Interview by Peter M. Bracke
April 4, 2001

"I want you to hit me as hard as you can..."

Though a relative newcomer to the DVD scene, in just three short years David Prior has become one of the format's leading producers of special edition content. Yet unlike most of the top dogs working in the field today, Prior didn't come from a background in laserdisc. After getting his start in Hollywood as a child actor (Prior just barely lost the lead role in The Champ to Ricky Schroeder!), Prior went on to a successful career behind the camera as well as in front of it, as an actor, writer, assistant director and editor.

After contributing to the DVD special edition of ALIEN released by Fox Home Entertainment in the spring of 1999, Prior lodged his first full producer's credit with the cult favorite Ravenous. Though the film failed to attract a large audience, Prior's work did not go by unnoticed. The much-lauded Rocky Horror and Fight Club two-disc sets followed, and with Big Trouble In Little China just hitting the streets and the Die Hard Ultimate Collection due this July, Prior's career is poised to explode.

Currently hard at work on highly-anticipated special editions for two of the biggest event films of the summer, Planet Of The Apes and Pearl Harbor, we recently chatted with the producer about the work, the films and the format. Prior was refreshingly honest, unpretentious and forthright. Our hunch is that he's going to be around for a while...

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