You’d think with all the pushing George Lucas did with his Star Wars prequels and digital projection that the filmmaker would refuse to put out any movie that wasn’t digital. I’m just waiting for the day I have to make a trip across town to the theater with digital projection instead of using the closer one with standard projectors, and I have always assumed it would be someone like Lucas who would force that change.

Apparently George has lessened his promotion of the digital format, as JoBlo reports that this summer’s big Lucas-produced picture, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull won’t be shopped to digital theaters. According to their source, Spielberg is behind the decision, with requests made that theaters who can’t project standard 35mm film letting Paramount know they’ll have a problem, because Indy isn’t being shipped in a digital format.

I’m curious what might have led to this decision. Is Spielberg afraid of what an aged Indy might look like in digital clarity? Are the effects looking less believable if they are shown digitally? Or is Spielberg just trying to retain that serialized feeling for his hero – a character born in a 35mm world - or is that too "John McClane" for Harrison Ford's character? Of course, this also makes me wonder whether Indy will see release on the higher definition home formats or if Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will only see release on DVD when the time comes to take Indy home.