Matrix - Imax

From: Spudboy100@aol.com
Date: Fri Apr 25 2003 - 07:24:13 MDT

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    Clever marketing!

    http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/030423/1108001165_1.html

    Earlier Wednesday, Imax and Warner Bros., a division of AOL Time Warner Inc.
    (NYSE:AOL - News) , announced that the second and third chapters of "The
    Matrix" trilogy, to be released in the spring and fall, will be
    digitally-remastered using Imax DMR - a technology that upgrades live-action
    35mm films into the Imax experience.

    Imax has said that the simultaneous release of first-run Hollywood event
    films in its theaters is the "holy grail" for the company, and it's something
    investors have been anxiously anticipating for some time.

    Although "The Matrix Reloaded" will open in Imax theaters two or three weeks
    after its general release May 15, "The Matrix Revolutions" will open Nov. 5 in
     both conventional and Imax cinemas, marking the first time that a
    live-action Hollywood film is released concurrently in both large- and
    standard-sized formats, known in the industry as a day-and-date release.

    Richard Gelfond, co-chief executive of Imax, said the deal is a "watershed
    event" for the company, as securing "The Matrix" sequels begins to answer
    Imax customers' questions about content.

    He explained that ensuring a steady supply of content from the studios,
    especially commerical Hollywood blockbuster films, is an integral part of the
    overall business strategy - selling Imax theater systems. The other component
    is the development of a product that will lower the costs to exhibitors of
    installing an Imax system in their multiplexes, which has already been
    accomplished with the Imax MPX system, announced in February.

    'A Visual Spectacle'

    Gelfond said that "The Matrix" movies met all of the criteria for the first
    Imax DMR day-and-date release. "It's a visual spectacle, it has the kind of
    soundtrack that will take advantage of our 12,000-watt sound system," he told
    Dow Jones. "And most importantly, they're really the franchise movies of the
    year. There wasn't a better film than The Matrix, and in fact, we got a
    little lucky that there were two of them."

    He said Imax had been negotiating with Warner Bros. for the third installment
    only, but when certain executives saw the tests, they were so impressed by
    the " visual splendor" that it turned into a two-picture deal.

    Unlike the Imax DMR releases last year of "Apollo 13" and "Star Wars: Episode
    II - Attack of the Clones," "The Matrix" films won't have to be shortened, as
    Imax reel units can now support film lengths of 150 minutes.

        



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