Jordan Peele, Christopher Nolan & More Developing New IMAX Cameras

IMAX, the best large-format camera developer in the world, is working with some of the most tech-savvy, talented filmmakers on the planet to develop new film cameras. The Hollywood Reporter scoops that writer/directors Jordan Peele and Christopher Nolan are just two of the filmmakers giving the company feedback. They’re joined by some of the best cinematographers in the business, including Rachel Morrison (Black Panther), Bradford Young (Arrival), Linus Sandgren (No Time To Die), and Nolan’s longtime collaborator Hoyte van Hoytema. IMAX will be working with their input in an effort that includes Kodak, Panavision, and the post-production company Fotokem.

We’ll be getting another peek at what Peele can do with an IMAX camera when his hotly-anticipated third film Nope hits theaters this July 22. Peele’s hush-hush upcoming feature (we’re guessing it’s got sci-fi/alien elements) was filmed, in part, with their current generation of IMAX film cameras. Nolan has been a longtime user of IMAX’s hardware, and he’s using their technology again while he shoots his current film, Oppenheimer. 

IMAX said in a press statement that they’re planning on adding four new film cameras in the next two years, with the first going into the market as soon as 2023. The main improvement in their new generation of cameras will have to do with “usability,” which we take to mean they’ll likely be smaller, lighter, and more nimble. Aside from the price, one huge hindrance for filmmakers using IMAX cameras is their size and weight.

IMAX doesn’t just make film cameras—their digital cameras, created alongside the camera maker ARRI, are deployed in film productions all over the world. Yet for auteurs like Nolan, Peele, and the above-mentioned DPs, there remains an almost intangible quality to film stock, especially shot on a camera that offers the kind of sweeping, majestic large-format look that IMAX does. Their film cameras use 15 perforations per frame, with a horizontal 65mm frame size.

The breakdown in production appears to be that IMAX produces the cameras, Kodak the film stock, Panavision the camera services, and Fotokem the post-production and lab services.

Featured image: Caption: (L-r) Director/writer/producer CHRISTOPHER NOLAN and JOHN DAVID WASHINGTON on the set of Warner Bros. Pictures’ action epic “TENET,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon