Just imagine experiencing The Matrix's bullet time first hand.

Gaeta underscored that there will always be one thread of movies experienced on the big or small screen because of the power of compelling performance sculpted by directors in a way that we can't construct ourselves. "But I do think that the universe these auteurs create is a place I might want to go deeper into," he offered. "So you could [experience] it the way they sculpt it, or by toggling off the camera I could get a free view version and see the whole film from any angle that you want. But it's still the performance: I'm not bending the performance, I'm not changing it, I'm not choosing an alternate angle. And I can look all around that world and get all sorts of incredible, expository information, and deepen my understanding of the characters and the world as a dividend of just having the free view.

"So all I'm saying is that the next major revolution is gonna be omni-capture of the movies and augmentation of all that stuff is not going to be dissimilar, except it'll be done with real time technology, so that, yes, we can record the world around. But there will be a time that comes in the next decade where the film will be made volumetrically and the ability to nav and explore whatever. You can serve it any way you want. You can serve it stereoscopically -- there will be holographic display systems that people will get in the next decade, for sure. There will be other kinds of formats that are more immersive, without doubt. It's a redirective, existing technology."

There will also be the possibility of having blended, augmented reality in the near future. "Just imagine how indelible it would be if I interacted with something, and if something absolutely remarkable and inspirational occurred. I think there's potential for some really good experiences."

The threat of Big Brother aside, the imagination reels with creative possibilities.

Bill Desowitz is former senior editor of AWN and editor of VFXWorld. He has a new blog, Immersed in Movies (www.billdesowitz.com), and is currently writing a book about the evolution of James Bond from Connery to Craig, scheduled for publication next year, which is the 50th anniversary of the franchise.