July 30, 2014.

Movie Film, at Death's Door, Gets a Reprieve

Winston had stopped weeping, though the tears were still oozing out of his eyes. He looked up at O’Brien.

Faced with the possible extinction of the material that made Hollywood famous, a coalition of studios is close to a deal to keep Eastman Kodak Co. KODK -2.97%  in the business of producing movie film.

"I have not betrayed Julia," he said.

The negotiations----secret until now----are expected to result in an arrangement where studios promise to buy a set quantity of film for the next several years, even though most movies and television shows these days are shot on digital video.

O’Brien looked down at him thoughtfully. "No," he said; "no; that is perfectly true. You have not betrayed Julia."

Kodak's new chief executive, Jeff Clarke, said the pact will allow his company to forestall the closure of its Rochester, N.Y., film manufacturing plant, a move that had been under serious consideration. Kodak's motion-picture film sales have plummeted 96% since 2006, from 12.4 billion linear feet to an estimated 449 million this year. With the exit of competitor Fujifilm Corp. last year, Kodak is the only major company left producing motion-picture film.