Movie director Martin Scorsese has penned a statement in support of Kodak just a week after the film manufacturer decided to continue production after striking a major deal with Hollywood studios.
Variety reported that Kodak has seen sales plummet 96 percent in the past eight years, but major directors like Quentin Tarantino, Chris Nolan, J.J. Abrams, and now Scorsese have come out in support of celluloid.
"Our industry — our filmmakers — rallied behind Kodak because we knew that we couldn’t afford to lose them, the way we’ve lost so many other film stocks," he said in the statement, noting that "Casino" and "Gangs of New York" were both shot with film.
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"Film is still the best and only time-proven way to preserve movies. We have no assurance that digital informaton (sic) will last, but we know that film will, if properly stored and cared for."
Scorsese is the chairman of The Film Foundation, and said it was important for artists so often referred to as "filmmakers" to honor their history by learning about it, using it, and preserving it.
"It seems like we're always being reminded that film is, after all, a business. But film is also an art form, and young people who are driven to make films should have access to the tools and materials that were the building blocks of that art form," he wrote.
"Would anyone dream of telling young artists to throw away their paints and canvases because iPads are so much easier to carry? Of course not."
According to The Los Angeles Times, Eastman Kodak Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2012, laying off 47,000 workers, shutting down 13 manufacturing plants, and closing 130 processing labs.
Louise Kehoe, a spokeswoman for Kodak, said that after the bankruptcy and company restructuring, film emerged as just 6 percent of company revenues. She said that with the help of major studios, the company can "plan ahead and maintain production of film for the industry while gearing up for new markets, such as touch sensors."
Kodak was re-listed on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this year, on January 8.
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