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'About a Boy,' 'Definitely, Maybe,' and 'Meet Joe Black' Blu-rays Announced[teaser]Three more catalog titles are on their way to Blu-ray in May. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Universal is working on 'About a Boy,' 'Definitely, Maybe,' and 'Meet Joe Black' for a Blu-ray release on May 1. 'About a Boy' with Hugh Grant will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements include: Commentary with directors Chris and Paul Weitz, Spotlight on Location: The Making of About a Boy featurette, Full version of "Santa's Super Sleigh" song, and English to English Dictionary. The Ryan Reynolds romantic comedy 'Definitely, Maybe' will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements include: Commentary with director Adam Brooks and Ryan Reynolds; Creating a Romance; and The Changing Times of Definitely, Maybe. 'Meet Joe Black' starring Anthony Hopkins and Brad Pitt will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements include: Spotlight On Location: The Making of Meet Joe Black featurette and Production photographs montage. Suggested list price for each Blu-ray is $19.98. You can find the latest specs for 'About a Boy,' 'Definitely, Maybe,' and 'Meet Joe Black' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they're indexed under May 1.Posted Fri Feb 10, 2012 at 10:00 AM PST by: -
'Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked' Blu-ray Announced and Detailed[teaser]The third film in the family franchise is coming to Blu-ray in March. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, 20th Century Fox will be releasing 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked' on Blu-ray on March 27. The Chipmunks, Chipettes, and their caretaker Dave Seville (Jason Lee, "My Name is Earl") embark on the trip of a lifetime aboard the Carnival Dream cruise ship. Seeking fun and excitement, the Chipmunks turn the luxury cruise liner into their own personal playground. But the ultimate vacation quickly becomes a disaster when the Chipmunks, Dave, and the Carnival cruise pelican mascot - who turns out to be the chipmunks' old manager, Ian Hawke (David Cross, 'Megamind') - accidentally fall overboard and find themselves 'chipwrecked' on a remote island. Stuck in an unfamiliar territory, the six furry castaways are separated from Dave and must figure out a way to survive on their own for the first time in their lives. The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements will include: Munk Music & Dance Machine segments, Four behind-the-scenes featurettes, Music videos & sing-a-longs, Two Fox Movie Channel featurettes, Extended Scenes, Promotional featurettes, and Theatrical Trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray will be Chipwrecked: Coloring with Chipmunks. The release will also include a DVD and digital copy. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $39.99. You can find the latest specs for 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under March 27.Posted Fri Feb 10, 2012 at 09:30 AM PST by: -
Sales Report: Blu-ray the Majority Format for 3 of the Top 5 Movies Last Week[teaser]57 percent of the sales of ‘Drive’ were Blu-ray, while ‘In Time’ and ‘The Thing’ boasted similar numbers. [/teaser] Blu-ray sales tend to make up between 20 percent and 30 percent of total disc retail sales, but that doesn’t quite tell the whole story. On an individual basis, Blu-ray is bringing in some big numbers. Last week, Blu-ray sales accounted for 57 percent of ‘Drive’ sales, the number one selling title. They did similar numbers for other flicks in the top five like ‘In Time’ (54 percent) , ‘Real Steel ‘(42 percent) and ‘The Thing’ (55 percent). Action movies clearly do well on the high definition format. The one title in the top five sold that didn’t bring in much in the way of Blu-ray sales was ‘Treasure Buddies.’ It totaled at 18 percent Blu-ray sales. It’s not a big share, but considering the movie, that’s not too much of a surprise. Source: Home Media MagazinePosted Fri Feb 10, 2012 at 09:00 AM PST by: -
Panasonic Prices and Dates Plasmas and LCDs for Japan[teaser]Details on the US versions of the sets aren't available yet, but we can glean plenty from the Japanese pricing. [/teaser] There's a three stage cycle to TV releases from Japanese companies and we're at the really frustrating one. The first step is showing off new sets at CES. That's an exciting one. The final step is releasing the TVs in the US - also exciting. Right now, we're at the point where companies are going to be releasing their sets in Japan, which does us very little good. Still, we can get a little glimpse of what to expect from the US releases by what's announced for Japan. Panasonic revealed that its upcoming VT50 series of plasmas will be hitting Japanese stores on April 20th. the 50" version runs 360,000 yen or $4,664, while the 60" set comes in at 500,000 yen, or around $6,478. Pricing tends to be a bit lower in the US, but don't expect to see huge drops. LCD TVs will be coming out on March 9th along with GT5 plasmas. Of particular interest is the ET series, which is the first from Panasonic that uses passive 3D glasses. Source: EngadgetPosted Fri Feb 10, 2012 at 09:00 AM PST by: -
'Love Never Dies' Blu-ray Date Correction[teaser]Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to 'The Phantom of the Opera' is now coming to Blu-ray in May. [/teaser] As previously reported, Universal Studios was planning to release both 'The Phantom of the Opera: Live at the Royal Albert Hall' and 'Love Never Dies' on February 7, but now it looks like 'Love Never Dies' won't be available until May 29. 'The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall' stars Ramin Karimloo (2011 Olivier Award nominee for Best Actor in a Musical for “Love Never Dies”) as the lovestruck Phantom and Sierra Boggess (2011 Olivier Award nominee for Best Actress in a Musical for “Love Never Dies”) as the beautiful and gifted soprano Christine. The show also features Barry James, Gareth Snook, Liz Robertson and Wynne Evans, as well as special guest appearances from the actors who originated the roles of The Phantom and Christine, Tony® Award winner Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, in a memorable final curtain call. “Phantom” aficionados will also be thrilled to know that 'Love Never Dies,' Andrew Lloyd Webber’s spectacular follow-up musical will also arrive on Blu-rayTM and DVD for the first time on May 29. With lush visuals and a mesmerizing score that rivals the original in power and beauty, this live production of “Love Never Dies” finds Christine and the Phantom reunited in turn-of-the-century New York City after a decade apart. “The Phantom of the Opera” premiered at Her Majesty's Theatre in London on October 9, 1986. It has won more than 60 major theatre awards, including seven Tony® Awards and three Olivier Awards, and became the longest-running show in Broadway history on January 9, 2006 when it celebrated its 7,486th performance. “The Phantom of the Opera” has grossed over $5.6 billion worldwide and been seen in 145 cities in 27 countries. Live productions of “The Phantom of the Opera” are currently playing in London, New York, Budapest, Las Vegas and Kyoto. The Blu-rays will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements include Getting Past the Point of No Return ('Phantom') and Behind-the-scenes featurette with Love Never Dies creator Andrew Lloyd Webber ('Love Never Dies'). Suggested list price for the 'The Phantom of the Opera' is $39.98 while 'Love Never Dies' is $26.98. You can find the latest specs for 'The Phantom of the Opera: Live at the Royal Albert Hall' and 'Love Never Dies' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they're indexed under February 7 and May 29 respectively.Posted Fri Feb 10, 2012 at 08:00 AM PST by: -
Streaming Super Bowl Sets Records for Viewers, but Drops the Ball in Quality[teaser]Lag, poor quality, and a lack of easy access made the stream an overall failure. [/teaser] Good news first. Super Bowl XLVI, the first Super Bowl ever to be made streaming by the NFL, brought in 2.1 million unique viewers. That’s a huge number, and will certainly encourage more streaming events in the future. Now the bad news. The stream was less than acceptable for many viewers. Video and audio quality were lacking, lag was bad for both the main stream and the alternate angles that really added appeal to the streaming idea. One telling statistic is that the average viewer only watched for 39 minutes. That means for every person that watched the entire thing, there were several that tuned in and immediately tuned out. Certainly there were those that had no choice but to watch it streaming, but for everyone else the stream was a disappointment. Source: EngadgetPosted Fri Feb 10, 2012 at 07:00 AM PST by: -
New Licensing Deal Brings Viacom Shows to Amazon Instant Video[teaser]Older shows from Spike, Comedy Central, MTV, and Nickelodeon will be added. [/teaser] Amazon is working hard to add new content to its video services, and a new deal with Viacom does just that. Episodes of shows from the usual assortment of Viacom's TV channels have been added to Prime Instant Video. The shows coming to Amazon aren't anything shocking or new - it seems to mostly be the same content that Netflix offers. Still, the addition of shows like 'Yo Gabba Gabba,' 'Jersey Shore,' and 'Chappele's Show' will certainly bring smiles to the faces of Prime members. There's still a rumor floating around that Amazon is going to break off it streaming service into something separate from the rest of Amazon, but nothing to show for it quite yet. Source: EngadgetPosted Fri Feb 10, 2012 at 07:00 AM PST by: -
Marvel Animated 3-Movie Collections Announced for Blu-ray[teaser]Get ready for 'The Avengers' to assemble in theaters on May 4 with two bargain priced Marvel triple features coming to Blu-ray in April. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Lionsgate is preparing to release 'Marvel Animated Features 3-Movie Collection' and 'Ultimate Avengers Movie Collection' on Blu-ray on April 24. These films were the first-ever full-length animated movies from Marvel and star some of the most popular super heroes in the Marvel Universe while staying true to the best-selling comic book roots. These collections give fans of all ages their favorite characters in two convenient sets. 'Marvel Animated Features 3-Movie Collection' includes 'Planet Hulk,' 'The Invincible Iron Man,' and 'Doctor Strange.' 'Ultimate Avengers Movie Collection' includes 'Ultimate Avengers 1&2' and 'Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow.' Suggested list price for each Blu-ray set is only $19.99. You can find the latest specs for 'Marvel Animated Features 3-Movie Collection' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they're indexed under April 24.Posted Fri Feb 10, 2012 at 06:00 AM PST by: -
HDD Interviews 'The Double' Writer/Director Michael Brandtby Luke Hickman Now on Blu-ray, from the writers of '3:10 to Yuma' and 'Wanted,' is writer and first-time director Michael Brandt's 'The Double' - an espionage thriller starring Richard Gere and Topher Grace. In it, Gere plays a retired CIA agent who's called back into action when an assassin who he spent his career tracking resurfaces. Grace plays an up-and-coming young agent who devoted his collegiate studies to investigating the assassin's case. Both have to work together in a twisted journey to uncover the assassin's identity and stop him from taking out other government officials. [teaser]Michael Brandt comes from an interesting past in the movie-making business and took time out of his busy schedule to tell us about how he went from studying film, to editing, to writing and now directing. He also tells us how hard it is to break into directing and what it's like finally making that switch. Enjoy![/teaser] HDD – Luke Hickman: Hello! Michael Brandt: Hey, Luke! How are you? HDD: Not bad. How are you? Michael Brandt: Well, I'm a little under the weather, so I hope that my voice will hold out. HDD: Right now, I can understand you just fine. Michael Brandt: Good. HDD: Have you been doing a lot of these phoners today? Michael Brandt: Actually, you're early on the list, so that's good. I don't know if by the end I'll be able to do the phone calls – but for now, I'm fine. HDD: I watched 'The Double' Blu-ray last night and you put together this film independently, right? Michael Brandt: Yeah. Hyde Park was the financing company. They finance their movies – most of them – through foreign sales. They actually have a fund out of Abu Dhabi that they use to finance their movies. It's independent, as in it wasn't a huge studio [film], but it wasn't like Derek Haas' mom or anybody like that [financed it] – just some sheik in Abudabi. HDD: (laughs) That's awesome. You and Derek have been working together for some time now, right? Michael Brandt: We've been working together since we were in college. We met at Baylor University in the early '90s, we were in grad school there together. I ended up in Los Angeles working as a film editor and Derek was working in advertising in Atlanta when he sent me what he thought was a completed script that was like 75 pages long. I said, "This isn't quite done yet, but it's really good." We'd tried to write some stuff together earlier in college and it was all terrible. So he sent me 75 pages of this great idea and I said, "What if this isn't the end of the movie, but the end of the second act?" I wrote the end of the movie and went back and rewrote some of the other stuff. The next thing you know, we had Brad Pitt attached to that thing and Gore Verbinski [set to direct], but at the last minute they left our movie to go do 'The Mexican' with Julia Roberts. So our movie didn't get made with those guys, but we were on the map in Hollywood. Derek moved out to Los Angeles and we got an agent. The rest is cinematic history, as they say. HDD: What a cool beginning! Was your goal to always end up directing? Michael Brandt: When I went to film school – Baylor is a really good technology school in terms of the technology of media. When I got there in the early '90s, we were already finishing up with high-definition television – and this was in like '92. The head of our department at the time had been Sony's head of new technologies in the '80s, so we would go to NAB (the National Association of Broadcasters conference) and run Sony's high-definition equipment for them. We knew more about it than they did. When I got there, thankfully, my interest was film and they were transitioning out of HD because they thought it was "old school" – like everyone was starting to do it – and were getting into this thing called non-linear computer editing. I had one of the first Avids ever made. We got it and I figured out how to take it apart and put it back together. I got really into the techie side of it. I went [to Baylor] wanting to be a writer/director and left there as an editor, which turned out to be the best move I could make because I moved to Los Angeles and within three weeks I was cutting a feature and within a year I was working for Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez because they were all making the move to the Avid and I was one of the few guys who knew how to do it. It's funny looking back at how it all worked out. Then Derek and I sold our first script when I was working with Robert. That was a really long answer to a question that I can't remember. HDD: "Was the goal to end up directing?" Michael Brandt: Yep. And that's how I got there. HDD: (laughs) That's awesome. So, how was it directing your first feature film, being the man in charge on-set? Michael Brandt: Umm. There's great satisfaction in having the final decision go through you. I loved that. I loved knowing that fail or succeed, it was going to be on me - and also Derek. The nice thing about my personality in terms of creative collaboration is that I'm really open to input – and that's because I have a writing partner. You can't survive with a writing partner without being naturally collaborative. You have to have that mindset of "the best idea wins." That was something that I tried to bring to directing – "the best idea is going to win" – versus the guy who comes on set and everything has to be his way. What's funny is as I look back, there are times when I think that I should have stood up more for what I wanted specifically than I did. I should have been a bigger asshole than I probably was. Maybe there are some things in the movie that worked better in my own mind than when I watch it. Directing, all in all, is really fun because it's such a massively collaborating situation. It's also physically exhausting. It's a hard day, you never get to stop, and even when you're done you have to be thinking about tomorrow. Really, until you've [directed], you don't know just how mentally taxing the whole thing is. HDD: How long was the process of making 'The Double?' Michael Brandt: (laughs) Well, let's see. 12 years. We sold the idea as a pitch to MGM 12 years ago. Then we wrote the script, MGM got bought and sold and bought and sold and the script disappeared into their vault. We got the rights to it back and were able to separate the rights so that we owned them and Derek and I went out and got Hyde Park and [Richard Gere] attached. It was a really long process in some ways, but once we got Richard, the time from when we were shooting was seven months. That part was actually pretty fast. HDD: Was it hard landing Richard? Michael Brandt: You know, landing any actor for your first directing gig is a huge challenge. I've been trying to direct my first movie for six or seven years and it's hard to get somebody who's worth enough financially, to a financier, to commit to a first-time director. The script kinda spoke for itself, it's pretty strong – it's an interesting character for a guy like Richard to play. Our agent sent it to him and I heard he liked it, so I conned my way into a meeting at his house and after a couple of hours with my "dog and pony show," he was in. He was really open-minded and didn't care that I hadn't directed before. He embraced