Peter Jackson responded to critics who claim that filming "The Hobbit" at a higher than normal frame rate would make viewing the movie uncomfortable by reasserting his confidence in the new technology as the wave of the future.
Jackson drew heat earlier this week after he debuted ten minutes of the film at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. Many denounced the footage as "not cinematical" or simply distracting. The higher frame rate increases the the overhead for cinema owners, who have to upgrade their projection equipment at a cost of thousands of dollars per screen.
Jackson and James Cameron are fans of the new technology, but "Life of Pi" director Ang Lee said he thought the images presented could be too realistic. "I have mixed feelings," he told EW. "I don't think 48-frames solves everything. Each time you solve a problem you can bring in others -- because you make the problem look more clear, maybe."
Of course, Jackson and tech-obsessed Cameron would likely take issue with the implication of Lee's statement, that it's okay to cover up mistakes using a less than ideal frame rate.
Jackson said stopping the progress of film technology is not a viable solution. “At first it’s unusual because you’ve never seen a movie like this before," he added. "It’s literally a new experience, but you know, that doesn’t last the entire experience of the film; not by any stretch, after 10 minutes or so.”
Representatives from Warner Bros. and Regal Cinemas lent their authority to Jackson and his little adventure in big screen advancements. The studio's distribution arm believes fans will come to appreciate the innovation over time, and the cinema chain said it will upgrade as many as 2,700 theaters.
Interestingly, "The Hobbit" will be available in six formats: 3-D, 2-D and IMAX 3-D, each in both 24-fps and 48-fps.
Audiences will have to wait until December 2012, when the first of the two "Hobbit" films is released, to decide for themselves.
For more on the story, head over to EW.
