The Wall Street Journal, on its online site, says that secret negotiations now made public detail a coalition of studios that are said to be close to a deal to keep Eastman Kodak in the business of making motion picture film.
Reporter Ben Fritz says that Kodak’s new chief executive Jeff Clarke will not make the decision to close its Rochester, New York-based film manufacturing plant which he had considered doing. Instead of directly investing in Kodak, however, the studios are said to be committing to buying a certain amount of raw stock over the next two years.
Keeping the world loving a chemical-mechanical approach to image creation has been tough. Even as digital technology improves year by year, it gets less and less expensive to use. Fujifilm exited the motion picture film business last year while Kodak’s motion picture film business has dropped some 96% since 2006, according to the article. Filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, Judd Apatow and J.J. Abrams are said to have directly lobbied the heads of studios to find a way to support film manufacturing.
Tarantino has previously expressed his dislike of digital “film” releases, such as this extensive account of his Cannes 2014 press conference. Abrams, who is shooting his first film in the Star Wars saga-Star Wars Episode VII – on film, has also publicly discussed his reasons for using film for production.
You can read the full Wall Street Journal article here.
[…] The Wall Street Journal, on its online site, says that secret negotiations now made public detail a coalition of studios that are said to be close to a deal to keep Eastman Kodak in the business of making motion picture film. Reporter Ben Fritz says that Kodak’s new chief executive Jeff Clarke will not make the decision … […]