Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: so apparently 35mm isn't officially dead

This is topic so apparently 35mm isn't officially dead - yet. in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Jonathan Goeldner (Member # 4854) on 02-06-2015, 01:33 PM:

from Wall Street Journal (Feb. 4, 2015)

Kodak Reaches Deals With Studios to Keep Film Business Alive

"Kodak is staying in the movie business.

More than half a year after the venerable film giant, attempting a turnaround out of bankruptcy, began seeking a way to avoid shutting down its motion-picture film business, it has deals with Hollywood’s six major studios.

Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, SonyPictures, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures and Warner Bros. have all agreed to make advance purchases of film over the next few years, based on estimates of how much they’ll need, in sufficient quantity to allow Eastman Kodak Co. to keep its film plant in operation, Chief Executive Jeff Clarke said in an interview.

Mr. Clarke began negotiations with studios last summer to seek their help in keeping his company, the last to still make motion picture film, in the business, as The Wall Street Journal reported at the time. Due to the transition to digital technology, Kodak’s motion picture film sales plummeted 96% between 2006 and 2014, making the business unsustainable.

Prominent directors including Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino and J.J. Abrams who are among the minority still shooting on film played a key role lobbying studio chiefs.

“We were very close to the difficult decision of having to stop manufacturing film,” Mr. Clarke said. “Now with the cooperation of major studios and filmmakers, we’ll be able to keep it going.”

Although the use of film prints in theaters continues to decline, Mr. Clarke said studios’ commitments to keep using “negative film” to shoot certain movies is enough, along with other initiatives at the studio, to keep the business going.

Mr. Clarke said he expects the business to break even next year and potentially return to growth in future years. Kodak also still sells film to industrial customers and is developing a business that uses a version of its motion picture film in touch screen phones and tablets."

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 02-06-2015, 03:30 PM:

Bring Out Your Dead
[evil]

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-06-2015, 03:39 PM:

I would like to see a picture of how they are going to use film in smartphones and tablets.

Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 02-06-2015, 04:32 PM:

Ninety. Six. Percent.

That is insane.

This is great news though!

Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 02-06-2015, 04:40 PM:

quote: Buck Wilson
Ninety. Six. Percent.

Geez! That IS an incredible drop!

If any other company (Radio Shack, for example) had a 96% drop in sales,
they'd have to declare bankruptcy.

- - - - oh, . . . . .wait a minute. . . [Roll Eyes]

Posted by Steve Matz (Member # 1890) on 02-06-2015, 05:56 PM:

Kodak has been a household name for longer than a Century. More than likely almost every home that ever had Photos,Slides 8mm/16mm films used Kodak in one way or another. Even though they had the opportunity to probably be on top in the Digital age going back to the 70's they dropped the ball; maybe even fearing then what eventually happen to the print film industry. I certainly would like to keep seeing and hearing their name in the Industry. they are an American Institution...

Sounds like most of the Studio's Purchases will be Negative Film Stock. Probably won't see a big flood of Release Positive Stock though. Just as long as their staying afloat will make me happy [thumbsup]

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 02-06-2015, 07:46 PM:

Is this the same deal we hailed before?

They really do need to keep archiving on film. Nothing else is as certain. And for that matter there might be opportunities for data archiving as well. When you're talking about longevity over a century it has to be film.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 02-06-2015, 08:19 PM:

If this is camera negative stock that they're going to carry on with (which has to be acetate, because the mechanisms of several widely-used cameras cannot use polyester), I wonder if Kodak will continue to supply both acetate and polyester base film. The latter is crucial for archiving (for obvious reasons).

I also wonder what is going to happening in terms of processing. Will the volume of stock that Kodak will be sending out into the marketplace be enough to keep the existing labs viable? Will Kodak eventually be processing their own stock, because no-one else will be in business doing so?

Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 02-06-2015, 08:20 PM:

It is Steve, but now it's official. They had only gotten one or two destribs to agree the last time this came up.

Glad they got saved. They'd be more worthy of a govt bail out than the banks in an alternate situation!

Posted by Jarod Reddig (Member # 6363) on 02-15-2015, 09:15 PM:

Very glad to read this. [beer]