‘Dark Knight Rises’ DOP Wally Pfister Urges Hollywood Not To Abandon Celluloid

Academy Award-winning director of photography Wally Pfister is urging Hollywood to not abandon traditional celluloid film.

The longtime collaborator of Christopher Nolan, most recently famous for his work on The Dark Knight Trilogy talked with The Hollywood Reporter about his upcoming directorial debut and spoke to the advantages of making movies the classical way. “Chris and I—and I’m hoping other filmmakers—will fight as hard and long as we can to keep it going,” Pfister said.

Talking about the growing film-making trend in Hollywood – a preference for digital film – Pfister said:

“A lot of cinematographers really like digital cameras, but Chris and I still prefer film. There are plenty of other filmmakers out there—Paul Thomas Anderson, Spielberg, J.J. Abrams—that still prefer film. The bitter part is that it is being forced out of the market. There are plenty of us who aren’t willing to give it up yet. The sad part is these so-called market forces are pushing our film away.”

Pfister continued: “We want to be able to have an option. It can be the vinyl of image capture, but we want to be able to have access to it,” he added. “I’m planning on shooting my movie on film, 35mm anamorphic.”

Pfister is currently in the pre-production stage of his directorial debut, Alcon’s Transcendence, which will be executive produced by Nolan and his wife Emma Thomas. But who will take the reins as Pfister’s director of photography when he himself fills the director’s chair?

“I haven’t [decided] yet. We are in the final phases of that, but I don’t have to start [the cinematographer] until December,” he said, continuing, “I’m being careful and choosing wisely. It will be someone who really knows what they are doing.”

What do you think of Wally Pfister’s opinions on using classic celluloid film? Should Hollywood move toward digital or keep the tradition alive?