2 More Join the 3D Fad..er, Revolution

Well 3D continues.The Last Airbender and The Green Hornet have undergone the 3D conversion. The Green Hornet has even moved from December 22, 2010 to January 14, 2011. I guess those rumours of Sony hating the movie are true after all...

SYS

Jones and Smith are back...in 3D!!

We all love Back In Black..but what about Back In 3D? Adding to the infinite list of 3D films, Men In Black 3D is coming for 4th of July 2012. Both Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones will be back in their roles as Agent J and K. I liked the first two, so lets hope they do well here.

Now just look in this little red dot...

SYS

A Galaxy Far Far Away...In Blu

Well it's official. Star Wars si certainly coming to Blu-Ray. There may not be a date, but I see a October 2011 date...to accomadate a 2012 3D re-release to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Star Wars itself, perhaps? Those are just my predictions and I certainly see them as a possibility. Nonetheless, I'll be excited to get more news on the Blu-Ray versions of Star Wars.

The glaxy is coming.

SYS

Film Review: Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland

Tim Burton is the filmmaker emodiement of mood swings. First he's making Ed Wood, then he goes off and makes the abominable 2001 remake of Planet of The Apes film. Alice is a return to the things that made him great in his early filmmaking years.

Alice in this version is not some daffy 9 year old. Oh no. She's a maturing 19 year old, about to be married off to some rich clot. owever, she gets distracted by a white rabbit that leads her down a hole into Underland (she misheard it last time) There she must confront her fears and life itself.

The most notable thing about the film are the visuals. Almost at an Avtar level of realism and human-to-CGI interactivity, some of the creatures are very beautiful I can say without a doubt the Cheschie Cat is among the greatest creations in CGI film to date. Alice also seems to really live with the characters and you feel like your there! It's quite an experience, especially in IMAX 3D.

Johnny Depp once again shows why he's the modern day king of acting.In one of his best performances to date, he give depth and realism to this crazy hatter. He's defenitly one heck of a performance and I wouldn't be surprised at all to see an Oscar nom. come in 2011.



This film has visuals and great acting through the teeth. It's one of the best fantasies ever. I can wholeheartedly say it's a fun romp, a great example of perfect 3D and one of Tim Burton's best.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10 or A-

SYS

Film Review: Clash of The Titans

I just can't hate a film where 3 giant scorpions duke it out while humans try to escape their claws. That's too much fun to resist. Though it has atrocious 3D, this film overall is better than the norm.

After seeing his adoptive parents killed, Perseus learns Hades plans to unleash the Kracken to destroy all of humanity. Percy and a ragtag group of men go off in search of their destiny...

This film is fun. Fun, fun fun fun FUN!!! The Kracken is an example of this. If a smile dosent come to your face when you see him, it's amazing. Perseus is also a fun ride. He may not act well, but he does his job as a warrior right. Liam Neeson does well and scorpions...well their perfect.

The 3D though, is an abomination. I love 3D and I feel like in How To Train Your Dragon, Alice In Wonderland and especially Avatar, 3D was used to advance the story. Like Alice, this film was CONVERTED to 3D. Unlike Alice, they thought of doing 3D, 11weeks before it came out. Watching the film in 3D is like drinking Near Beer or a Diet Soda. Not the full monty and many will get it if you dress it up like the real thing. Many asked for refunds actually after the screening. If I hadn't seen it in XD, I would've joined them.

Despite that, this is one fun ride and it's a good time overall..just see it in 2D!



One final note: best cameo of the year is in here. Just wait until you see it.

Rating: 7.4 out of 10 or B

SYS

Box Office Report: Clash A Huge Fight, Marry Does Fine

Clash of The Titans was a hit this weekend with 61 million. My prediction was dead on for the epic. The film couldn't outpace the gigantic 300, though it's still a hit since it made back half of it's 125 million dollar budget. It seems the 3D conversion was worth it.

Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too? was able to muster 29 million. The film is the 3rd biggest Tyler Perry opening weekend ever behind Madea Goes To Jail and Madea's Family Reunion. It seems to be continuing the red hot streak Tyler Perry has had for years now.

