Oscilloscope Laboratories Tabs June 18 For The Release Of DVD And Blu-ray Editions Of Documentary Filmmakers Judd Apatow and Michael Bongiglio's May it Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers

The annual South by Southwest Conference & Festivals — or simply SXSW for short — brings together film, music, online professionals and creative talent to showcase their latest endeavors.    

At the gathering in March of 2017, representatives from Oscilloscope Laboratories were on hand and one of the films in competition that they took a shine to was from the documentary filmmaking team of Judd Apatow and Michael Bongiglio … Oscilloscope liked what they saw and snatched it up for both theatrical and home entertainment distribution.

Apatow and Bongiglio had previously collaborated on an ESPN 30 For 30 segment titled Doc & Darryl, a look at former New York Mets superstars, Dwight "Doc" Gooden and Darryl Strawberry.   On this second go-round on the documentary filmmaking front the pair selected folk/rock artists the Avett Brothers as their subject.

Titled May it Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers, the film takes an intimate look at the making of the group’s “True Sadness” album, which is set against the backdrop of the rise and success of brothers Scott and Seth Avett over a 15-year period.

Oscilloscope took the documentary out theatrically after its SXSW award-winning premiere to just eight selected arthouse venues in the fall of 2017 where the film pulled in a remarkable $725,286 in box office receipts … just eight theatres over a four-week window!    The film had a contractual HBO showcase and now, finally, on June 18 it will be available for fans to enjoy as both DVD and Blu-ray product offerings.

For the record, the ARR comes in at a leisurely 641 days.

This 15-year long look at the group’s rise, ups and downs saw them gains hree Grammy nominations and deliver 13 albums, with the subject of the film, their latest work, “True Sadness,” hitting number one on both the Rock and Folk charts and peaking at number three on the Billboard Top 200.

For fans of the Avett Brothers, May it Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers, is an absolute must-have come June 18.   Bonus features include the music video, “Morning Song,” a live performance of “I Wish I Was,” deleted scenes and the recording session for “Satan Pulls the Strings.”

Mill Creek Entertainment Sets Special Edition Blu-ray Release Of Mothra For July 9

In the spring of 1956, Embassy Pictures released Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, starring Raymond Burr and a bunch of unknown Japanese actors.   It was actually a full-blown Japanese sci-fi film from two years earlier that was re-cut (some 16 minutes removed) and dubbed into English with additional footage of Raymond Burr added to make it accessible to domestic audiences.   It was a hit and with that the invasion of Japanese monster movies began.   

Indeed, another movie starring Godzilla is slated for a theatrical rollout on May 31 from director Michael Dougherty and is ironically titled Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Once American audiences accepted films from Japan as mainstream, there was no end to it … Rodan followed in the summer of 1957 and in 1962 Mothra arrived in theatres domestically … after that Godzilla showed up in all sorts of combinations, there was a flying turtle named Gamera, a three-headed dragon-like creature named Ghidorah and more. 

Mill Creek Entertainment announced this passed week that in celebration of the theatrical release of the latest big-budget Japanese monster movie — the aforementioned Godzilla: King of the Monsters ­— they will be releasing a new special SteelBook edition of Ishirô Honda’s Mothra on July 9.   The giant moth, Mothra, co-stars along with Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Sally Hawkins and others, so the timing is spot-on.

This will be the first time for Mothra on Blu-ray, and it comes complete with both the original Japanese-language version and the English-dubbed theatrical cut. 

Bonus features include commentary from Japanese sci-fi historians Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski, who co-wrote “Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa” … Ryfle also wrote “Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography Of Godzilla: An Unauthorised Biography of the Big G” and Ed Godziszewski wrote “The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Godzilla.”

Also added to the July 9 slate of priced-to-collect Blu-ray products is a double-disc SteelBook edition of director Simon Wincer’s 1989 mini-series adaptation of Larry McMurtry’s epic Western novel, Lonesome Dove.   

Not only did the book receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, but Wincer’s film production went on to win the Golden Globe for Best Mini-Series and was nominated for 21 Emmy Awards, winning in seven categories, including Best Director.

