The Final FrontierMedia Control Room

Despite all this high-tech moviemaking, we're still a long way from purely digital cinema. Most movies are not only shot on film but distributed on film too. Even 100-percent CGI features like Over the Hedge get printed to 35mm for theaters. The average movie house uses nothing but reel-to-reel projectors.

The good news is that digital projection is slowly gaining a foothold. IMAX tHeatres typically offer digital projectors, and most can handle digital 3D. All the major film festivals are now digitally equipped. And in December chain owners AMC Entertainment, Cinemark USA, and Regal Entertainment announced plans to upgrade their theaters, which account for a third of the country's movie screens.

"It's hard not to want every theater to have digital projection once you see the results," says Tim Johnson . "Nowadays, your movie never looks as bright and color-rich in the theater as it did when you saw it under ideal conditions. Digital projection will ensure that movies look as flawless as possible across as many theaters as possible."

That's what digital cinema is about: making sure moviemakers can deliver their original vision intact to the big screen. Upgrading theaters will cost billions, but it's sure to happen. It took us only 20 years to get from the stained-glass knight to Revenge of the Sith, and in the next 20, we'll go just as far.