Hear that? It’s the sound of millions of fanboys panting with anticipation over the arrival of Christopher Nolan’s impending new film, “Inception.” The Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, and more-starring, topsy-turvy sci-fi mind-f-ck creation that’s been mystifying and fascinating observers since its announcement opens July 16. And as the film’s release draws closer, we can expect more and more chatter about what might be next for Nolan. In other words, a third Batman entry.
Okay, so nothing’s official yet, but Bat-news continues to leak in drips and drabs; Nolan himself has not made a formal announcement, and in his recent LA Times interview he kept mum on the subject. The latest bit of info comes from cinematographer Wally Pfister. As he was being honored by the Dallas Film Society on April 16 for his cinematographic successes — including Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” Memento,” “The Prestige,” and “Insomnia”— he talked with the Cinematical about shooting the third installment, and apparently, 3D is a possibility.
As Pfister put it, vaguely, “What Chris and I have talked about doing is something cool and something interesting … I think Chris is game for doing something like [3D]; Lord knows that the 3D fad might pass by the time that summer comes around.” Which summer, Wally? 2011? 2012?! Notice he isn’t committing to 3D, or much of anything, either (Might “something interesting” be more IMAX?)
Suffice to say, Nolan would be the “edgiest” director yet to take on a 3D project, but we honestly doubt this will happen. Hot on the heels of Martin Scorsese’s official use of the technology in his upcoming Melies-fueled kid pic “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” perhaps we have an indicator that 3D efforts will start to be undertaken by filmmakers whose previous works don’t include it, but again, speculative at best.
In other words, once Hal Hartley and Vincent Gallo are promoting their 3D works, well, then we’ll know it’s here to stay. Don’t get your hopes up quite yet. Update: Interestingly enough, in a different recap of the same event the writers says Pfister says, “he doesn’t like 3D and thinks it’s a fad. He hasn’t seen Avatar yet, but was told it’s more about the imagery than about original storytelling. He prefers IMAX, saying that the larger film frame provides the best sharpness and clarity and the huge screen size provides the best visual experience.”