“Titanic.” “Lord of the Rings.” “Aliens.” “King Kong.” “The Terminator.” The men behind those movies, James Cameron and Peter Jackson, are among modern film's special-effects kings, advancing technology in computer-generated imagery, motion-capture photography and 3-D. They met up at Comic Con Friday for an hour-long discussion about the future of film, sharing details on their latest projects, their high-tech hopes and the undiminished allure of original, character-driven stories. The two filmmakers say they inspired each other. Cameron said it was the artistic use of “humanoid CG” in Jackson's “Lord of the Rings” films that got him rolling on “Avatar,” set for release Dec. 18. Jackson has said that the technology he used was borne out of Cameron's CGI work on “The Abyss” and “Terminator 2.” Both are thrilled by the possibilities of 3-D and plan to convert their biggest hits, “Titanic” and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, into the format. They lamented the shortage of 3-D screens. “The film industry is in this weird state of falling box office, or so the studios feel; DVDs are down, internet piracy, and it's in a fragile state,” Jackson said. “It feels like the entire industry is playing a defensive game at the moment.” Both men continue with high-tech pursuits outside of feature films. Jackson is developing a “King Kong” attraction for Universal theme parks that surrounds visitors with 3
