Home Media Magazine - February 3-9, 2008 - (Page 26)

NEWS www.homemediamagazine.com Genius Hails ‘El Cid’ By Chris Tribbey t may have been El Cid’s night, but it also was a celebration of epic films that cause people to say, “they just don’t make them like they used to.” The Weinstein Company and Genius Products hosted a screening of the 1961 film Jan. 28 at the ArcLight Hollywood at a launch party for the DVD. The release also marked the first in The Weinstein Company’s The Miriam Collection series and the first of four films from Samuel Bronston Productions to debut on DVD. “We think these are really going to appeal to the collector,” said Michael Radiloff, EVP of marketing for Genius Products. Much like the special features on the El Cid DVD, the Genius event featured the children of those behind the movie: Bill Bronston, son of late producer Samuel Bronston; Norma Barzman, the widow of late screenwriter Ben Barzman; Nina Mann and Toni Parra, the daughters of late director Anthony Mann; and Juliet Rozsa, daughter of 3-D Option More Attractive gaming. Manufacturers such as Samsung and Mitsubishi are already offering 3-D-ready HDTVs, with 3-D plasma TVs expected this year. Philips is developing an autostereoscopic (without glasses) TV solution that may have strong consumer appeal. In a move that demonstrates the massive potential for 3-D in the home, RealD, the leading provider for the theatrical 3-D market, has established a new division looking at solutions for the home entertainment market. Although the size and quality of the cinema image and sound systems make it the ideal place to view 3-D content, as 3-D becomes a technical reality for the home consumer market, consumers can expect to see rightsholders investing in a much wider variety of content for this market alone, building on the 3-D experience in cinemas and driving the use of 3-D in the home. 3-D in the home Charlotte Jones is an analyst for Screen Not only does 3-D offer a superior Digest. experience, but more importantly for cinema, it also delivers an experience ‘OTIS’ KICKS OFF that isn’t available at home. However, SXSW FILM FESTIVAL that could change. In the short term, a shortage of 3-D Otis, the fourth Raw Feed film from content (movies or live broadcasts) will Warner Home Video, will premiere March detract from the overall appeal of devel- 7 to launch the 15th edition of the South by oping commercially viable 3-D home Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference & Fessolutions. Meanwhile, some in-home tival, held March 7 -15 in Austin, Texas. 3-D systems require HDTV receivers, The dark comedy was one of two films meaning adoption will be slower in chosen from a record number of entries to Europe where HDTV penetration lags begin the festival with a midnight showing. behind that of the United States. “The festival has a long history of makLonger term, however, the more im- ing bold choices in the selection process, mersive experience offered by high- and it’s an honor to be included in that quality stereoscopic viewing has strong mix,” said Jeff Baker, WHV’s SVP and GM potential for mass consumer markets, for theatrical catalog. – Kyra Kudick including TV broadcast, DVDs and Continued from page 6 I (L-R): Norma Barzman, Nina Mann, Toni Parra, Michael Radiloff of Genius Products, Juliet Rozsa and Bill Bronston at the Jan. 28 launch party for El Cid in Los Angeles. Photo: By John Scuilli ©Berliner Studio/BEImages late composer Miklos Rozsa. El Cid earned three Oscar nominations and is remembered for its cast of thousands and authenticity in locations, costumes and props. “Everything was a struggle to be shot … it was an enormous undertaking,” Bill Bronston said. “It cost $7 million at the time, which wouldn’t cover the insurance of such a film today.” El Cid is being released in two DVD offerings that include the same special features: a feature commentary with Bill Bronston and a historian, promotional radio interviews with El Cid stars Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren, an introduction interview with Heston, featurettes on Samuel Bronston and Anthony Mann, three other featurettes, a trailer gallery, filmographies and still galleries. A limited edition aims straight at the collector, including a reproduction of the original souvenir program for the movie, a reproduction of a 1961 El Cid comic book and six color production stills. to pay an average of $2 more than the average ticket price. However, even if the revenue from premium pricing is removed, Screen Digest research shows that ticket sales for 3-D movies were more than double those of the 2-D version. Content in 3-D isn’t limited to movies. Many alternative-content, advertising and non-feature-film providers also are piggybacking onto the emerging 3-D network, which will enrich the content available for both the theatrical and, subsequently, home entertainment markets. The first of this new form of 3-D