Bonus features include a trio of featurettes — “Blueprints of a Masterpiece: Original Sketches and Concept Drawings,” “On Location with Director Simon Wincer” and “Remembering Lonesome Dove: Vintage Interviews with the Cast” — and a video session with author Larry McMurtry.

Paramount Home Media Looks To June 18 For The Home Entertainment Launch Of Wonder Park

The Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Movies production of Wonder Park will be available for families to enjoy again and again in the home entertainment universe on June 18.

The ARR works out to 95 days and multiplex ticket sales came in at a nice $45.2 million.

Planned for release are a stand-alone DVD edition and a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack presentation.

June (voiced by Brianna Denski, a young musical theatre actress who competed with roughly 1,500 other young girls for the role) and her mother (voiced by Jennifer Garner) play for hours in an imaginary world of their own special creation called Wonderland, where all they have to do is imagine it and it all comes true.

This special place is run by adorable animals, including the official Wonderland “greeter,” a blue-colored bear by name of Boomer (voiced by Second City stand-up comedian Ken Hudson Campbell) and the park’s manager, Peanut (voiced by Norbert Leo Butz — as Kevin Rayburn from the Bloodline Netflix series), a chimpanzee who reacts to June’s mother’s voice and immediately creates the rides and attractions that mother and daughter conjure up. 

Other members of the park include the maintenance staff of Gus (voiced by Kenan Thompson) and Cooper (voiced by Ken Jeong), who are brothers (and beavers), a porcupine by the name of Steve (voiced by writer-turned-actor John Oliver — 13 Emmy Awards nominations for writing, with seven wins for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and The Daily Show) runs park security and Greta (voiced Mila Kunis), a wild boar who Steve has a crush on.

When June’s mom takes ill and has to go to the hospital, her father (voiced by Matthew Broderick) is overwhelmed and packs up June and sends her off to Math Camp.   While riding on the bus, she impulsively decides to “escape” and return home to her father while mom recovers, but quickly gets lost in the woods.

This is where Wonder Park takes off and the fun and adventures begin.   June discovers a rundown and abandoned version of Wonderland hidden in the woods.   It is there that she hooks up with Boomer, Gus, Cooper, Steve and Greta, but Peanut is missing.  To make matters worse, her new friends are being terrorized by an ever-growing population of “Chimpanzombies” and a “darkness” has settled over what was once a fun and magical place.

It doesn’t take long for June to piece it together, she is the cause of the darkness — her despair over her mother’s illness — and the solution is to find Peanut, restore order and get things humming again.   And maybe, just maybe the zombie chimps will be gone, the darkness lifted and Wonderland back to being a place loaded with magical rides and marvelous times.

Remember, Wonder Park is an animated kid’s film, so June’s mom will get well and by the final frame June will have overcome all of the obstacles thrown in her way — even those of her own making.

Bonus nuggets, which are exclusive to the Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack SKU include a deleted scene, “The Pi Song” sing-along and four featurettes — “Making Noises,” “June’s Guide to Wonderland,” “June’s Welcoming Crew” and the three-part featurette titled “Boardwald Caricatures” (“Drawing Boomer,” “Drawing the Wonder Chimp Pirate” and “Drawing the Wonder Chimp Princess”).

Wild Eye Releasing Targets July 16 As The Street For The DVD Debut Of Documentary Filmmaker Cody Meirick's Scary Stories

Wild Eye Releasing, with sales and distribution support provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has scored a very cool — horror-themed — documentary for release to the DVD marketplace this coming July 16.

Titled Scary Stories, documentary filmmaker Cody Meirick takes a look at the history, the controversy and the success of Alvin Schwartz’s three — yes, just three — books in the “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” series.    

Illustrated by the reclusive Stephen Gammell, the three books — “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” (published in 1981), “More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” (this followed in 1984) and “Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones” (arrived in 1991) — each contained some two-dozen (plus) short horror tales and over 7 million copies were sold.   

Kids loved them and they had an ally in librarians, but certain parent groups and some stick-in-the-mud “educators” condemned them, especially for the graphic drawings that Gammell included with Schwartz’s tales. 