How To Train Your Dragon held wonderfully, making 29 million and dipping only 33.7%, better than Monstrs VS. ALiens from last year. It's gone from being 16 million behind the film to 12 million. It's now made 92 million, a stellar gross which could go to about 175 million.

The Last Song performed alright, if frontloaded. It made 16 million over the weekend and has made 25 million since Wednesday. It's frontloaded nature is similar to another Nicholas Spark adptation, Dear John.



The weekend was the biggest ever in April and has put the year up 17% from last year.

SYS

The Complete 3D Guide 1/4 Done

With Clash of the Titans a hit, studios are now (sadly) going to make everything 3D. This is a list of all that's coming now until 2013. Those in italics are being either considered for 3D or are in the midst of being converted. Noted if they are in IMAX 3D.

The rest of the 3D movies, along with photo's, will be added soon.

2010:

*Shrek Forever After 3D (May 21, 2010) (IMAX 3D)

*Toy Story 3 (June 18, 2010) (IMAX 3D)

*Despicable Me (July 9, 2010)

*The Sorcerror's Apprentice (July 16, 2010)

*Inception 3D (July 16, 2010) (IMAX Digital)

*Cats and Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore 3D (July 30, 2010)

*Step Up 3D (August 6, 2010)

*Avatar 2010 Re-Relase (August 13, 2010) (IMAX 3D)

*Pirhana 3D (August 27, 2010)

*Resident Evil: Afterlife (September 10, 2010)

*Legend of The Guardians 3D (September 24, 2010) (IMAX 3D)

*Alpha and Omega 3D(October 1, 2010)

*The Zookeeper (October 8, 2010)

*Jacka$$ 3D (October 15, 2010)

*Saw VII (October 22, 2010)

*Megamind 3D (November 5, 2010) (IMAX 3D)

*Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part One 3D (November 19, 2010) (IMAX 3D)

*Tangled (November 24, 2010)

*The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (December 10, 2010)

*Tron: Legacy (December 17, 2010) (IMAX 3D)

*Yogi Bear 3D (December 17, 2010)

*Gulliver's Travels (December 22, 2010)

*Cabin In The Woods (January 11, 2011)

*The Priest (January 11, 2011)

*Hood VS. Evil (January 2011)

*The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made (January 21, 2011)

*Gnomeo and Juliet (February 11, 2011)

*Beauty and The Beast 3D (February 2011)

*Drive Angry 3D (February 11, 2011)

*I Am Number Four (February 18, 2011)

*Mars Needs Moms! (March 11, 2011) (IMAX 3D)

*Rango (March 18, 2011)

**Diary of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules! (March 4, 2011)

*I Hop (April 1, 2011)

*The New Tales of Winnie The Pooh (April 1, 2011)

*Rio (April 8, 2011)

*Scream 4 (April 14, 2011)

*Thor (May 6, 2011) (IMAX Digital)

*Eli (May 2011)

*Pirates of The Carribbean: On Stranger Tides (May 20, 2011)

*The Hangover 2 (May 26, 2011)

*Mission Impossible 4 (May 27, 2011)


SYS

Weekend Preview: Who will Clash, Marry, Sing and Train?

This weekend is going to be huge. No one can deny it. Another 3D epic enters at the forefront, as do a Tyler Perry and Miley Cyrus/Nicholas Sparks flick. Meanwhile, Alice and Dragon will try to get any remaining dollars to their 3D screens.

Clash of the Titans has a massive marketing and 3D on it's side to make it easily win the weekend. A godo question, though, is how big will it get? I place my bets at 60 million, but many have actually put it at beating Fast & Furious's record for highest grossing april weekend. To do that, it'll have to make 71 million or more. That MAY be achievable, though only 1600 3D screens limits it's potential to REALLY break out like Alice In Wonderland. Still, expect some nice returns this weekend for around 61 million. If succesful, WB will be converting Inception to 3D for it's July 16th release.

Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too comes in, becoming the 1st non-Madea Tyler Perry film to get a sequel. Although no reviews are up at the time of this writing, plenty will still come out to see Tyler's latest film. Expect something in the high-20's, a very fine opening. If it does break 30 million, though, expect Why Did I Get Married As Well in 2012/2013. A 28 million weekend will make that a reality.

How To Train Your Dragon, last week's underperformer, is expect to take a small dent this weekend. It's been doing grand during the week, so a tiny drop this weekend. A drop of about 22% should give it a 34 million weekend. Expect tiny drops throughout April, since no family films come out until late April withh Brendan Fraser's Furry Vengeance.



The Last Song should do decent, if unspectacular. It made 5 million on Wednesday, exactly on target with my predictions. A 3 million Thursday and a 22 million weekend will give it a 30 million 5-day gross, fine for Miley's first film without Hannah Montana in the title. It remains to be seen though if this qualifies as a hit by Disney's standards.

Alice In Wonderland keeps on chugging in it's 5th weekend., as it reached 300 million yesterday. A 13 million weekend this week will give it a robust 314 million total, giving it a defenite chance of entering the 350 million dollar club.



The rest of the Top 10 will be held up by Gerard Butler, Wimpy Kids and Hot Tubs, all of which should have decent dips thanks to Good Friday. There's a chance of beating the biggest April weeknd this week..but we shall see.

1) Clash of The Titans- 61 million
2) How To Train Your Dragon- 34 million
3) Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too- 28 million
4) The Last Song- 22 million
5) Alice In Wonderland- 13 million

SYS

Film Review: How To Train Your Dragon

Dreamworks. The company that has always had to compete with PIXAR. Most of the time, these guys get a bad cred. You can blame that on duds like Spirit, Shrek The Third and Madagascar 2. But with films like Shrek 1 & 2, Over The Hedge and Kung Fu Panda, these guys show they can do great cinema. They just need to get talented people to work on their films. This one has Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois in the director's chair. These guys worked on the classic Lilo & Stitch. So is it any wonder this is the best dreamWorks adventure yet?

Hiccup (Jay Bruchel) is a small viking on the island of Berk. While his friends are always battling dragons, he's working with Gobber (Craig Ferguson) as a blacksmith. However, he catches the rarest of all dragons: a Night Fury. But when he see's it for the first time, he just CAN'T kill the little critter he dubs Toothless. And thus, a classic film friendship is born.

Let's face it. This story has been told time after time again. But...this one just seems fresher, perhaps because this is the first pet that, y'know, kills people! Toothless, however, comes off more cute than ferocious. In fact, he has some of the best expressions that I've seen in animation in a LOOOOOOOOOONG time. He and Hiccup do make good buddies.



The voices in the film are really well, Jonah Hill and Craig Ferguson being stnad-outs. Gerard Butler also does well as Hiccup's father. Jay is alright as Hiccup, much better than I thought he would be thanks to those pesky TV commercials. Toothless, thank goodness, has no voice actor. That's probably for the best as he does perfectly fine here silent.

The animation also does well here. The background are beautiful and the dragons look really good too. This film just gets everything right, fromt pacing to action to animation. A highly reccomended ride in 3D or 2D!!



Rating: 9.0 out of 10 or A

SYS

Avatar Meet Spidey

The Avatar team today met up with the Marc Webb to see if he'll film Spider-Man Reboot in 3D. I doubt we'll get the same story and visual quality as Avatar did in this flick, but htere may be some ogod 3D, who knows?

SYS

Clashing Banners

A few banners for Clash of The Titans have been released to make sure audiences are aware of it's 3D and new date. This one above is likely the most awesome poster I've ever seen. And I don't say that often.

SYS

A 3D Web To Spin

In the most unsurprising news all-day, Spider-Man Reboot (as I am calling it for the moment) will be in 3D and released on July 3, 2012. In other date news, Mission Impossible IV will be released May 27 2011.

