Entering the third dimension
Local theater complex opens two 3D screens
Toward the beginning of the stop-motion animated film "Coraline," the girl with the world's skinniest legs is exploring the outdoor surroundings around her new home in Oregon.
As she heads up the winding mountain path, you almost feel like a fellow traveler with Coraline. The grass is waving in front of you, the rocks are in sharp relief, you almost feel the incline of the steep hillside as Coraline climbs upward.
This is the three-dimensional version of "Coraline," and those who saw it in two dimensions before Kalispell's Stadium 14 theaters opened two 3D screens on Feb. 27 did not experience the film to its fullest.
"It's like you're in the middle of the picture," Phil Harris, owner and developer of the Signature Theatres complex at Hutton Ranch Plaza, said of today's 3D films. "While 3D can really add to the experience of a movie, it's all a matter of how that director immerses the audience."
The Stadium 14 opened two screens equipped with RealD technology on Feb. 27 with "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience" and "Coraline." The latter had been playing in two dimensions since it opened on Feb. 6, but is now only on the 3D screen in Kalispell.
"Jonas Brothers' is a special concert event made expressly for the 3D format. The moviegoer experiences the immediacy of a live show featuring the wildly popular boy band from all angles - toward the back of the audience of screaming teenage girls, then front-row center and then onstage, inches away from Kevin, Joe and Nick themselves.
"You're right on stage with these artists, it gives you a whole different perspective," Harris said of the concert films.
The 3D movies today don't have the gimmicky feel people might remember from decades past, Harris said. Instead of the occasional scene where the monster plunges into the audience, the entire picture takes on a three-dimensional life. Though the 3D does create the occasional "gotcha" moment, its full potential is found in the richer, fuller onscreen world, from the opening scene to the final credits.
Moviegoers still have to wear glasses to experience the 3D effect, but they're not the old-style cardboard models with red and green lenses. Today's 3D glasses feature polarized lenses with sturdy lighweight frames.
There is a surcharge for 3D movies at the Stadium 14, partly to fund the cost of the glasses (which moviegoers keep) but also because the theater has to pay more for 3D offerings, Harris said.
"Coraline" comes with a $2.50 surcharge and "The Jonas Brothers' shows are $12. But as Harris points out, the local theaters are still charging significantly less than similar screenings in Bozeman and Missoula, where admission is $18 for the same film.
Today's RealD technology is driven by digital projection systems. Stadium 14 converted two of its screens to full digital, which included installation of silver screens and digital projection. A full rollout of digital technology on a national basis was supposed to be funded primarily by the film studios, Harris said, but a credit freeze brought the project to a halt.
Harris decided he didn't want to wait for the studios to act to make upcoming 3D releases available for Flathead Valley audiences.
"There are a number of high-profile movies in 3D in 2009 and 2010, and we felt like we needed to be ahead of the curve," Harris said. "So we funded the conversion of two large auditoriums in 3D. We'll be able to handle all the 3D product that comes down the line."
Upcoming 3D releases include films as wildly different as "Up" on May 29, a Disney/Pixar comedy about 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America, and "Final Destination, Death Trip 3D" in August, the first 3D installment in the popular series of teenage thrillers.
In December, a 3D version of Disney's classic "Toy Story" will be released, to be followed by a 3D "Toy Story 2" in February 2010 and an all-new "Toy Story 3" in 3D.
But one of the most highly anticipated 3D experiences, Harris said, will be James Cameron's "Avatar" in December.
This is the story of a wounded ex-Marine, thrust unwillingly into an effort to settle and exploit an exotic planet rich in biodiversity, who eventually crosses over to lead the indigenous race in a battle for survival.
"It's James Cameron's first major Hollywood production since 'Titanic' in 1997," Harris said. "It's a sci-fi live-action computer-generated-effects 3D picture the world's looking forward to. There's no question that from the perspective of Hollywood, everyone's waiting for this picture."
"Avatar" originally was scheduled for release in May, but its unveiling was pushed back to December partly to allow more theaters to make the conversion to 3D projection.
With films such as "Avatar" on the horizon, Harris doesn't feel that spending the roughly $200,000 to convert the two auditoriums was a gamble.
"We get an awful lot of calls asking about 3D," he said.
Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4431 or by e-mail at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com