So much for truth in advertising. As far back as the first trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (back in June 2010), Warner Bros. was touting that the last two Harry Potter films would be presented in 3-D. But in a press release by Warner Bros Pictures, the studio has made the decision to release Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 in 2D, in both conventional and IMAX theaters, citing that it will not have a completed 3D version of the film for the release date.
The painstaking process of converting the film in its entirety proved to be to big of a project to complete in the allocated time frame. And we all remember the rush job Warner Bros. did for Clash of the Titans. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will still stick to its release date of November 19, 2010 .
Director David Yates acknowledged, “This decision, which we completely support, underscores the fact that Warner Bros. has always put quality first.”
Warner Bros. insists that the grand finale, in July 2011, will be delivered to conventional and IMAX theaters in both 2D and 3D formats.
The announcement, made on the day that Rouge Pictures rolls out a Wes Craven horror flick in 3-D, is showing that conversion is not the best way to release a film in 3-D. Either shoot in 3-D to begin with or don’t bother passing something off as “3-D” when it isn’t the real deal. And not meeting a deadline only strengthens the case that Warner Bros Pictures had no clear idea that it wanted the final installments of Harry Potter to be presented in 3-D at the start of production.
It is my belief that Hollywood is clearly overestimating the demand for 3-D films in the marketplace, while also forcing the hand of theater chains to ensure that there are enough screens to handle the overflow of 3-D titles running against one another. In addition to Harry and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, you can expect at least 22 other 3-D titles in 2011.
