As previously reported, the 48 frames-per-second presentation of Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” feature at CinemaCon in Las Vegas the other week met with a lot of complaints from journalists and exhibitors as to the look of this new filmmaking process.
Now Jackson himself has responded to the discord, telling EW that “At first it’s unusual because you’ve never seen a movie like this before. It’s literally a new experience, but you know, that doesn’t last the entire experience of the film–not by any stretch, [just] 10 minutes or so. That’s a different experience than if you see a fast-cutting montage at a technical presentation.”
Jackson has read a lot of the feedback, and in fact noticed how some were more into it as the scenes went on – “A couple of the more negative commenters from CinemaCon said that in the Gollum and Bilbo scene [which took place later in the presentation] they didn’t mind it and got used to that. That was the same 48 frames the rest of the reel was. I just wonder if it they were getting into the dialogue, the characters and the story. That’s what happens in the movie. You settle into it.”
Warners rep Dan Fellman says he believes some of the negative feedback was due to the footage being unfinished – “I think by the time he presents this film finished, the majority of moviegoers will accept it and be pleased”. Jackson asks people to wait until they see the finished product and judge for themselves – “There can only ever be a real reaction, a truthful reaction, when people actually have a chance to see a complete narrative on a particular film.”
More amusing is that there will be six different options for people to see the film when it opens – 24 FPS 2D, 24 FPS 3D, 24 FPS IMAX 3D, 48 FPS 2D, 48 FPS 3D, 48 FPS IMAX 3D.
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