Well, it’s official. Martin Scorsese is going 3D.
Rumored since the project was announced earlier this year, Variety confirms that Scorsese’s first venture into the children’s film genre will also be his first picture in 3D as well. While an interview with the director in March put some doubts on whether or not the auteur would shoot in this new du jour format — he seemed keen on the format, but it didn’t seem like it was something in his immediate future — it appears he will be actually shooting in 3D instead of just converting the picture, a move that will make both James Cameron and Jeffrey Katzenberg very happy.
Based on the book-cum-graphic novel for kids by Brian Selznick and adapted by John Logan (“The Aviator,” “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street”), the film, set in 1931, follows an orphaned boy who secretly lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station looking after the clocks and gets caught up in a mystery adventure when he attempts to repair a mechanical man.
Scorsese has lined up a helluva cast with Sacha Baron Cohen playing the role of the station inspector; Ben Kingsley as silent filmmaker George Méliès (who plays a pivotal role in the film) while Asa Butterfield and Chloe Moretz play the male and female lead roles.
While we have generally been indifferent by the recent rash of 3D films, if anyone can bring something of interest to the format it’s Scorsese. Given the director’s love for the visually spellbinding films of Powell & Pressburger this promises to be a kid’s film like no other and with filmmaker Méliès as a key character, we expect some serious nods to early French cinema as well (i.e. Marcel Carné etc).
The film will go in front of cameras in June with a release date set for December 9, 2011.
