December 2024

Panavision at 70

Panavision was founded on Feb. 18, 1954, by Robert Gottschalk and Richard Moore, along with William Mann, Walter Wallin, Meredith Nicholson and Harry Eller, and the company’s name has since become synonymous with motion-picture production around the world. Its first goal was to design and manufacture anamorphic projection lenses for the then-new CinemaScope format. Its first offering, the Super Panatar, was introduced the following month. In recognition of Panavision’s 70th anniversary, AC recently spoke with four executives at the company’s headquarters in Woodland Hills, California, to get their take on the company’s current strategy and vision for the future: president and CEO Kim Snyder, COO Michael George, senior vice president of...more