The Green Hornet Release Date Pushed Back Yet Again to Accommodate "3-D Enhancements"
Posted 04.23.10 by BrentJS
Sony Pictures has pushed back the release date of director Michel Gondry's The Green Hornet for a third time. Originally slated to open June 25th, the release date was first moved to July 9th and then to December 17th. Now, the release date has been pushed back four more weeks, to January 14, 2011, typically a dumping ground for studio mistakes. Sony has reportedly said that the reason for the move is to accommodate "3-D enhancements."
According to Deadline, Sony is apparently not referring to the process as "3-D conversion," the more common phrase for the process of adding 3-D effects in post-production, because Sony Imageworks has not created any visual effects as of yet and Gondry's shots already have "great depth and scope." 3-D conversion has been criticized by heavyweight filmmakers like Michael Bay and James Cameron, who favor shooting a movie in 3-D instead of converting it after the fact, and the process has come to signify "low rent" 3-D effects.
At this late in the game, amidst setbacks and rumors that Sony executives are "displeased" with the production, the addition of 3-D enhancements seems like a classic case of throwing good money after bad. But, according to Sony Pictures Entertainment Vice-Chair Jeff Blake, the 3-D enhancements are more like "doubling down" on a good hand than like taking an uncalculated gamble.
We're investing more in the film to have it 3-D. We've seen part of the movie. We love it. We believe in it. Whoever is spreading these rumors has not seen it. We're going to finish Green Hornet in 3-D and take 9 months to do it right.
In other Green Hornet news, Australian costume designer Kym Barrett recently told TMagazine that fans should expect faithful renditions of the characters' classic costumes that are "based in L.A. reality."
[Gondry] didn't want a interpretation at all on the visual style. So for the most part it's down and dirty and pretty realistic. If you think about L.A.—Hollywood—there are days when you just see the dirt and smog and days when you see the most beautiful palm trees with a sunset and smoldering ash. So particularly with Seth [Rogen, who plays Green Hornet], Jay Chou [who plays Kato] and Christoph Waltz [who plays Chudnofsky], I tried to juxtapose them against the dirty, horrible L.A. It'll be interesting to see how it works! What I did get to do was the things that are not right up in your face. The lining of the Green Hornet's jackets and vests are designed for those little tiny moments when he jumps up and kung-fus and you see a flash of color. In that way I got to do some hidden, special little things.