Guillermo del Toro is one of the more inspiring creative minds working today, so it was a breath of fresh air when he told Steve back in July that he was adamantly opposed to making his next directorial feature, the monsters vs. robots epic Pacific Rim, in 3D.  That is, until Warner Bros. decided otherwise.  A couple of weeks ago, the studio announced that Pacific Rim would be post-converted to 3D, seemingly going against del Toro’s wishes.

Now the director has spoken up about the decision, reassuring fans that the post-conversion is being done according to very specific instructions from del Toro himself so as not to affect the integrity of the film.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

Though this doesn’t exactly come as a shock, Warner Bros. will apparently be post-converting Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim to 3D.  THR reports that the large-scale monsters vs. robots movie will be getting a 3D release.  While nearly every blockbuster these days is released in the format, del Toro told Steve at Comic-Con that after many discussions with Warner Bros. he had convinced them not to convert the film to 3D.  Hit the jump to hear Del Toro’s reasoning on why Pacific Rim and 3D isn’t a good fit, and to find out why Warner Bros. may have ultimately decided the format was necessary for the film.

Hollywood is in the middle of a digital revolution.  Over the past few years, the titans of the industry have switched to digital cameras, and it seems like the days of shooting on film are drawing to a close.  Of course there will always be holdouts (Christopher Nolan), but as digital cameras get more and more advanced, you have to wonder how long it will be before everyone has converted.  These are the main issues explored in Keanu Reeves and Chris Kenneally‘s great documentary Side by Side.  The two filmmakers sat down with people like James Cameron, David Fincher, George Lucas, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Stephen Soderbergh, and Andy and Lana Wachowski to talk about the evolving landscape of filmmaking.   If you’re a film nerd, it’s a must see movie.  For more on Side by Side, here’s some outtakes and a trailer.

Last week, I landed an exclusive interview with Keanu Reeves.  Besides thanking him for getting the Wachowskis on camera, we talked about what surprised him about the digital revolution, how digital cameras and digital projection have advanced in the past few years, IMAX, whether it was tough to land the interviews, and so much more.  In addition, with Reeves having directed his first feature, Man of Tai Chi, we talked about when people will see it, the film’s rating (PG-13), and why he used the ARRI Alexa.  Finally, we also talked about 47 Ronin, how he’d like to direct a film called Life and Art, the status of Bill and Ted 3, and Point Break Live (which is a lot of fun).  Hit the jump to watch or to read the transcript.

Yesterday, we reported that G.I. Joe: Retaliation would be moving all the way back to March 29, 2013 so the film could undergo a 3D post-conversion.  The news came as a shock considering the film was only a month away, and Paramount had already sunk millions of dollars into marketing the blockbuster.  So will it be worth it?  According to Dwayne Johnson, who plays Roadblock, “It will be.”  Responding on Twitter follower @JimmyinGA, Johnson said the production was “Designing new scenes to enhance 3D.”  Translation: re-shoots.

Hit the jump for more.  The film also stars Adrianne Palicki, Channing Tatum, Walton Goggins, Ray Park, Byung-hun Lee, Elodie Yung, RZA, Ray Stevenson, D.J. Cotrona, and Bruce Willis.

Disney will release Tim Burton‘s stop-motion animated film Frankenweenie in IMAX 3D.  The movie is an adaptation of Burton’s 1984 short film of the same name, which centered on a boy who takes a page from Frankenstein and brings his dead dog back to life.  The feature-length adaptation will expand the story to have the eponymous canine wreak havoc on the town.  Disney released a new trailer for the movie last week, and the flick looks charming.  However, IMAX is usually reserved for massive blockbuster movies.  Frankenweenie will be the first black and white film and first stop-motion animated film ever released in IMAX, but from what we’ve seen so far, the story seems too small for IMAX’s gigantic canvas.

Hit the jump for the press release.  The film features the voices of Winona Ryder, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, and Martin Landau.  Frankenweenie opens October 5th.

