He said it before and he will damn well say it again. Christopher Nolan‘s director of photography Wally Pfister (a big part of Inception‘s beautiful look) spoke to MTV and confirmed his goal of shooting Batman 3 entirely with IMAX cameras. Remember the opening scene of The Dark Knight? Imagine if every single frame of Batman 3 looked like that. As for the film he said: Read the full story

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IMAX has sent out a press release highlighting all the records that James Cameron‘s Avatar has broken in just 10 days of release. The worldwide IMAX gross accounts for $39 million of it’s total from 249 screens and it still hasn’t even opened in all markets yet.

Just as I post this the Monday box office reports have also been released and Avatar has made $19 million on it’s 2nd Monday. That’s a 16% increase from last Monday’s $16.38 million. Absolutely insane. Check out the full IMAX press release below. Read the full story

Thanks to a press release from Summit Entertainment, it is now known that the next film in the Twilight franchise, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, will be released in both conventional cinemas and IMAX theaters. Read the full press release below:

[SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT TO DISTRIBUTE THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE TO IMAX® THEATRES BEGINNING JUNE 30, 2010

Los Angeles, CA - December 9, 2009 - IMAX Corporation (NASDAQ: IMAX; TSX: IMX) and Summit Entertainment announced today that The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the third film in the studio’s Twilight franchise, will be released to IMAX^® theatres simultaneously with the film’s launch on June 30, 2010. Directed by David Slade (30 DAYS OF NIGHT, HARD CANDY) and starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse will be digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience^® with proprietary IMAX DMR^® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX’s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie. The film franchise is based on the book series by Stephenie Meyer.

“Twilight moviegoers will have a whole new way to experience this next installment of the series, with the enhanced image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience putting them IN the movie,” said Richie Fay, Summit Entertainment’s President of Domestic Theatrical Distribution. “The IMAX release puts us on the event film calendar for 2010, and we’re very excited to work with IMAX to bring a new kind of film to the IMAX theatre network.”

“Our 2010 film slate continues to fill out with strong titles, and a film from this incredible franchise is a very welcome addition,” said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond. “This title fills a valuable spot in our 2010 summer release window, and will no doubt thrill IMAX audiences.”

“We’re very excited to work with our new partners at Summit Entertainment to transport the very loyal and enthusiastic Twilight fans into the world of the Volturi via The IMAX Experience,” added Greg Foster, Chairman and President of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. “With our growing theatre network, we’re poised to take advantage of the rapidly growing fan-base devoted to this dynamic, cutting edge series.”

In The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob - knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life.]

The technology being used to remaster the film is the same technology that was used to remaster Star Trek for IMAX as well as many other films that are not shot in the format.

Do I even need to express my complete disgust at this announcement? I’m sure every tween/teen girl is already prepping their wallets for the up-coming purchase. Hell I’m sure some of them are already on line at the box office. The power of this franchise is unbelievably stupid. Any self-respecting filmgoer knows that this was inevitable but no less pointless. The third film is due in theaters June 30th, 2010.

Do you want to see Twilight Eclipse in IMAX?

Want to see 1.7% of James Cameron‘s Avatar? Look no further. IGN has released a two and half minute clip of the Thanador chase scene that was featured at Comic Con and Avatar Day. This clip goes a bit further in the scene, but it is no way similar to seeing it in IMAX 3D, so if you want  a fresh experience I suggest skipping down to 3 brand new articles from Wired magazine that were recently released. Read the full story

We have a couple more updates from James Cameron‘s Avatar for you. According to BFI, Avatar‘s running time will clock in at 165 minutes. It’s been rumored for a while now that Avatar would carry a hefty running time, but a part of this report doesn’t make complete sense. The fact is, IMAX can only hold prints up to 150 minutes long. Perhaps Cameron has created some crazy new device to change that, but its still worth noting that this reported running time may not be legit. Although, in this interview with the film’s producer John Landau, he pretty much implies that it may now be possible to show films longer than 150 minutes in IMAX. Read the full story

According to a press release by IMAX Corporation and Columbia Pictures today, Spider-Man 4 will be released for traditional screens as well as in all IMAX theaters worldwide on May 5, 2011. The fourth installment will be distributed domestically by Columbia Pictures and internationally by Sony Pictures Releasing International.

“The addition of so many new IMAX locations will give even more fans of Spider-Man an opportunity to experience the action and adventure in a unique way,” said Rory Bruer, President of Worldwide Distribution for Sony Pictures Releasing. IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond pointed out as well that the IMAX network of theaters has “grown significantly” and that they “continue to roll-out new theaters virtually every week.” All of this sounds very alluring and it’s great to have more films being pushed out on the IMAX network however it’s important to note that this global network of “IMAX” theaters includes the much smaller and nearly irrelevant flavor of IMAX licensed screens that are less than half the size of a true IMAX screen.

I would reluctantly gladly pay a few extra dollars to see Spider-Man 4 on a true IMAX screen but with ticket prices rising and the very underhanded marketing move of selling the larger-than-regular-but-far-smaller-than-IMAX screens as the true “IMAX Experience” really turns me off to the whole thing. My only local IMAX theater is this special smaller licensed IMAX screen. At around $5 to $6 more a ticket, I will enjoy the less crowded regular screens and save that extra money for my alcohol dependency a nice beer after the show.

Slashfilm recently caught up with Avatar producer John Landau who was attending E3 promoting the Avatar video game. Landau commented on the running time saying, “definitely over two and a half hours.” Film Crew T-Shirts is saying that Cameron’s current cut is one hundred and eighty nine minutes long. Avatar is set to be shown in IMAX which cant show films that are over hundred and sixty minute films.

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