that and actually never took advantage of the power that guy like Richard Gere has on a relatively small movie. That was nice. He championed me and Derek all the way through it. HDD: Once you had him, was it easy casting Topher Grace, Martin Sheen and Odette Yustman? Michael Brandt: Yeah. Once you get a guy like Richard, you now have a certain amount of cache on the movie. You then get attention from agents and actors around town. And Topher - we needed that second guy though. There are a lot guys around that age group who could've played that role, but Topher, I thought, was an interesting choice because - he's obviously funny. He can pull off comedy easily. But the times that he has done drama, I've been impressed. I've always been impressed with what he did in the Weitz brothers movie ['In Good Company'] and also the Soderbergh movie he did – I can't remember the movie, I have too much cold medicine in my brain. HDD: 'Traffic?' Michael Brandt: Right! I'm also inherently fascinated with watching funny people do serious work. It seems like there's a tension there to it, like if you watch Patton Oswalt – the funniest guy on the face of the Earth – in 'The Fan' and watch him play drama, there's something even more dramatic about it because you realize that there's a pain behind the comedy to begin with. I thought Topher would be – (SPOILER) nobody would think that there's an additional twist at the end of the movie if we cast Topher, so that meant a lot (END SPOILER). Talking with him about how I saw the character and how he saw the character, it felt like a natural fit. HDD: With you being a techie, were you involved with the Blu-ray conversion process? Michael Brandt: I'm a tech person, but certainly limited. Any of that kind of stuff is beyond me. I'm not quite as techie as I used to be. No, I wasn't involved [with the Blu-ray], but I was involved in all of the actual post [production]. In terms of editing, I actually did some editing myself. I really thrived on that whole process, but the actual transfer and all that, that was not me. HDD: With technology moving at a rapid pace, is it hard to keep up with it? Do you want to keep up with it? Michael Brandt: That's it. I would like to be more involved with it, but the truth is that my life right now is as a screenwriter and director and also the father of three little kids. It's seriously hard enough just trying to figure out if the Lakers won last night. HDD: I've got tell you before I get kicked off the phone that I'm a huge fan of '3:10 to Yuma.' Michael Brandt: Thank you! We're working with Jim Mangold on another project right now that – since you liked 'Yuma' – you might really like as well. HDD: Can you tell us a little bit about it? Michael Brandt: Um. All I can say is that it's a sports movie. HDD: Well if you're saying that it's got a '3:10 to Yuma' element to it, I'm in. Michael Brandt: Thank you very much!Posted Thu Feb 9, 2012 at 02:30 PM PST by: -
'Clueless' Blu-ray Announced[teaser] The outrageously funny 1995 comedy is coming to Blu-ray in May. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Paramount is working on 'Clueless' for a high-definition bow on May 1. Written and directed by Amy Heckerling ('Fast Times at Ridgemont High'), 'Clueless' stars Alicia Silverstone in a break-out performance as Cher, a beautiful and self-absorbed high school student who spends her days focused on assembling the ideal fashion ensemble, talking her way out of bad grades and searching for the perfect boyfriend. What Cher discovers is that popularity only gets you so far, looks can be deceiving and love is sometimes found where you least expect it. Whatever. 'Clueless' features an outstanding ensemble cast including Paul Rudd ('Role Models'), Brittany Murphy ('8 Mile'), Stacey Dash (“Single Ladies”), Donald Faison (“Scrubs”), Jeremy Sisto (“Law & Order”) and Breckin Meyer (“Franklin & Bash”). The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements include a brand new “Clue or False” trivia game, in which fans can test their knowledge of the iconic film by answering questions that pop up while the movie plays. Viewers are then assigned to the appropriate social clique based on their expertise. The disc also includes a fashion featurette, a look at the class of ’95, a “Suck ‘n Blow” tutorial, original theatrical trailers and more. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $22.99. You can find the latest specs for 'Clueless' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under May 1.Posted Thu Feb 9, 2012 at 12:00 PM PST by:
