Speaking Tuesday at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech Conference in Aspen, Colorado, Katzenberg blamed the entertainment industry for the fact the 3D technology has yet to re-invent the movies. Executives driven by "that singular and unique characteristic that only exists in Hollywood, greed" tried to capitalize too aggressively without focusing on the quality, he explained.
"With time we'll get back to success here but it'll only come by embracing [3D] as a storytelling tool and using it to enhance the film experience," he said. Some people—he cited producer Steven Spielberg—are already doing this.
The problem is, while more people are watching movies than ever before, they aren't doing it in the theaters necessarily. Katzenberg says three factors contribute to this: "a change in habit, a change in platform, and a change in delivery." There's a huge focus, therefore, on navigating the change in business models so movie lovers get the films they want where they want them while Hollywood still makes money.
So far, Katzenberg said this is leading to bad movies—3D and otherwise. He panned the last five months' worth of movie releases across the board, calling them uncreative.
For 3D to truly take off, the movie industry needs to invest more in creativity and less in short-sighted money-making efforts. That's what will convince movie lovers that the more pricey tickets will be worth paying for.
