Sub-Zero

I was wondering what happens to general release prints once a movie's theatrical run is over? I read on some websites that they are simply destroyed, but that seems like an expensive (and wasteful) thing to do. Other websites claim that studios simply save them in one of their many vaults, but with blockbuster movies now being released on thousands of screens, it seems like that would take up too much space in a relatively short amount of time. Does anyone actually know what happens to them? I assume that a studio keeps some of them for things like the occasional theatrical rerelease or private screenings, but what about the rest of those prints? Thanks to anyone that replies.

Ash Ketchum

On an Oscar telecast, Gore Vidal once referred to the film, MYRA BRECKENRIDGE (1970), a disaster based on his best-selling book, as "Six million celluloid guitar clips." I wonder if any studio exec ever took that literally.

I wonder if directors who release "director's cuts" on DVD (e.g. Peter Jackson, James Cameron) ever demand that earlier "non-director" cuts be destroyed. Decades from now, when someone's looking for an actual film print of LORD OF THE RINGS or AVATAR, since all digital files would be unplayable by then, which version do you think they'll find? And will anyone care?

Will some cult grow around Stephen Guttenberg in 2050 leading to an AFI tribute with "restored" prints of the Police Academy movies? One never knows.

Sub-Zero

Supposedly George Lucas demanded that all the copies of the original Star Wars trilogy be destroyed after he released his new Special Editions.

Mr. Salty

No, they don't keep 6,000 worn and damaged prints of every movie they release. They keep the negatives and a few prints. The rest of the prints, which are made of polyester, are destroyed and recycled.

Sub-Zero

Thanks for the information, Mr. Salty.