We all thought we were done with High Frame Rate projection after The Hobbit, but it looks like that's not the case. During Sony Picture's annual presentation at CinemaCon this week, director Ang Lee appeared in a recorded video from the set of his new film based on the book Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. He talked about how making Life of Pi in 3D taught him how remarkable of a filmmaking tool 3D is. He has since explored new filmmaking technology even further, deciding to shoot this next film at 120 FPS (frames per second) and in 3D (again). No footage was shown, and they didn't mention anything else about it being released in HFR, but it sounds like Lee is now getting into HFR after James Cameron and Peter Jackson.
Ben Fountain's book Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is (described on Amazon) a "razor-sharp satire set in Texas during America's war in Iraq, [that explores] the gaping national disconnect between the war at home and the war abroad." The film follows an infantryman who recounts the final hours before he and his fellow soldiers return to Iraq. Ang Lee is currently shooting the film down in Georgia now, and Sony Pictures is planning a release sometime in 2016. The cast includes Vin Diesel, Kristen Stewart, Garrett Hedlund, Beau Knapp, Ben Platt and Steve Martin. Beyond that we don't know much else as production is now underway.
Personally, I don't have anything against HFR. While I've only seen The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in HFR, I remember thinking "this is the future" but it's going to take years and years for everyone to get used to it. It looks different than every movie we've ever seen, and it's hard to start viewing them differently. But I believe with more time, and with more filmmakers (like Ang Lee) really showing how this technology can be used effectively, it will slowly but surely become embraced. I'm surprised Ang Lee is already jumping into it so soon, but he sounded excited about revealing this bit of news. I'll be keeping a very close eye on this.
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