SYS

Chris Columbus Spills on Future Projects

Admit it, folks. Chris Columbus ain't chopped liver in Hollywood. He's directed Mrs. Doubtfire, the first two Harry Potter films, the upcoming Lightning Thief movies and wrote Goonies and the Gremlins. The following is an interview that was just taken with him:

Over the years, there's been lots of talk about doing remakes and/or sequels to some of Columbus' earlier work, the most recent one being a rumor that there were plans of doing a 3D remake of Gremlins. When ComingSoon.net spoke to Columbus at the junket for his new movie Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, he admitted that so far, neither he nor the original film's producer Steven Spielberg had been contacted about it.

"I spoke to Steven Spielberg a couple days ago and said, 'You know, I've been reading on the internet about this 'Gremlins 3D' and no one's approached him either, so I don't know if that's really true," Columbus told us.

That doesn't mean he's completely ruling out doing some sort of sequel or update. "It would be fun to go back and revisit (them). Something like 'Gremlins,' which is a movie I really like, I think it's impossible to recreate in a CGI environment. I think it will inevitably lose some of its charm. Those are edgy Muppets in a sense and you don't want to lose that sense of anarchy that those gremlins had, because behind the scenes are 25 puppeteers making them to come to life."

"'Goonies' would have to be the Goonies on their own as parents and their children doing something," he continued. "But as Steven said, 'How can you really be going underground finding another gigantic pirate ship filled with treasure? What can be the next adventure?'"

What about a sequel to Mrs. Doubtfire, his hit cross-dressing comedy starring Robin Williams? "'Mrs. Doubtfire' is an interesting idea for a sequel because it's the one time in film history where you can revisit the character and they'll be the same age 15 years later. Because of the make-up, people can see Mrs. Doubtfire again and nothing has changed about her, which I think is kind of interesting."

Columbus also mentioned he's still in touch with Spielberg regularly and the two of them have been talking about producing a movie together, although it's not likely to be a sequel to one of the movies above.

Interesting. I don't know about a Mrs. Doubtfire 2, but I like a 3D puppets Gremlin movie.

SYS

Deathly 3D

The 3D phenomenon continues as Warner Bros has given Clash of the Titans and both of Harry Potters Deathly Hallow films the 3D treatment. Clash has been moved a week as not to compete with the 3D blockbuster how to Train Your Dragon.

SYS

Countdown To The Iron Begins Now

Iron Man 2 is quickly becoming this years Avatar, growing in anticipation with every new image (the fact that it'll be in 3D sweetens the pot). This new image shows Tony Stark i nrace-gear, about to fight Whiplash. Cannot wait to see what happens next.

SYS

Shrek 4 & MegaMind Screened

Two of Dreamworks 2010 releases had never-before seen footage screened yesterday. The following is the description for Shrek 4:

Screened for an eager audience was, straight through, the first thirty minutes of the new film in 3D, which opens with storybook narration, recounting Shrek's previous adventures. We're then taken to a "carriage park" (imagine a redneck trailer park, but with fairytale witches and vampires living out of their carriages) as the King and Queen of Far, Far Away reluctantly drive through to a meeting with Rumpelstiltskin (and his surprisingly sinister-looking pet, a sharp-toothed duck named Fifi). There, the diminutive creature (voiced by Dreamworks Animation production artist Wal Dohrn) tries to get them to sign a contract, trading their kingdom to have Fiona's curse lifted. Just as they are about to sign, someone barges in and tells them that the curse has been lifted, as per the events of the first "Shrek" film.

We cut back to the storybook with the narrator, now revealed to be Rumpelstiltskin himself, sitting in a bookstore, furiously talking about how Shrek ruined his chances at ruling Far, Far Away.

Shrek, meanwhile, is living an idyllic life with Fiona and his kids. Donkey drops by with his own dragon/donkey offspring and every day a tour bus passes and tourists happily photograph the formerly terrifying ogre. Quickly, this builds to a montage, revealing that, as happy as Shrek is, the monotony is getting to him. He finally reveals to Fiona that he wishes he could have just a single day of being a monster again.

Setting himself up in a false carriage accident, Rumpelstiltskin tricks Shrek into stopping to help him in the middle of the woods. Pretending to be grateful, he tells Shrek that, if he's willing to give up a single past day of his, he can magically arrange a day for him to be a real ogre again. Suggesting that it could be a day when he was a baby that he won't even remember, Rumpelstiltskin convinces Shrek and he signs a lengthy contract.

