[hayesdaniel]

10-year veteran of the CGI trenches here. The issue isn't really technology at all - it's the people. Blockbuster films would fly out the door at 1/10th the cost if directors/writers/executives/etc could make up their minds about nearly anything. That's not bitterness talking - I'm currently exiting the industry, as pretty much all senior-level people are - it's just reality. Truth is that film is first and foremost a subjective medium and adding more tools to the toolbox only creates more decisions that can be made later and later in production. Truly, the problems created by this process massively, massively dwarf any technical hurdles.

And peripherally, the business side is an issue too. Hollywood is in effect a massive ponzi scheme, taking outside money and shifting it around from one company to another inside the hollywood bubble. Lately that money has come in the form of state and municipal tax credits, but it could come from somewhere else tomorrow. Fact is that the game is owned by 6 giant studios who have no vested interest in changing things.

It will take another major innovation from an outside force - like pixar, for example - to really shake things up. But keep your eyes peeled, because the time is very very ripe for that to happen and it will happen fast.