James Cameron wants to do a six-hour movie to push the limits of cinema
Topics: James Cameron, Film and TV, Entertainment, Netflix
Rachel Lang
Featured Image Credit: ScreenProd / Photononstop / Alamy. Cinematic Collection / Alamy.
Topics: James Cameron, Film and TV, Entertainment, Netflix
You've heard of the 'movie', but we'll bet you've never heard of the 'mega-movie'.
Mostly because we just made the term up, but that is what you could arguably call James Cameron's ambitious idea to make a six-hour-long film.
Cameron told Variety: "I want to do a movie that’s six hours long and two and a half hours long at the same time."
The iconic director went on to explain that the two movies would be in fact one and the same, but the longer version would harness the power of streaming while the shorter version would offer the full cinema experience.
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"You can stream it for six hours, or you can go and have a more condensed, roller coaster, immersive version of that experience in a movie theater," he said.
"Same movie. Just, one’s the novel, and one’s the movie. Why not? Let’s just use these platforms in ways that haven’t been done before."
He might just have the perfect film to trial-run his ingenious idea, too.
As per Jeff Sneider, a well-known entertainment reporter and leaker of all things movie-related, Cameron is already taking the third instalment of the Avatar franchise to dizzying heights.
Sneider said Cameron 'handed in a cut of Avatar 3 last week' and 'the cut was – no joke – nine hours long'.
"Apparently, he’s insisting on doing the VFX for this cut… and then he’ll cut it down, rather than figuring out what he wants," the prolific leaker added on The Hot Mic podcast.
So we may be seeing Cameron's wacky idea brought to life in the coming years.
People on social media were all here for it, too.
One person on Twitter said: "Nine hours is essentially how long The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Trilogy is like. I’ve watched those in one sitting numerous times, so I could do this. It makes sense to do a normal length release in theaters and then provide two different versions for streaming."
A second added: "That is a pretty good idea, we should utilise streaming's strengths more. I'd prefer if it's broken into episodes though, or maybe just show clear segments in the six hour cut for when is the best time to pause and take a break."
A third wasn't so sure: "Just make a TV show at that point."
No because that would not be profitable for a project like avatar, he means having a 2-3 hour movie that turns a profit and pays for the extended version which can be sold to streaming services for additional income, just making a tvshow for streaming would not work financially
— SmartVader (@SmartVader) December 20, 2022
That is a pretty good idea, we should utilise streaming's strengths more. I'd prefer if it's broken into episodes tho, or maybe just show clear segments in the 6 hour cut for when is the best time to pause and take a break.
— Reno (@RenoSalamanca) December 20, 2022
9 hours is essentially how long The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Trilogy is like. I’ve watched those in one sitting numerous times, so I could do this. It makes sense to do a normal length release in theaters and then provide two different version for streaming.
— Justin Logan (@JustinLogan88) December 21, 2022
They were then quickly schooled by another social media user: "No, because that would not be profitable for a project like Avatar. He means having a 2-3 hour movie that turns a profit and pays for the extended version which can be sold to streaming services for additional income. Just making a TV show for streaming would not work financially."
Well, we don't know about you, but it sounds like this ripper of an idea has legs.
Now we just want to see it run.