March 14, 2000 Live chat with Peter Staddon, Twentieth Century Fox Session Start: Tue Mar 14 20:39:17 2000 I would like to introduce Peter Staddon of 20th Century Fox Home Video Welcome, Peter. Thanks for coming. Peter, can you tell us what you do over at Fox Home Video? I am responsible for all the marketing of Fox releases on both DVD and VHS We are very happy to finally have the opportunity to talk with Fox. Long time coming. We are going to start the round of questions from the membership. Wow. The first question. What is the status of SOUND OF MUSIC? I've bought it three different times on LD but am eager to buy it again - especially if an anamorphic transfer is used. The Sound of Music is due for release in the fall. We are looking at anamorphic transfers on everything from here on out unless there is a significant technical issue. Two words - Star Wars. It's been rumored that bare bones movie only disks might be out by year's end. Any inside info you can share? :-) I was waiting for this one! there are no plans for a Star Wars dvd release at all. Lucasfilm are considering their options and we will find out sometime in the future. At this point they are very focussed on the video release and the filming of episode ii. Can you tell us anything about the rumored Special Edition of Edward Scissorhands? this is interesting. It's the tenth anniversary of this title and we are looking at doing a special release later in the fall. It should be great. Why would Fox rather spend $50000 on THX mastering and non-anamorphic transfers for the Planet of the Apes series than spend the $1000-$3000 to do each film with high def downconversions? Planet of The Apes was finished before we adopted the 16x9 policy, believe me we want to put out the best discs we can. We are trynig to put out all new releases including catalog titles with anamorphic transfers. First of all Thank You VERY much for coming. We all have been looking forward to it for a while. Will "Predator 2" get released any time soon? It's not on the release schedule at this stage. One of the things we are trying to do is to make a big deal about a lot of our big catalog titles, such as Predator 2. We have to keep some titles in the vault for release in future years, otherwise everything would just be blown in one big shot - and that's great for the short term but doesnt help build the business. hi (Last of the Mohicans is playing). I have a technical marketing question and may be alone being from the Fiji Islands. Is determining region zoning a legal matter; where does Fiji sit as we have Region 1 hardware though apparently classed as region 4 for software - distribution? Zoning was established at the outset of dvd launch. I'm sorry but I don't know the specifics of Fiji's zoning. It is not so much a legal issue as a convention issue. I see that Fox has just released the classic Lee Marvin adventure film EMPEROR OF THE NORTH (1973) for the first time ever on VHS. Can we expect a widescreen DVD edition of it in the near future? Thanks. This is not a title that has been released, as a new release, by Fox this year. We have no plans for its launch on dvd yet, although we are looking at ways of bringing out some of our deeper catalog titles on dvd and will be trying a couple of interesting things later in the year. Sorry I can't be more specific at this stage. Will there be a special editon of True Lies with new extras and a anamorphic transfer? Not this year. We will be looking at some of the non anamorphic titles we have out in the marketplace and see if there is the ability to include new transfers on later editions with more material. As we become more fluent in what dvd is really capable of and as DVD technology expands, we might see some titles such as True Lies re released, but there are no plans today. Any chance of seeing some classic film noir (with full restorations) on DVD? I'd especially like to see a Laura (1944) Special Edition. By the way, I just saw the Best Laid Plans SE-- super work on that one. Thank you. We are looking at releasing more of our studio classics line later this year - it's the 50th anniversary of All About Eve. Again its a question of judging how big the demand for classic titles will be. Why have some movies been released outside of region 1 but not in region 1? Example: Courage Under Fire (One I hope to see here soon) You have to understand how we are set up, we have different divisions responsible for North America and international and so plans for releases may be slightly different. We do have plans for Courage Under Fire later in the year as part of a bigger themed promotion. Will there be a Video re-release of the Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition this year? Again, similar to the Star Wars dvd issue, this