The jury's still out on whether 3D is the industry savior that its biggest proponents envisioned, but the Producers Guild of America has cast a vote in favor: on Tuesday, the PGA announced that its 2011 Vanguard Award will go to the RealD company, a leader in global 3D technology.
RealD's two co-founders, CEO Michael V. Lewis and president Joshua Greer, will accept the award at the 22nd annual PGA Awards ceremony on January 22 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.
“A global leader in the 3D space, RealD has not only delivered the most innovative technologies but also has made a commitment to provide quality entertainment for a premium viewing experience,” PGA Awards chair Paula Wagner said in a Producer Guild press release announcing the honor.
The Vanguard Award is designed to honor achievements in new media and technology; Joss Whedon won it at the January 2010 PGA ceremony, while past recipients include George Lucas, James Cameron, John Lasseter and the founders of MySpace and YouTube.
From the PGA press release:
"RealD pioneered today’s digital 3D and is a leading global licensor of 3D technologies that enable a premium 3D viewing experience in movie theaters, the home and elsewhere. RealD’s 3D technology for movie theaters is the world’s most widely used including 17 of the 18 largest movie theater exhibitors in the world and approximately 9,300 RealD 3D-enabled screens installed worldwide. An all-time high of approximately 22 films will be released in RealD 3D in 2010, and approximately 32 additional films are projected for release in RealD 3D in the coming year.
"Beyond entertainment, RealD continues to be widely recognized as a leader in 3D technology with award-winning intellectual properties utilized by research organizations including NASA, the military and Fortune 500 companies – specifically for applications such as piloting the Mars Rover."
While 3D was a selling point for "Avatar," the top-grossing movie of all time, as well as a feature of some of the year's biggest films, including "Alice in Wonderland" and "Toy Story 3," it has generated a decreasing amount of revenue.
