This holiday season, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones will be bigger than ever. Lucasfilm Ltd., The IMAX Corporation and Twentieth Century Fox have announced that Episode II will be coming to IMAX theaters in the United States and Canada starting November 1, 2002.
This is not just the projection of the standard theatrical print on an IMAX screen -- the movie will undergo the revolutionary IMAX DMR (Digital Re-mastering) process, which enhances the quality of the image and soundtrack to the huge IMAX 15/70 format. This marks the first time IMAX DMR has been used to re-master a film that was digitally captured and created.
Source: Star Wars Official Site
And there are plans for the UK and the rest of Europe too.
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In response to what Farre said, yes, it could be done. Particularly with the LOTR trilogy since Peter Jackson shot them in Super 35mm, which basically means they were shot with close to a square image, which Imax uses, and then were matted to a scope image for theatres.
I don't know how they converted Apllo 13, to the Imax image, as it was shot widescreen as far as I know, and some loss from the original framing may have occured. Apollo 13 is the first film to benefit from the new Imax process, but is only showing in a handful of Imax locations.
Of course, since AOTC was shot in high-def digital, there should be no problems. I fact there might be some additional image on the top or bottom.
According to Imax and Lucasfilm, AOTC will be cut by 23 min.(!) in order to fit the Imax format. Imax cannot show more then 2 hours without an intermission and apprently, Imax does not want an intermission.
I can't believe Lucas would allow this. NONE of the Star Wars films have ever been cut, even on American television. This has been per Lucas's instructions. To cut a film that could use 20 MORE min. just to show it on a huge screen is an unwise decision, IMHO. I hope this proves to be untrue, as I WAS looking forward to this 
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According to Imax and Lucasfilm, AOTC will be cut by 23 min.(!) in order to fit the Imax format. Imax cannot show more then 2 hours without an intermission and apprently, Imax does not want an intermission.
I can't believe Lucas would allow this. NONE of the Star Wars films have ever been cut, even on American television. This has been per Lucas's instructions. To cut a film that could use 20 MORE min. just to show it on a huge screen is an unwise decision, IMHO. I hope this proves to be untrue, as I WAS looking forward to this .
Now THAT's distressing news. There's an IMAX not too far from where I live and I was looking forward to the screening. Now I'm not sure.
That has to be about the silliest thing I've ever heard. 20 minutes over two hours, and it's not a go...they MUST have an intermission or what? they take away somebody's birthday? :rolleyes:
Are they concerned the machinery will overheat? or someone wil suffer vertigo in the thater? I mean, there must be something of a practical reason. Else this is just another rumor. Of course, I'm one of those people who insists upon investigating the how and why of pretty much everything anyway.
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That has to be about the silliest thing I've ever heard. 20 minutes over two hours, and it's not a go...they MUST have an intermission or what? they take away somebody's birthday?
I don't know the exact details on IMAX specifications but I will give you a different example as to why the film needs to be cut.
Approximately 17 minutes of DV occupy 4gb of data. If you were to transfer this to lets say a DVD, it would hold about 63 minutes. So if you wanted to add an extra 10 minutes, you will need to do so onto a new DVD. If you made the transfer in raw DVD format, without mpeg2 compression, you would only be able to hold 18 minutes into each DVD. Very expensive if you tried to make a profit
Considering that IMAX's format is more elaborate an expensive than that, an extra 23 minutes will cost millions. Not just in transfer fees and media, but time. Those minutes could mean the different in making a profit or loosing money.
Unfortunately it's true. The current IMAX projectors cannot hold more then 2 hours due to the enormous size of the film. Appolo 13 has suffered the same fate, losing 20 min. IMAX is working on upgrading their technology in order to run longer films, but it shall take some time.
Mind you, the end credits for AOTC runs approx. 6 min. and 33 seconds, so you lose some time by cutting those. But still, for something this big, IMAX should just have an intermission. Many places in Europe have one, and noone's complained about that all these years.
Personally, I think that the sacrifice made of 20 minutes is worth the experience of IMAX. Currently, I've seen more than a dozen IMAX features, including Apollo 13 and the clarity or video and sound is just so amazing. To be able to experience a Star Wars movie in this format, well, to me anyway is well worth the price.
Who in their right mind would pass up the opportunity to see Mr. Lee and Mr. McDiarmid 6 stories tall? I sure wouldn't.
How did you feel on the cutting of Apollo 13? Miss anything much?
I'm curious about AOTC, since Lucasfilm could either trim scenes down a bit or just remove whole scenes. I do know that the entire feature was transferred before editing, so that's good for future showings.
I'm leaning towards going, though IMAX tickets cost a bit. Depends on what is removed, I suppose. I must admit, seeing the last 45 min. or so in IMAX format almost sounds worth the price alone.
Very news indeed to return to after a two week vacation! I think that impressive sagas best lend themselves to the IMAX format and AOTC certainly is that! I hope I shall be able to get to a screen, I am sure watching the lightsaber battle sequences especially will be fantastic.