J.J. ABRAMS RAPS IMAX FILMING, WON’T USE IT FOR STAR WARS SEQUEL

Other producers of tentpole movies may be enthralled by the clarity and scope of IMAX filming; still others delight in the speed and efficiency of digital cameras, but J.J. Abrams has indicated he’s going to make the next Star Wars episode the old fashioned way — on film. Speaking to the Television Critics Association to promote his new television series Believe, Abrams said, “The problem with IMAX is it’s a very loud camera. It’s a very unreliable camera. Only so much film can be in the camera. You can’t really do intimate scenes with it. It’s slow, they break down often. Having said that, they’re working on digital versions of these and so there may be a version one day…but we’re going to be shooting [Episode VII] on film.” Abrams also disclosed that the script of the movie, which he wrote with Lawrence Kasdan, has been completed, “and we’re in deep prep[aration]. Full steam ahead.” Filming, he said, is expected to begin in May.