James Cameron criticises excessive 3D in summer blockbusters

You would think that following the years of blood, sweat and tears that went into the making of Avatar , James Cameron wouldn’t be likely to hear a word said against the use of 3D technology in modern filmmaking.

However, Cameron has been talking about the proliferation of 3D blockbusters at the multiplex, and argues that in most cases, the technology is not being used correctly.

“I do not think Hollywood is using the 3D properly,” said Cameron at technology forum TagDF . "The reason I say that Hollywood is not doing well is because it is automatic.”

“For example, Man Of Steel , Iron Man 3 and all those movies should not necessarily be in 3D. If you spend $150 million on visual effects, the film is already going to be spectacular, perfect.”

Presumably that would also have been true of Avatar , although Cameron argues that the difference lies in the fact he actually filmed with 3D cameras.

“One thing is shooting in 3D and another to convert to 3D,” continues the director. "After Avatar changed everything, good and bad movies, everything has to be in 3D since Avatar .”

“The problem I see now is that instead of it being a filmmaker issue, it's a matter of the studios to make money and are pushing 3D to directors who are not comfortable or do not like 3D.”

So, Cameron remains the outspoken auteur, but he does seem to have a point when it comes to the ubiquity of the format. Not that we’ll be expecting the Avatar sequels in 2D, mind…

Cameron also added that he expects to start work on his long-awaited Battle Angel adaptation in 2017 (presumably when he's winding down work on his Avatar trilogy). Sounds like he'll be a busy man for some time yet.