One of the most fascinating film geek stories of the last decade or so has to be James Cameron, who started out as an inventive and efficient director of innovative, relatively small science fiction thrillers, moved on to big-budget-but-still-entertaining action films, then took years and hundreds of millions of dollars to craft one of the most mawkish and all-around gargantuan movies in cinema history…then essentially stopped working. Well, he stopped making movies, anyway, which you can’t really blame him for. Where do you go after something like Titanic, I guess?

If you’re Cameron, you have a good time puttering around in the ocean with neat-o technology, plan another ridiculously ambitious and expensive movie for 2009, and pair up with Interscope/A&M/Geffen chairman Jimmy Iovine to produce music films and concerts in 3-D…?:

As part of a newly created venture, Mr. Cameron is working with Jimmy Iovine, the chairman of the Interscope Geffen A&M record label, to produce music films, concerts and other content in 3-D to show in specially equipped theaters. Mr. Iovine and Mr. Cameron hope to deliver their first production by summer.

The two acknowledge that they have yet to work out many details: they say they don’t know how many productions will be created or which artists will be featured, but the idea has been discussed with Interscope artists including Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails. Many music fans may be too young to recall the last time 3-D was in vogue: the 1980s, when hordes donned flimsy multihued glasses to watch “Jaws 3” and other attractions.

But the latest version of the technology has Hollywood buzzing again, particularly since 3-D showings of animated fare like “Chicken Little” have racked up impressive sales. Mr. Cameron is at work on a $200 million 3-D feature titled “Avatar.”

Mr. Iovine and Mr. Cameron are aware of the odds of changing consumer behavior. They are wagering that fans will be willing to trek to a movie theater and pay perhaps a few dollars more than the price of a regular ticket to see their favorite stars on the big screen and in 3-D. The glasses now resemble standard sunglasses, and musicians may be able to make their own designs.

I admit, this venture could be kind of cool, but it has a certain “I’ll believe it when I see it” quality. Cameron’s a smart guy — he could just be trying to get the public more used to the idea of 3-D not being a dead fad, or working to get 3-D projection technology in more theaters in preparation for Avatar.

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