Martin Scorcese to abondon film over digital

The list of directors who still shoot movies on traditional celluloid film rather than on digital media just got shorter by one as Martin Scorcese is reportedly ready to concede to the collapse of the format and turn to bits and bytes instead. His long-time editor and friend Thelma Schoonmaker cites a trend that is "getting impossible to fight."

In an interview with The Independent, Schoonmaker lauds the filmmaker for his film preservation efforts but realizes "it's just impossible to fight it anymore, the collapse of film." "Marty and I are very depressed about it. It would appear that we have lost the battle," Schoonmaker adds.

There's still an ever-shrinking legion of holdouts who appear ready to ride the celluloid ship to the bottom of the the sea however, including Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino, but it's only a matter of time before even the most hard-core film format aficionados cede to the trend being driven by the rapid adaptation to 3D projection equipment by major cinema chains around the country.

Smaller theaters unable to purchase the expensive equipment are finding it increasingly difficult to hold on in the digital world as traditional film prints are becoming more and more scarce. Also, since digital media must be preserved every five years, the long-term viability of films being made today comes into question as many studios and distributors likely won't have the money for such a high-maintenance preservation campaign.

Scorcese is set to begin production on his next feature, The Wolf of Wall Street with Leonardo DiCaprio and will shoot the film entirely on digital media. Though the filmmaker recently said he'd like to follow the success of last year's Hugo which was shot in 3D by producing more dramas in 3D, The Wolf of Wall Street will be shot digitally in 2D.