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DAVE'S STUDIO DAY - HOME THEATER FORUM WEEK by Peter M. Bracke
About The Event : Hosted by Dave's Video - The Laser Place (in Studio City, California), Studio Day is a chance for consumers and industry types alike to meet representatives from laserdisc- and DVD-supporting studios and manufacturers and talk about all things DVD. Though usually held only annually in the fall, on Saturday, March 4th, Dave's held a special Studio Day in honor of the Home Theater Forum's week-long California 2000 trip. The Home Theater Forum is not directly affiliated with Dave's Video nor the major studios; rather, it is an impressively-mounted excursion to California, in which home theater enthusiasts the world over joined the HTF in celebrating the joys of movies, Hollywood and home theater. DVDFILE, as well as other sites like The Digital Bits and The Big Picture, joined in some of the festivities here in L.A., and had a chance to meet many of our readers and DVD enthusiasts. The activities kicked off with a meet and greet dinner at the Universal City Hard Rock last Sunday night, and then then a week of events including trips to studios such as Paramount, Warner and Fox, visits to televisions shows like Jay Leno, tours of production facilities like Technicolor and Sony's HD Center, and finally a day at the Universal Studios park. The capper was this special Dave's Studio Day, which was a fitting end to a great week. Though at first I thought the turnout in terms of studio representatives would be smaller than in previous years (as the last one was held just three months prior), it was actually as strong if not moreso, with plenty of new and exciting information to be gleaned. Representatives from Columbia TriStar, Warner, Buena Vista, DreamWorks, Twentieth Century Fox, New Line, MGM, Artisan, Lucasfilm, THX, Image Entertainment, Pioneer, Trimark and many hardware manufacturers were all in attendance. Like last year, instead of a panel-type discussion it was very casual with a general commingling of the crowd with the representatives. And also just like last year, I was planning on taking pictures, but once again I forgot the camera. Doh! On the plus side, I got to meet many of our readers, which is always real pleasure. And, of course, the staff of Dave's Video were uniformly terrific. Below is a general report on the event, including a breakdown of news by studio. Unfortunately, scheduled attendee Paramount was not able to make the event at the last minute. Otherwise, it was pretty packed, and in all I had a great time. This report will be a more basic look at some cool upcoming titles, though there was also many interesting studio developments discussed, so next week will see a new editorial each day on particular topic. So following this report at the bottom is a brief recap of our Home Theater Forum week. Hope you enjoy it! About Dave's Video
For those unfamiliar with Dave's Video in Studio City, it is a great place to shop for laserdisc, DVD and general electronics products, and is the longest-running disc specialty retailer in California. It is also known to many as the "shop to the stars," with many a legendary celebrity and industry figure stopping by to pick up the latest title or piece of hot equipment. It has a nice, "wide" floor plan, so it was easy to walk around, chat and shop. A cool place worth visiting if you are ever in the Los Angeles area. Twentieth Century Fox For me, the most pleasant news probably came from Fox. It is no big surprise to readers of this site that we have questioned some of Fox's previous policies and overall commitment to DVD in the past, but the signs from Studio Day point to a very bright future for DVD fans and Fox. Like all the studios in attendance, there were many giveaways of studio discs, posters, t-shirts and over fun items. Also, Fox showed off their new disc of THE ABYSS, which looked good (I won't mention the anamorphic issue, since you all know how I feel about it anyway), and the menus were terrific. Fox and a huge creative force behind the disc, Van Ling, showed off many of the special features and it looks to be a good disc. The demo drew quite the crowd, though by no means was this the only exciting title from Fox. First, though, the big issue of anamorphic support was tackled. Though we've heard for a while now from Fox that more aggressive and consistent anamorphic support would be coming, their titles for the last few months have not really borne this out, aside from some exceptions like THE THIN RED LINE and PATTON. However, the production cycle is usually quite long, so many of the titles slated as anamorphic last year are just now starting to be announced and scheduled. Thus, though some of the news we've read that Fox