“Titanic” director James Cameron has signed on with Panasonic Corp. to promote new 3-D TVs.
The deal disclosed Friday comes as Cameron and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. are aiming to break new ground with the release of “Avatar,” a movie shot entirely in 3-D.
At the same time, Panasonic is making a big push to get consumers excited about three-dimensional viewing in the home – excited enough to buy new flat-panel sets and new Blu-ray disc players. Consumers will have to wear special glasses to experience the 3-D effect.
Panasonic is planning to start selling 3-D TVs next year. Rivals, including Sony Corp., which has its own movie division, and Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea have shown prototypes and may offer similar products. It’s not clear how much 3-D TVs would cost.
The manufacturers face a problem in that 3-D content is scarce. There’s also no agreement on a disc or broadcast format to bring the content to TV sets, though the industry group behind the Blu-ray disc may be close to finalizing a standard.
Several animation films are already being shown in theaters in 3-D, along with a handful of live-action movies. “Avatar,” set for release Dec. 18, will be the first major live-action Hollywood film debuting worldwide in both 2-D and 3-D.
“I believe 3-D is how we will experience movies, gaming and computing in the near future. 3-D is not something you watch. It’s a reality you feel you could step into,” Cameron said on video.
Panasonic is hoping its collaboration with Cameron will give its brand an edge as a 3-D leader, and give the company ideas for technological improvements for home TVs, said General Manager Masayuki Kozuka.
“We want to get global interest rolling,” he told The Associated Press. “For people to want to watch 3-D at home, the movie has to be a blockbuster.”
Panasonic plans to have several trailer-vans driving around in the U.S. and Europe next month with large-screen 3-D TVs inside showing “Avatar.” In Japan, footage from “Avatar” – a science-fiction romance set in a futuristic jungle inhabited by creatures evocative of Cameron’s “Aliens” – will appear in ads for 3-D TVs. Cameron developed a new computer-controlled 3-D camera system for the movie.
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More