Star Wars Episode IX Will Be Shot On 65mm Film.
J. J. Abrams shot Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens on 35mm film and IMAX, and Rian Johnson followed suit with Episode VIII by filming it on 35mm film as well, though he has apparently opted out on IMAX for “logistical reasons”. Now it appears as though Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow will continue this trend of using a physical format over digital by upping the ante set by Abrams, utilizing 65mm film and IMAX.
From The Playlist:
Today Kodak announced that in their processing facility in the U.K., they’ve added the capabilities to handle 65mm, and one of the projects listed to use Kodak 65mm stock is Star Wars: Episode 9. John Schwartzman will be reteaming with director Colin Trevorrow following Jurassic World (the press release mistakenly lists J.J. Abrams as the director of the film) to lens the project, and for both it’ll be a return to 65mm, which they partially used on the dinosaur blockbuster, though it sounds like Episode 9 will fully utilize the format.
While plenty of people enjoyed Jurassic World, there are many who still have mixed feelings about his writing and directing work on that movie, and are thus ambivalent on his ability to handle a defining chapter to the Star Wars franchise. Still, it can’t be denied that this news establishes that Trevorrow’s got a lot ambition for Episode IX – especially considering that at he has plans to actually film an IMAX sequence in outer space!
Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.
I am a massive advocate of film over digital, but that’s simply a personal preference. What matters is whether the final product is a great contribution to the Star Wars universe or not!
65 mm? I guess we’ll be getting some sweeping landscapes else what’s the point?
I have total faith in this director. His indie flick Safety Not Guaranteed is one of my favorites.
Agreed! A good character movie, which is encouraging. Also, he did a nice job of keeping suspense in the movie as to whether the main subject was real or the inventions of a crazy person, and it was handled deftly.
I don’t know much about him, but if you say it’s a good character movie then it makes me feel better. Too many blockbusters forget about the characters, as JJ really made us care about the new characters in TFA.
Yeah, totally. I’d recommend checking out that movie, which is worlds away from Jurassic World. I do have a bit of trepidation about Trevorrow because of many aspects of Jurassic World (including annoying child actors, bad dialog, goofy situations, and cliches upon cliches), but I’m hoping that it was all due to an intrusive studio and not his own failings.
Hopefully, @Speednet21:disqus
The real question could be why the studio would hire the director of an indie flick to handle a major-budgeted franchise film :/
This is happening more and more often these days..
It’s so that they can boss around the indie director and *occasionally* ask him to add his own artistic sensibilities. it’s kind of messed up if you ask me, and can end up in a Josh Trank/Fantastic 4 situation.
He didn’t write the script. He directed the movie. He did what he could and he did a pretty good job. Everything you listed has always been apart of Jurassic Park so, he did the franchise justice.
No need to defend Trevorrow’s Star Wars movie until there is something to defend. I am simply saying there are some things that point to a potentially good movie, and some things make me nervous that it will not be so great. Of course I’m HOPING for a home run.
I’m defending him actually, not his potential movie.
I have hopes. He can still drop the ball, but I’m not going to worry about it until you know, at least VIII comes out 😉
yeah but the problem CT will work with same guy who made the script of JurassicWorld. But i have hope. It’s Star Wars.
Considering most of the character development tends to be in the second episode of any given SW film, let Trevorrow handle the spectacle of 9.
“though he has apparently opted out on IMAX for ‘logistical reasons'”
You misread they said. Rian Johnson is still shooting in IMAX. What The Playlist said was that Rian Johnson opted of using 65mm film for logistical reasons, not IMAX. Disney would sooner spend a fortune than they let a Star Wars movie be released to theaters without IMAX footage.
We’ll, it’s tricky, considering what IMAX has become. The good news is they now can develop a new camera to film in 15/70 digitally, since their new laser projection [finally] allows them to fill that original 1:43 screen.
FILM is always superior to Digital. The authentic feel is indescribable.
I agree, in most cases. The colder, crisper qualities of film are very good for certain projects. But for preservation (Star Wars films need to be preserved, obviously) the “unlimited” resolution of film is most definitely a good quality. ROgue One being shot digitally is still fine, of course.
I am extremely Excited about this. Also, excited to see Rogue shot on the new 65mm Arri Alexa camera. The thing is…. Film is at the end, it won’t get any better. digital is just getting started. So while film might be superior in many respects right now, it will be overcome in the near future. Especially with the advent of HDR, and larger sensors, etc.
I highly recommend watching the documentary ‘Side by side’. It is about film vs digital, and it is quite good. It WAS on netflix for a while, it may still be.
Yeah, I agree. Digital will continue o advance, while film will stay as-is forever. I’ll have to check out that documentary.
Thx for the recomendation. I will check it out.
Ehh film has it’s own look. Digital is great but it’s not the same as film and never will be. If budget wasn’t a issue I would probably shoot everything on film.
RO wasn’t shot digitally.
“there are many who still have mixed feelings about his writing and directing work on that movie”
He didn’t write it. And his directing was fine on it. If there is a problem with JW, it is in the story. But his work on the movie is perfectly serviceable and no more or less than Episode IX needs.
Nothing personal about Colin Trevorrow but Rian Johnson is such a wonderful film maker that I still hope they hire him to be the director of Episode IX as well.
– lists J.J. Abrams as the director of the film –
We can only hope.
I thi k he can pull it off 😉
They can film the thing on video tape as far as i’m concerned – as long as it’s good and has a compelling, original story – though film would be nicer 🙂
I mustn’t be a cinema buff as I cant tell the difference…