Home Media Magazine - October 14-20, 2007 - (Page 34) NEWS ‘Surf’s Up’ in Malibu www.homemediamagazine.com JUST ANNOUNCED A Weekly Product Update * Hot Rod STREET DATE Shoot ‘Em Up BOX OFFICE (MILLIONS) Once Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Home Animation and Reef Check hosted the Reef Check Ocean Festival in celebration of the DVD release of Surf’s Up! at Malibu Bluffs Park Oct. 6 (L-R): Producer Chris Jenkins, Jason Allen of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Cody Maverick (the penguin), Reed Buck (voice of Arnold), director Chris Buck and Jerry Schmitz of Sony Pictures Animation attended the festival. TITLE PREBOOK GENRE PRICE Hot Rod 11/27 10/16 $13.9 Comedy DVD $29.99, HD DVD $39.99 Paramount. 2007. Will Arnett, Andy Samberg, Bill Hader. An amateur stuntman stages the jump of his life to raise money for his stepfather’s operation and earn his respect. Includes commentary, additional scenes, bloopers, featurettes and Easter eggs. Shoot ‘Em Up 1/1/08 11/27 $12.7 Action DVD $27.98, BD $35.99 Format War Not Slowing Continued from page 1 New Line. 2007. Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Monica Bellucci. A mysterious loner joins forces with a prostitute to save a newborn baby from a gang of ruthless killers. Includes a commentary, deleted scenes and the documentary “Ballet of Bullets: Making Shoot ‘Em Up.” An HD DVD is forthcoming. Once 12/18 11/21 $9.2 Drama DVD $29.98 outselling HD 2-to-1. Yes, interactivity is nice, but it isn’t causing anyone to not watch 300 on Blu-ray.” High-def interactivity, something HD DVD supporters say they have the upper hand on, earned a series of responses from HD DVD reps. “Each of these formats provide great picture and sound,” said Alan Bell, EVP and chief technology officer for Paramount Pictures. “But we need to sell more than that.” Bell said Paramount, which went HD DVD exclusive in August, made its decision because HD DVD production is easier and quicker than BD. But Don Eklund, EVP of advanced technologies for BD supporter Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, said HD DVD is still a DVD technology. “Blu-ray is a format; it’s not just a movie delivery system,” he said, pointing to Blu-ray recording and camera devices. ney Studios Home Entertainment. Dan Silverberg, VP of high definition media development for Warner Bros., said, “It’s dangerous to just rely on gamers.” Fox. 2007. Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová. This film festival favorite tells the unique love story of a Dublin street musician and a Czech immigrant as they write, rehearse and record songs together. Includes commentary, a free music download and more. Interview 12/11 11/8 $0.4 Drama DVD $24.96 Hardware specs and region coding Warner Bros. has roughly 160 titles out on both formats, and Silverberg said 5 million high-def units have been sold, mostly new releases, even though 78% of what’s come to market is catalog. That makes it important for all studios to do same-day high-def releases with DVD, he said. “The consumer isn’t going to wait around,” he said. “When people went from VHS to DVD, they didn’t go back.” Warner has held off releasing some titles on Blu-ray that are out on HD DVD until Blu-ray hardware specs are unified and can universally support the same features. That’s something Microsoft’s Collins said HD DVD has over Blu-ray. Still, Blu-ray gets to come out first in some arenas. New Line’s Hairspray and Rush Hour 3 will bow on both formats, but the HD DVD won’t come until weeks after Blu-ray. That’s because of the lack of region coding on HD DVD and overseas theatrical arrangements for the films. No region coding means titles bought overseas will play here. Sony Pictures. 2007. Steve Buscemi, Sienna Miller. A serious journalist is assigned to interview a superficial pop diva. When he is injured in an accident she inadvertently caused, they spend more time together and find that they have more in common than originally thought. Dans Paris 1/8/08 11/27 $0.06 Drama DVD $24.95 Genius/Weinstein. 2007. Romain Duris, Louis Garrel, Guy Marchand. A man, depressed from a recent break-up, moves back to Paris to live with his divorced father and younger brother and finds something for which to live. In French with English subtitles. Adrift in Manhattan 1/22/08 12/18 $0.002 Thriller DVD $24.98 Universal/Screen Media. 