Mill Creek Entertainment Tabs Sept. 26 As The Street Date For A Priced-To-Collect Double Feature Teaming The Apostle With At Play In The Fields Of The Lord

Mill Creek Entertainment has a stunning priced-to-collect double-feature on DVD ready for delivery to film lovers on Sept. 26.

First up is Robert Duvall’s 1997 film release of The Apostle, a film that he both directed and wrote … and for his efforts was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Actor category. 

 

With his status as an actor, Duvall was able to recruit an exceptional cast that included Billy Bob Thorton, Miranda Richardson, Farrah Fawcett and recording artists June Carter Cash and Billy Joe Shaver (among others).

Teamed with The Apostle is director Héctor Babenco’s 1991 film adaptation of Peter Matthiessen’s 1965 novel, At Play in the Fields of the Lord.  The cast includes Tom Berenger, Kathy Bates, Aidan Quinn, John Lithgow, Daryl Hannah and Tom Waits.

 

 

 

Arrow Video Prepares New Blu-ray Edition Of Director William Wyler's The Desperate Hours For Release On Oct. 17

Arrow Video, with domestic sales and distribution expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has a new “6K Scan” of the original VistaVision negative of director William Wyler’s 1955 film adaptation of the Joseph Hayes’ best-seller, The Desperate Hours, ready for the Blu-ray marketplace on Oct. 17.

First published in 1954, Hayes novel was based on actual events that occurred in 1952.   Wyler, apparently, got wind of the book before it was published and as a result pushed Paramount to make the acquisition. 

Once that was accomplished, all sorts of names were floated to star as the two key characters in the story — escaped convict and hostage taker, Glenn Griffin, and family man Daniel Hilliard.  

On the list from various reports compiled by the AFI site were the likes of Gary Cooper, Henry Fonda, Marlon Brando, James Dean and Spencer Tracy.  

Ultimately it would be Humphrey Bogart as Griffin and Frederick March as Hilliard.

Of note, Hayes adapted his book for the screenplay and also did a Broadway play about the same time, featuring Karl Malden and Paul Newman.

As to bonus materials, film archivist and historian Daniel Kremer provides a newly-prepared commentary plus there are three featurettes — “Trouble in Suburbia,” “The Lonely Man” and “Scaled Down and Ratcheted Up.”

 

 

 

No One Cares About Old Movies ... Except Consumers

No one cares about “old” movies.  

Except consumers.  

Their wishes, demands and collecting obsessions are being serviced, but not by traditional sources.

These two things are … they built vast film libraries hand-in-hand with a dominant theatrical distribution system. 

VHS, followed by the DVD revolution, were both fed by these film libraries that were owned — bought and sold over the years — by the traditional “Hollywood” studios.   20th Century-Fox, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, United Artists, Disney, Columbia Pictures (Sony), Universal and relative newcomer Lionsgate.  Collectively, they own the vast majority of the copyrights for films of the sound era.   The “old” movies.

Sure, there was “Poverty Row” — Monogram, PRC, etc. — and RKO, Republic, and others that have come and gone over the years (Avco/Embassy, Allied Artists, American International, etc.).   Many of their film assets were bought up by the larger studios.   A big chunk certainly has fallen into the public domain (fair game for all).

The other half of this winning combination, theatrical distribution, has been completely dominated by the “Hollywood” studios.

Since 1997, the launch year of DVD (before this, films that were released theatrically are classified as theatrical catalog, you know, “old” movies), there have been 2,336 films released that have had ticket sales of $25 million or more (recorded thru the July 21, 2023 weekend).

The “Hollywood” studios, along with distribution sources that have been acquired or merged, accounted for all but 11 of these hit films.   That’s 99.5 percent of the pie … that is absolute dominance of the theatrical distribution marketplace.

Billions of dollars, along with billions of dollars in stockholder equity have been squandered by the rejection of the successful 100-year-old distribution model.

And here is where it gets really ugly.  

You know those “old” movie assets owned for the most part by the “Hollywood” studios … the ones that made them all that money with VHS, followed by DVD (1997) and Blu-ray (2006).   They are now being released by “helpers” to service the demands of consumers.  

The numbers are stunning.   Jaw-dropping!  

The preliminary count of DVD and Blu-ray releases for theatrical catalog category (sound era though 1996) for the first seven months of 2023 stands at 6,312.

The “Hollywood” studios accounted for 95 SKUs, or 1.5 percent of the release pie. 

These break into two groups, restocking of traditionally replicated titles with new MOD offerings and Blu-ray editions (mainly MOD also) of previously released titles on DVD.    We can’t find a single “new” title among the group.

Legit sources (boutique, independent, etc. … call them what you will) chipped in for 256 DVD and Blu-ray releases during the period.   That’s a 4.1 percent share.

These releases largely come from about ten sources (Kino Lorber, Criterion, Mill Creek, Arrow, Severin, MVD, etc.) and virtually all of the theatrical catalog released from these sources have been licensed from the “Hollywood” studios.

Legit and “Hollywood” studios combined for 5.6 percent of the total.

The balance?   The other 5,961 DVD and Blu-ray product offerings in this category are from “helper” sources (pirates, bootleggers, etc.).   94.4 percent of all theatrical catalog releases on DVD and Blu-ray during the first seven months of 2023 have been pirated.

This is a direct result of a streaming obsession, coupled with a lack of focus and the failure to enforce copyright protections.   There really is nothing more to be said … this is insane!!

In An Interesting Branding Move Director Rob Savage's The Boogeyman Is Not Disney But 20th Century Studios For Its Home Entertainment Launch On Oct. 10

In an interesting branding move, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment makes no mention of their name in the press announcement for director Rob Savage’s The Boogeyman and its arrival in the home entertainment packaged media marketplace on Oct. 10.   Instead, it’s 20th Century Studios.

The ARR is 130 days, a likely strategic delay to capitalize on the Halloween promotional period; smart.  The film’s box office take was $43.2 million.

Planned for distribution are stand-alone DVD and Blu-ray editions.

The film began its production cycle back in June of 2018 (an adaptation of a short story by Stephen King), but when Disney acquired Fox in 2019 it was cancelled (turn-around, hiatus, etc.).   In November of 2021 it went back on the schedule with a different screenwriter (Mark Hayman — Black Swan), Rob Savage as the director and was designated for a direct-to-streaming launch.

Things changed when it tested well and was subsequently set for a theatrical rollout.

The reason the branding is interesting is that this could — COULD with emphasis — signal additional 20th Century Studios release activity separate from Disney branding.  

Could we see writer/director Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD?   Director Zach Cregger’s much-delayed Barbarian?  And what of the various Star Wars series (helpers have been feasting on the these).

 

Of note, there will be an Aug 29 VOD/streaming window, which will have the “helpers” up and running with Blu-ray copies of their own six weeks before the real products arrive at retail.   Consumers won’t know the difference.

As for bonus goodies, there are outtakes and the featurette titled “Into the Darkness.”

 

 

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Makes It Official • Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Arrives Home On Sept. 05

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has made it official.   The animation directing team of Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson’s mega-hit adventure, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, has a post-Labor Day release date … Sept. 05 to be exact.

The ARR works out to 95 days and domestic box office receipts currently stand at a very impressive $378.8 million.

This will be a full-spread home entertainment packaged media launch.   In the mix are Combo Pack editions for both the 4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray) and Blu-ray (with DVD) formats, plus a stand-along DVD selection.

Unfortunately, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has inserted an Aug. 08 VOD window, which the “helpers” had already anticipated by taking Blu-ray pre-orders for that exact same date.  

Their packaging is slick, they’ve been around for some time and unsuspecting consumers — who have likely bought at these “helper” sites before (especially for films and series not available from the legitimate source) — will have their own Blu-ray copy 30 days before the real product hits the streets.

Bonus features common to all three SKUs are three featurettes — “Creating the Ultimate Spider-Man Movie,” “Raising a Hero” and “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Cast.”

Exclusive to the Combo Pack editions are … a commentary option (“Filmmaker”), we assume that would be Dos Santos, Powers and Thompson, a deleted scene, Easter Eggs, a lyrics video option and a half-dozen additional production featurettes — “I’mma Do My Own Thing: Interdimensional Destiny,” “Across the Worlds: Designing New Dimensions,” “Designing Spiders and Spots,” “Scratches, Score and The Music of the Multiverse,” “Escape from Spider-Society” and “Across the Comics-Verse.”

Paramount Home Entertainment Has A New Limited-Edition Blu-ray SteelBook Of Director Richard Linklater’s School of Rock • Starring Jack Black • Ready For Delivery On Sept. 26

Paramount Home Entertainment will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of director Richard Linklater’s School of Rock, starring Jack Black as the legendary Dewey Finn, with a newly-minted Limited-Edition Blu-ray SteelBook on Sept. 26.

Bonus goodies begin with two commentary options.   The first, teams filmmaker Richard Linklater (Boyhood, Before Midnight, Before Sunset) with actor Jack Black (Jumanji: The Next Level, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, The Big Year, Nacho Libre), while the second — titled “Kids Kommentary” — features a tag-team of seven of the school kids.

Other bonus features include the “School of Rock” music video and five featurettes — “Lessons Learned on School of Rock,” “Jack Black's Pitch to Led Zeppelin,” “Kids' Video Diary: Toronto Film Festival,” “MTV's Diary of Jack Black” and “Dewey Finn's History of Rock.”

Three From Lionsgate Home Entertainment • Director Tim Story's The Blackening (Aug. 22) • Writer/Director Nicole Holofcener’s You Hurt My Feelings (Aug. 22) • Writer/director Scott Mann’s Fall 4K (Sept. 19)

Lionsgate Home Entertainment has targeted Aug. 22 as the street date for a full spread of home entertainment packaged media selections of director Tim Story’s horror-themed comedy, The Blackening.

The ARR is a swift-to-market 67 days and the domestic box office tally currently stands at $17.7 million.

Consumer buying options feature Combo Pack editions for both the 4K Ultra HD (with Blu-ray) and Blu-ray (with DVD) formats, plus a stand-alone DVD selection.

Bonus goodies kick off with commentary from director Tim Story (Shaft, Ride Along, Fantastic Four, Taxi, Barbershop, etc.), who is joined by screenwriters Tracy Oliver (First Wives Club and Harlem series creator; writer Little, Girls Trip) and Dewayne Perkins (series writer for Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Break with Michelle Wolf … writer of the original short film 3Peat Presents: The Blackening).

Other bonus features include five featurettes — “Do the Write Thing,” “They Can’t All Talk First,” “Shall We Play a Game?” “Cabin in the Woods” and “Who’s the Blackest Game Show.”

Also streeting on Aug. 22 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment is writer/director Nicole Holofcener’s You Hurt My Feelings, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies.

The ARR works out to 88 days and the domestic box office take was $4.8 million.

Planned for distribution are a stand-alone DVD SKU as well as a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack edition.

Bonus features include commentary from filmmaker Nicole Holofcener (Oscar nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, Can You Ever Forgive Me? … director Enough Said, Friends with Money, Please Give, Walking and Talking, etc.), who is joined by actor/producer Julia Louis-Dreyfus (three-time Emmy-winner for her performance as Selina Meyer in Veep) and the featurette titled “Just Being Honest: Making You Hurt My Feelings.”

And one more from Lionsgate this past week.   Writer/director Scott Mann’s Fall, starring Grace Caroline Currey (Annabelle: Creation, Shazam!) and Virginia Gardner (Halloween, Project Almanac), was a surprise word-of-mouth theatrical hit last year … DVD and Blu-ray product offerings arrived on Oct. 18.

The film is so good — an adrenaline rush and not for those weak-of-heart — will be getting a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack release on Sept. 19.   Bravo!!

Bonus features include commentary from filmmaker Scott Mann (Heist, Final Score), who is joined by producer James Harris (I Am Not a Serial Killer, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, 47 Meters Down), the Madison Beer music video titled “I Have Never Felt More Alive,” and two featurettes — “Creating the Impact of Fall” and “Fall: The Making Of.”