So why has Wild Eye Releasing, one of the premiere home entertainment purveyors of horror and sci-fi films, elected to release a documentary on Alvin Schwartz’s “Scary Stories?”   Simple, Wild Eye Releasing is smart and is taking full advantage of the big-budget Guillermo del Toro production of the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark theatrical release that will be hitting theatres nationwide on Aug. 9. 

If you are a fan of the series — and have all three books in the series (7 million copies!!!) — this DVD is targeted just for you.   Bonus goodies include commentary from filmmaker Cody Meirick and some twenty minutes worth of bonus footage.

Oops They Did It Again — Big Box Retails Out Early With Pre-Orders For Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment's Dumbo On June 25

Way, way back in the spring of 2000, Britney Spears had a number one hit single titled “Oops! … I Did It Again.”   

That was 19 years ago, but it might just be the theme song for today’s “Big Box” retailers when it comes to their order-taking activities.

Sing-a-long … “Oops! … I Did It Again” … “I jumped the gun on taking orders for Dumbo!”    Target and Best Buy like to get in early on announcing the release of new theatrical titles for delivery to the home entertainment marketplace and grab their “fair” share of the release pie … and that’s before the studio in question can officially put out the word.

The latest “Oops” is a pre-order push for director Tim Burton’s $170 million film production of Dumbo, which both of these big box retailers are currently in the process of taking orders for with respect to their exclusive “special edition” 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack editions.   They say these will be available on  June 25.   

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, of course, hasn’t officially announced the title as of yet.   But with the deck stacked against them — the Disney Store and its mega-list of “in-house” customers — you can hardly blame Target and Best Buy for acting in their own best interests in ignoring any embargoed announcement protocols.

Just three weeks ago both retailers did the exact same thing with Captain Marvel.  They said June 11 was the street date.   The PR department over at Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment didn’t get around to confirming that date until this week.   

Target and Best Buy were correct in saying June 11 was the street date for Captain Marvel, so we are once again going to take their word for it when it comes to Dumbo being released on June 25.

So, with that said, June 25 will be the street date for a three-SKU helping of filmmaker Tim Burton’s live-action update of the 1941 animated classic … Combo Pack editions for both the 4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray) and Blu-ray (with DVD) formats, plus a stand-alone DVD edition will be the release mix.

The ARR works out to just 88 days and domestic box office receipts currently stand at $109.8 million.   

Since this is a defensive order-grab on the part of these “big box” retailers and the official word from Disney has not been circulated, there is no information available as to any bonus features.   That will come in time (if the timing follows that of Captain Marvel, expect a formal press announcement in two to three weeks from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment for Dumbo).

For the period ending May 03, 2019 ... New DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD selections added to the DVD & Blu-ray Release Report's database

 

DVD New Additions

 

Adler & Associates Entertainment (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Us Too

Adult Source Media

04/30/19 — Released Daddy's Little Princess 2

Anime Midstream

04/30/19 — Released B't X Neo (2 disc set)

Asylum Home Entertainment (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released San Andreas Mega Quake

Blue Ridge Services (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Transfer Station Safety Training: Personal Protective Equipment and Water Facility Training: Dozer Operations - Ripping and Sloping

Championship Productions

04/30/19 — Released Ball Screen Continuity & Quick Hitters vs. Zone Defense, Building and Rebuilding a Program, Charli Turner Thorne's Favorite Drills, Ganon Baker: Basketball IQ Development Drills, Volume 3, Motion Offense vs. 2-3 Zone & My Favorite Shooting Drills and Practice Drills to Ramp Up Defensive Pressure

Cinedigm Entertainment

04/30/19 — Released Mission of Honor

Conscious Films (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Dr. Sebi: Eat to Live or Eat to Die #1, Dr. Sebi: Eat to Live or Eat to Die #2, Dr. Sebi: The Nuwuapian #1 and Dr. Sebi: The Nuwuapian #2

DreamScape Media, LLC

04/30/19 — Released Alma and How She Got Her Name

EM3, LLC (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Strange Love of Martha Ivers

Freestyle Digital (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Bardo Blues

