Paramount Home Media announced this past week that
actor-turned-filmmaker Dexter Fletcher’s biopic saluting the career of
recording artist Elton John, Rocketman,
will be heading to the home entertainment packaged media marketplace on Aug.
27.
Box office receipts in the domestic market are right
at $95 million, with roughly the same amount recorded in the film’s foreign
theatrical venues. The ARR comes in at
88 days.
Lined-up for release are Combo Pack editions for the
4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray) and Blu-ray (with DVD) formats, plus there will be a
stand-alone DVD selection available.
Taron Egerton (Kingsman:
The Secret Service, Kingsman:
The Golden Circle and as the voice of Johnny in
the animated musical, Sing) absolutely
shines as Elton John, with Jamie Bell (Billy
Elliot, King Kong, Jumper, etc.) registering
nicely as long-time Elton John collaborator, Bernie Taupin. And Richard Madden (best known to audiences
as Robb Stark in Games of Thrones) does
a solid turn as the more-or-less villain of the piece, John Reid, Elton’s
manager and one-time lover (who also briefly managed the rock group Queen …
portrayed by Aidan Gillen in Bohemian Rhapsody).
Filmmaker Dexter Fletcher takes us on a musical
fantasy tour of Elton John’s life, moving events around, taking a few liberties
here and there, but what emerges on the screen is nothing short of a rocking
good time.
As to bonus nuggets, Paramount has assembled a nice
compliment of extras that expand the movie viewing experience. These begin with extended musical numbers
(with an introduction by Fletcher) that were trimmed (for running time) in the
film itself. Included in the mix are
full performances of “The Bitch is Back,” “Saturday Night’s Alright (For
Fighting),” “Breaking Down the Walls of Heartache” and “Honky Cat.”
Additionally, there are ten deleted and/or extended
scenes (also with an introduction by Fletcher) and five production featurettes
— “It’s Going to Be a Wild Ride: Creative Vision,” “Becoming Elton John:
Taron’s Transformation,” “Larger Than Life: Production Design & Costuming,”
“Full Tilt: Staging the Musical Numbers” and “Music Reimagined: The Studio
Sessions.”
There are also two song-related features. The first is the Rocketman
sing-along feature for 13 of the songs featured in the film. The
second is “Juke Box” jump-to feature — bypass the film’s narrative and jump to
any song selection.
The home entertainment announcement for Rocketman
would be news enough for any single week, but Paramount Home Media is not done
yet!!
The blast off continues with another “rocketman,” an
Oct. 15 Blu-ray salute to Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the starship USS
Enterprise.
Planned for Blu-ray release on that date is a
six-disc package featuring all four of the “Next Generation” feature films — Star Trek
Generations, Star
Trek: First Contact, Star
Trek: Insurrection and Star
Trek: Nemesis — plus two feature-length films
drawn from the television series … Star Trek: The Next Generation: Best
of Both Worlds and Star
Trek: The Next Generation: Chain of Command.
The collection comes loaded with bonus goodies,
including a commentary option for all six films.
It is no accident that Picard is being showcased in
this fan-pleasing Blu-ray collection.
Already in the works (in production right now) is the ten-episode presentation
from CBS Television Studios — for broadcast on CBS All Access — in early
2020. Titled Star
Trek: Picard, the series takes up the
storyline 20 years after the action in Star
Trek: Nemesis and features original cast
members, Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Jeri Ryan and Marina
Sirtis, plus new arrivals, Santiago Cabrera, Michelle Hurd, Evan Evagora,
Alison Pill, Harry Treadaway and Isa Briones.
The Blu-ray of Star
Trek: Picard Movie & TV Collection on
Oct. 15 serves as a nice promotional lead-in to the arrival of the new
television series. It’s very smart;
very clever.
Continuing with news from the Star Trek universe, Star
Trek: Discovery - Season Two beams in on Nov. 12 as
both four-disc DVD and Blu-ray sets.
All 14 episodes from the series second “re-boot” season are included
here. And yes, a third season is in the
works.
As to bonus features, there are deleted scenes, a
gag reel, selected episode commentaries and an impressive collection of nine
production featurettes — “Enter the Enterprise,” “Putting it Together,” “The
Red Angel,” “Designing Discovery: Season Two,” “Prop Me Up: Season Two,” “Dress
for Success: Season Two,” “Creature Comforts: Season Two,” “Creating Space” and
“Star Trek Discovery: The Voyage of Season Two.”
But wait, there’s more on the way from Paramount
Home Media!!!
A double-disc DVD collection of Life with
Lucy: The Complete Series awaits fans on Oct.
8. All 13 episodes of this short-lived
series are included here.
Also on the TV-on-DVD front on Oct. 1 will be Gunsmoke:
The 15th Season, Volume One (a four-disc set) and Gunsmoke:
The 15th Season, Volume Two (three discs).
And last, but not least, kids can roll with Chase
and the PAW Patrol team in the DVD debut of PAW
Patrol: Pups Chase a Mystery on Oct. 8. A cell phone mystery in Adventure Bay, a
surprise birthday party, a sudden blackout and a switch-a-roo involving Chase
and Chickaletta are part of the fun in this PAW Patrol collection.
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