'Ring' update - 12:16pm

Just is some more news on the highly-anticipated upcoming release of The Ring, the blockbuster thriller coming this March from DreamWorks Home Entertainment. The disc will have more cool features than originally thought, and DreamWorks will unveil the full press release next week, along with details on the simultaneous release of the Japanese original, Ringu. Watch this space!

A match made in hell - 12:00am

Forget Freddy Vs. Jason. How's this for a horror team-up? Fresh of the successful if seemingly odd pairing of cult film guru Joe Bob Briggs doing audio commentary for Elite Entertainment's recent Millennium Edition release of I Spit on Your Grave, the two titans of horror have reached an exclusive agreement for Briggs to serve as host of, and provide commentary for, a series of the company's upcoming horror, sci-fi and cult titles.

"In the cult film world, no critic or fan is more popular than Joe Bob Briggs, " said Vini Bancalari, President of Elite Entertainment. This team-up is perhaps the first time a major cult movie figure has signed on to launch a dedicated, DVD-only series. The first title in the agreement, Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter, will be released in the second quarter of 2003.

"Elite is acquiring the rights to some of the most artistically...uh...interesting film so the drive-in era," said Briggs. "I'm honored to be the guy picked to slice-and-dice 'em...uh...I mean, interpret them for the cinematic community."

Renewed push for D-VHS - 12:00am

After a somewhat "soft" launch last year with only Fox Home Entertainment showing aggressive support, the upstart DVHS format is getting a bigger push in the first half of 2003 with a more extensive slate of new releases from both Artisan Entertainment and Universal Studios Home Video.

From Artisan comes five of their biggest titles in the first quarter of 2003, including Basic Instinct, Reservoir Dogs, Total Recall, Glengarry Glen Ross and First Blood. Following in Q2 are four more: Dirty Dancing, Stargate, Young Guns and Standing in the Shadows of Motown. Exact streets have not yet been released, but each will retail for $34.95 and features are, as with all D-VHS titles so far, rather slim (i.e., nonexistent).

Also upping their support for the format is Universal, which will release three high-profile recent releases on February 25th: The Hurricane, The Family Man, and multiple Oscar nominee Gosford Park. Each is also featureless, with a somewhat higher list price of $44.95. According to the press materials, expect further waves of titles from Universal throughout 2003.