A few words from the operator of a little movie theater in New York City (where we are using more and more FLOSS, including (K)Ubuntu):

You say that moving around chunks of celluloid has no place in today’s movie world. Of course, your perspective echoes that of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner, who through their U.S. based 2929 companies have advocated and moved toward the simultaneous release of movies on DVD, cable television, and theatrically (with bittorrent-esque plans in the works). These plans of course are implemented through 2929’s Landmark Theater chain, HD-NET television, and Magnolia Films.

Certainly, such “day and date” releasing holds some wisdom. However, few movie theater operators see that wisdom, unless they are vertically integrated - as 2929 is - with the distribution and / or production entities that would stand to benefit most from day an date. Of course, such vertical integration is illegal in the U.S. because of the famous 1948 Paramount decision (although that decision has not been enforced since the Reagan era, which has paved the way not only for Cuban’s endeavors but also the growth of certain parts of Sony and also of sectors of Rainbow Media [Bravo / IFC, etc], to name only some of the most obvious examples).

But let’s backtrack a moment. Let’s step away from the economic imperatives, and revel at the artworks.

You say the physical constraints of celluloid have “no place in today’s era of instant, global, digital distribution.”

With due respect, not only are you wrong, but I hope that this perspective remains wrong for a long time to come.

One of the great pleasures of some movies is seeing them through celluloid projection. Without getting into the physics and chemistry of it, the presentation to and effect upon the spectator is different - and often intentionally so. Why should we force filmmakers to abandon those tools of creating and shaping our experiences? Perhaps those tools will be used less, much as analog audio tape and vinyl have been used less for audio recording and duplication, respectively. Perhaps, in time, unambiguously superior digital formats will emerge, next to which 35mm will assume a quaintness similar to that which 8mm and 16mm hold today next to 35mm. But, today, 16mm and 8mm endure as formats that can be and are used to interesting ends in our exhibition contexts to this day. Are they minority? Sure. But should there be a place for them? Absolutely. Similarly, should there be a place for 35mm celluloid film creation and exhibition today, and into the future? Absolutely. Perhaps not the same dominant place that 35mm holds in most cinemas today (not including my theater, where we show maybe 50% 35mm, 50% relatively high video formats). But let’s not abandon a useful and glorious mode of display just because a certain digital encoding is more cost effective (and, when both formats are available, often inferior).

Digital distribution methods offer many exciting new possibilities for moving image exhibition in the future. Cuban and co are hustling toward that future in fits and starts, as are their peers (and it is quite relevant that the 2929 companies’ “day-and-date” program seems to have stagnated after all sorts of beginning ballyhoo, though competing programs have remained on track. Other important aggregation endeavors are also heading toward that future, including aggregators AppleTV, Netflix Digital Download, Amazon/TiVo, Blip.TV, and the magnificent Democracy Player (aka Miro; and could someone please do something like this in KDE?). The Ubuntu project evokes endless exciting possibilities for this future, such as Edubuntu providing good video editing software to classrooms. Ubuntu Studio, Ubuntu Multimedia Center, and MythTV, and other projects also offer great hope.

But please, let’s not tell all musicians to burn their grand pianos and buy electronic keyboards. Let them play their instruments, too.

Ray Privett
Pioneer Theater (and other stuff)
New York City
USA
North(ern) America

Mark Shuttleworth says:

Thanks for a wonderful comment that reminds us of the art in the entertainment! With hindsight,  I agree wholeheartedly that the world would be impoverished if it lost celluloid entirely. I imagine that aficionados will savour 35mm for a very long time, and that the celluloid itself will become increasingly rare and valuable. In a digital age, real things have an entirely new allure and substance. I hope that you are able to sustain your business and passion despite the inevitable shift towards an all-digital distribution model.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

– Benjamin Franklin