is Lucasfilms call and we will be discussing plans with them in the near future. Obviously if you look at the number of people who went to see episode i who were not even born when the original films were shown, it could be argued that there is a new market out there, but both Lucasfilm and Fox are very wry about being seen to be exploiting the star wars fan/consumer in a any way. First I want to thank you for releasing The Abyss on dvd. It's my favorite movie of all time. My question is about the remake of The Fly. I know that it's being releaed this fall. Will it be a special edition with deleted scenes, commentary? Thank you, The Abyss is one of my fav films as well. The Fly will be released later this year along with releases on the original fly series as well. This is one of the programs that we are going to be testing so I don't want to give too much away at this stage. If you are a fan of the fly movies you should be happy.done. ID4. Will it be Anamorphic? Please? ;) Yes it will. This will be nother twin disc special edition. It will have deleted scenes, commentary tracks, alternative endings, dvd rom games. It will be great. The shot of the white house exploding is so cool. I cant wait for this one to hit shelves. When will we see Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV on DVD, and will it be full seasons like the tapes SHOULD have been, or will we be doomed to more "best of" inadaquate releases? I'm sorry our releases to date have been inadequate :) We are releasing x files season one as a complete seven disc set later this year. Judging by the response to this we will look at Buffy and The Simpsons for dvd releases. It would not be until next year. Is there any plan to release the first Season of Futurama on dvd? Not at this time. We haven't released any Futurama product yet. We are talking to the producers about how we should bring it to market. It will probably launch first on VHS to gauge just how big the appetite for the property is and then move into dvd. It's going to be interesting to see how we can use dvd to change the way we bring tv product to market. We have to give a bigger experience than you can get by watching the broadcast media. What supplements will Fight Club have? Fight Club is one of my fav movies. It will be yet another twin disc special edition. Where to begin .. .. .. there will be four commentary tracks including one by brad pitt /ed norton / david fincher which is great. There will be a featurette, eight behind the scenes special effects scenes with multiple camera angles and audio. Deleted scenes, promotional music video, mock psa announcement by brad pitt, stills, cast bios, and more I probably can't remember. Wow Fight Club sounds great. When can we expect a release of Zardoz? I am very eager for this title. I'm sorry but we have no plans at this time, but getting feedback from people like yourselves is very important in determining if there is a demand for a title. Thanks for stopping by. Also looking forward to the Abyss. Are there any plans for releasing One Million Years BC with Raquel Welch or Down Periscope? Down Periscope - yes, 1M bc - not yet! Fox seems to be alone in charging $34.95 for new releases--even those with no special features. With no one joining Fox at that price and Columbia even dropping their new title price, are you planning to drop under $30 as well? (There are quite a few titles I would have purchased if they were not $34.95...) We are looking at our pricing policy, for the titles we relese at 34.95 we want to ensure that we provide really strong value. The Abyss/ id4 / fight club will all be at this premium price, but they will all be twin disc speial editions. I am not a big fan of cutting prices to the extent that some other studios are, but we are also in a position where we can always go back and reprice titles later as has been the pattern in the VHS market for some time. Hi, I'm joining you all the way from Austria today (it's 4AM here :)). So no question here anymore (would have been about Fight Club - already answered) so I'll just thank you for your great commitment on DVD (and bringing out my favorite movie - Aliens - as one of your first anamorphic releases)! Keep up the good work. Thank you for staying up so late - or getting up so early! Hello Peter, great Job on Patton, Great Film!!! What are your concerns about the release of recordable DVD's hitting the Market, affecting Home Video? As a studio we have to be concerned over the protection of our assets. The home video market is a very large source of revenue for the studios. If that revenue was to take a hit because our assets were being pirated on a significant scale, it would cause any studio a major problem in how they finance the production of new material. It is a