Theaters hope to ‘Clone’ technology

Kirk Baird

Friday, May 17, 2002 | 9:15 a.m.

After the release of "Star Wars" in 1977 and "The Empire Strikes Back," in 1980, George Lucas had enough.

The creator of the "Star Wars" series was tired of pushing the limits of visual and sound effects in movies, only to have his attempts thwarted by theaters relying on outdated projectors and low-quality sound equipment.

In 1982 Lucas created the THX System, a quality standard for theaters that ensured both the look and sound of his films came close to matching his vision.

The modifications included everything from the latest in sound and visual equipment to improved wall insulation to keep music and sound effects from bleeding into an adjacent theater.

Having such a high standard for movie theaters as set by THX was a novel concept at the time -- one many in the film business thought would never last, especially given the expense theater owners incurred to meet those specifications.

They were wrong. THX has become a familiar element of the filmgoing experience, and educated audiences about what they should expect in their movie auditoriums. Many theater chains now routinely advertise they are not only THX certified, but have the latest in sound equipment as well.

Nearly 20 years later Lucas is again pushing the envelope of movie technology. And again, he is being met with resistance by many theater owners.

At issue is digital film, a revolutionary filming technique that records images digitally rather than on film with a traditional camera.

Lucas shot his latest epic "Star Wars" saga -- "Episode II -- Attack of the Clones," which opened Thursday -- entirely on digital, making it the first big- budget digital film.

However, few theaters are equipped digitally to show the movie the way he intended.

Compared to 6,000 film prints of "Clones" to be shown nationwide, the digital release is playing on roughly 70 screens across the country, including two in Las Vegas: Century Orleans 12, 4500 W. Tropicana Ave., and Century Sam's Town, 5111 S. Boulder Hwy.

Nancy Klasky, vice president of marketing for Century Theatres, said seeing "Clones" on a digital screen makes a difference.

"I've seen it both ways and it looks fantastic both ways," Klasky said from Century's corporate headquarters in San Rafael, Calif. "(But) a film like 'Star Wars' ... that was shot in digital is outrageously amazing in digital. It's incredibly crisp and incredibly exciting."

Few argue that a digital film shown on digital equipment visually rivals, if not surpasses, film. And digital has the benefit of never wearing out, so the 50th viewing of a digital film will look the same as the first, unlike film, which degenerates slightly upon each viewing.

The big issue with digital film is the price tag -- specifically, who is going to help pay for the digital-projection system, which can cost up to $150,000 per screen?

"If you have a 20-screen theater, that's a lot of money. This is the major stumbling block," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co., a box-office tracking firm in Los Angeles. "But (movie studios and theater owners are) working towards it. It is the future, but the future keeps getting pushed back."

Klasky said that, as much of the industry has, Century Theatres has adopted a wait-and-see attitude toward digital film and how the technology advances.

"There are a lot of things that need to be discussed and settled," in the film industry, she said. "Nothing has really been decided."

Meanwhile Century Theatres is testing three digital-projection systems -- including one in San Jose, Calif. -- for its projectors' manufacturers. The equipment was installed in March, and so far only one film has been shown digitally, "Ice Age," a computer-generated animated film.

"When we opened up 'Ice Age,' we had film on one screen and digital on another," Klasky said. "People are fascinated and interested in digital. We saw a little bit of an upward swing in the digital auditoriums."

But is digital film merely a gimmick, such as the special sound-effect process Sensurround was in the '70s?

"I think there is a side to this that will be driven to it being a gimmick, but in the long run, once the promise of digital has been lived up to, it'll be the only way you want to see it," Dergarabedian said.

As for Lucas' big push into the digital realm, Dergarabedian said the filmmaker does have history on his side.

"It often takes a visionary to lead the way into the new technological realm and often, throughout history, we've seen his sort of mentality is met with resistance," he said.

"In this case, it's not so much that theater owners are not visionaries as well. I think every theater owner would love to have a digital projector, but who's going to pay for it?"