Today’s Daily Bite brings international news stories from CinemaCon 2012 in Las Vegas, where Hollywood director Baz Lurhmann and Twentieth Century Fox made two big announcements. Today’s round up also includes news of the highly-anticipated Beatles documentary, which finally gets a world premiere date.
Twentieth Century Fox to cease distributing 35mm film in the digital switch over… At CinemaCon 2012, Twentieth Century Fox announced it will no longer distribute 35mm film print as the company makes the transition to a digital format. The media giants plan to phase out 35mm film to make room for digital prints over the next two years, resulting in all its domestic distribution being on a digital format within two years. Fox has already begun using digital formats in Hong Kong. It is thought that 27,000 US screens have converted to digital, more than two-thirds of the total. Speaking at CinemaCon 2012, John Fithian, president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners said the organisation was working with smaller cinemas to ensure they don’t get left behind in the new media age.
Baz Lurhmann previews 3D footage of ‘The Great Gatsby’… Director Baz Lurhmann previewed 3D footage of his upcoming drama ‘The Great Gatsby’ at CinemaCon yesterday. The debut clips showed a flamboyant party at Jay Gatsby’s mansion and intimate scenes between Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Daisy (Carey Mulligan) in 3D. ‘The Great Gatsby’ was shot in 3D using Red Epic cameras and 3ality Technica rigs. It is currently in post-production as VFX nears completion. It does not yet have an Irish cinema release date, but it has been announced it will open in US cinemas on Christmas Day 2012.
>‘The Beatles: The Lost Concert’ gets world premiere date… Screenvision, the US-based media company has announced May 6 as the world premiere for ‘The Beatles: The Lost Concert’ documentary. The 92-minute film will premiere in New York’s Ziegfield Theatre, which will be followed by limited releases on May 17 and May 22. The documentary captures the birth of Beatlemania and the fab-four’s first ever full US concert in Washington DC in 1964. Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler and Beatles historian Bruce Spizer are among the interviewees discussing the Liverpool band’s influence on music. Archive footage of the band in Washington DC has been researched and restored, and shows the band playing hits like ‘She Loves You’ and ‘Twist and Shout’ from their 12-song set.
>If you watch one trailer today…> Selected yesterday as a Producer On The Move for Cannes, one of Fastnet Films Morgan Bushe’s forthcoming production credits includes work on ‘Inside Out’, a documentary about rock photographer Anton Corbijn. Here’s the trailer:
