Making contact - 12:29am

Just in from leading indie DVD distributor Anchor Bay are three new cult titles, all making their long-awaited DVD debuts on 11/19. Before striking Hollywood gold with the smashes Stargate and Independence Day, director Roland Emmerich created the acclaimed supernatural shocker Making Contact, which received only scant distribution in the United States. Anchor Bay will release this little-seen gem in a two-disc set featuring both the American version and the original German theatrical cut (aka "Joey") which runs 20 minutes longer, and both versions are presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Extras include trailers and poster art reproductions for each film, and retail is $24.95 for the set.

More sci-fi fun on the way includes another little-seen Emmerich thriller The Noah Ark Principle, presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and German and English mono, and the David Twohy cult fave Grand Tour: Disaster in Time, also in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and English 2.0 Dolby surround. Both releases feature trailers, and retail is $19.95 a pop.

'Rings' goes PPV - 12:29am

In a move already drawing ire from some retailers, New Line has just announced an industry first of sorts, the first-ever PPV (pay per view) broadcast of a supposed "DVD exclusive," the new extended cut of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. As any Rings fan already knows, in addition to the currently available theatrical version of the blockbuster, New Line will be releasing two new box set editions on 11/17, each featuring a new extended cut of the film and hours of extras touted as being exclusive to the DVD. List price for these sets ranges from around $40-$80 retail.

But according to most reactions from retailers as reported in the industry trades, the main source of complaint is the unusually short DVD-to-PPV "window" of only 13 days, with PPV customers able to purchase viewings of the film beginning as soon as 11/25. This gives retailers a very small time frame in which to generate profits, especially with the PPV showings costing a mere $4.95. Worse, according to some retailers, is the inclusion after the main feature will be over an hour of extras, including the documentary "A Passage to Middle Earth," Enya's "May It Be" music video, and the highly touted 10-minute behind-the-scenes peek at the sequel, The Two Towers.

However, it is worth noting that none of the extras on this PPV broadcast are actually "exclusive" to the DVD as retailers are claiming. The making-of documentary has already been released on the currently-available theatrical DVD edition of Fellowship of the Ring (and was originally produced for the Sci-Fi Channel anyway), as are the Enya music video (also widely seen on music video outlets such as VH-1) and the behind-the-scenes peek at The Two Towers (which has already been broadcast on the web and elsewhere for weeks.)

New Line has announced that none of the material actually exclusive to the upcoming special edition box sets will be shown as part of the PPV event, and since the vast majority of major releases all eventually hit pay per view anyone, the fuss being raised over a PPV showing of the extended cut of Fellowship is perplexing to this author. In any case, if you are a PPV customer and want to check out the extended cut but don't want to purchase the entire DVD, here's your chance. Otherwise, I'm sure there will be plenty of angry retailers out there willing to rent it to you...

New DreamWorks animation brand - 12:29am

In far more innocuous news, fresh off of the success of last year's megahit Shrek, DreamWorks has announced the debut of their new "DreamWorks Animation" label, beginning with the 11/17 debut of Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. DreamWorks will also repackage all of their past animated hits, including Shrek, Antz, Chicken Run, The Road to El Dorado, The Prince of Egypt and its direct-to-video sequel Joseph: King of Dreams, under this new label, backed by a multimillion dollar ad campaign to support the releases.

To help kick off the new brand, DreamWorks will also offer a special mail-in coupon inside all of the releases, entitling consumers one free VHS or DVD copy of any other title in the line. The promotion begins on 11/17, and all of the titles will receive slightly revised packaging, although features and disc specs remain the same. List price for each title is $26.95.