Suddenly coming to in the woods, Shrek spots "WANTED" posters with his face and, to his delight, realizes that his wish has come true: he can terrorize the village again. In a musical montage, he does just that, happily causing havoc and chasing townspeople (all set to The Carpenters' "Top of the World").

Later, though, Shrek spots another poster, this one with Fiona's face. Realizing something is wrong, he returns to the town and realizes things aren't as he planned; Ogres are being rounded up and imprisoned in the castle by the new ruler, Rumpelstiltskin. Shrek himself is captured and brought in by two witches, in a carriage pulled by Donkey (who, in this reality, never met Shrek).

On the way into town, there's a great appearance by Gingerbread man who, in the alternate timeline, is a Roman-style gladiator, fighting animal crackers in a miniature stadium.

At the palace, Shrek comes before Rumpelstiltskin in a sort of witch-filled nightclub. The villain reveals that the day that was taken from Shrek was the day he was born and, as such, he never really existed. When the 24 hours are up, Shrek will vanish forever.

Furious, Shrek breaks free of his chains and grabs an unwitting Donkey, battling witches and escaping from the palace, the clock quickly running out to find a loophole in Rumpelstiltskin's contract

Here is The MegaMind description:

Megamind himself (voiced by Will Ferrell) has a similar origin to Superman; when he was a baby, his planet was destroyed and he was rocketed to Earth. His landing, however, was inside a penitentiary and he grew up a criminal genius.

By Megamind's side is Minion (voice by David Cross), a combination robot/monkey with fish tank for a head and the mind of a talking piranha (presumably constructed by Megamind himself).

Metro City (mispronounced by Megamind as "metrocity", rhyming with "velocity") is championed by Metroman (voiced by Brad Pitt), a muscular superhero with a white Elvis-like costume and Reed Richards-style graying temples.

Metroman's love interest is Roxanne Ritchie (voiced by Tina Fey), a TV news reporter who is Megamind's go-to girl when he needs a damsel in distress. As such, Megamind and Roxanne are extremely familiar with one another and she has become bored by his failed plots to rule the world.

The footage opens with Metroman attending a museum ribbon cutting in his honor. He showboats for the crowd, flying, doing tricks and even juggling a woman's babies, all the rounds of roaring applause.

Megamind, meanwhile, has kidnapped Roxanne and taken him to his secret lair. Tied to a chair, Roxanne is unimpressed with anything Megamind has, including a pit of alligators and an enormous machine gun.

Going on the air, Megamind broadcasts a message to Metroman, telling him off the kidnapping. Roxanne shouts to the hero that she's being held at an abandoned observatory and Metroman rushes to her aid. The tables are turned on Metroman, however, as the observatory is revealed to be a fake. Metroman finds himself inside a large, domed building while Megamind watches from an adjacent base.

Telling Minion to fire his laser, Megamind is horrified to find that it's going to take longer to load the programing than he had thought. Metroman and Megamind exchange some really funny superhero metaphors back and forth ("Justice is a non-corrodible metal!" shouts Metroman at one point). With the laser unable to fire, Megamind thinks he's lost again, until he spots something unusual on his monitor: Metroman is trapped inside the dome. Copper, he reveals, is his secret weakness and Megamind has unwittingly lured him to a building that has sapped his energy. Unable to fly away, Metroman is struck by the laser blast and, apparently, completely destroyed.

The footage ends here, but a few slides were shown of what happens next; Megamind conquers the city, but finds that, without a rival, his life has no meaning. He goes to work creating a new superhero out of Hal Stewart, a cameraman for Roxanne (as voiced by Jonah Hill), creating the alternate superhero identity Titan.

These films sound OK, though I like MegaMind more than Shrek 4.

SYS

What's All The Hub-Bub, Sub?

Robert Zmeckis's 3D remake of Yellow Submarine has gotten it's 4 cast members They are:

* Cary Elwes (above) as George Harrison
* Dean Lennox Kelly as John Lennon
* Peter Serafinowicz as Paul McCartney
* Adam Campbell as Ringo Starr

Nice casting. Mayhaps this could be good after all.

