Home Media Magazine - June 29 - July 5, 2008 - (Page 8)

NEWS ‘SPIDER WOMAN’ GETS DISC AND VOD DEBUT By Stephanie Prange www.homemediamagazine.com City Lights Turns Up Title Wattage By Thomas K. Arnold SUPPLIER Sal Scamardo used to be the king of sports videos. While at PolyGram Video and then USA Films, he crafted marketing campaigns for annual Super Bowl and World Series videos and other sports products. But for the past 18 months, he’s switched gears and has been quietly building his own DVD distribution company, City Lights Home Entertainment. Part of 25-year-old City Lights Media Group, the company was born in December 2006, when Scamardo brokered a deal with WEA Corp. to distribute City Lights’ feature, TV and other programming. The division released its first title, Suicide Killers, in May 2007 and has since released eight more titles, including the psycho thriller Descent, with Rosario Dawson; the Sundance favorite Manda Bala; David Wain’s screwball comedy The Ten; and the lauded foreign film The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (coming to DVD July 15). Harold The 1985 Oscar-lauded Kiss of the Spider Woman, from City Lights Home Entertainment, is available for the first time as a download exclusively on Amazon.com’s Unbox. Digital consumers can rent the film for $2.99 for 30 days or buy it for $9.99. The film also will be available for the first time on standard DVD ($25.99) and Blu-ray Disc ($27.95), again exclusively on Amazon.com, beginning July 22. The documentary Tangled Web: Making Kiss of the Spider Woman is available through Amazon’s disc-on-demand or Unbox. Kiss of the Spider Woman is one of the top three films for which customers have requested release info, said Peter Farici, VP of movies and music at Amazon. The film “symbolizes the pure spirit of independent filmmaking,” said Sal Scamardo, president of City Lights Home Entertainment. “As an emerging major independent … we’re excited to preserve and promote that spirit.” Producer David Weisman said Blu-ray’s format victory factored into his decision to release the film. PRODUCT Kiss of the Spider Woman Other upcoming DVD releases include the 1985 cult classic Kiss of the Spider Woman, with William Hurt and Raul Julia (see story, left); Harold, a comedy with Cuba Gooding Jr. that opens theatrically in July; and the documentary Matador, about legendary bullfighter El Fandi. It’s a diverse slate and a strange time for an indie to be ramping up the way City Light is, with am- bitious plans for up to 20 DVD releases a year. The home entertainment business, after all, is flat, and several high-profile companies have recently gone out of business, most notably New Line Home Entertainment, whose parent, New Line Cinema, this month is being folded into Warner Bros. “We recognize that the traditional DVD distribution business is a mature one,” Scamardo said. “But we also know that DVD — and now Blu-ray — is still a very robust and viable format.” While the big theatrical features from the major studios are typically viewed as commodities when they come out on DVD, selling for $15 or less at Wal-Mart and Target, with indies it’s a different game. Mass merchants are not the sole, or even the primary, distribution channel for independent product. A title such as Mitzi Gaynor: Razzle Dazzle! The Special Years, a retro TV musical that City Lights is releasing in November, may sell mostly at music stores. Meanwhile, video rental stores are still very important to independent DVD distributors, Scamardo said — particularly those that cater to film buffs that can’t find what they want at the local big-box discounter. “There is never a shortage of demand for high-quality entertainment fare,” he said. Scamardo also is beefing up City Lights’ presence on various VOD platforms. “Discovery is important to the independent film consumer,” he said. Peace Arch, Allumination Merge DVD Operations By Chris Tribbey SUPPLIER Peace Arch Home Entertainment and Allumination FilmWorks will merge their DVD operations under the Peace Arch banner July 1. Peace Arch reached a deal with Londonbased ContentFilm, Allumination’s parent, structured to allow both companies to retain ownership of their existing catalogs. It will cut the companies’ combined overhead by 30%. “This merger will create one of the leading GEISTMAN BACK AGAIN AS EMA CHAIRMAN of IDEA, who automatically serves on the board. Outgoing AS VEGAS — The Entertainment Merchants Asso- iDEA board chairman Jim Loperfido, owner of Emerald ciation June 23 reaffirmed Ingram Entertainment’s City Video in New York, was elected to a one-year term on Bob Geistman as chairman of the board the EMA board. of directors. Chuck Porter, with Giant Eagle, Todd Zaganiacz, president of the National was elected vice chairman. Rentrak Corp.’s Entertainment Buying Group, a consortium of Marty Graham was named treasurer, and 200 independent video