Home Media Magazine - January 27, 2008 - (Page 7) www.homemediamagazine.com MENU FROM THE EDITOR BY THOMAS K. ARNOLD, PUBLISHER www.homemediamagazine.com HD DVD Backers Should Call It a Day PUBLISHER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Thomas K. Arnold EDITOR IN CHIEF Stephanie Prange EDITORIAL Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Angelique Flores Senior Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erik Gruenwedel Senior Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Tribbey Assistant Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Latchem Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Billy Gil, Kyra Kudick Contributors. . . . . . . . . John Gaudiosi, Anne Sherber, Fred Topel, Ralph Tribbey, Holly J. Wagner I ART Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Melbert Sebayan Graphic Designer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charles Park RESEARCH Market Research Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelly Burner ADVERTISING 800/338-6700, FAX 714/338-6712 Advertising Sales Representative . . . . . . . . . . . . John Boezinger 714/338-6704 Advertising Sales Representative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Julie Savant 714/368-1020 Advertising Sales Representative . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kurt Wohlman 714/338-6749 Group Administrative Coordinator. . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Guerena Business Analyst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joni Wu For reprints, call 800-290-5460, ext. 100 or HomeMediaMagazine@reprintbuyer. com For direct-mail lists, call Ilene Schwartz, Kroll Direct, 216/371-1667 FAX 216/371-1669 ilene@krolldirect.com s the future of Hollywood in the grasp of two computer buffer to widespread acceptance of Blu-ray Disc, developed companies? Sadly, it is so. If this format war continues by archrival Sony. much longer, we could be in for a repeat of what hapBut what Toshiba can’t do is reverse the decline in conpened in the music industry. We saw two next-generation sumer spending on DVD. Only a new format can do that, formats, Super CD and DVD-Audio, battle it out, and in the one that takes full advantage of HD technology. Sure, HD end neither won — leaving the tired, old CD to fend for itself DVD fits the bill, but it’s not going to prevail — that much in an increasingly electronic environment. is clear to pretty much everyone at this point. So Toshiba Toshiba and Microsoft, by stubbornly conneeds to swallow its pride and do the right tinuing to back HD DVD at a point where it is TOSHIBA AND MICROSOFT, thing for our industry — and, in the long clear the format cannot win, are threatening BY STUBBORNLY CONTINUING term if not the short term, its own corpoto derail the entire home entertainment packTO BACK HD DVD ARE rate shareholders. aged-media business — Hollywood’s primary THREATENING TO DERAIL THE The same goes for Microsoft, which at least cash cow, and as such, a vital bloodline to the HOME ENTERTAINMENT has opened the door to Blu-ray in a series of creation of new movies. PACKAGED MEDIA BUSINESS. cryptic statements issued just after Warner Toshiba may prolong the fight with Blu-ray made the announcement at the Consumer Disc by slashing player prices and aggressively courting DVD Electronics Show in Las Vegas that it would exclusively supowners by promising them the new HD DVD machines will port Blu-ray Disc. If Microsoft goes Blu — or at least issues a make their existing libraries look better, but to what end? As Blu-ray add-on for its Xbox 360, as it has for HD DVD — then one of the developers of DVD, Toshiba does have a vested Toshiba will likely cave as well. interest in keeping the format around as long as it can — and Hopefully one or both companies will see the light before it if HD DVD, which Toshiba also developed, has no way of gets dark for all of us. winning the format war, then Toshiba’s alternate approach very well may be to keep the format alive as a spoiler, as a Thomas K. Arnold’s e-mail address is tarnold@questex.com MARKETING Marketing Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kristina Kronenberg 714/338-6743 Marketing Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaitlyn DeWaard Online Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Renee Rosado IN THIS ISSUE JAN. 27-FEB. 2, 2008 / VOL. 30 / NO. 4 News …………………………… 10 The directors’ and producers’ guilds reach a tentative agreement; video game sales hit a record high in 2007. CALENDAR PRODUCTION Production Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonnie Ling Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Justin-Nicholas Toyama 714/338-6765 