Shooting films with digital cameras may sound convenient, but a group of today’s beloved directors have gotten together to convince Eastman Kodak Co. to keep tradition alive. Christopher Nolan, J.J. Abrams, Judd Apatow and Quentin Tarantino are pushing the company to keep making actual film.
New Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke revealed to The Wall Street Journal that the company is in talks with the major Hollywood studios to keep film stock alive. The studios would be required to buy up a certain amount of film, which will be made at Kodak’s Rochester, New York plant, which was about to be closed.
The company is now the only one making real film stock, since Fujifilm Corp. stopped making it last year.
While it makes business sense to stop making film stock altogether - sales have dropped 96 percent since 2006 - the filmmakers behind some of the most acclaimed movies in recent years still like the nostalgic and organic feel of film stock. Nolan has already said that he doesn’t like digital filmmaking and Abrams is making Star Wars: Episode VII with traditional film.
Bob Weinstein, co-chairman of Weinstein Co., told the WSJ that Tarantino personally pushed for his studio to back the proposal. “It's a financial commitment, no doubt about it,” Weinstein said. “But I don't think we could look some of our filmmakers in the eyes if we didn't do it.”
Apatow also told the WSJ that he’s picked film for his current project, Trainwreck.
The studios in talks with Kodak are Disney, Warner Bros., Universal and Paramount. Looks like Fox missed the invitation.
image courtesy of Jennifer Graylock/INFphoto.com