Get Digital World (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Disciplined Mind For Dummies, Disciplined Mind Video Course, Facebook Ad Tracking, Facebook Ad Tracking for Dummies, Functional Fitness Course and Functional Fitness for Dummies

Gravitas Ventures (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Chippendale's Off the Cliff, Great Flip-Off, In Search of Greatness, Lost & Found (ARR of 32 days; box office: $28,365) and Rainbow

I-Cine

04/30/19 — Released Khong Nhu Ngay Hom Qua (14 disc set), Phong Bao Tinh Thu (15 disc set), Tan Thuy Hu, Part 1 (14 disc set), Tan Thuy Hu, Part 2 (14 disc set) and Tra Tao Do (18 disc set)

Icarus Films

07/02/19 — Sets Heiresses (Spanish)

Indican Pictures

05/28/19 — Sets Zilla and Zoe

Kerugma Productions (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Amazing Prophecies from Scriptures, Journey Through the Bible, Occult Invasion of the Church and What is the Purpose of Our Existence

Kill the Lion Films (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Rehearsals and Shredder

Leomark Studios, LLC (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Protect and Serve, Sculpture (Italian) and Treasure

Lionsgate Home Entertainment

04/30/19 — Released Dragged Across Concrete and Hole in the Ground (ARR of 60 days; box office: $21,072)

MVD Entertainment Group

04/30/19 — Released Teddy Pendergrass: If You Don't Know Me

Meridian Releasing (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released They Returned (Spanish) and Tutor (Spanish)

Movie Detective (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Birth Certificate (Polish), Eloisa is Underneath an Almond Tree (Spanish), Enamorada (Spanish), Eva Fools Around (Czech), La Chanson d'une Nuit (French) and Le Secret du Chevalier d'Éon (French)

Movie Time Video (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Power of People (Telugu)

North Point Resources

04/30/19 — Released Andy Stanley: The Unsettling Solution for Just About Everything

PBS Direct

04/30/19 — Released Charley Pride: I'm Just Me, Homo Spatius, Nature: Living Volcanos, NOVA: Decoding the Great Pyramid, Reconstruction: America After the Civil War (2 disc set) and Right to Fail

Rogue Video (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Scream Bloody Murder

Saina Video Vision

04/30/19 — Released Oru Adaar Love (Malayalam)

Scenic Workouts (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Nude House Cleaning: Mid-Century Modern Maid and Scenic Workouts: Yosemite Valley

Serpent Films (MOD)

04/23/19 — Released 2 Classic Movies (2 film set: Hill Number One, I Love Trouble), 2 Classic Movies (2 film set: Invisible Avenger, Iron Angel), 2 Classic Movies (2 film set: Meet the Boyfriend, Martin Luther) and 2 Classic Movies (2 film set: Pilot X (aka: Death in the Air), Q Planes (aka: Clouds Over Europe))

04/30/19 — Released 2 Classic Movies (2 film set: Isle of Destiny, It Couldn't Have Happened, But it Did), 2 Classic Movies (2 film set: Men of Action, Midnight Manhunt), 2 Classic Movies (2 film set: Night Alarm, Night Tide), 2 Classic Movies (2 film set: No Hands on the Clock, No, No, Nanette) and 2 Classic Movies (2 film set: Non-Stop New York, Oh, Susannah!)

Shemaroo Entertainment

04/30/19 — Released Hotel Milan (Hindi) and Ranbanka (Hindi)

Smart Mark Video (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Absolute Intense Wrestling: Slumber Party Massacre - Jersey City, NJ, BRAWL: Night of the Brawlers - Williamstown, NJ, Game Changer Wrestling: Orange Cassidy is Doing Something, or Whatever, Who Knows? - Jersey City, NJ, Glory Pro Wrestling: Aces High - Belleville, IL, H2O Wrestling: 2 Tuff 2 Quit - Williamstown, NJ, IWA Mid-South: Spring Tryout Show - Jeffersonville, IN, IWA Mid-South: Thunder Before Thunder - Jeffersonville, IN and IWA Mid-South: We are IWA - Jeffersonville, IN

Sony Pictures Home Ent.

