'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' To Feature Three IMAX Scenes

The Dark Knight isn't just bitchslapping Hollywood records, it's also changing the way blockbusters will be made. Seeing the dollar signs and creative freedom that shooting scenes in IMAX technology gave director Christopher Nolan and The Dark Knight, other filmmakers are planning to use the same approach. Jon Favreau has already said that, budget permitting, he'd like to shoot some scenes for Iron Man 2 with the large format cameras. Eagle Eye director D.J. Caruso has the same thing up his sleeve for an adaptation of Y: The Last Man. Now Michael Bay is stepping up to the 70mm camera, with Variety reporting that he will shoot at least three scenes from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen using the IMAX technology. Last summer, Transformers was a big hit in IMAX theaters, although it was just a standard up-conversion of the existing 35mm print. But with The Dark Knight making $60 million - or one dollar for every $8.70 the film has made in the United States - on IMAX screens, directors, producers, and studios alike are all taking notice of the potential to not just increase their audience, but to almost create a new one. Keeping that formula the same, if Revenge of the Fallen makes another $300 million next summer, then you could add another $39 million to its haul just in IMAX receipts. And with The Dark Knight staging a re-launch in IMAX early next year, that means there's a possibility that Transformers could get a return visit, as well. But it's more than just a revenue stream. There's no way around the fact that 70mm film is better quality than 35mm. The look and sound of an IMAX presentation dwarves traditional movie theaters. By giving filmmakers what they want, IMAX is also giving audiences what they want. And this intermediate step, I hope, could lead to a feature-length film shot entirely on IMAX's 70mm cameras. It would be excruciatingly expensive, but if there was a contemporary effects movie guaranteed to make a half-billion dollars, it would be an experience the likes of which we've never seen.