CineComm will have its first use exhibiting the new Star Wars prequel. Qdog could have an allegorical field day with the "evil empire", Darth Vader etc.
Thursday March 11, 5:58 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Star Wars: Episode I - the Phantom Menace to be First Motion Picture
Released in Digital Projection
LAS VEGAS--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--March 11, 1999--Marking the first time in motion picture history that a widely
released feature film will be made available to moviegoers via digital projection, George Lucas announced at the ShoWest
convention in Las Vegas last night that digital projection of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace will take place on four screens beginning June 18, 1999.
(The film will open nationwide on May 19, 1999.)
Earlier in the day Lucasfilm concluded separate agreements with CineComm Digital Cinema and Texas Instruments, two of the industry's leading forces in digital
projection of motion pictures, to provide this opportunity to showcase this new technology to the public using The Phantom Menace.
The agreement is being announced jointly today by Lucasfilm President Gordon Radley, CineComm Chairman/CEO Michael Targoff, Texas Instruments Senior Vice
President and Manager of the Digital Imaging Division Bob England. CineComm and Texas Instruments will each provide their digital projector technology on two
screens in two cities, exact locations to be determined and announced at a later date.
Lucasfilm President Gordon Radley stated, ''We went to CineComm and Texas Instruments because we wanted to bring the reality of digital projection to the eyes
of the public as soon as possible. We are excited about the potential that this will bring to the entertainment industry and the benefits it will provide to the public.
''We're also delighted to provide this showcase to both of the leading developers of digital projector technology.''
Commenting on the agreement, CineComm chairman Michael Targoff stated, ''We are thrilled not only to be working with George Lucas, but as part of the most
anticipated motion picture of the decade. Twenty years ago Star Wars represented the leading edge in film production technology and we are honored to provide this
much-awaited 'prequel' with a concomitant level of technology in its theatrical exhibition.''
''This is both an enormous honor and a significant achievement for us,'' said Bob England, Senior Vice President and Manager of the Digital Imaging Division of
Texas Instruments.
''It is an honor for us to be chosen by Lucasfilm to participate in an entertainment event for which millions of people have been waiting for a long time. It is a
significant achievement because it demonstrates that we are within reach of achieving our goal -- that Texas Instruments' DLP Cinema(tm) technology delivers an
on-screen image which rivals and perhaps even surpasses film.''
Earlier Wednesday at ShoWest, the annual forum for film exhibitors and distributors, CineComm and Texas Instruments hosted a demonstration of Digital Cinema
that was viewed by over 3,000 motion picture executives, exhibitors and filmmakers.
Lucasfilm is one of the leading film and entertainment companies in the world. Lucasfilm's businesses include George Lucas' film and television production and
distribution activities as well as the business activities of the THX Group. Lucasfilm's feature films have won 17 Oscars and received 56 Academy Award
nominations, and its television projects have won 12 Emmy Awards.
CineComm Digital Cinema represents a new paradigm in the end-to-end electronic delivery and projection of first-run theatrical motion pictures to theaters across
the globe.
Working in tandem with world leading technology providers Hughes-JVC Technology (a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan Victor Corp.) and QUALCOMM
Incorporated (Nasdaq:QCOM - news), filmmakers and studios, CineComm Digital Cinema will replace a century-old tradition of celluloid with a cost effective
system that delivers first-run film quality, reduces piracy and provides maximum flexibility in distribution.
CineComm Digital Cinema is based in Los Angeles, California.
Texas Instruments Incorporated is a global semiconductor company and the world's leading designer and supplier of digital signal processing solutions, the engines
driving the digitization of electronics. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company's businesses also include materials and controls, educational and productivity
solutions and digital imaging.
The company has manufacturing or sales operations in more than 25 countries. Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol
TXN.
|
