Hollywood places biggest 3-D bet yet on `Avatar' the movie by director James Cameron.When James Cameron directed his first 3-D film, "Terminator 2: 3-D," for Universal Studios theme parks more than a decade ago, the bulky camera equipment made some shots awkward or impossible.
The 450-pound contraption - which had two film cameras mounted on a metal frame - was so heavy that producers had to jury-rig construction equipment to lift it off the ground for shots from above. The cameras, slightly set apart, had to be mechanically pointed together at the subject, then locked into place like an unwieldy set of eyes to help create the 3-D effect.
At $60 million, the 12-minute film was the most expensive frame-for-frame production ever.
Now, five months from its release, Cameron's "Avatar," the first feature film he has directed since "Titanic" (1997), promises to take 3-D cinematography to an unrivaled level, using a more nimble 3-D camera system that he helped invent.
Cameron's heavily hyped return also marks Hollywood's biggest bet yet that 3-D can bolster box office returns. News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox has budgeted $237 million for the production alone of "Avatar."
The movie uses digital 3-D technology, which requires audience members to wear polarized glasses. It is a vast improvement on the sometimes headache-inducing techniques that relied on cardboard cutout glasses with red and green lenses and rose and fell in popularity in the 1950s.
"Avatar" also raises the bar on "performance capture" technology, which creates computerized images from real human action. The movie depicts an ex-soldier's interactions with 10-foot-tall aliens on the luminous planet of Pandora.
"I'm speechless," said Nahum Villalobos, a 19-year-old Navy recruit from Vista, Calif., who watched 25 minutes of exclusive footage of "Avatar" along with 6,500 people at the Comic-Con convention in San Diego on Thursday. "It's more extraordinary than any other movie that is out there, or has been."
The $237 million production is not as expensive as some 2-D fare such as "Spider-Man 3" (2007), which was made for $258 million. But it blows away "Monsters vs. Aliens" (2009), a 3-D animation movie made for $175 million.
Then again, Cameron's last film grossed $1.84 billion worldwide. "Titanic" is the highest grossing film ever.
"If you know Jim Cameron, it's all about pushing the envelope," said Vince Pace, who helped him develop the 3-D camera system used in "Avatar."
Cameron tweaked his cameras through two 3-D documentaries he made for IMAX theaters, "Ghosts of the Abyss" (2003) and "Aliens of the Deep" (2005).
His camera rig is now lighter - up to only 50 pounds - and the two camera lenses can dynamically converge on a focal point with the help of a computer, which is crucial for sweeping camera moves and action sequences.
In some of the "Avatar" footage released at Comic-Con, humans filmed with his 3-D camera rig are mixed with the computer-generated images of the movie's avatars - beings created with mixed human and alien DNA.
Cameron said he wanted to have the filmmaking techniques fade into the background as the story took over.
"The ideal movie technology is so advanced that it waves a magic wand and makes itself disappear," he said.
Cameron himself was behind the lens in many scenes that were framed using a "virtual camera" - a handheld monitor that lets the director walk through the computer-enhanced 3-D scene and record it as if he were the cameraman. The effect on screen is a "shaky cam" effect that makes action sequences seem up close and sometimes focuses the audience's gaze at something in particular.
"It allows Jim to approach this process with the same sensibilities that he would have approached live-action filming," said producer Jon Landau.
The ability to capture human emotions in computerized 3-D has also advanced.
Unlike past methods that captured dots placed on human faces to trace movements that are reconstructed digitally, now each frame is analyzed for facial details such as pores and wrinkles that help re-create a moving computerized image.
"It's all going to advance the whole concept of 3-D one leap higher," said Marty Shindler, a filmmaking consultant with The Shindler Perspective Inc.
Yet even with four years of preparation and the attention surrounding "Avatar," there will not be enough U.S. screens adapted to the technology for a full wide release only in 3-D.
Of the 38,800 movie screens in the U.S., about 2,500 are capable of showing digital 3-D movies. Theater chains have been adding about 90 to 100 per month this year, but they're still short of the 4,000-plus screens that have been used for major event movies.
With the conversion costing $100,000 a pop, theater owners are wary of moving too quickly, said Patrick Corcoran, director of media and research for the National Association of Theatre Owners.
"The successes of `Monsters vs. Aliens' and `Ice Age (Dawn of the Dinosaurs) in 3-D' aside, this is still really early days for this format," he said.
