Anthony Wood
Writer/Producer
“Just shoot film” is the most “let them eat cake” phrase I’ve ever heard. Tarantino can say this because he shoots with budgets upwards of 90 million $$$. He wipes his ass with fifty dollar bills. Some of us can’t afford the burdensome costs of shooting film: crews, labs, digital transfers, reshoots. If today’s digital were around when he was shooting “Reservoir Dogs” you can bet your ass he’d be using it. Would have given him more flexibility and time. Maybe would have been an even better film. His statements are arrogant. He’s a hack.
It's not censorship. It's free market. Today's climate has been rightfully hypersensitized, and extreme comments, especially with the wide open social media landscape, have consequences. Censorship by definition means she would not be allowed, by law, to state her opinions, and would receive legal penalties, including jail time, for stating them. That didn't happen. She basically broke a companies employee standards, which you do promise to uphold when you sign a contract. It's like you work for a store that has a dress code, and you come in wearing a bearskin rug and no pants. They have a right to fire you for that.
Directors like Tarantino and Christopher Nolan can tout film all they want. They also shoot films with budgets that let them wipe their asses with fifty dollar bills. Digital requires less crew, is less expensive overall and, as Deakins said, causes less stress on the DP in terms of exposure and overall look. Any look that film gives you can be achieved in post with digital. Even that "almighty grain" they keep going on and on about. Most directors and DP's love film for the alchemy of it. The "don't question me, I have an eyepiece and a spot meter. I'm the professional." There's a great interview with David Fincher about how the film DP on "Seven" screwed him on several scenes that were not lit or shot the way Fincher wanted, even though the DP assured him it was. Digital offers a democratization of the production process that film DP's despise, because it disempowers them.
Yes, in the film "Seven" evil wins. Because, sometimes...evil wins.
And you can substitute "video editor" with "Secretary of State", "Vice President" and "President", among many others.
Film is a hands-on, collaborative process in all other aspects of production. DPs trained in the “alchemy” of film need to adapt to that. They are still in charge of image and use their vast talents to produce them. But they need to give up ownership, as other departments do.