Assistant Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brady Gallardo >> HIGH- DEF I 2008 NATPE The 45th annual NATPE Conference & Exhibition is dedicated to global multiplatform video content. Jan. 28-31 Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas info: www.cesweb.org OFFICES 714/338-6700, 800/371-6897, FAX 714/338-6710 homemediamagazine@questex.com 201 East Sandpointe Ave., Suite 500 Santa Ana, CA 92707-8716 Chris Tribbey, Senior Reporter 818-788-8616, FAX 818-530-2486 16130 Ventura Blvd. #570 Encino, CA 91436 TV DVD ………………………… 16 Executive producer Robert Halmi Sr. discusses his latest remake, Tin Man, due on DVD March 11 from Genius Products. I WONDERCON 2008 CREDIT Credit/Collections Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ron Wright Sr. News ………………………… The comic book convention is returning to San Francisco for its 22nd anniversary. Feb. 22-24 Moscone Center South, San Francisco info: www.comic-con.org/wc CIRCULATION For subscriptions, please go online to www.homemediamagazine.com For current single copy, back issues or CD-ROM, call 866/344-1315 or 615/377-3322 for outside the U.S. Audience Development Manager. . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Joy Obaña Data shows game systems dominate the high-def player market worldwide; Blu-ray dwarfs HD DVD in Japan; a new company tests Blu-ray Discs. BUSINESS QUESTEX MEDIA GROUP INC. President & CEO: Kerry C. Gumas; Executive Vice President & CFO: Tom Caridi; Executive Vice President: Robert S. Ingraham; Executive Vice President: Tony D’Avino; Executive Vice President, Corporate Development: Claudia Flowers; Vice President & General Manager: Don Rosenberg; Vice President, Digital Media: Seth Nichols; Vice President, Human Resources: Diane Evans © 2008 Questex Media Group Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including by photocopy, recording or information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by Questex Media Group, Inc. for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923 phone: 978-750-8400 fax 978-750-4470; call for copying beyond that permitted by Sections 107 or 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law. For those not registered with the CCC, send permission request in writing to questexpermissions@reprintbuyer.com or call 800-494-9051 ext. 100. >> EL ECTRONIC D EL IV ERY Tin Man I LATINO DVD 5 Home Media Magazine, in cooperation with DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group, The Hollywood Reporter and the Entertainment Merchants Association, presents the fifth annual Latino DVD Conference. The event will feature a day full of informational sessions and panel discussions on the growing Latino home entertainment market. KidVid ………………………… 18 Talent from 101 Dalmations discuss the film, which is getting the platinum treatment March 4 from Disney; see a list of upcoming family, children’s and Easter-themed titles. David Bishop Reviews ………………………… 22 News ………………………… April 8 InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Los Angeles info: aflores@questex.com Printed in the U.S.A. Will arcade game fans want to plug into The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters? Are there laughs to be found in Death at a Funeral? Will audiences want to take a trip to Weirdsville? the top of the DVD sales chart while Lionsgate was fortunate with Good Luck Chuck, taking the top spot Pipeline ………………………… on the rental chart. Actor Sam McMurray discusses his bone-crunching new film Lake Placid 2, swimming to DVD Jan. 29 Top 20 DVD Sellers ……………………… 32 from 20th Century Fox; Jimmy Carter hits the road Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts ……… 34 in a new title from Sony Pictures. Sony Pictures will offer movies on demand through HP’s service; Amazon debuts an indie store; HBO is putting its content online. I PEVE DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT 2008 Established in 1992, the annual PEVE conference caters to the international home entertainment business. Industry players from more than 20 countries attend the conference, which this year will tackle such issues as digital home entertainment. April 17-18 Maison Internationale, Paris info: www.peve.screendigest.com Research ……………………… 32 Just Announced ……………… 38 New Line draws forth The Golden Compass; Disney Fox’s Family Guy Presents: Blue Harvest sprouted to slates No Country for Old Men; Fox has Hitman. January 27–February 2, 2008 Home Media Magazine http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.cesweb.org http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.comic-con.org/wc http://www.peve.screendigest.com
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