Director Samuel Bayer was told by the studio that his remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street was going to be converted to 3D in post, and he put his foot down like a Jehova Witness and demanded that it not receieve the treatment.
When New Line initiated several conversations about converting “A Nightmare on Elm Street” to 3-D, “we pushed back,” says director Samuel Bayer. “This was shot in 2-D and was meant to be shown in 2-D.” He added, “Just like I don’t want to see a lot of great movies remade” — alluding to the other Hollywood vogue — “I don’t want to see a lot of them in 3-D.”
I fully agree with the sentiment here that not EVERYTHING needs to be converted to 3D. Nightmare on Elm Street has little to nothing to benefit from the effect, and will be just as good a film without it as with. Its completely unneccessary.
This is where the “gimmick” line gets tossed about a little too easily. This is when it is considered a gimmick. A marketing ploy to gain extra money at the boxoffice as well as rouse excitement about the movie.
I am not against 3D but it has its place. I am glad to see that there are some directors out there who will stand up and refuse to let 3D be treated like a gimmick.
I do however find a certain degree of irony when he says “I dont want to see a lot of great movies remade” when he is remaking a horror classic that many thought should not be remade, or have Englund replaced.