Listen to The Playlist‘s Kevin Jagernauth in this 6.6 introduction to this latest Peter Jackson/set of The Hobbit video: “Well, when we least heard from The Hobbit word was not good [for] at CinemaCon back in April, the director unveiled ten minutes of footage in the new fancy-pants 48fps format and attendees were mixed on the results to say the least.” Hah! Were you there, Kevin?

I have never felt so close to or supportive of Peter Jackson in my entire life. Between the 48 fps thing and his producing West of Memphis he’s the new HE Good Guy. And a brave guy and a tough hombre at that. And the people who put down what they saw in Las Vegas 45 or 50 days ago will not be feeling so proud about what they said five or ten or twenty years hence, believe me.

That Las Vegas screening of 48 fps Hobbit footage was the technological equivalent of the debut performance of Le Sacre du Printemps in Paris on 5.29.13. Or that infamous Montmartre screening of L’Age d’Or on 12.3.30. What happened that day in Vegas wasn’t “cinema,” for certain, and in fact it heralded the death of interest in cinema for the CG-fantasy-spectacle-ComicCon crowd…and so what? That crowd and that market hasn’t cared about cinema for decades.

24 fps (or, if you ask me, the preferred 30fps) cinema is for people who care about the real deal elements — story, style, character, theme, metaphor. There are tens of millions out there who live for this kind of movie, the kind that gets into your soul and excites your memory and your reflections and makes you glad you’re alive and kicking and attuned to the moment. That kind of film is eternal and will never go away.

But 48 fps will raise the impact and penetration levels for those who see movies as ADD thrill rides…which is what, 75% or 80% of the market out there? It’s a Godsend, trust me.