Back when THE WOMAN IN BLACK was first announced in 2009, reports had it that the ghost story would be filmed in 3D, but the movie opening this Friday from CBS Films is in 2D. So what happened to the extra dimension? Fango asked star Daniel Radcliffe and director James Watkins, and got some pretty forthright answers.

The idea of using the process “lasted until James and I were on board,” Radcliffe tells us. “And then we went, ‘If there’s a film that does not need 3D, this is it.’ I am not enamored of 3D, though I’m sure I’ll have to get used to it. If you really think there’s something to be gained by 3D, then fair enough. But if you just go, ‘Oh, let’s make it in 3D just because everyone’s doing it now’—why waste your money? Why charge people more? Unless there is a truly tangible benefit to the film, I don’t understand. And THE WOMAN IN BLACK…nothing about it needs 3D. It’s the same way I’ve felt—and I’ve been quite honest about this in interviews before—about the last HARRY POTTER film, which came out in 3D, and I saw it in 3D once and in 2D once. The 3D was good, but I don’t think it added much. It’s already a visually impressive film, and it didn’t need anything else on top of that. And I hate having to wear those bloody glasses. Now they’re doing 3D TVs at home, and I’m just like, ‘I don’t wanna sit and wear those glasses at home alone!’ Unless it’s a room full of people doing that, it’s like doing a Mexican wave on your own.

“When I first went on the WOMAN IN BLACK IMDb page,” he continues, “because I knew it was in preproduction when I came on board, it said, ‘In 3D,’ and I thought, ‘Why?’ And as soon as I met James, he was like, ‘No way. I’m not doing it in 3D.’ He’s not a fan of it either, particularly.”

Speaking separately to Fango, Watkins confirms that feeling. “It was never gonna be in 3D with me,” he states. “I was never, ever gonna sign up for that, and never did. I just thought it was ridiculous. It’s a ghost film; it’s about what you can’t see. It’s about what’s just beyond the edges of your vision. And to make it 3D would have diminished it for me, made it gimmicky. You get into that thing with 3D where in something like this, it probably brings out people’s basest instincts—you know, ‘I wanna see the monster comin’ at ya,’ that sort of stuff. And that’s not what I’m interested in. I’m interested in scaring people, but in a much deeper way. It’s easy to have ‘boo’ moments, but it’s less easy to get under people’s skin.”

Keep your eyes (minus 3D glasses) on this site for more on THE WOMAN IN BLACK this week, and pick up Fango #310, now on sale, for longer interviews with Radcliffe and Watkins.

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