stores, was appointed to John Marmaduke, CEO of Hastings Entertainone-year term on the board based on the recomment, was named secretary. mendation of iDEA. Geistman named Bill Lee, with Toys ‘R’ The Motion Picture Association of America Geistman Us, at-large member of the executive comgave the board an update on antipiracy efmittee. forts in North America. Sean Bersell, VP of Joining the board were David Cook of CinemaNow; Eric public affairs for the EMA, said the board discussed Peterson of Blockbuster Inc. and Allen Millican, chairman the future of the show. By Erik Gruenwedel L independent home entertainment companies in the U.S. and will add significant scale to Peace Arch’s worldwide distribution capabilities,” said Peace Arch CEO Jeff Sagansky. ContentFilm CEO John Schmidt added, “The merger is an extremely positive opportunity for both companies. The growth achieved by Peace Arch over the last few years is a testament to the strength of its home entertainment division.” Allumination’s center in South Carolina will be used for all U.S. distribution. I EMA’S HOME ENTERTAINMENT AWARD WINNERS CATEGORY Archival TV Series of the Year Current TV Series of the Year Direct to DVD/Limited Release of the Year, Major Studio TITLE Roots: The Complete Collection Grey’s Anatomy – Season Three Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee STUDIO Warner Home Video Walt Disney Studios Home Ent. HBO/Warner Home Video First Look Home Entertainment Warner Home Video Universal Studios Home Entertainment Walt Disney Studios Home Ent. HBO/Warner Home Video Warner Home Video Paramount Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment MAYA ENTERTAINMENT HOME VIDEO LAUNCHES AT SHOW By Angelique Flores LAS VEGAS — Maya Entertainment Home Video is the newest player in the Latino home entertainment market. Its first four titles will be How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer, Maldeamores, August Evening and Sleep Dealer. The company plans to bow 50 to 60 titles on home video annually starting next year, with an emphasis on the U.S. Latino market. The company will be both co-producing its own films as well as acquiring films both here and abroad. “We have set ourselves apart from other studios by specializing in marketing Latino-themed movies to mainstream audiences in both English and Spanish,” said Mary Escobedo, Maya’s director of video sales. “Latinos are avid movie consumers, and with the Latino population growing at three times the national average, we are confident that we will deliver on this genre.” How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer enjoyed SUPPLIER a limited theatrical run in May and will be released on home video Aug. 12. The film, which stars America Ferrera and Elizabeth Peña, will have a marketing campaign that will include a national radio DVD giveaway promotion and an integrated marketing campaign with MTV that will dovetail with the Aug.4 theatrical release of Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2 and the season three debut of “Ugly Betty,” which both star Ferrera. Maldeamores, which was executive produced by Benicio Del Toro, and August Evening will be released on DVD in November. Sleep Dealer, a 2008 winner of the Sundance Film Festival’s Alfred P. Sloan feature award, is set for a June 2009 release. “We have built a tremendous line-up of commercial films set for theatrical release and have developed strong corresponding consumer campaigns,” said Victor Elizalde, head of home video. Direct to DVD/Limited Release of the Year, Independent Studio The King of California Documentary Title of the Year DVD Extras of the Year Family Title of the Year Foreign Title of the Year High-Definition Title of the Year Marketing Campaign of the Year Music DVD of the Year Non-Children’s Animated Title of the Year Packaging of the Year Remastered Title of the Year Rental Title of the Year from a Major Studio Rental Title of the Year from an Independent Studio Sellthrough Title of the Year from a Major Studio Sellthrough Title of the Year from an Independent Studio Sleeper Title of the Year Special Interest Title of the Year Planet Earth The Bourne Ultimatum Ratatouille La Vie en Rose 300 Transformers Across the Universe The Simpsons Movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Warner Home Video Blade Runner: Ultimate Collector’s Edition Warner Home Video 300 The Contract Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End The Nanny Diaries The Astronaut Farmer Deal or No Deal Warner Home Video First Look Home Entertainment Walt Disney Studios Home Ent. Genius Products/The Weinstein Co. Warner Home Video First Look Home Entertainment Home Media Magazine June 29–July 5, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com

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Home Media Magazine - June 29 - July 5, 2008

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