3-D digital movie projectors are making the already degrading movie-going experience even more of a ripoff, as the Boston Globe pointed out last month in an article lamenting projectionists' habit of leaving a 3-D lens on when screening a 2-D movie. The result is that many 2-D movies are appearing underlit and gloomy because, as one projectionist explained, a polarization device used for 3-D screenings "has to be taken out of the image path. If they’re not doing that, it’s crazy, because you’ve got a big polarizer that absorbs 50 percent of the light." It appears that at AMC Empire, that craziness is deeply entrenched. more ›

Director Baz Luhrmann is currently working on his latest project, bringing The Great Gatsby to the big screen (again)... and possibly in 3-D (the next natural step for an F. Scott Fitzgerald classic!). more ›

Director Baz Luhrman—who brought you Moulin Rouge and the 1996 Claire Danes-Leonardo DiCaprio version of Romeo + Juliet—acquired the rights to The Great Gatsby a couple of years ago, and word is that he's now aiming towards making it 3-D. Hedonism, opulence, material excess: in your face! Luhrman says he recently “workshopped” Gatsby (which will star DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan) using the 3-D technology, and will soon make a decision on whether to move forward with the idea. more ›

ESPN and the NBA announced that the Dec. 17 Knicks- Miami Heat match-up will be the first NBA game shown in 3D. The game will also be the first time the new-look Heat, led by LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, will come to Madison Square Garden. Eight regular season games will be shown on ESPN 3D channel, including the Feb. 11 game at the Garden between the Knicks and LA Lakers; six playoff games will be shown in the format, too. For an idea of what it might look like, check out this video. Now the NBA's just got to hope that NYers like the Knicks again by that point. more ›

A speed bump by a school in Canada is getting decorated with a two dimensional trompe-l’œil of a young girl chasing a ball. When drivers get closer to the speed bump, the girl’s elongated form "appears to rise from the ground as cars approach, reaching 3D realism at around 100 feet, and then returning to 2D distortion once cars pass that ideal viewing distance," according to Discover Magazine. As you can see, it's pretty convincing, except that Pavement Patty's sneakers are bigger than her head, and for some reason she's playing by herself in a parking garage. Maybe that's how Canadian kids get their kicks? more ›

Movie theaters are jumping onto the World Cup bandwagon, hoping that soccer fans will drop their beer goggles for 3D glasses: Theatrical distributor Cinedigm will be screening the 2010 World Cup in "Live 3D" at 15 cinemas around the country. Two of the locations are in New York City, at the Chelsea Clearview and the Pavilion in Park Slope. Tickets are on sale for a Netherlands vs. Germany-or-Spain NOW NOW NOW! more ›

The Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center decided to one-up Avatar with their software modeling system of the World Trade Center site, and went straight to 4-D (which this NY1 reporter gleefully announces is time, for anyone who didn't know). The model actually depicts what will be completed when, so the LMCCC can see clashes that may need to be dealt with. They're currently integrating it into their website so anyone in the area can see when sidewalks or roads will be blocked. Unfortunately, the actual reconstruction won't be done nearly as soon as the fancy 4-D model. more ›

Television history will be made Wednesday night when the world’s first home-broadcasted, live 3D sporting event will bring the Rangers-Islanders game to you in 3D. And by "you," we mean the handful of people who own the 3D high-definition TVs that went on sale about a week ago. But if you don't have one of the TVs or know anyone who does, there's another way to be a part of history. MSG will host a "viewing event" with 2,500 guests, and while most of them will be sponsors or Cablevision employees, about 600 of the tickets will be on sale for the public for $20, Crain's reports. more ›

The Olympics and their sponsor, Visa, have installed 3-D ads narrated by Morgan Freeman in the Grand Central subway station. As commuters put on paper glasses to watch death-defying snowboard tricks and soaring ski jumps, they shared their quirky, New York-y reactions with the Daily News. "It's too short, they show 'Visa' too much and they didn't name one person," griped one curmudgeon, Marvin Herskowitz. David Ezell, a 40-year-old therapist was impressed: “This is as close as I'll ever get to the Olympics," he said wistfully. "What year is the Olympics?" asked Marjorie Bogle who was passing out Day of Judgment pamphlets nearby. She was told they were this year. Her response: "That's the last one." more ›

Henry Selick's new 3D stop-motion animation film Coraline is adapted from a story by Neil Gaiman, who's perhaps best known for his groundbreaking graphic novel series The Sandman. Gaiman began writing the story in the early '90s at the request of his daughter Holly, who desired a narrative about a little girl whose mother gets kidnapped by evil witches resembling her mother. Happy to oblige, Gaiman created an inquisitive girl named Coraline who finds trouble behind a forgotten doorway in her drafty old house that leads into a seemingly better version of her current, dreary home. more ›

The gnerds at Google Earth Blog point us to a bumper crop of new additions to Google's 3D version of New York City. This blogger's discovery is best read aloud in your most nasally, emphatic voice: "This is a HUGE update with at least hundreds (if not thousands) of new 3D buildings with photo textures applied. Basically, Google has completed nearly every building in Manhattan Island for Google Earth. Just fly to New York City and turn on the 3D Buildings layer in Google Earth... This is the largest city I've seen done with photo-realistic textures to date. more ›