FilmThreat has a new article on the differences between the digital and traditional prints of Star Wars and much more. Here's a clip:

Now I have seen both the digital and 35mm presentation of Clones and I will say that the digital presentation is clearly superior. The digital print revealed sharper images and more vibrant color, as opposed to the 35mm print, which was perfectly fine and looked no better or worse than any movie I'd seen lately.

Sure, like the black robed Emperor, it may be easy to see Lucas' motivation for this and the image of him pulling strings behind the scenes like Palpatine/Darth Sidious may seem plausible, it just seems highly unlikely. 35mm presentation will not disappear anytime soon. This 19th century technology is far too entrenched worldwide and is the standard for screening movies on this planet. While we may soon see a dramatic shift in the United States, adopting digital as a world standard is way off. Digital films will still have to be transferred to 35mm in order to play in Singapore. (Unless you are seeing Clones on a bootleg VCD, but that's another debate.) Lucas is also very interested in promoting shooting digitally, so if it doesn't look good when transferred to 35mm, that does not help his overall agenda. I personally think Lucas' goals with regard to digital to be an admirable one. More digital screens will certainly help independents wishing to get their films on the big screen. And the idea that an indie filmmaker would not have to provide a prohibitively expensive 35mm print to tour the country is a welcome one. Theater owners would also certainly be able to take more risks when it comes to screening alternative programming digitally. I welcome the digital revolution at theaters which I believe will offer more opportunities for independents like Lucas. (George, technically, is an indie filmmaker, of course, the richest one in the world, but indie nonetheless.)

And what would a Star Wars prequel release be like without more charges of racism? Head over there for more.