big concern - I wish I had an airtight answer. [note: question missing. I believe it concerned PLANET OF THE APES] This film was finished before we adopted the 16 x 9 policy, it will be our last film that will not be 16 x 9. thanks, done What films have you released that have surprised you how well they've sold (catalog stuff)? We all have our opinions on how well some titles will do vs others. For instance I love films such as Patton and Tora Tora Tora and was a big advocate of launching those because I felt there would be a lot of people like me out there. Films that have more of a female bias are often suprising - it will be interesting to see how Boys dont Cry will do -as well as some of the smaller movies such as Ravenous which has sold way over our initial forecast. I've heard rumors of a Simpsons boxed set release in the future. My concern was that you would release only a random handful of episodes which wouldn't nearly satisfy true fans. Are you planning on releasing EVERY epsiode for each season (in order with original openings) in these boxed sets? Can you tell us more about your plans? How about a Simpsons DVD Of The Month Club? Forget Star Wars, I'm willing to pay big bucks for The Simpsons :) Everywhere I go on the Web people keep asking about The Simpsons on DVD so I hope you come through! There are plans for a Simpsons dvd, and we are looking at a complete season in a boxed set. We have a lot of work still to do with the licensor to make sure that it will satisfy the true fans. Look out for the X- files season one release - seven disc boxed set of the complete season one - to see how we could treat the simpsons. Peter? How you doing? can you answer more questions? absolutely, my fingers are just getting warm! Will we see CinemaScope classics like JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, THE ROBE, THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT, HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE? Eventually you will see them, but not this year. I'd like to see them come out but the release slate is very full and these will probably benefit from waiting until the penetration of the hardware has increased a bit more. Are there any plans to release The Hustler or French Connection on dvd with extras and new transfers. Yes there are. The French Connection is coming up on an anniversary and we will be looking to celebrate that with a dvd release but it won't be in this calendar year. There will be extras and new transfers. The detail on the extras hasn't been sorted out yet. Thanks for the great DVD. I love additional commentaries and deleted scenes. How hard is it to get actors/directors/producers to make the commentaries and how hard is it to get the deleted scenes? I know they have busy schedules, but are they generally interested in doing them? It varies enormously depending on not only who you are dealing with but also when you are dealing with them. John Amiel the director of Entrapment actually approached us to do a special edition of the film after we completed the original disc. He wasn't available to do it on the original disc. As people see dvd rise in popularity the talent also see it as a way of developing the movie that they worked on beyond the cinematic experience. For example, David Fincher has been working hand in glove with us on Fight Club. James Cameron was very involved in The Abyss, and the more we do and the better work we produce, the easier it is to get people to work with us in future. Can we expect an increase in catalog titles on DVD this year (several a month maybe?).... And I'd like to throw in a selfish request for Lady In Cement. There will be a big increase in catalog titles particularly as we move into the fourth quarter. We will also be doing more gift sets and multi packs for the Christmas period. How does Fox handle Unrated material in the secondary market? Also, when do you think the The Simpsons will hit? Summer 2000? A Fight Club sounds great, and thanks for doing this. Tatings on dvd material are something that we have to be careful about. In a lot of instances we try not to rate the additional footage and state that very clearly on the package in order not to conflict with the MPAA. As far as a release date on The Simpsons, it will probably be later in the year depending on how our work and discussions with the licensor progresses. Fight club looks even better than it sounds - Fincher has really opened up on this one Why did Fox release Poseidon Adventure in Stereo/Surround on LaserDisc but Mono on DVD? I hope there will be a 5.1 reissue.Love this movie. To be honest I dont know the answer to that one - it predates me at Fox. It seems kind of srange. If I find an answer I'll email it to Ron and he can forward it to you. Thanks Peter for coming tonight! I can't wait for some of the SE's you've already mentioned! Are there any plans to release Better Off Dead or Say Anything on DVD?? And there are a few Special Editions that I haven't mentioned in the pipeline as well! Better Off Dead is being looked at now for inclusion in the schedule but we haven't determined the best date yet. If I may add, Peter, and there is no need to respond..... The most requested Fox titles as far as comedies go are REVENGE OF THE NERDS and BACHELOR PARTY. Just food for thought. Thank you for coming :) Fox was the home of the greatest starlett ever known, Marilyn Monroe. Will Marilyn's starring role movies (i.e. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes") for Fox be released on DVD (proper aspect ratio please)? Also how about DVDs of the Marvel Comics animation you've released on VHS? When will we see requested catalog titles such as Point Break released? Marilyn will not make it onto dvd this year but when she does it will be in the proper aspect ratio. The dvd's of the Marvel Comics might be out this year - we are releasing the vhs in June to tie in with the X-Men theatrical release and if that goes well, dvd could be next. As far as Point Break goes - great movie, the waves at the end are incredible, It will be released on dvd but not until much later this year. I have heard a lot of talk, especially on the newsgroups, about DVD releases for the Buffy The Vampire Slayer series in the UK. Are there any plans for a US release? If so, when? And if not, why? Admittedly, the series wouldn't sell as much as the Phantom Menace, but there is a sizable fan base here as well. Thanks a lot, I really appreciate this. I touched on this one earlier. International markets often have a slightly different release schedule as they are a different division. Buffy would make a great dvd release, the vhs release of the Buffy and Angel chronicles has gone very well and we could follow that up with a dvd but not for a while. If we do rerelease on dvd it would probably be an entire season plus extras. Is FOX planning on releasing the Millenium TV series on DVD? I would love to see that! . Unfortunately we have no plans for that. The first season in particular would be very cool, but don't hold your breath waiting for that one. You mentioned that John Amiel contacted you about doing an ENTRAPMENT Special Edition. Is this in the works? (Would love to see the laser practice scene in full anamorphic glory!) wouldn't we all!! it is in the works and will be out very soon. It has 2 deleted scenes, tv spots, an alternate ending and a documentary, and commentary. Rental pricing generated a lot of buzz several months ago with some studios saying we would begin seeing rental pricing as early as the first half of this year. Since then, there has been no sign of a shift in that direction. Is there a new direction in pricing philosophy, or is rental pricing still emminent? I wouldn't discount the idea completely but I don't think its emminent. The impact dvd has on rental revenue is significant particularly in the days of revenue sharing agreements with the major retailers. Hate to "revert" to a VHS question, but what's the deal with the "Widescreen Collector's Edition" of Star Wars: Episode I? The pan-n-scan version is available as a movie-only edition, for less than $20, but the people that want the widescreen version have to buy the $30+ set with the extra stuff, that they might not want. Why? Thanks for coming to the chat--looking forward to watching The Abyss SE a week from now. The special edition was an attempt to give the Star Wars fan something special without asking them to uptrade a huge amount. The special edition MAP is under $30. Again this was something that we discussed with Lucasfilm and we jointly felt it was the best way to bring Episode I to market for the star wars fan and the regular movie fan. Do you have any plans to release 'Wall Street' on DVD? Yes it will be out later this year - quick answer to get more questions in. As with Laser discs, there were a ton of Great Box sets AKA Star Wars SE - Awesome! How come there has been no real push for Box Sets with DVD's? Wait until this fourth quarter - there will be enough sets to fill your xmas list. My Nikita Tape has the fox logo(not USA Tape) so I assume Fox may have the rights. Is there any chance of Fox releasing a decent anamorphic DVD to replace the awful Pioneer one already out? (didn't mention if fight club would be anamorphic) btw. your great attitude towards this chat has improved my image of Fox Home Video. Thank You . We dont have the rights to Nikita. Fight Club will be anamorphic. How's the 16x9 transfer of Butch Cassidy looking and thanks for realizing we want anamorphic! My compliments on the 16x9 transfers of