Home Media Magazine - June 15, 2008 - (Page 3) www.homemediamagazine.com MENU FROM THE EDITOR BY THOMAS K. ARNOLD, PUBLISHER www.homemediamagazine.com Contribute to the Campaign for Blu 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 T 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 Business Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joni Wu Group Administrative Coordinator. . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Guerena 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 he big guns are loaded, aimed and ready for fire. Two years Here at Home Media Magazine, we are going to take the unprecafter the first Blu-ray Disc players and titles came on the mar- edented step of asking our readers to be our eyes and ears. Send us ket, the studios and consumer electronics manufacturers anecdotes, photos and even video clips of what your local retailers are gearing up for the format’s real launch, a massive promotional are doing to promote Blu-ray Disc. We’re looking for the good, the and marketing campaign designed to not only pump up awareness bad and the ugly, from pictures or video clips of prominent Blu-ray of all things Blu, but also drive home the many advantages the for- displays, explanatory kiosks and software merchandisers to stories of mat offers over regular DVD, from a picture that’s six times clearer well-informed, ill-informed or just plain uninformed clerks explain— and thus perfectly suited for those snazzy new ing the Blu-ray proposition to their customers. HDTVs that are fast becoming the standard in SEND US ANECDOTES, We hope to regularly feature your contriU.S. homes — to a whole suite of interactive fea- PHOTOS AND EVEN VIDEO butions in both our print magazine and on tures made possible by BD Live technology, which CLIPS OF WHAT YOUR our Web site, homemediamagazine.com. The promises to dramatically transform the movieLOCAL RETAILERS ARE industry’s campaign to transition consumers viewing experience from passive to interactive. DOING TO PROMOTE from standard DVD to Blu-ray Disc is focusing Already, Wal-Mart stores are quietly installBLU-RAY DISC. on two things: boosting retail presence and eding elaborate Blu-ray displays in prominent ucating clerks, the first point of contact with the positions in their electronics departments, as well as selling consumer, and at the same time drumming up interest among players for $298, cracking the vaunted $300 barrier for the very consumers through widespread advertising and promotions. first time. (But, sadly, the chain is positioning these players right We’d like to monitor how well we, as an industry, are doing. next to less-than-$100 DVD upconverters allegedly offering the Studio as well as CE executives routinely rely on store checks to same 1080p high-def resolution). The Tru Blu campaign will measure the effectiveness of their efforts, and we’d like to partner soon flood the market with compelling ads aimed at consum- with them and, with your help, significantly broaden their scope. ers, while the studios are busy plotting same-day releases for all their big titles on both DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Thomas K. Arnold’s e-mail address is tarnold@questex.com MARKETING Marketing Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kristina Kronenberg 714/338-6743 Marketing Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaitlyn DeWaard IN THIS ISSUE JUNE 15-21, 2008 / VOL. 30 / NO. 24 News …………………………… CALENDAR I TRANSFORMATIONS: THE SEVENTH ANNUAL HOME ENTERTAINMENT SUMMIT The home entertainment industry’s prestigious annual gathering of studio executives, analysts and other industry leaders arrives as the format war has ended, setting the stage for a transition from DVD to Blu-ray Disc. June 16-17 DIGITAL MEDIA Online Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Renee Rosado PRODUCTION Production Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonnie Ling Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Justin-Nicholas Toyama 714/338-6765 Assistant Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brady Gallardo >> HIGH- DEF 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 Warner will cut film production in half by 2009; a hedge-fund investor says Amazon should buy Borders; Rentrak posts an increase in quarterly profit. News …………………………… 10 License owners discuss extending brands to DVD at the Licensing International Expo; Warner’s The Bucket List is projected to top the charts next week. Chris Tribbey, Senior Reporter 818-788-8616, FAX 818-530-2486 16130 Ventura Blvd. #570 Encino, CA 91436 News ………………………… Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Century City, Calif. info: www.homemediaconferences.com CREDIT Credit/Collections Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ron Wright Sr. CIRCULATION For subscriptions, please go online to www.homemediamagazine.com For current single copy, back issues or CD-ROM, call 866/344-1315 or 847/763-9594 for outside the U.S. Audience Development Manager. . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Joy Obaña Disney shows off BD Live features on Sleeping Beauty; replicator manufacturer lauds BD adoption; Summit, Concert Hot Spot team for concert BDs. I ENTERTAINMENT SUPPLY CHAIN ACADEMY 2008 The annual media delivery conference will colocate with the second day of the Seventh Annual Home Entertainment Summit. June 17-18 InterContinental Hotel, Century City, Calif. info: www.entertainmentsupplychain.com >> EL ECTRONIC D EL IV ERY The Bucket List 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; Executive Vice President: Jon Leibowitz; Vice President, Digital Media: Seth Nichols; Vice President, Human Resources: Diane Evans © 2008 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. Commentary …………………… 16 EMA president Bo Andersen dispells the negative hype threatening Blu-ray Disc. I EMA’S HOME MEDIA EXPO 2008 The Home Media Expo gathers players from all over the home entertainment field, such as buyers, entertainment retailers, suppliers, distributors and sellers of home entertainment content. June 24-26 The Palms Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas info: www.homemediaexpo.com Asian/Anime…………………… 18 Tokyopop divides into two businesses, one for manga and one for anime; ADV puts “Welcome to the N.H.K.” online; Funimation launches an anime-on-demand service; Toei starts a video site. News ………………………… Printed in the U.S.A. Reviews ………………………… 20 Disney brings full-length movies to Disney. com; Netflix asks for more boxes from Roku; TV converter box-coupons begin to expire. Is the force with farce Robot Chicken: Star Wars? Does Charlie Bartlett rehash past teen movies? Top 20 DVD Sellers ……………………… 26 Is it worth visiting The Year My Parents Went on Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts ……… 27 Vacation? I SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2008 The San Diego Comic-Con enters its 39th year as the country’s premier comics and popular arts convention with a brand new slate of special guests, themes and anniversaries, and programming. July 24-27 San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, Calif. info: comic-con.org Research ……………………… 26 Just Announced ……………… 30 Disney slates Smart People; Fox and MGM celebrate New Line has a winner with Semi-Pro, which domi- 20 years of Bright Lights, Big City; Warner plans a nated both the DVD sales and rental charts its first two-disc special-edition DVD and Blu-ray edition week in stores. of L.A. Confidential. June 15–21, 2008 Home Media Magazine http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://homemediamagazine.com http://www.homemediaconferences.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.entertainmentsupplychain.com http://www.homemediaexpo.com http://comic-con.org
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