content coming to theaters in February 2008 is U23D, a live concert film from rock band U2. Later this year content providers also will be able to facilitate live 3-D streaming of major sporting events or music concerts. CinemaNow CEO on Web Continued from page 1 consumers using a download service. CinemaNow CEO Curt Marvis says the key to consumer adoption of movie downloads is open standards that allow the proliferation of content across multiple channels and devices. To help augment transportability of content, CinemaNow and Macrovision in January inked a deal that allows consumers to download content from CinemaNow to Macrovision-enabled consumer electronic devices. With Home Media Magazine, Marvis discussed why downloads haven’t taken off and what needs to be done to expand it beyond Apple. I HM: Despite all the hype, hasn’t the market for movie downloads from the Internet been slow out of the gate? Macrovision, to create more of an open standard where regardless of the particular electronics device, you can watch movies from CinemaNow. Currently we have deals with Samsung, HP and Dish Network. I HM: How can the online download industry compete with burgeoning day-anddate releases on cable VOD and DVD? Marvis: The digital distribution business has had a lot of expectations set against it for quite a long time. The confluence of events around digital rights of content, pricing and ease of use at the consumer level at the hardware level simply haven’t happened yet. The closest anyone has gotten to a great user experience is Apple. It unfortunately sits in a silo where that content can only be used on Apple devices, and there isn’t a broader use capability. We are pursuing, with the help of Marvis: Consumers want to watch content beyond the set-top box. Cable content is sort of isolated. They want to watch it on different devices in the home and take it with them on portable devices. All of this is more readily available from Web-based download services. The cable VOD model is an interesting one and certainly convenient but does not allow all the use cases consumers have asked for. We allow burning content to a disc that allows permanent archiving. Of course, you can also play a DVD on a variety of devices. I HM: Blockbuster Inc., Lionsgate and Microsoft founded CinemaNow in 1999, among other investors. What do the studios want from movie downloads? digital content. To date, there hasn’t been enough device penetration that is easy to use and competitively priced. They are hopeful we can provide additional avenues. There isn’t a lack of belief among the studios that electronic sellthrough won’t be a big business, they just haven’t been able to see any clear solutions that make sense to them. And this deal [with Macrovision] is a step in that direction. JUST ANNOUNCED A Weekly Product Update* TITLE STREET DATE PREBOOK BOX OFFICE (MILLIONS) GENRE PRICE Lions For Lambs 4/8 3/12 $14.9 Thriller DVD $29.98 Fox/MGM. 2007. Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise. Two simultaneous political stories unfold — one on the East Coast and one on the West Coast — that have ramifications that will affect both. Includes a commentary with director Redford and featurettes. The Final Season 4/8 3/6 $1.2 Drama DVD $26.96 Sony Pictures. 2007. Sean Astin, Powers Boothe, Rachel Leigh Cook. A baseball drama based on the true story of a small Midwestern town’s struggle to keep its identity in the face of change. Starting Out in the Evening 4/22 3/26 $0.6 Drama DVD $27.98 Lionsgate. 2007. Frank Langella, Lauren Ambrose, Lili Taylor, Adrian Lester, Jessica Hecht. Based on the novel by Brian Morton, an aging and ill novelist is inspired by a graduate student to revive his writing career. Nanking 4/29 4/1 $0.1 Documentary DVD $27.98 Marvis: They are very anxious to find new revenue out of electronic distribution. Certainly they do not want to be beholden to Apple at the same levels the record labels have become. There is a desire among the studios to broaden as much as possible the number of distribution partners for ThinkFilm. 2007. Jurgen Prochnow, Woody Harrelson, Stephen Dorff, Mariel Hemingway. The story of the brutal 1937 Japanese invasion of China told through interviews with survivors, archival footage, testimonies of Japanese soldiers, and dramatic readings of letters and diaries. PTU: Police Tactical Unit 3/25 2/12 DTV Drama DVD $19.97 Genius/Weinstein. 2003. Simon Yam, Lam Suet, Maggie Siu. The latest Dragon Dynasty release follows a police tactical unit caught between two rival gangs on the streets of Hong Kong. * In order of box office, then prebook date Home Media Magazine February 3–9, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com

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Contents News Commentary Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced

Home Media Magazine - February 3-9, 2008

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