Jon Landau seems to know what India craves for. In the country on a short visit the producer flaunts the Oscar trophy he won for “Titanic” at almost every public appearance. It is indeed difficult to take your eyes off the golden statuette but one tries to stay away from the glare and take the busy Landau back to the ship whose story became a social phenomenon all over the world in 1997. Now 15 years and many technological strides later, the James Cameron film has been converted into 3D to commemorate the centenary of HMS Titanic setting sail on April 10, 1912. Landau, who again combined with Cameron to produce “Avatar”, the biggest blockbuster of all times, says that the painstaking process took more than a year and cost close to 18 million dollars. He promises that it will feel different from other 2D movies which are converted to 3D. Will our hearts go on to observe the sinking of human hubris all over again?
Edited excerpts:
How do you think 3D will augment the appeal of “Titanic” which is remembered more for its emotional connect?
I think 3D is about drama and not about action. I think the scenes that are enhanced the most are the intimate scenes, the most private scenes. What the 3D does is that it breaks down the barrier, as it puts the audience in the room with the people they are watching.
It is often said that in 3D films the cheapest part is the script
Not with Titanic, or not in the movies that we do. Our films start with the script. 3D doesn't make a bad movie good, like with Titanic we started with a fairly good movie and 3D enhances that. To me 3D exaggerates everything. The good looks better and the bad looks worse!
Many critics felt that the script didn't match the visual splendour of “Avatar”
I thoroughly disagree with that. People don't go back to see “Avatar” for visual splendour. They go back because of the story. They go back because of the emotions. If somebody doesn't like a line or dialogue, too bad. Somebody else does. These movies work because the scripts work. I think technology has to service the story and not the other way round. Movies work where they create the story first and then find the technology. Movies fail when they create the technology first and then look for a story to put it to use.
But are the scripts as smart as the technology?
There is no one rule to everything. What technology is doing is it is enabling us tell every story. There is no story that you can no longer tell. You dreamt it, now you can have it.
Do you think theatres should charge extra for a 3D movie? It is important in a country like India where escalating ticket prices are making cinema increasingly inaccessible to a huge mass.
There is an added cost factor while going to watch a 3D film and that is the glasses. I think we have to find a way where people could have their own glasses. They could buy them once and watch every 3D movie in them. In Australia people buy their own glasses. People in India wear glasses to work. Why not turn those glasses into something they can wear while going to watch a 3D movie?
Is it still difficult to sell original stories to studios in Hollywood or has “Avatar” changed the scenario?
It is tough. Studios want to do something they know, they understand. When you tell them let's do a movie about blue people that have tails, they don't get that.
Do names and reputation help?
It goes back to the script. In both “Titanic” and “Avatar” we made our art department work overtime. We went to the wreck of the actual Titanic and filmed the wreck and then we showed the footage to the studio and told them this is the kind of footage they will get.
Selling the idea of “Titanic” must be easier than making them believe in “Avatar”.
We were saying that it is a period movie, a tragedy with 1500 people dying and we want no star in the film. That's not easy!
Any particular scene that has stayed with you?
I remember the last scene we shot. We had 150 days of filming. The very last scene that we shot was that of the captain on the bridge with water all around him. Jim (Cameron) was underneath in his scuba gear with a camera. It was a tough scene and when everybody came up safely we called the wrap for the last time on the movie and I called my wife to say nobody died! The dining room sequence was the most difficult to convert because of the number of objects involved in the scene.
How difficult is it to work with a perfectionist like Cameron, who is known to go over budget and over schedule?
Jim pushes people to go beyond where they think they could go, but what's great about him is that he doesn't expect anything more from you than he expects of himself. As long as he is pushing himself more than you it is okay. My idea of production is at the very beginning of the process we should share a common vision of what we are going to accomplish.
From vampires to dystopia, Hollywood is presenting a dark future to youngsters, who seem to be loving it. Your upcoming production “Battle Angel” also seems to be a step in the dark alleys of the human mind.
It's early to talk about it but I don't see “Battle Angel” is going to be a dark film. People turn to movies for escapism. They like escaping the real world, and then movies have metaphors. Once filmmakers made their point through nuclear holocaust; today they are using climate change-related calamities. People can learn in subtle ways. “Titanic” was an avoidable disaster. It was the human folly and misplaced ambitions that took the form of an iceberg. Not just the title, the theme of “Avatar” was such that we are a connected world and inside each of us there is a hero who can rise up from a wheelchair and make a change to this world. I don't care what the colour of your skin is or the accent of your dialogue or the language. This planet is about people and we have to preserve it.
How do you see the Indian market? There is a thought that Hollywood sees India as the last frontier…
India is a growing market. The influx of screens is very exciting. The potential here is astronomical. We live in a global world. It is no longer about Hollywood or Bollywood. It is about cinema business. The idea is to embrace each other. We can come here and release a movie like “Titanic” and help illustrate to Indian filmmakers how to use 3D to enhance their stories. I see it as a service and not taking over.
What's the next level?
We are working on enhanced motion capture technology for “Avatar 2” and “Avatar 3”. Films are projected at 24 frames per second. We want to shoot and project them 48 and 64 frames per second. It will provide enhanced clarity and smoothness.