SYS

3D Is Getting Twisted

Bill Paxton has mentioned in an interview that a sequel to the 1996 disaster flick Twsiter is in development. Bill says it'll REALLY take avdvantage of the 3D tricks and noodles. I think this cool, but much too late. Still, we'll see I suppose if this comes to fruition.

SYS

3D DVD Rush Continues

It seems Samsung and DreamWorks are coming together for the first ever 3D home release TV and DVD. The following is the press release they announced this morning:

Samsung Electronics America, Inc., DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. and Technicolor today announced that they have formed a global strategic alliance for the delivery of a complete 3D home entertainment solution in 2010. The three companies have joined forces to accelerate the worldwide deployment of in-home 3D to mainstream consumers.

The solution includes a broad line-up of 3D-capable HDTVs from Samsung, its new 3D Blu-ray disc player, and an exclusive promotion that includes a first-time feature-length, 3D Blu-ray version of DreamWorks Animation’s 2009 release, “Monsters vs. Aliens.” The disc will be created and produced by Technicolor, the leading innovator in entertainment technology. Samsung will provide customers several 3D selections, including a short entitled "Bob's Big Break" as well as trailers for 2010 DreamWorks Animation feature film releases "How to Train your Dragon" and "Shrek Forever After" on Samsung HDTVs with its Internet@TV feature.

“We’ve continued to innovate and make significant investments in 3D technology since we delivered our first 3D HDTV to market in 2007, and now we’re pleased to deliver a complete 3D entertainment offering for the home along with industry-leading innovators like DreamWorks Animation and Technicolor,” said Tim Baxter, president of the Consumer Electronics Division at Samsung Electronics America. “There has been great success with 3D in theaters, and the stars have finally aligned to bring this experience to the home with combination of standardization, plenty of product options and 3D content.”

“2009 was the Year of 3D in theaters throughout the world as movie-goers consistently chose the premium 3D experiences,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, Chief Executive Officer of DreamWorks Animation. “Innovative technology is at the heart of everything we do at DreamWorks Animation so we are thrilled that Samsung’s industry-leading 3D HDTVs and Technicolor’s first-of-its-kind Blu-ray technology can now bring 3D content to consumers across the globe at home.”

“We have great collaborators in Samsung and DreamWorks Animation to make in-home 3D content available to the consumer,” said Frederic Rose, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Technicolor. “With our innovations in Blu-ray 3D technology, Technicolor is well-positioned to meet consumer demand for 3D in the home. We look forward to continuing to help DreamWorks Animation innovate its art of storytelling and Samsung extend its global home entertainment leadership into the 3D space.”

About the Samsung 3D Entertainment Solution

The largest 3D-capable product lineup to date, Samsung’s 2010 HDTV lineup includes the 7000 Series and above LED TVs, 7000 Series and above plasma TVs, and 750 Series LCD TVs. The HDTVs include Samsung’s proprietary built-in 3D processor and emitter that is optimized for and enables compatibility with multiple 3D standards including half and full HD resolution formats, as well as the Blu-ray Disc Association ratified “Blu-ray 3D” standard. In addition, Samsung’s 3D system delivers a picture using a full color spectrum for an unbelievable, immersive viewing experience.

For those who want to add the third dimension to their regular TV viewing, Samsung included in its 3D processor an auto-conversion technology that renders 2D content into 3D in real time. When not in the 3D mood, you’re back to watching one of the best quality HDTVs on the market with the push of a button.

Samsung offers a complete solution allowing consumers to bring the 3D theater experience home with the following products:

* Samsung 3D LED, LCD, and plasma HDTVs
* Samsung BD-C6900 Blu-ray player
* Samsung’s active shutter 3D glasses to enable a superior 3D viewing experience
* DreamWorks Animation’s ”Monsters vs. Aliens” Blu-ray 3D disc created and produced by Technicolor

Samsung and Technicolor at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES)

Samsung’s lineup of 3D products will be on display at Booth #11026 during International Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center, January 7 – 10, 2010.

