Henry Selick Sees Film Advancing Beyond 3-D

Coraline director Henry Selick believes that beyond 3-D, holograms might be in the entertainment industry's future.

"It looks like this is going to happen," he said Monday at the NAB Show. "This could be huge, though it could take long time. Everyone wants to bring spectacle to entertainment."

He related that he has started to research hologram imagery.

On the subject of 3-D innovation, journalist Anne Thompson, who moderated the discussion, asked his thoughts on James Cameron's upcoming performance capture-based 3-D Avatar for Fox.

"James Cameron is a very smart guy," Selick said. "Some of his films showcase the latest technology of the time. No doubt what he is going to deliver in Avatar is going to be spectacular.

"In terms of motion capture, I have mixed feelings about it," he added. "I don't really love it. I think the best use of it was what David Fincher did with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button where he captured the performance of Brad Pitt and used that on a variety of versions of Benjamin Button."

Focus' Coraline recently made more than $74 million at the boxoffice. In discussing the 3-D release, Selick echoed the industry concern that more screens are needed.

"We need to get the digital projection in place. We were given only three weeks on the 3-D screens," he said, adding that those screens were shared in part with Lionsgate's My Bloody Valentine 3-D at the beginning the run and the Jonas Brothers 3-D concert film at the end. The screens were then unavailable because of the release of DreamWorks Animation's Monsters vs. Aliens.

By Carolyn Giardina, The Hollywood Reporter