The Thin Red Line, Alien Legacy and Patton. Butch Cassidy is looking great - its been fully restored and its just a classic film that deserves a great dvd. It was difficult tracking down extra material but we have a 45 minute documentary on there, interviews with the cast, commentaries, and original trailers. You said earlier that there's Special editions we haven't talked about, can you tell us what SE are in the work? X-Men is going to be spectacular, Titan ae will be very cool particularly with some of the new animation, and if you liked Something About Mary, watch out for Jim Carey in "Me myself and Irene" Jim Carey - outtakes enough said. And, on the other end of the spectrum, we are working with Julie Taymor on a Special Edition for Titus. When will we see Miller's Crossing and Barton Fink on dvd? There's a new Coen Brothers movie coming out this fall and it would make sense to bring these out at the same time. later this year. I would like to see Fox release a SciFi collector's series starting with ZARDOZ with new anamorphic transfers and extra goodies. I think these catalogue titles could be good sellers with grerat transfers and extra materials. Sharpline has experessed interest in doing supplements We have no plans for Zardoz, but we are looking at a number of classic sci fi releases later this year. I was going to ask about Entrapment, but... So... what is your personal favorite DVD, from Fox or otherwise? Tough one. I think Dreamworks did a great job on DTS Ryan. I think The Abyss is just an amazing way of taking a catalog title and doing something incredible with it. I think The Matrix just made me more competitive and wanted me to create even better dvd's here at Fox. I could go on and on.... A lot of what I was going to ask has already been asked, so I will just say that I would like to second Zardoz, Point Break and Better off Dead. My "request" if you will is from the ranks of obscurity - The Panic In Needle Park with Al Pacino! Am I correct in saying that Fox still has the rights to this? Also, any plans to redo the Die Hards? Done. I'm not familiar with The Panic in Needle Park in out catalog so the rights might have lapsed. No plans to redo Die Hard. Austin Powers has nothing on Derek Flint. We're being showered with great James Bond SE DVDs from MGM/UA. Will we see SE DVDs of OUR MAN FLINT and IN LIKE FLINT, with vastly improved color over the old Flint LD transfers, perhaps with commentary from the man himself, James Coburn? Sounds like a cool 2-DVD set to me. Thanks for the SE DVDs of PATTON and ALIENS and THE ABYSS, thanks in advance for the upcoming THE FLY ('58)/RETURN OF THE FLY ('59) It sounds as if you know something about the fly that might apply to flint himself. Look out for both Flint titles later this year. I'd like to request Scrooge and The Day the Earth Stood Still Collector's edition. Thank you. I'm sorry to end on a negative, but we don't have plans to do either of these this year. The Day The Earth Stood Still would be very cool if we did it right. DTS? we will be looking to support dts on future titles , but that can wait until next time! Peter, I must tell you something that is very true. During this chat I received many PRIVATE messages from folks telling me their faith has been restored in FOX, thanks to this chat. They also feel it is apparant you are a great fan of films, and Fox has made a wise choice of having you on board. This is one of the best chats we have held, and I can tell you that you have made the membership here quite happy. Thank You so much for doing this. Thanks to the people at FOX! You are welcome back anytime you want to promote a movie. Thanks Peter for the chat--I look forward to throwing money at your company in the future Yes thanks Peter, and re Star Wars: exploit me, that's what I'm here for!re: Star Wars, exploit me, that's what I'm here for! Its been a pleasure doing this - I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd love to come back in the fourth quarter and do it again or possibly host something around the launch of id4. Thanks for the opportunity, its been real fun. Thanks much, Peter! This Fox DVD has 82 different functions...83 if you wish to light a cigar...:) Thanks and keep up the 16x9 support! Thanks you for you time, Peter. We all appreciate it. thanks for spending some time with us - even the last 5 mins were informative, can't wait to read the whole thing! You are welcome back, Peter! I'm sorry that this is only my first HTF chat I've attended--I wish I could have been there for the other ones Peter, check the Studio Feedback section for a list of wanted titles! Yes, Peter, keep checking our STUDIO FEEDBACK area Peter, thanks again for coming! Simon, I second that. its a pleasure Session Close: Tue Mar 14 23:39:35 2000