The word that you've heard - 12:01am

Finally! I don't know about you, but ever since I bought my first DVD player waaaay back in 1997, I've been waiting (and waiting) for Paramount to raid their vaults and release all those classic modern musicals from the 70's and 80's. You know, little-known gems like Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Flashdance...those movies we all grew up with and know all the words to. Admit it, who didn't own the Footloose soundtrack!?

Well, after years of nail-biting suspense, Paramount is finally delivering the goodies! It's time to get ready to grease back that hair and put on your best poodle dress, because on 9/17 Paramount will release a collector's edition of Grease, still one of the biggest and most popular musicals in motion picture history. Then on 10/8 comes plenty more, including a collector's edition of another Travolta megahit, Saturday Night Fever, plus its (camp) classic sequel Stayin' Alive, Travolta as cowboy in Urban Cowboy, and (drum roll, please...) both Flashdance and Footloose! Expect some cool extras, including new interviews with such participants as directors Randall Kleiser and John Badham, and much more. Full specs have not yet been revealed, but the official press releases are due on Monday, June 24th. Do I need to tell you to stay tuned?

Street date alert - 12:01am

Just in from Buena Vista are two new 10/8 releases, the Tim Allen comedy bomb Big Trouble, and the independent drama The Son's Room. Watch for the full specs soon.

Also, further details have come in on those Project Greenlight titles due on 9/3. A bit confusing, but there will be two separate releases, the actual feature film Stolen Summer, and a Project Greenlight documentary disc, culled from the recent acclaimed HBO series. Retail is $29.95 each.

More Muppets - 12:01am

Hey Muppets fans, Columbia continues to mine the Muppets for yet more DVD releases, with three new ones due on 9/3. The Best of The Muppet Show Volume 1 and Volume 2 include three classic, uncut episodes revolving around superstar guests ("Elton John," "Julie Andrews," and "Gene Kelly" on Volume 1, and "Mark Hamill," "Paul Simon" and "Raquel Welch" on Volume 2) plus promos, and on 9/3 Columbia will also release something called Kermit's Swamp Years. Each is presented in full frame and retails for $19.95 a pop.

Fox En Espanol - 12:01am

With DVD now a mass market product, what's a poor studio to do to try and please everybody in Region 1? Since we here in the United States are sandwiched between Canada on the top and Mexico on the bottom, most studios just can't cram all those aspect ratios, extras and multiple soundtrack options required on one disc (or even two) to keep everyone happy, so someone usually ends up disappointed.

But to help combat that problem, Fox has just released a new line of En Espanol DVD releases, of which the first wave of a dozen include Big Momma's House, Cast Away, The Abyss, Edward Scissorhands, Entrapment, Independence Day, Men of Honor, Never Been Kissed, Lake Placid, and (now the fourth DVD version of this title!) Predator. Retail is $19.95 a pop, and all include the same features as the existing versions, only with a Spanish dub track instead of Fox's customary French. Watch for more to come...