Keanu Reeves Foresees Death of Analog Film

by Nada Weigelt

The analog film will soon be dead, according to Hollywood star and director Keanu Reeves.

It will survive digital technology only in niche areas, the 47-year actor -- who starred in movies including Matrix and Point Break -- told dpa at the Berlin Film Festival, where he is presenting his documentary Side by Side.

Digital technology is unstoppable, according to Reeves. With the decline of analog film, "we lose a medium that made film history for a hundred years."

In Side by Side, producer and interviewer Reeves explores the effects of the digital revolution on the film industry, discussing it with legendary directors such as Martin Scorcese, David Lynch, George Lucas, Steven Sonderbergh and Lars von Trier.

The film concludes that, while the two technologies still live side by side, this coexistence will not last for long.

Reeves resorted to digital technology for his directorial debut in Man of Tai Chi. The Kung Fu film has a "very ambitious" script and involves 20 shooting locations in China, so the producer decided that digital technology would help to widen the scope of the film, Reeves said, adding that this was "the right decision."

Despite his stints as director and producer, Reeves does not want to give up acting.

"I love this profession," said the Canadian, who is one of the best-paid actors in Hollywood and will be seen this year in the Japanese historical drama 47 Ronin.