Technicolor is hosting private media demonstrations of its “Technicolor Genuine 3D,” including showcasing 3D content from DreamWorks Animation, at Booth 13219 Central Hall.

SYS

Breaking News: DirecTV launching 3D TV Network

In awesome news, Discovery, Sony & DirecTv are coming together to bring you the 1st
3D TV station. Here's the news release:

Three of the world's leading media, technology and entertainment companies - Discovery Communications, Sony Corporation and IMAX Corporation - today announced a joint venture established to develop the first 24/7 dedicated 3D television network in the U.S. The partnership brings together three leaders with an extraordinary collection of award-winning 3D content, technology expertise, television distribution and operational strength to deliver a high-quality three-dimensional viewing experience to home television audiences. The joint venture intends to launch the network beginning in the U.S.

"Discovery's business strategy has always focused on delivering groundbreaking content through new platforms, including the first suite of digital channels launched in 1996 and the first 24/7 basic cable HD channel in 2002," said Discovery Founder and Chairman John Hendricks. "Now, as Discovery celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2010 as the world leader in satisfying curiosity and bringing audiences the most realistic viewing experience, we continue to change the face of television with the launch of the first-ever 24/7 dedicated 3D television network."

"Sony is the only company with expertise in every part of the 3D value chain," said Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, CEO and President, Sony Corporation. "We are delighted to be partnering with Discovery and IMAX, two premier companies also dedicated to leadership in 3D, in this groundbreaking new venture. It is clear to us that consumers will always migrate to a better and richer entertainment experience, and together we are determined to be the leader in providing that around the world."

"By partnering with Sony and IMAX on 3D, Discovery will lead the way in revolutionizing the next-generation home viewing experience in the U.S. and around the world," said Discovery Communications President and CEO David Zaslav. "Today's announcement is the next step in fulfilling Discovery's mission of providing groundbreaking content for our affiliate partners and enlightening viewers with the most immersive and realistic viewing experience available anywhere."

"IMAX has been a pioneer and recognized leader in 3D technology for more than twenty-five years, delivering the premium in-theatre experience to audiences around the world. We're reaching more and more consumers with the recent expansion of the IMAX® theatre network and the growth of 3D movie content," said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond. "This new business venture is the first step in our strategic effort to take 3D into the home and extend the IMAX brand. We've already had strong collaborations with Discovery Communications and Sony in the past on IMAX event film titles, and we are thrilled to work with such strong partners to be the first to make in-home 3D a reality."

Discovery, Sony, through its U.S. affiliate, Sony Corporation of America, and IMAX each will be equal partners in the joint venture. It will be launched in the U.S., with a goal of driving consumer adoption of 3D televisions and giving the network long-term leadership in the 3D home marketplace. In the future, the companies also will explore international distribution opportunities in selected markets.

The new 3D network will feature high-quality premium content from genres that are most appealing in 3D, including natural history, space, exploration, adventure, engineering, science and technology, motion pictures and children's programming from Discovery, Sony Pictures Entertainment, IMAX and other third-party providers.

Discovery will provide network services, including affiliate sales and technical support functions, as well as 3D television rights to Discovery content and cross-promotion across its portfolio of 13 U.S. television networks. Sony will provide advertising/sponsorship sales support, and will seek to license television rights to current and future 3D feature films, music-related 3D content and game-related 3D content, while providing cross-promotion at retail stores. IMAX also will license television rights to future 3D films, promotion through its owned-and-operated movie theaters across the U.S., and a suite of proprietary and patented image enhancement and 3D technologies.

Governance for the joint venture will be handled by a board of directors comprised of members from each of the three companies, with the day-to-day operations run by a separate staff and management team that will report to the board. A search for the venture's general manager will begin immediately.

The parties have signed a non-binding Letter of Intent. Specific financial terms of the venture were not disclosed. The parties will work towards prompt execution of definitive agreements, subject to any necessary regulatory approvals.

Plus, ESPN will bring you a 3D TV station on June 11. Guess my article yesterday wondering if 3D was here to stay or not was obselete.

SYS