anamorphic support would be "across the board" is not entirely correct, their increased support should start to bear fruit with their upcoming titles and into the future. Like other studios, such as Disney and MGM, the choice of whether or not to go with anamorphic is usually decided by a number of factors, mainly time, budget and availability of elements, and this approach remains in place at Fox. As with THE ABYSS, I usually cringe when titles are not given a new anamorphic transfer because of money, but then I suppose that is easy for me to say as I don't have to pay for this stuff. However, by and large, their upcoming titles are largely anamorphic, so I for one am excited that a legitimately strong commitment from Fox is really here. Now, on to the goodies. First is probably the biggest Fox request as of late, the PLANET OF THE APES box set. Indeed, this six-disc set is THX-certified but non-anamorphic (using the same old transfers from before) will arrive around 4Q 2000 and features all the films plus an extra "sixth disc" containing the terrific making-of documentary seen on the Fox Channel, amongst other places. However, never fear, the sixth disc will be included in the box set and you won't have to mail away for it! There may be some other goodies on the discs, but in any event it looks pretty dang cool. No price is yet available. Also coming later in 2000 is THE OMEN series. All are remastered and anamorphic (at least that is what they say for now), and the first three films will be available separately, though if you buy the box set you will get a fourth disc which contains the only other Omen film Fox controls, OMEN IV. There will be some extras on these discs as well, though they are not currently available. Also on the horror front is two separate double features of THE FLY movies. Each disc will be a DVD-10 (double-sided disc) and feature two films. The first contains the original THE FLY and RETURN OF THE FLY, while the second disc features the Cronenberg remake of THE FLY along with THE FLY II. All are (supposedly) anamorphic. Expect each disc to run about $29.95 and any extras are still TBA. A horror film of a different kind coming is THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. The previous laserdisc SE will be ported over, with some new features TBA. This 25th Anniversary Edition will arrive in October though whether it will get a new anamorphic transfer is unknown by us at this point. Speaking of reissues, look for the first Fox redo of one of their earlier DVDs, ENTRAPMENT. This is one of their biggest-selling disc so far, up there with THE ALIEN LEGACY and THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, and a new feature-packed edition of the Sean Connery thriller will arrive (in anamorphic!) this summer. The $34.95 disc will feature commentary, making-of footage and more to be announced. Look for an official date soon. We also asked of a possible anamorphic special edition reissue of the DIE HARD series, but such a set is not planned at this time. Another big SE many have asked about is THE WAR OF THE ROSES. This is coming as well in 2000, with a new anamorphic transfer and all the contents of the laserdisc set. Danny DeVito will be involved, though his other highly-regarded laserdisc SE of HOFFA is not currently on the schedule right now. Other films due in late 2000 or early 2001 include Robert Altman's M*A*S*H, which is just being started, and a BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA special edition is being discussed for a 2001 arrival, so I'm crossing my fingers on this one! We also asked about THE SOUND OF MUSIC and the Fox Sound Of Music DVD web site they just registered, and though it is planned, Rogers & Hammerstein actually control the rights to who can release the film on DVD (along with most of their other musicals), so whether this disc actually arrives can only be hoped for right now... On the TV side of things, the first season of THE SIMPSONS is due this year, with future sets of it and THE X-FILES series due each year. Alas, episode collections of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER are not currently in production at this time. Finally, we broached the topic of DTS to Fox, and there is some interest to access the format there. Stay tuned for more on this in an editorial this coming week... New Line We enjoyed a brief conversation with one of our favorite studios, New Line. Tough there was no major new announcements from them, there are some brief updates on some earlier hinted-at titles. The SE7EN disc is still in production, though there are just no set features yet, so whether or not it will be a 2-disc set, what, if any, features from the Criterion laserdisc will be used, etc., are just not known at this time. Also