As audiences continue to be wary of the ever-increasing amount of 3D movies thrown their way, studios and exhibitors are looking for new reasons their films must be seen in the third dimension. Lucasfilm and AMC Theaters are offering podracer 3D glasses for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, and now Marvel is hopping onboard the personalized specs train. The studio will be offering special edition 3D glasses at participating theaters for the upcoming release of The Avengers. You can choose to rock Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, or Captain America specialized glasses while oogling the all-star superhero movie. The glasses will cost an extra $5 in ticket price, but you’ll be able to sport your super cool specs at many 3D movies to come. Presumably they’re a little more durable than the typical Real D glasses, making them fashionable and necessary.

Hit the jump to check out the glasses. Directed by Joss Whedon, the film stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner and Scarlett Johansson. The Avengers opens May 4th.

Paramount has released a trailer for James Cameron’s 3D update of his 1997 film Titantic.  I think the verdict is in on this movie, and since the trailer is on my computer, I can’t really comment on the 3D.  However, I was reminded of how much I hate “My Heart Will Go On.”  Click here for what Steve though of the footage he saw last month.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Jonathan Hyde, Victor Garber, Bernard Hill, David Warner, Gloria Stuart, and Bill Paxton.  Titanic opens in 3D on April 6, 2012.  It will also be re-released in 2D.

Like any studio, Universal has had a tough time with movies they expected to be hits.  The Fast and Furious series is one of their killer franchises and they landed a sleeper hit with Bridesmaids, but the studio had to suck up bombs like Land of the Lost, The Wolfman, Robin Hood, Cowboys & Aliens, and even the geek-beloved Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.  Ron Meyer, Universal’s President and COO for the past sixteen years, spoke about the studio’s flops at the Savannah Film Festival.  He also talked about 3D, avoiding prestige pictures, and their controversial move to try and rush Tower Heist onto VOD.

Hit the jump for When Studio Execs Speak Honestly.

When James Cameron first announced he’d be post converting Titanic for a 3D re-release in April 2012, I was a bit skeptical.  After all, I think most of us can agree that post converted movies are usually substandard to ones being shot in 3D, and since the movie is 15 years old, I figured it would be an insane challenge to get it right.  However, earlier today I visited Paramount in Hollywood and got to see about 18 minutes of the converted film on the big screen.  So what did I learn?

Never. Ever. Bet against James Cameron.

The footage I saw this morning left me speechless.  I’m not joking around when I say it’s the best post conversion I’ve ever seen and it looks like they originally shot it in 3D back in 1997.  In addition, Cameron told us before they post converted they created a new 4K master and did a full color correction and cleaned the film.  So even if you see the film in 2D or 3D in April, you will not believe how crystal clear the images are and how good the film looks.   However, before you start to think Cameron made any changes to the actual film, he told us they are not editing a single scene.  He’s not pulling a George Lucas.  Hit the jump for more.

With Roland Emmerich’s period drama Anonymous opening this weekend, I recently got to speak with two of the stars, Rhys Ifans and Jamie Campbell Bower.  While Emmerich is known for his big-budget disaster movies like 2012 and Independence Day, Anonymous is quite a departure, as the story centers on a conspiracy to cover up the true author of William Shakespeare’s plays.  There are no monsters or aliens.  Instead, Emmerich has made a really entertaining political thriller wrapped in a conspiracy theory that also stars David Thewlis, Joely Richardson, Rafe Spall, Xavier Samuel and Vanessa Redgrave.  Here are some clips and the trailer.

During a very fun and relaxed interview, Ifans and Campbell Bower talked about video games, karaoke, whether or not Shakespeare really wrote his plays, 3D, and Ifans talks about what fans can look forward to in The Amazing Spider-Man and Campbell Bower talks about Twilight and Mortal Instruments. Hit the jump to watch.

