Christopher Nolan's campaign to save film from becoming an extinct format is paying off, thanks to his sway with Hollywood studios.
On Wednesday, Paramount and Warner Bros. said that approximately 240 theaters in 77 markets that are still equipped to project 35mm and 70mm film will get Nolan's Interstellar two days early on Nov. 5, including 41 Imax locations. Some cinemas are even bringing in film projectors to play the space epic, including TCL's Chinese Imax theater in Los Angeles.
The move is a symbolic victory for Nolan and other filmmakers, including J.J. Abrams, who recently convinced Hollywood studios to keep troubled Kodak alive by paying for a certain amount of film processing. If Kodak goes out of business, film all but ends. With the rise of digital imaging technologies, Kodak's film sales have plummeted by 96 percent over the last decade. The decline has accelerated in the last two years as most theaters have completed their conversion to digital.
"We are taking a moment to acknowledge the huge heritage of film by opening the film two days early in theaters than can offer that format. Filmmakers like Chris and J.J. want to make sure that film is a part of the business going forward," Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore told The Hollywood Reporter.
As part of the initiative, Moore said Nolan is working with Google to create a community where consumers can explore what seeing a movie is like in various formats. It will be a component of Google's Interstellar homepage, which will launch shortly. "We hope this will help to engage moviegoers and improve information. We, and Chris, are big believers in seeing movies in theaters," Moore said.