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A coalition of leading directors including JJ Abrams, Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino and Judd Apatow has won a battle to ensure movies can still be shot and screened on traditional film.
Kodak, the last remaining manufacturer of 35mm stock in an era of increasing digital encroachment, had raised fears that it might no longer be profitable to produce celluloid. However, the company said in a statement that it would continue to make film after reaching a new agreement with studios.
"After extensive discussions with film-makers, leading studios and others who recognise the unique artistic and archival qualities of film, we intend to continue production," Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke told the Hollywood Reporter. "Kodak thanks these industry leaders for their support and ingenuity in finding a way to extend the life of film."
Interstellar director Christopher Nolan (left) and star Matthew McConaughey at Comic-Con. Nolan has been a champion of 35mm since his early days as a director. Photograph: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
It is understood the new agreement includes a guarantee from studios that they will pay for some film processing. Abrams is currently shooting Star Wars: Episode VII on celluloid, and Nolan has been using film for his upcoming space drama, Interstellar.
Tarantino expressed his distaste for digital projection technology in comments at the Cannes film festival in May.
"Why would an established film-maker shoot on digital? I have no fucking idea at all," he said. "Digital projection is death of cinema as I know it. It's television in public.
Kodak has been struggling to make profits from film after sales of 35mm stock dropped by 96 per cent over the past decade. The company, which emerged from bankruptcy-protection measures in September, is the final major manufacturer in existence following Fujifilm's decision to halt production last year.
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