Toldja? It was earlier today that we openly discussed whether or not IMAX was the new Hollywood darling that would trump the fading 3D, and now one of the biggest blockbuster directors of all time — the man who pretty much invented it — is looking to play with the format.
Chatting with Yahoo following the news that "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" is hitting theaters for a one week run on September 7th in an IMAX re-release, the director revealed he's already toying with the large scale format for his next movie. "I'm going to do an IMAX camera test, [both] a 2 and 3D test for my next movie 'Robopocalypse,' and I haven't decided whether I'm going to use the IMAX cameras, and I haven't decided whether it's going to be 2D or 3D yet, but I am in September going to start doing some tests," he teased. And certainly, the sci-fi spectacle is suited for it.
Based on the book by Daniel H. Wilson and adapted by Drew Goddard, the thriller is set in the near future where robots are a part of everyday human life…until a sentient artificial intelligence underneath the ice in Alaska programs them to kill. Written "World War Z" style, the book is told via oral history and fleshed out with surveillance footage, secondhand accounts and more, in a book that apparently falls somewhere between "The Terminator" and Isaac Asimov (but more the former than the latter). Which all sounds great.
As he tends to alternate between Oscar bait and tentpole projects, Spielberg's last popcorn movie, "The Adventures Of Tintin" arrived in 3D and did play in IMAX theaters as well, though it didn't contain any scenes natively shot in the format. After watching guys like Christopher Nolan and his protege of sorts, J.J. Abrams embrace the full, massive screen experience (the latter is using the cameras for "Star Trek 2"), perhaps Spielberg will be more inclined to give audiences a helluva lot of bang for their buck. And no one puts together mainstream moviegoing excitement quite like Spielberg, so to see him work in IMAX would be promising indeed.
Set to shoot next year, "Robopocalypse" will hit theaters on April 25, 2014.