DirectorColin Trevorrowis keeping it old school when it comes to shooting thefinal chapterin the currentThe Force Awakenstrilogy. As he begins to prep forStar Wars: Episode IX, he has made the promise to shoot it on film, not digital. SomethingGeorge Lucaswould never do, even though fanspetitionedto have the original creator of this universe replace the man behindJurassic World. The reason for shooting on film is simple. Colin Trevorrow likes watching period movies that were shot on the format, and he doesn’t much care for digital cameras. Speaking at aPress Conferenceat Sundance, the filmmaker had this to say on Thursday.
“There’s something in my brain that says, ‘well they didn’t have video cameras then’.”
There is a current push in Hollywood to keep shooting on film stock, and Colin Trevorrow is one of the voices behind the movement. He believes that digital cameras are ‘anachronistic’, and thatStar Warsis of a different place and time period. In fact, he truly believes that Star Wars: Episode IX is something that really did take place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. He stated the following.
“It’s a period film. It happened a long time ago.”
Most theaters are in the process of switching to digital projectors. And most studios are pushing to have directors abandon the idea of shooting on film. Most believe it is too expensive and far too cumbersome a practice to carry on into the future.Christopher Nolanis one of the directors trying to keep the format in use, and has continued to shoot his last couple of projects on film. He claims that it is all a “corporate conspiracy” and “a culture around wanting to kill film.” And he noted the media’s urgency to report all the technical problems directorQuentin Tarantinorecently experienced with his 70mm roadshow presentation ofThe Hateful Eight.Christopher Nolanwent onto discuss how digital projectors are just as likely to break down as film projectors. About shooting on film versus shooting on digital, he exclaimed the following.
“There needs to be a choice. As a medium it will continue to exist. It has to continue to exist. It’s pointless to pretend it has to go away.”
Colin Trevorrow hopes that other filmmakers begin to sing the praises of celluloid, and that the format doesn’t become the new ‘vinyl’. And it’s believed that shooting on film will prolong thecinematic experiencecurrently being threatened by in-home streaming. To keep movie houses alive,Christopher Nolanbelieves that everything is going to have to get bigger and better, with improved screens and seating experience. What do you think? Are you happy to hear thatStar Wars 9is being shot on film as opposed to digital? Or does it even matter, when Los Angeles has only one theater that screened Star Wars: The Force Awakens on 35mm film?
