Celebrated Hollywood auteur Christopher Nolan will become first director to use the brand-new IMAX 140mm format.
Having almost single-handedly helped not just preserve but boost the IMAX format in recent years with titles such as Interstellar and the upcoming Odyssey, Christopher Nolan is doubling down on the format — or doubling up — by planning his next shoot in the new IMAX 140mm format.
IMAX 140mm has been developed in secret and is only breaking cover with today’s announcement. Twice the size of the current 70mm film projection, and 2.15x that of the 65mm used in current IMAX cameras, Nolan and his team have been undertaking a special program of physical conditioning to be able to wield the cameras, which are also 2.15x as heavy their predecessors.
Nolan was snapped using one of the new cameras on set during production (above), and, as you can see, they are right at the edge of what could be called shoulder-mount.
“The IMAX 140mm cameras are absolute beasts, especially with the new glass that has to go in front of them to cover an image that is 14 cm wide — that’s 5.5 inches,” says a source close to the production. “He was looking to go anamorphic at first but realised in the end he would need a fork-lift to move the thing.”
The new production has not yet been named, but is thought to include some of the industry’s leading IP to help justify the cost of filming in the new format. Rumours of a rebooted Star Wars Original Trilogy and/or Lord of the Rings have not been discounted, but there are potential problems. The IMAX 140mm film magazines can only hold 500 feet of film, giving a maximum of around 90 seconds between reloads. This is half the capacity of current IMAX and scripts are being reworked to make sure that several takes can be accommodated within the restrictive time window.
There is also the question of where the finished movie can be screened to get the full benefit of the massive frame size, with Nolan reportedly talking to Sphere Entertainment about leasing existing screens for the format, or possibly building new dedicated theaters. The projectors alone are said to be the size of a VW campervan.
Despite the challenges ahead, he remains enthusiastic
“It’s like the amplifier in Spinal Tap that goes one louder,” Nolan has reportedly told friends about the new cameras. “This doesn’t go one louder though, this goes two louder. This format goes up to 12.”