Home Media Magazine - March 2-8, 2008 - (Page 30) NEWS ‘Cops’ at NASCAR www.homemediamagazine.com Cyberspace, DVD Plans Unveiled at Toy Fair ’08 By Anne Sherber EW YORK – Toy Fair 2008 not only slimmed down, but it decamped to the cyber universe. License holders and licensees are creating online environments for all of their hottest properties. Chief among companies in this category is Disney Interactive. Following the successful launch of the “Disney Fairies” DVD line and other consumer products, Disney Online will extend this successful franchise with the creation of the Web site Disney Fairies: Pixie Hollow, scheduled to launch later this year. Among other DVD announcements at the show: I HIT Entertainment will release a new “Thomas the Tank Engine” DVD Sept. 9. The feature-length film The Great Discovery will be narrated by Pierce Brosnan. I “Scene It?,” the popular line of DVD-based trivia games, continues to dominate the category. According to Carrie Peters, director of public relations, the company will partner with Disney for two new editions as well as a new travel edition. I Several popular Scholastic proper- N 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is celebrating the 20th anniversary of “Cops” with an two-DVD collection (released Feb. 19). Named an honorary race official for the California Speedway event in Fontana Feb. 22-24, show creator John Langley had $10,000 donated by Fox on his behalf to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund. Fox also donated 200 tickets to the event to The Police Activities League. Pictured with Langley (right) is the Memorial Fund’s representative John Shanks. ties are being refreshed with new programming and new merchandising programs, said Leslye Schaeffer, SVP of marketing and consumer products for Scholastic. The company is reviving its Scholastic Video Collection. Newly rebranded as Scholastic Storybook Treasures, the first six titles have been refreshed, re-authored and repackaged. Each will be available for $14.95. In honor of Clifford’s 45th birthday in publishing, the big red dog will star in a new special on PBS. There also will be two new DVDs from video licensee Lionsgate. Scholastic will expand the line of “Goosebumps” products available to promote the new books with a multiplatform interactive game, a new DVD, and audio and apparel lines. I The Zula Patrol will launch a new line of DVDs in March. Two titles, The Zula Patrol: Explore Science and The Zula Patrol: Explore Weather will be available at Borders exclusively for 90 days before its wide release. Disney Launches Stage 9 Continued from page 1 Xbox HD DVD Add-on Dead Continued from page 1 Gamerscore blog that “as a result of recent decisions made by Toshiba, Hollywood studios and retailers, Microsoft plans to withdraw from HD DVD.” “Xbox will no longer manufacture new HD DVD players for the Xbox 360, but we will continue to provide standard product and warranty support for all Xbox 360 HD DVD players in the market,” he wrote. Toshiba had announced that fewer than 1 million HD DVD players had been sold, about 300,000 of them HD DVD add-ons The moves mark another step by traditional media companies seeking to establish a beachhead and incremental revenue in digital distribution via quick, short episodes. A report from Research and Markets (R&M) found that 40% of viewed online video content consists of sub-five-minute episodes of news clips, jokes, movie trailers, music videos, TV clips and entertainment news. A BlinkxTV survey found that twice as many online adults (25% to 13%) typically watch episodic TV programs, movies and sports compared to user-generated content. “Stage 9 was created to bridge the gap between user-generated content and traditional production, and is a perfect example of how we are continually looking at innovative methods to develop, produce, market and distribute the high-quality programming that consumers demand,” said Anne Sweeney, co-chair, Disney Media Networks, and president, Disney-ABC Television Group. Additional programming includes the spring action thriller “Trenches” from filmmaker Shane Felux, creator of online favorites “Pitching George Lucas” and “Star Wars Revelations.” “It hasn’t happened yet, but fullblown convergence between the TV and the Internet is on the way,” the report said. for the Xbox 360. There was no word on whether Microsoft plans on offering a Blu-ray add-on or whether the company will incorporate a Blu-ray drive into future Xbox 360 models. Observers speculate Microsoft will do neither, focusing on delivering movies electronically through Xbox Live. “We do not believe this decision will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace,” said a statement Porcaro posted on his blog. JUST ANNOUNCED A Weekly Product Update* TITLE STREET DATE PREBOOK BOX OFFICE (MILLIONS) GENRE PRICE DreamWorks Has Good 2007 Continued from page 4 First Sunday 5/6 4/3 $37.9 Comedy DVD $28.95, BD $38.96 Sony Pictures. 2008. Ice Cube, Katt Williams, Tracy Morgan. A pair of dim-witted thieves attempt to rob a neighborhood church fund. When they find the money has already been stolen, they set out to find the culprit. Includes commentary, deleted scenes and more. One Missed Call 4/22 3/18 $26.7 Horror DVD $28.98, BD $35.99 HD DVD deals with Toshiba in August. After Toshiba abandoned HD DVD earlier this month, Paramount confirmed to Home Media Magazine that Blu-ray Disc was in its future. DreamWorks, however, has not announced any plans. “We said, ‘We have a release coming up on Bee Movie. What would you like us to do?,’” Katzenberg told Reuters. DreamWorks capped off a successful year with fourth-quarter (ended Dec. 31) total revenue of $290 million, and net income of $94 million. Mostly thanks to DVD sales of the third “Shrek” film, the ogre and friends contributed $179 million of that. For the year, the studio earned net income of $218 million and generated revenue of $767 million. DVD and international TV sales of the 2006 film Over the Hedge contributed $13 million for the quarter (with 15 million DVD units shipped worldwide for the year), while Flushed Away had shipped 6.5 million DVD units through the end of the year and contributed $8 million for the fourth quarter. Looking toward the first quarter of 2008, and the year as a whole, DreamWorks is banking on the home video promises that 2007’s Bee Movie holds ($285 million at the worldwide box office), and the theatrical, and eventual home video, success of the June release of Kung Fu Panda. “Our full-year 2008 performance will be largely dependent on the success of Kung Fu Panda,” Coleman said. DreamWorks also announced changes to its 2009 and 2010 theatrical plans. The 3-D film Monsters vs. Aliens will be released as scheduled in March 2009. However, How to Train Your Dragon will be moved to March 2010 and will be followed by the fourth “Shrek” movie, Shrek Goes Fourth, in May 2010. DreamWorks’ 2010 slate wraps up with MasterMind in November. Warner. 2008. Edward Burns, Shannyn Sossamon, Azura Skye. A remake of the Japanese film Chakushin Ari, in which several college students receive messages from their future selves giving the details of their deaths. The Orphanage 4/22 3/18 $7 Horror DVD $27.95, BD $35.99 New Line. 2007. Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo. A woman returns to her childhood home with the intention of turning it into an orphanage for disabled children, but the house is haunted, and she must solve the mystery of the ghosts before they destroy her family. In Spanish with English subtitles. The Savages 4/22 3/26 $6 Comedy DVD $27.98 Fox. 2007. Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco. Two middle-aged siblings are forced to confront their past as they put their aging father’s affairs in order. Includes a featurette, director’s snapshots and extended scenes. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly 4/29 3/18 $5.3 Drama DVD $29.99 Disney/Miramax. 2007. Max von Sydow, Mathieu Amalric, Marie-Josée Croze, Anne Consigny, Marina Hands. Based on the true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who was paralyzed by a stroke and only able to communicate by blinking his left eye. In French with English subtitles. Cover 5/13 4/16 $0.03 Thriller DVD $26.98 Fox. 2008. Vivica A. Fox, Aunjanue Ellis, Razaaq Adoti, Paula Jay Parker. When a famous singer is murdered, a churchgoing mother is the unlikely primary suspect, and a mystery unfolds. Steel City 5/6 4/8 $0.01 Drama DVD $26.99 Peace Arch. 2006. John Heard, Thomas Guiry, America Ferrera, Clayne Crawford, Laurie Metcalf. A man is imprisoned for his involvement in a fatal car accident, and his family must deal with life without him. Includes commentary, deleted scenes and more. * In order of box office, then prebook date Home Media Magazine March 2–8, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
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