being worked on are MAGNOLIA and BOOGIE NIGHTS, both of which are set to arrive on the same day (date TBA). Though there are extra scenes cut from both films, the most important thing on the agenda is giving the latter a new transfer per Director Paul Thomas Anderson's desires. The final specs for these discs are remaining a closely guarded secret for now. Hmmm! Finally, many have asked about Robert Altman's SHORT CUTS. Though a disc of this title was listed in a press release a way long time ago, it is currently not on the schedule, at least for 2000 and the foreseeable future. But, look for more day & date New Line titles, a John Waters gift pack later in the year, and plans are already underway for what will surely be an incredible DVD edition of Peter Jackson's LORD OF THE RINGS, which is still filming as we speak... Columbia Next stop was with the trendsetters at Columbia, who has always have a packed slate for 2000 and beyond. Of course, the big recent news was the pretty amazing MEN IN BLACK SE. Not too much to add here, other than that the "Editing Room" feature should be pretty sweet, and, oh, there is one more bit of news surrounding this title but it will have to wait to an editorial this week. Speaking of Steven Spielberg, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS still hasn't been approved for a DVD release. Sigh. However,r there is plenty of other cool stuff on the way, though much has already been mentioned in the past. Previous titles in development are all still in the pipeline but have no set dates. Look for special editions of TOOTSIE, The NATURAL, THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA in the future. Lawrence is getting the full-on SE treatment, with new documentary materials currently being produced, with new interviews and more. Also coming is a disc of the 1982 version of ANNIE, with a new high-def master and supplements TBA. Also on the docket is a disc of the original version of FAIL SAFE, to tie into the new version starring George Clooney. Though not quite the same classic status, the 80's adventure KRULL is getting rehabbed for a new special edition, with extras as well. A new Joel Schumacher commentary track has been recorded for ST. ELMO'S FIRE (ouch!), and the reissues of GLORY and LEGENDS OF THE FALL are in progress, with contributions from Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Edward Zwick and others. Finally, some mixed news from the world of Luc Besson. Though Columbia will be issuing THE MESSENGER, THE BIG BLUE and LEON: INTEGRAL VERSION, the discs will not include any newly produced features (such as commentaries, making-of documentaries, etc.), aside from previously-produced material (such as the isolated score and HBO First-Look featurette on THe Messenger). Also, alas, the planned special edition version of THE FIFTH ELEMENT has been cancelled. Though there was a French disc out with extras, no exact word on what happened with hopes for this one. Stay tuned. DreamWorks Always a favorite, DreamWorks continues to produce sparkling DVDs with great transfers, soundtracks and supplement features. Perhaps my only wish is that DreamWorks did own lots of other studios movies! Anyway, look for strong day & date commitment in the future, and with the studio producing over 12 movies this year, their DVD output should increase. However, AMERICAN BEAUTY will n to arrive as soon as most of us hoped. Though the VHS will be released rental-priced this spring, the DVD will not arrive until the videotape goes to sell-through. However, this is not a ploy by DreamWorks to anger anyone, though some may see this as a nod to the growing concern over the cannibalization of VHS sales by DVD. Whatever one's opinion, what I've been told is that due to the desire to add the most added-value content possible and get all the talent involved, there is no way to complete a special edition in time for the VHS release, so rather than release a featureless disc day & date, they are holding off on the release for sell-through. This was my favorite movie of last year, so though I would love to have it now, I guess the wait should be worth it. And with SAVING PRIVATE RYAN doing so well on DVD despite the six month wait after the VHS rental tape, perhaps the sales of AMERICAN BEAUTY won't be hurt by the delay, either (though it better win some Oscars or the "buzz" may wear off!) Also, GALAXY QUEST of course should be a great disc, and DreamWorks is already planning a cool special edition of Ridley Scott's GLADIATOR, a co-production with Paramount which won't hit theaters until this summer. This is the first Ridley Scott film in a while I've been excited about (sorry, G.I. Jane just didn't do it for me), so I'm psyched. |
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