Greening Hollywood, Continued!

 

During the early 2010s, the rapid technological changeover from film to digital projection was reaching high speed. As Nick Leiber of Bloomberg Businessweek explains, “To induce exhibitors to purchase the equipment, celluloid prints of new movies form majors will no longer be available in the U.S. by the end of 2013, according to John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners”(53). According to Leiber, “about 26,000 of the 40,0000 screens in the U.S. have already converted” to digital (54). The changeover to digital eliminates production of celluloid, chemical processing, and the physical delivery of thousands of film prints per major feature release. This “greening” of film production distribution and exhibition had been jump-started by the success of digital films and 3D blockbusters such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II (2011) (1.3 billion in worldwide ticket sales) and Avatar (2009) (2.75 billion in worldwide ticket sales). Since 3D is now a major theatrical draw for audiences, theaters have been forced to adapt quickly by phasing in digital projection at a far higher rate than previously anticipated. IMAX Theatres, for example, have completely transitioned to digital projection. A majority of theaters worldwide will soon be projecting feature films digitally, now that box office potential for 3D has become a financial reality. 

 This success now forces far greater beneficial environmental results throughout the whole process of filmmaking and film viewing. The digital age may reduce the carbon footprint of film companies in major ways that are still being calculated. As Richard Maxwell and Toby Miller suggest, “The question is whether the digital transition will make motion pictures less ecologically destructive” despite their high-energy use and toxic waste production, especially if home viewing screens are included (75). With studio practices becoming more environmentally sound and environmental messages becoming more audience friendly, however, digital films like Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, can reach worldwide audiences, serving audiences with a potentially lighter carbon footprint. In fact, as Gendy Alimurang states in an April 12, 2012 Los Angeles Weekly piece, studios “no longer want to physically print and ship movies” because it costs only $150 for a digital copy, rather than the $1500.00/print times 4000 theatres for 35mm film. Although, as Alimurang suggests, the shift to digital will have negative consequences for independent theatres, projectionist jobs, and classic film distribution, it may also help “green” the movie business.