New 3D Society Presents Awards

Disney Pixar’s animated feature “Up” and DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg were recipients at the inaugural International 3D Society Awards taking place Feb. 23 in Hollywood. The big winner of the night was no surprise: mega-blockbuster “Avatar” came away with six Lumiere statuettes, including Live Action 3D Feature of the Year. The International 3D Society is a relatively new organization and more evidence the film format is gaining traction in the entertainment industry. The society has a mission to advance the arts and sciences of 3D technologies and executives from The Walt Disney Co. and 3ality Digital in Burbank serve on the board of governors. The group recognized Katzenberg with the 3DVision Award for his championing of the 3D format that helped change its perception with the public and the press. “He stepped forward and took a stand,” said Lenny Lipton, a pioneer in 3D technology and co-chair of the awards program that took place at the Mann Theatres in the Hollywood and Highland complex. Katzenberg put DreamWorks Animation on a track to release its entire animated feature slate in 3D starting with last spring’s “Monsters vs. Aliens.” Katzenberg was not present to accept the award. “Moving into 3D, Jeffrey Katzenberg wanted to take advantage of it as a tool to create ways to bring the audience into the experience in a way that has never been done before,” said John Batter, co-head of production of the Glendale animation studio who accepted the award. “Up” won the animated 3D feature of the year and “Partly Cloudy” also from Pixar won best short 3D motion picture. In addition to winning the Live Action 3D feature, “Avatar” also won Best 3D Character of the Year, Best 3D Scene of the Year, Best Live Action Stereography, Outstanding Achievement in 3D Visual Effects, and Outstanding Achievement for Marketing 3D Content. Actor Giovanni Ribisi, who played the lesser of the two heavies in the sci-fi epic, accepted several of the awards on behalf of director James Cameron and producer Jon Landau.