterdam, Cameron | Pace announced that Alaska-based Evergreen Films is the first studio to be “CPG Certified”, meaning it will rely exclusively on Cameron | Pace technology and expertise to produce 3D content. Source