Studios are pushing theater owners to convert more screens, partly because people pay about $2 more per ticket and cram theaters for 3-D releases. Revenue per screen is up to three times higher than for the same movie's 2-D version.
Walt Disney Co.'s chief executive, Bob Iger, said this week that his studio has 17 3-D films in development, including "A Christmas Carol." That movie, directed by Robert Zemeckis, adopted many of the same performance-capture techniques used in "Avatar" but comes out a month earlier, in November.
Jovan Cohn, a 43-year-old systems engineer from Newport Beach, Calif., watched the "Avatar" preview at Comic-Con and expects to line up with his son for another free look on Aug. 21, when some IMAX theaters will show 15 minutes of the film. Cohn also plans to catch the full movie's release Dec. 18.
"It takes you into a new world of moviegoing and we really think that it's going to be a hit," he said. "No question on that. James Cameron just hit another home run."
Hollywood ceelebrity Halle Berry enjoying with friends this wednesday.
Hot celebrity singer LeAnn Rimes video leaked here.
Bollywood hottest movie series Munnabhai comming up with his new look Munnabhai chale Amerika soon. Get full movie trailer from here.
Shahrukh & Amir Khan comming together in upcomming new movie Dhoom 3 in a new video released recently from media.
Comic-Con Megan Fox feel "Uncomfortable" in sex scenes with josh brolin.
Kim Kardashian splits with Her BFF Reggie Bush.
Two British hostages in Iraq are believed to be dead.
ESPN Reporter Erin Andrews Peephole Video Scandal come with a new look in a new battle.
Drug agents raid Michael Jackson doctor's Vegas home, office for second time.
Hot celebrity actress Lindsay Lohan has a role waiting in 'Machete'.
Bollywood two heart throb celebrity actor and actress Hirthik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai leacked a new video footage on Dhoom relation.
Hot celebrity actress Megan Fox giving sexy Tomboy look on “Jonah Hex”.
Hollywood places biggest 3-D bet yet on `Avatar' the movie by director James Cameron.
The $237 million production is not as expensive as some 2-D fare such as "Spider-Man 3" (2007), which was made for $258 million. But it blows away "Monsters vs. Aliens" (2009), a 3-D animation movie made for $175 million.
Hot celebrity actress Whitney Port possed on bikini before camera on a beach site.
A embressing video made of ESPN reporter celebrity Erin Andrews undressing in her hotel room is now being used to spread a computer virus, according to sophos.com, an anti-virus software company.
Best friends try to undress while on kissing at a late night party. See full here from hidden cemara.
The American soldier who went missing June 30 from his base in eastern Afghanistan and was later confirmed to have been captured, This video frame grab taken from a Taliban propaganda video.
Dragon ball z movies exclussive video trailer here:
In a short investigation and from this news,birth rates among U.S. teens increased in 2006 and 2007, following large declines from 1991 to 2005, according to a new U.S. government study.
Holywood blockbluster movie series Harry Potter sets a world wide record on its sixth released series Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.
Two top most celebrity actress Anjelina Jolie and Brad Pitt going to have their twins birthday interesting. Happy birthday to the arguably most genetically blessed twins ever!
Hollywood celebrity actress Anjelina jolie reveiled in a new look with a new batch. In a recent poll published by telegraph.co.uk.com, Angelina Jolie was named this year's "Ultimate Lesbian Heroine." The poll results spanned over 2,600 lesbians, and the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider star was proclaimed the victor.
She was ranked above Madonna, Pink and former tennis player Martina Navratilova due to her figure, physique and fashion sense.
The latest Harry Potter film made more than $100 million on its first day on worldwide release, distributor Warner Bros has announced.
Associates say the pop singer had long used false names to acquire prescriptions, a violation of federal and state laws designed to curb drug abuse. At least five physicians are focus of probe.
Here is the official music video for Mariah Carey's single, "Obsessed"
Reports are breaking that a crane collapsed as Madonnas stage was being assembled for her July 19th Sticky & Sweet concert at Velodrome Stadium in France. The fire department stated that the stage 
For years, fans looked on as Michael Jackson radically transformed his appearance. But despite his obviously altered look, the singer only ever admitted to two nose jobs – and blamed his progressively paler skin on the condition vitiligo.
Angelina Jolie the top most hottest celebrity actress getting drug with her girl friends in a party.
Celebrity actress hot n sweet Kate Beckinsale in beach with bikni video.
Michael Jackson had a long-standing secret girlfriend and developed an addiction to drugs supplied by unscrupulous doctors, his bodyguard has told Sky News.
