The Daily Populous

Thursday January 30th, 2020 day edition

image for Studios Re-up Kodak Deals to Keep Celluloid Film Alive

Film traditionalists can breathe a sigh of relief.

The five major studios — Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros. — have inked new deals with Kodak, the film manufacturer said Wednesday, committing to buying undisclosed amounts of motion picture celluloid and thus guaranteeing its continued use for the foreseeable future.

The first such pacts between Kodak and the studios were struck in early 2015, roughly 18 months after the film manufacturer emerged from bankruptcy protection.

At the time, its film sales had plummeted as the use of digital imaging technology rose, and the agreements were designed to keep Kodak’s film manufacturing business going.

The initial 2015 deals were believed to have covered two years, and the latest pacts, which were set to be officially unveiled Wednesday night at the Kodak Film Awards, are believed to span a longer period.

Lifetime achievement honoree Quentin Tarantino and Auteur Award recipients Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach shot Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Little Women and Marriage Story, respectively, on film, as did J.J. Abrams for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Martin Scorsese, who relied on a combination of film and digital for The Irishman.

Tarantino and Abrams have been particularly vocal proponents of celluloid, along with Christopher Nolan, whose upcoming Tenet, along with Cary Joji Fukunaga’s James Bond movie No Time to Die, lead the 2020 releases that ensure that shooting on film is not going away anytime soon. »

Scottish parliament votes to hold new independence referendum

Authored by euronews.com

Scotland’s Parliament voted Wednesday to hold a new referendum on Scottish independence, a move intended to increase political pressure on the British government as the UK leaves the European Union.

A binding referendum can’t take place without the British government's agreement, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson this month turned down the Scottish government's request for one on the independence question.

Scottish lawmakers also voted to keep the European Union flag flying outside the Scottish Parliament after Brexit. »

Conservative Pastor Says Jesus Would Have 'Beat The Crap' Out of John Bolton

Authored by newsweek.com

The preacher suggested on Twitter that Bolton was a traitor deserving of physical punishment for not remaining loyal to Trump.

The preacher also claimed that Jesus Christ would have launched a violent attack on Bolton over the alleged betrayal.

Right-wing pastor Rodney Howard-Browne wishes that he had physically attacked John Bolton when he had the chance and says that Jesus would have "beat the crap out of him." »

Trump's $1 billion deficit should make you furious.

Authored by slate.com

The federal deficit is expected to pass $1 trillion this year and keep rising over the coming decade, the Congressional Budget Office projected this week.

Given the way Trump has added to the red ink in large part by slashing taxes for the wealthy?

Here’s an easy way to think about how much the White House’s policies have widened the deficit. »

MoviePass parent Helios and Matheson files for Chapter 7 and stock falls to zero

Authored by marketwatch.com

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company, which shuttered MoviePass back in September, said board members Prathap Singh, Gavriel Ralbag, Muralikrishna Gadiyaram and Joseph Fried have tendered their resignations, leaving the company with no remaining board members.

Parthasarathy Krishnan has resigned as the Interim chief executive and Robert Damon has resigned as interim chief financial officer.

Before launching MoviePass, Helios and Matheson was a small data-analytics company. »