'Batman v Superman' Helps Keep Film Alive

Film – actual movie film – has been in danger of extinction for a long while now. While it’s been the industry standard since day one, digital recording and storage have made film making more accessible and perhaps easier to edit. If Kodak has it’s way, however, change won’t come so soon.

"Kodak (KODK) announced today that it has finalized new film supply agreements with all six major Hollywood studios. As part of these agreements, Kodak will continue to provide motion picture film to 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., NBC Universal Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp. and Sony Pictures for their movie and television productions.“Film has long been – and will remain – a vital part of our culture,” said Jeff Clarke, Kodak chief executive officer. “With the support of the studios, we will continue to provide motion picture film, with its unparalleled richness and unique textures, to enable filmmakers to tell their stories and demonstrate their art.”Kodak has been engaged in broad discussions with prominent filmmakers, studios, independent artists, production companies, and film processors to enable film to remain a fundamental medium. Last July, the studios made known their intent to play a key role in leading this industry-wide effort.Prior to the agreements being finalized, several highly acclaimed films were produced on film, including Oscar® nomineesBoyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Interstellar, Foxcatcher, Into the Woods, Leviathan, Inherent Vice and The Judge. Additionally, some of the most-anticipated films of 2015 are being shot on Kodak film, such as Star Wars: Episode VII –The Force Awakens, Mission: Impossible 5, Batman v. Superman – Dawn of Justice, Jurassic World, Ant-Man,Cinderella, Entourage, and Trainwreck."

Kodak is desperately trying to keep film relevant, and understandably so. To this day, nothing is as sharp or rich as color on film. That won’t last forever, but Kodak seems to understand that, too.

"The agreements announced today make it possible for Kodak to continue to manufacture motion picture film while also pursuing new opportunities to leverage film production technologies in growth applications, such as touchscreens for smartphones and tablet computers. This also positions the company to remain the premier supplier of camera negative, intermediate stock for post production, and archival and print film."

It sounds like the company is trying to use it’s film manufacturing to keep their R&D branches afloat.

Film is great, to be sure, but it won’t last forever. Let’s enjoy it while we can.

Source: BusinessWire

‘Batman v Superman’ Helps Keep Film Alive

By Skip Harvey | Feb 7, 2015