Paramount has released a new trailer for Martin Scorsese’s Hugo.  A work-in-progress cut played to audiences at the New York Film Festival to mostly positive reviews.  The latest trailer plays up the dramatic aspects of the story (unfortunately through Mr. Movie Voice) but it’s the visuals that take center stage.  Hugo is Scorsese’s first 3D film but it looks like he’s handled the new technology like an old pro.  This will be one of the rare times I’ll be upset if I don’t get to see a movie in 3D.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film stars Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Kingsley, Jude Law, Ray Winstone, Christopher Lee, Helen McCrory, Richard Griffiths, Frances de la Tour, Emily Mortimer, and Michael Stuhlbarg.  Hugo opens November 23rd.

With director Paul W.S. Anderson’s The Three Musketeers opening October 21, Summit Entertainment held a big press junket in London and I got the chance to head across the pond to interview the cast.  Based on Alexandre Dumas’ classic story, The Three Musketeers stars Logan Lerman, Luke Evans, Ray Stevenson, Milla Jovovich, Orlando Bloom, Christoph Waltz, Matthew Macfayden and Mads Mikkelsen.  In the reboot, “the hot-headed young D’Artagnan (Lerman) joins forces with three rogue Musketeers (MacFadyen, Evans and Stevenson). They must stop the evil Richlieu (Waltz) and face off with Buckingham (Bloom) and the treacherous Milady (Jovovich).”  And unlike many films that have been post converted for a 3D release, the Musketeers was shot in 3D and it looks great.  For more on the film, here’s eight clips.

During my wide ranging interview with Bloom, he talked about getting involved in Musketeers and what it was like to play a villain, the amazing real world locations, 3D, the last video game he’s played, karaoke and you can see him try and flip the interview around on me.  In addition, Bloom talked about what it’s like to play Legolas again in Peter Jackson’s upcoming Hobbit movies (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again) and when he’ll be filming.  Hit the jump to watch.

Spurred by the smashing success of The Lion King‘s 3D re-release, Disney has announced that they’ll be giving the big-screen 3D treatment to Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, and Monsters, Inc.  The 3D post-conversion doesn’t bother me so much because as we saw with The Lion King, it wasn’t so much about throwing animation in your face as much as it was about seeing a 2D animated classic given an HD upgrade.  I don’t think there will be as much benefit from post-converting Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc. but it will still be nice to see them in theaters again.  More than anything, I’m just happy I’ll finally get to see the 3D Beauty and the Beast I was promised back at Comic-Con 2009.

Hit the jump for the full press release and to find out when each film will be returning to theaters.

Hugh Jackman is an expert at making men the world over look bad.  Not only is he incredibly nice, good-looking, talented, charming, and funny, but he can also sing and dance like nobody’s business.  What an asshole.  Steve recently sat down with the gracious actor to talk about his upcoming sci-fi flick Real Steel, but during the conversation Jackman spoke a bit about his upcoming role in The King’s Speech director Tom Hooper’s movie musical Les Miserables.   Jackman is taking on the starring role of Jean Valjean in the pic opposite Russell Crowe as the nefarious Javert.  The actor confirmed that filming begins next March and they’re getting ready to do some tests to determine whether Hooper will shoot the film in 3D or not.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

ESPN has just announced an eight-year, $15.2 billion deal, with the National Football League that will allow it to shoot Monday Night Football Games in 3D, starting in 2014.  The new deal will run from 2014 to 2021 and includes a provision for 3D broadcast rights.  While many, myself included, are starting to lose interest in 3D, I saw a post converted football game at Sundance and thought the 3D looked great and it definitely added a new dimension to watching the game.

The fact is, the NFL has never been more popular, as more and more are playing fantasy football.  This new deal might spur regular folks to buying 3D TV’s, and in turn, cause more 3D Blu-ray sales and more TV shows to be broadcast in 3D.  So the big question is…would you buy a new 3D TV to watch football?  I’m definitely curious.