cowpies and roadkill are excluded from this offer
technology as an after-burner

The New York Times has a story on Landmark Theaters' plans to install high-definition projectors into each of its 57 theaters. Landmark, which owns the Dobie Theater in Austin also plans to produce low-budget digital feature to play on the new digital screens. Yet, according to the story, some indie purists are skeptical of Landmark's intentions.

Some in the independent film community fear that as Mr. Cuban and Mr. Wagner reach for this integrated, high-tech future, they will ultimately veer toward more commercial fare, putting a cultural resource at risk.

<lil jon voice>What?</lil jon voice> The article doesn't mention that producing a movie on film is more expensive by orders of magnitude than producing a movie on HD video. By offering digital projectors in its theaters filmmakers who shoot and edit on DV will be spared the cost of making a 35mm transfer, so it will be less expensive for DV filmmakers to reach commerical exhibition and decrease the amount of time it takes to get a movie to the theater. With digital projection, a poor MFA student could bring a timely documentary to the Dobie just in time for election day, rather than waiting for a 35mm print.

Posted by McChris at July 19, 2004 05:14 PM
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Good point.

A couple of years back I heard that at that time some theater chains were investing in digital projection technology primarily for the simulcast and corporate event market.

Posted by: Prentiss Riddle at August 3, 2004 07:47 AM
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