Roland Emmerich, the director of the upcoming adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s classic Foundation series, has expressed an interest in using 3D technology pioneered by James Cameron for his take on the material.
SciFiNow had the opportunity to speak exclusively to Emmerich at a recent press event for 2012, his latest science-fiction disaster film that hits cinemas in November of this year. As well as discussing his latest property, we also asked him about Foundation, a project near and dear to the heart of science-fiction fans everywhere, and the director revealed that although the studio would like the project underway as soon as possible, he wants to wait and see what happens with a few upcoming high-profile releases before committing to what form the film will take.
“Well, Sony Pictures, which is the studio, want to have this as soon as possible,” Emmerich told us on a recent Friday evening in central London. “It’s a very big and ambitious project. I actually wanted to wait for Avatar, to see if the [3D] technology is already far advanced enough.” The German-born director isn’t the only one who is keen to see the results of the much-hyped outing for Cameron, who recently held a global event named ‘Avatar Day’ to screen 15 minutes worth of selected scenes to the public and press alike. Emmerich didn’t attend. Cameron, however, isn’t the only one who is investing in 3D. Ridley Scott’s adaptation of The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (analysed in depth in the Library section of this month’s issue) will also reportedly be in 3D, and Emmerich is just as, if not more, excited to see what the venerable director will do with the technology as well, even if he remains reserved. “Yeah, he’s doing The Forever War, which I always wanted to do, so it’s a little bit tricky for how you make something like that. I’m also really interested to see if Ridley Scott can solve the problem that 3D doesn’t look very good, for me at least,” he said in a typically candid moment. “It’s not quite there yet, it’s always too bland, it looks too far [in perspective], there’s no atmosphere, and I know that Ridley will be more innovative when it comes to the look of the film than James Cameron will be, because he’s more into the camera angles, and he’ll know how to use the 3D effect.”
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