Home Media Magazine - November 4-10, 2007 - (Page 7)

www.homemediamagazine.com MENU FROM THE EDITOR BY STEPHANIE PRANGE, EDITOR IN CHIEF www.homemediamagazine.com The HD Campaign Is in High Gear 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 W 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 hat in previous years seemed to be a rather friendly But hardware sales aren’t the only deciding factor. Studio — if sometimes impassioned — competition be- executives have been closely watching the poll numbers, meatween next-generation discs suddenly turned more sured in sales of Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, and the Blu-ray parcontentious last week. ties never fail to mention their substantial lead in that respect. If it were a movie, the tag line might read, “HD DVD vs. BluBut a win there could be far from assured, and Blu-ray ray Disc: This time it’s personal.” supporters know it, as they moved to counter the Oct. 16 reWhat industry observers previously only lease of Paramount Home Entertainment’s alluded to off the record or anonymously WE’VE MOVED BEYOND MERE HD DVD release of DreamWorks’ Trans— Paramount’s payment for switching sides MURMURINGS OF PAYMENTS formers with special offers. Despite Transto HD DVD — became part of the rally cry formers’ appeal, Blu-ray discs continued AND SABOTAGE OF for the Blu-ray contingent at last week’s Blu- PACKAGED MEDIA TO STUDIO to outsell HD DVDs for the week ended ray event. Oct. 21, albeit only by a slim margin of 51% EXECUTIVES ACTUALLY We’ve moved beyond mere murmurings of to 49%. Another big test will be the Nov. 13 REFERRING TO THESE payments and sabotage of packaged media to POSSIBILITIES IN SPEECHES. HD DVD release of DreamWorks’ Shrek the studio executives actually referring to these Third, which I’m sure Blu-ray supporters are possibilities in speeches. gearing up to meet with some enticing offering of their own. As in any high-stakes political campaign, each side is pulling It’s clear both sides intend to step up the rhetoric to garner out all the stops and opening the pocketbook to plead its case. public attention and create the perception that theirs will be The elaborate parties sponsored by Walt Disney Studios Home the winning format. Entertainment and other Blu-ray supporters are evidence that Unfortunately, this is a campaign in which both contenders the format war is reaching a new level — as is the advent (prob- could lose if the public remains indifferent. ably not so coincidentally) of HD DVD players priced at less than $200 in stores. Stephanie Prange’s e-mail address is sprange@questex.com MARKETING Marketing Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kristina Kronenberg 714/338-6743 Marketing Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaitlyn DeWaard Online Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Renee Rosado IN THIS ISSUE NOV.4-10, 2007 / VOL. 29 / NO. 44 News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CA L EN D A R PRODUCTION Production Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonnie Ling Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Justin-Nicholas Toyama 714/338-6765 Assistant Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brady Gallardo 8 9 >> HIGH- DEF I TV DVD AWARDS Home Media Magazine presents the fourth annual TV DVD Awards Nov. 12 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City, Calif. The best TV DVD releases of the past year, as selected by a national consumer vote, will be honored in 16 categories, including best series by decade, best complete-series set and best children’s series. Nov. 12 Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Los Angeles info: tvdvd.dvdconferences.com 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 Wal-Mart and Safeway join landlords in objecting to Movie Gallery store closures; MGM celebrates UA’s 90th anniversary; Redbox makes return time 9 p.m. In Focus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Tribbey, Senior Reporter 818-788-8616, FAX 818-530-2486 16130 Ventura Blvd. #570 Encino, CA 91436 CREDIT Credit/Collections Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ron Wright Sr. See pictures from Sony Pictures’ Across the Universe bash, plus Blu-ray Disc events from multiple studios. News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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 TV DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne” makes a home on DVD from Lionsgate; season one of “The Smurfs” scrambles to DVD from Warner Home Video. Panasonic unveils a new interactive Blu-ray player; research says consumers still aren’t motivated to adopt high-def; Disney’s Blu-ray tour hits N.Y. >> EL ECTRONIC D EL IV ERY I HIGH-DEF 2.0 Home Media Magazine presents High-Def 2.0, a one-day event that will serve as a preview of what’s in store for the high-definition disc market in 2008, the year the studios have targeted as breakout time for Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. Coming just weeks before the Consumer Electronics Show, the event will provide a sneak peek of studio announcements expected to be made at CES, along with an overview of plans for the coming year, from marquee titles headed to HD disc to advances in interactivity, technology and packaging. Dec. 4 Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Los Angeles info: www.homemediaconferences.com 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 © 2007 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. Indie Film . . 16 “The Smurfs” Studios look to acquire films as well as sign international distribution deals for their films at the 28th annual AFM; see what upcoming independent films are soon to hit home video. News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 22 Shout! Factory launches a digital-media division; NBC Universal and News Corp. launch a beta version of their joint video site, Hulu. Reviews. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Printed in the U.S.A. Will audiences want to relive the life of Edith Piaf Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . in La Vie en Rose? Is Knocked Up a knockout on HD Transformers is becoming something of a behemoth DVD? Does the complete series set of “Seinfeld” do on video for Paramount Home Entertainment, the legendary sitcom justice? topping sales and rentals once again. I 2008 INTERNATIONAL CES Produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), CES is the largest annual trade show servicing the consumer technology industry. Jan. 7-10, 2008 Las Vegas, Nev. info: www.cesweb.org Pipeline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Top 20 DVD Sellers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts . . . . . . . . 23 Take a trip to Midnight Movies, which explores six classic cult films; Cary Grant gets the boxed-set treatment from Lionsgate; Indie Sex documentary Just Announced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . is coming from Genius Products, The Weinstein 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment announces Co. and IFC. Death Sentence, 2 Days in Paris and Sunshine. November 4–10, 2007 Home Media Magazine http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://tvdvd.dvdconferences.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.homemediaconferences.com http://www.cesweb.org

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Home Media Magazine - November 4-10, 2007 Contents News In Focus News News TV DVD Indie Film Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced

Home Media Magazine - November 4-10, 2007

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