DISContent on the Way...

Okay, so I gave WB a knee-capping for not moving quickly enough in the original web content arena, but a little bird told me that they are doing some stuff that has been completed just not widely publicized or released...fair enough.

Anyway, I forgot that studios move notoriously slow and like to thoroughly plow any and all fields of endeavor before moving onto the next big thing. They are totally unlike indies in that regard who flit to the next thing as quickly as a hummingbird to a flower.

Video Business proves this point with a nifty little article on how DVD Premieres are getting more attention from the studios...

"As the cost to produce and market theatrical films continues to rise, nearly all the majors are supplementing their theatrical releases with high-profile fare made for DVD, building on a trend of the past several years. These titles, many franchise sequels, often have much higher-profile and bigger budgets than traditional straight-to-video genre fare but are less expensive to bring to retail than major theatrical releases.

The new crop of DVD premiere “tentpoles” includes Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s Starship Troopers 3: Marauder; MGM Home Entertainment’s Stargate: Continuum, which shot at the North Pole among other locations; Warner Premiere sequels The Lost Boys: The Tribe and Another Cinderella Story; Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment’s Futurama: Bender’s Game. Previously stalled franchises are being resurrected, such as Universal’s plans to release the first new Beethoven in five years by the end of 2008.

“The direct-to-DVD movie is as old as the DVD business itself,” MGM president Eric Doctorow said. “But what has happened in the last three years is that you can’t make any old movie and throw it together and expect the consumer to buy and rent it.”

There are many reasons why they are producing all these DVD Premieres, but the primary reason is money. These movies cost far less to make and market , and yes - done effectively (premiere at Comic Con, targeted ads, etc...) they really pay off in sales numbers, partially due to the fact that each property now has its own library (see post below) . This offsets the fact that more and more people are downloading. They are easing the transition.

So here's what you can expect from the studios:

Release Date	Title (Label/Distributor)
July 29	Stargate: Continuum (MGM/Fox)
	The Lost Boys: The Tribe (Warner)
Aug. 5	Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (Sony)
Aug. 19	Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior (Universal)
Sept. 2	Bratz: Girls Really Rock (Lionsgate)
Sept. 16	Another Cinderella Story (Warner)
Oct. 28	Tinker Bell (Disney)
Nov. 4	Futurama: Bender’s Game (Fox)
Late 2008	New Beethoven installment (Universal)
	Resident Evil: Degeneration (Sony)
	The Clique (Warner)
	Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead (Fox)
2009	Behind Enemy Lines 3: Colombia (Fox)
	Legally Blonde 3 (MGM/Fox)
	Tales of the Black Freighter, related to theatrical Watchmen (Warner)
	The Hills Run Red (Warner)
	Scooby-Doo: In the Beginning (Warner)
	Space Buddies (Disney)