2007. Heather Graham, William Baldwin, Dominic Chianese, Victor Rasuk. The story of three strangers in Manhattan — a doctor, her patient and a young photographer — whose lives are changed through their chance encounters with each other. Dead Lenny 11/13 10/16 DTV Comedy DVD $24.95 MTI. 2006. Armand Assante, Nicole Eggert, Steve Bauer, Joe Piscopo. A mobster is expecting $5 million in cash to be delivered by Lenny. When Lenny fails to show with the money, another henchman is sent to find him. Amnesia: The James Brighton 11/20 10/23 DTV Drama DVD $19.99 TLA Releasing. 2005. Dusan Dukic, Karyne Lemieux, Louise Laprade, Norman Helms, Steven Turpin. Inspired by a true story, a young American gay man wakes up naked in a Montreal parking lot only able to remember his name, so he embarks on a mission to find his identity. The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion 11/27 10/30 DTV Documentary DVD $23.99 Price and game consoles Kevin Collins, Microsoft Corp.’s director of HD DVD evangelism, said the set-top box will determine a winner. With a $199 HD DVD player expected soon — half the price of the cheapest BD player, the PlayStation 3 — Collins said HD DVD has the advantage. Parsons disagrees. “I think it’s erroneous to think a cheap player is … going to cause a format to take off,” he said. “What ultimately causes a format to take off … is the content.” Collins said Microsoft’s Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on was outselling Bluray set-tops boxes. “PS3 has a built-in [Blu-ray] drive … and they’re not selling many of those [HD DVD drives],” responded Patrick Fitzgerald, EVP of worldwide sales, distribution, and trade marketing for Blu-ray supporter Walt Dis- Microcinema. 2004. An exploration of the American way of life and its future as the global demand of fossil fuels increases, and supply decreases. Includes director commentary and two short films — “In the Suburbs” and “Destination Earth.” Midnight Clear 12/4 11/7 DTV Drama DVD $19.98 Lionsgate. 2006. Stephen Baldwin, K. Callan, Kirk B.R. Woller, Victoria Jackson, Richard Riehle. Based on the short story of the same name by Jerry Jenkins, five strangers from different lifestyles, battling depression and loneliness, cross paths on Christmas Eve. Erik the Viking: Director’s Son’s Cut 12/4 11/7 Re-release Comedy DVD $19.98 Fox/MGM. 1989. Tim Robbins, John Cleese, Eartha Kit, Mickey Rooney. A young Viking, uncomfortable with killing and plundering, goes on a magical journey to encourage world peace. Includes new commentary with director Terry Jones, making-of featurettes and more. Blood Descendants 12/11 11/9 DTV Horror DVD $16.98 Low adoption rates … for now One thing everyone agreed on was that high-def adoption by consumers is at a snail’s pace. The NPD Group expects more than 83 million households will be HD enabled by 2011. However, only 11% of consumers surveyed said they plan on buying a highdef set-top box in the next six months; 90% of non-high-def owners are holding off because they’re satisfied with DVD, while 10% are waiting because of the lack of content. Maverick. 2007. Hank Torrance, Jeremy Make, Christy Cianci, Tamara Malawitz, Michael Wrann. A man rises from his grave to fulfill a deadly curse and exact revenge on the descendants of the men who murdered him. Shattered (aka Butterfly on a Wheel) 12/25 11/28 DTV Thriller DVD $26.98 Lionsgate. 2007. Pierce Brosnan, Maria Bello, Gerard Butler. A couple is forced to perform a series of near-impossible tasks to save their daughter from a crazed kidnapper. Includes audio commentary, deleted scenes and two featurettes. Alex Haley’s Queen 1/15/08 12/11 TV Drama DVD $24.98 Warner. 1993. Halle Berry, Jasmine Guy, Tim Daly, Danny Glover. Originally aired as a miniseries, Queen tells the story of a woman who was the daughter of a slave and a plantation owner, and her search for a place in the two cultures of her heritage in the post-civil war South. * In order of box office, then prebook date Home Media Magazine October 14–20, 2007 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
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