JACKSON NOT SURPRISED BY NEGATIVE REACTION TO HOBBIT FILM FORMAT

Peter Jackson plans to stick to his guns and release The Hobbit at 48 frames per second — twice the usual frame rate — despite criticism of the technique by some critics who watched a demonstration of the the 48 fps format last week at the annual CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas. Jackson said he was not surprised at the reaction from some writers who said that the demo reel looked “too realistic.” In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, he remarked, “It does take you a while to get used to. Ten minutes is sort of marginal, it probably needed a little bit more. Another thing that I think is a factor is it’s different to look at a bunch of clips – and some were fast-cutting, montage-style clips. This is a different experience than watching a character and story unfold. We are certainly going to experiment with different finishing techniques to give the 48 frames a look that is more organic. But that work isn’t due to start until we wrap photography in July.” Meanwhile, the Australian entertainment website Crikey.com.au reported today (Monday) that Jackson is now planning to release The Hobbit in six different formats on Dec. 14: 2D in 24 fps; 2D in 48 fps; 3D in 24 fps; 3D in 48 fps; IMAX 3D in 24 fps; and IMAX 3D in 48 fps. Commented Crikey in good old Tolkien style: “One ring to rule them all, and six different ways to see it.” (The website speculated that “some Lord of the Rings obsessive, somewhere out there, will surely figure out a way to watch [all six formats] back to back.”)