Home Media Magazine - May 18-24, 2008 - (Page 17)

www.homemediamagazine.com PIPELINE BRIEFS I ANCHOR BAY ‘SURFS’ OUT THEATRICALS ON DVD Anchor Bay Entertainment and parent company Starz Media keep their new theatrical push rolling this summer with the release of Surfer, Dude, starring and produced by Matthew McConaughey. A DVD release will follow. “Surfer, Dude is about a surfer who lives to surf. When the waves disappear for an entire summer, he goes mad,” said producer Mark Gustawes. “Matthew plays a character who’s a throwback to the ’70s: Peace, love, and a righteous wave is what Surfer, Dude is all about. Anchor Bay dug it, and we decided to surf it, together.” Anchor Bay Entertainment president Bill Clark said the acquisition underscores the direction Anchor Bay is heading. “We will continue to acquire strong titles for theatrical and DVD release while maximizing the abilities of the various divisions at Starz, including our global sales team and the premium entertainment channels,” Clark said. The movie also stars Willie Nelson, Woody Harrelson, – Chris Tribbey and Scott Glenn. I DVD WELCOMES ‘DRACULA’S GUEST’ Method Man and Carmen Electra at the Meet the Spartans promotional event in Las Vegas. ‘Meet the Spartans’ Rocks Hard in Vegas By Chris Tribbey AS VEGAS — To promote its 300 spoof Meet the Spartans, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment decided to take the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino by storm. To mark the June 3 DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases of the film, Fox brought out film stars Carmen Electra and Method Man, partnered with Real Networks for a private concert with rock band P.O.D. and topped the day off with a packed party at Body English Nightclub May 10. “The multiple media events offered us both mainstream media and grassroots opportunities to get our messaging to a core audience for this DVD,” said Steve Feldstein, SVP of corporate and marketing communications for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. “The characters in 300 take themselves very seriously. Their humorless natures gave us a lot to explore,” said writer-director Aaron Seltzer. Meet the Spartans may be a spoof of 300, but Little-known and overlooked, Bram Stoker’s Dracula’s Guest will ﬁnally see a ﬁlm rendering when Lionsgate releases a DVD feature based on the 1914 short story. Originally part of Stoker’s Dracula, the story follows young Bram, whose friend is murdered by Count Dracula and whose lover is kidnapped by the count. Bram sets out across Europe to ﬁnd the vampire and rescue his love. The DVD streets Aug. 5 (prebook July 9) at $26.98. – Chris Tribbey I WARGAMES GETS DTV SEQUEL The 1983 cult favorite WarGames is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a new DVD release as well as a direct-to-video sequel. Streeting July 29 (prebook July 2) are WarGames: 25th Anniversary Edition ($14.98) as well as WarGames: The Dead Code ($26.98), both from MGM Home Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The original WarGames starred Matthew Broderick as a computer hacker who goes one-on-one with a supercomputer. The anniversary includes a second disc with director and writer commentaries and four new featurettes: the “Loading WarGames” making-of, an “Attack of the Hackers” featurette, an “Inside NORAD: Cold War Fortress” featurette and “Tic Tac Toe: A True Story.” WarGames: The Dead Code stars Matt Lanter as computer hacker Will Farmer, who hacks into a restricted online gaming network called R.I.P.L.E.Y. and becomes the target of a national defense system against terrorist cells. The DVD includes commentary with director Stuart Gillard and Lanter, a making-of featurette and a photo – Billy Gil gallery. L everyone involved insists it’s also an homage. “We made Meet the Spartans with love and admiration toward 300,” said actor Sean Maguire, who plays Leonidas. “Although it may look like we were just being silly with it, we really do appreciate that film.” Electra, who plays Leonidas’ wife, Queen Margo, and has partnered before with Seltzer and writerdirector Jason Friedberg for Epic Movie and Date Movie, enjoyed the fact that, for once, the men in her movie wore less clothes than she did. “I loved every moment of it. They were working out and had to train, while I was sitting back, eating pizza, laughing,” she said. She added that she’s not looking forward to watching the special features on the Blu-ray and DVD, fearful that an extended lovemaking scene is there. “It never stopped. It went on and on and on and on. It got uncomfortable after nobody called cut. I think I called cut,” she said. On the other hand, Method Man said he’s look- ing forward to watching the bonus features. “I know they’ve got some extra footage of me dancing,” he said. And he knows why people will add Meet the Spartans to their collection. “Because I’m in it,” he said. “[Carmen] too. That’s a given.” Electra added: “It’s just fun. If you want to laugh out loud and not take things so seriously, this is the way to go.” The Meet the Spartans unrated “Pit of Death” DVD ($29.98) includes an audio commentary, a “Know Your Spartans Pop Culture” set-top trivia game, a gag reel, a “Meet the Spartans: The Music” featurette, a “Prepare for Thrusting” featurette, “Tour the Set with Ike Barinholtz” and trailers. The Blu-ray edition ($39.98) includes all those features and adds an onscreen trivia track and two interactive games: “Celebrity Kickoff” and “Super Pit of Death Ultimate Tactical Battle Challenge.” MAGICPLAY TO PUMP OUT FIRST FITNESS DVDS By Angelique Flores MagicPlay Entertainment is bowing its first fitness titles this week, with the latest DVD from “Buns of Steel” star Tamilee Webb. The Best of Tamilee: Best Buns, Best Abs, Best Arms ($14.99) streets May 20 and includes three 15-minute workouts that target different muscle groups: abs, glutes and arms. This DVD FITNESS is the first in a series of best-of DVDs, which will focus on different body parts. “Tamilee has taken the best workouts from her [past videos] and updated them,” said Mitch Perliss, senior business director, North American, MagicPlay Entertainment. The DVD comes with a bonus 15-minute workout from yoga instructor Stacy McCarthy, who has a DVD coming out May 20 also from MagicPlay. The company will market Stacy McCarthy’s Yoga Body: Lean & Defined Total Body Workout ($14.99) with The Best of Tamilee. “Tamilee is an icon,” Perliss said. “Consumers know her. Retailers know her.” He said the company hopes Webb’s notori- ety will turn people on to McCarthy. “Stacy has been around since 1998,” Perliss said. “She’s San Diego’s most celebrated yoga instructor and is at fitness events all over the country. Our challenge is to start her in the consumer world.” MagicPlay already has sports, music, kidvid and feature films on DVD. “Fitness will be one of the genres we’re going to focus on,” Perliss said. MagicPlay has other fitness titles in the works with hopes of creating new brands. The next DVD in Webb’s series is due in August. May 18–24, 2008 Home Media Magazine 17 http://www.homemediamagazine.com

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Home Media Magazine - May 18-24, 2008

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