Director James Cameron said, "I think 3-D is getting very, very well entrenched in the minds of the exhibition community and the public as a really great way to see movies right now. But unfortunately, they're mostly making that association with Pixar and DreamWorks films -- animated films. ' Avatar ' stands a chance of saying, yeah, you can do a grown-up narrative, you can do a film with real drama, you can do live action, you can mix live action and CG perfectly. So I think it will open some doors of perception both among filmmakers and audiences about what's possible."

Tim Burton produced "The Nightmare Before Christmas," which got the 3-D treatment years after it was first released in 1993, and is now in the process of putting together his first full 3-D film as a director, "Alice in Wonderland."

He notes that the technology has changed, and says there's added value to audiences with 3-D.

Director Tim Burton said, "What's nice about it now, it's more pleasing and the eye doesn't give you a headache after you leave the building like it used to. And I think it just puts you in a world more, you know. For me, the look and feel of a film has always been important -- the painting, the texture, the costumes. And this is a way, I think, for people to see these things and feel them much more as they really are. I think people are using it much more for that than just constantly stabbing spears in your eyes."

But while they enjoy popularity the world over, 3-D movies in China still face problems. One issue is that imported digital projectors are very costly. Another is the cost of reusable 3-D glasses, a must for watching these movies.

A deputy manager of the Stellar International Cineplex says that a pair of 3-D costs around seven hundred yuan, or about one hundred US dollars. What's more, the batteries for the glasses need to be recharged every three hundred hours.

But insiders reveal that a batch of home-made 3-D glasses will be available for Chinese movie buffs in September. The localization will definitely help reduce the costs of 3-D movies and bring benefits to cinema goers.

(CCTV August 7, 2009)