05/07/19 — Sets Better Call Saul: Season Four (3 disc set)

05/14/19 — Sets Never Look Away (German) (ARR of 165 days; box office: $1,258,670)

Universal Pictures Home Ent.

06/18/19 — Sets Hotel Mumbai (ARR of 88 days; box office: $9,293,070) and Us (ARR of 88 days; box office: $172,877,890)

07/02/19 — Sets Best of Enemies (ARR of 88 days; box office: $10,008,6881)

Warner Bros. Home Ent. (MOD)

05/07/19 — Adds Gangway for Tomorrow, Lady Scarface, Let's Make Music, Unexpected Uncle and What a Blonde

05/14/19 — Sets Gorilla Man, Prisoner of Second Avenue, South of Suez and Three Cheers for the Irish

05/21/19 — Adds Beauty for Sale, Espionage and Sinner Take All

05/21/19 — Sets Girl of the Port, Golden Arrow, Gridiron Flash, Make Way for the Lady and Man Who Found Himself

Wolfe

07/30/19 — Sets Retablo (Spanish)

Blu-ray New Additions

 

Ammo Content, LLC (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Deadly Crush

Arrow Video

04/30/19 — Released Khrustalyov, My Car! (Russian)

Cinedigm Entertainment

04/30/19 — Released Mission of Honor

Cinetrove International

04/30/19 — Released L'Eau a la Bouche (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (French)

Cri-One (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Chris Brown Turns a Colorburst Blank

Eastern Star

04/30/19 — Released Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight! (2 disc set) and Kyo Kara Maoh!: The Complete First Season (4 disc set)

FUNimation

04/30/19 — Released Absolute Duo: The Complete Series (2 disc set) (with Digital Copy), Barakamon (2 disc set) (with Digital Copy), Hakyu Hoshin Engi: The Complete Collection (4 disc set) (with Digital Copy), High School DxD Hero: Season 4 (2 Blu-ray/2 DVD Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy) and Rolling Girls: The Complete Collection (2 disc set)

Gravitas Ventures (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Chippendale's Off the Cliff, Great Flip-Off, In Search of Greatness, Lost & Found and Rainbow

Kino Lorber

04/30/19 — Released Fantomas: Three Film Collection (3 film set: Fantomas, Fantomas Unleashed, Fantomas vs. Scotland Yard) (French) (3 disc set), Hannibal and Pink Panther Cartoon Collection, Volume 5

05/07/19 — Sets Kind Hearts and Coronets, Lavender Hill Mob and Man in the White Suit

Kuma Telefilms

04/30/19 — Released Konodan Collection, Volume 1

Lionsgate Home Entertainment

04/30/19 — Released Dragged Across Concrete

MPI Home Entertainment

04/30/19 — Released Level 16

MVD Entertainment Group

04/30/19 — Released Teddy Pendergrass: If You Don't Know Me

Meridian Releasing (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released They Returned (Spanish) and Tutor (Spanish)

Mill Creek Entertainment

07/09/19 — Adds NASA: A Journey Through Space (2 disc set) With Digital Copy)

Sentai FilmWorks

04/30/19 — Released Mitsuboshi Colors: Complete Collection (2 disc set)

Severin Films, LLC

04/30/19 — Released Death Warmed Up, Emanuelle and Francoise (Italian) and Escape From Women's Prison

Shout! Factory

04/30/19 — Released Boxer, Brain, Kuffs, Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) and Tarantula

Silent Hall of Fame (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Rags (silent-1915)

Tempe Video (MOD)

04/30/19 — Released Unlisted Owner

Universal Pictures Home Ent.

06/18/19 — Sets Hotel Mumbai (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy) and Us (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy)

07/02/19 — Sets Best of Enemies (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy)

4K Ultra HD New Additions

Mill Creek Entertainment

07/09/19 — Sets Space Station (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy)

Naxos

04/30/19 — Released Carl Maria von Webers: Der Freischütz

Universal Pictures Home Ent.

06/18/19 — Sets Us ((4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack Edition) (with Digital Copy)

Warner Bros. Home Ent.

06/04/19 — Adds Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack Edition) (with Digital Copy)