10 Craziest Cinema Demands Made By Hollywood
3. Quentin Tarantino Resurrects the Projectionists
The celluloid v.s digital debate has been rumbling on for more than a decade now. Many directors still prefer to shoot on film, and continue to release their movies on 35mm and 70mm prints.
The problem is that many cinemas got rid of their old-school reel to reel projectors and platters, then let go of their projectionists. Many cinemas don't even hire projection staff, entrusting the running of their digital projectors to managers and trained ushers.
Skilled projectionists are therefore an endangered species, so in an attempt to protect them, Quentin Tarantino put Miramax's money where his mouth is. The studio is said to have invested $8-10 million in sourcing and rebuilding 70mm projectors in order to show Tarantino's 2015 western The Hateful Eight as the director intended.
They also trained two hundred projectionists across the US on how to operate these analogue projectors during the film's roadshow tour.
Tarantino's 70mm roadshow was arguably one of the most interesting things about The Hateful Eight. The UK leg ran into controversy when the studio chose to screen it in the iconic Odeon Leicester Square, a move that upset rivals Cineworld so much, they refused to even screen the film on digital.