Back from Hollywood: A brief summary of our trip, plus: CLONES, SPIDER-MAN and MORE! (1 Viewer)

[Bill Kane]

ok, off topic -- am I the only one who wud like to see a photo ID, left to right,of our staff in the top o' the thread photo?

please....

bill

 

[JJR512]

I think the entire Moderating staff
who was on hand to hear what studio executives
had to say will all back me up in saying that
there are legitimate reasons for what the membership
may cite as bad decision making.

I bolded two parts from your quote. Regarding the first bolded part, the second bolded part is a big part of the reason why. Do the studios want us to understand? Then they should explain these things which you are not at liberty to say, or let you explain them. But if the studios are going to keep secrets on why this and that, then perhaps they should not be so surprised when people complain about this and that. People are less likely to complain about things they understand, or at least will complain more intelligently, which I think is what you're saying you'd like to see from the membership here.

 

[Art Martinez]

Hey all, this is not meant to be "thread fart". But to those of you who are unhappy with Wal*Mart, have you voiced your concerns about what versions of DVD's they choose to sell?

I work at a Wal*Mart and I agree with a lot of what you say about the ratio of P&S vs. Widescreen. Often times our store does receive more copies of the P&S version, than we do of the Widescreen. (Funny thing is, we usually sell more copies of the Widescreen, even when we receive more product in the P&S form. If I remember correctly we had a 60/40 split on LOTR in favor of P&S, but we sold more of the Widescreen at about 3 to 1.)

Anyway, the intent of my post is not to stop or hinder you all from voicing your animosity toward Wal*Mart. In fact I want to help you guys because I really hate seeing Wal*Mart being bashed for its negative impact on the DVD market. (Again, I admit, many times I can not argue with what people are saying, because it is true.)

Even if you do not shop at Wal*Mart, if you think that the company has a negative effect on the DVD market let Wal*Mart know about it. (Although, if you do want to get you message heard, you may want to say that you do shop at Wal*Mart. There is nothing a retail chain hates more than an angry customer who may not be spending more money with there company over something that can be fixed to satisfy the customer.) I would also suggest that you do not talk to people at the store level about this. Let's say that you tell an Electronics Department Worker about your disappointment for their choice in favoring P&S over Widescreen. That associate will then probably relay the message to either his/her department manager or store manager. The store manager will then tell their district manager, who then tells the regional manager. The regional manager then takes the message to the home office where someone will take note about the unhappy shopping experience that a customer had and will evaluate what is to be done about it. Believe me, the home office does not just put these reports in some file, never to be looked at again. As a supervisor I get daily notes about complaints, and we are required to send back our plans as to how we can better the situation.

My suggestion would be to call and/or write to the home office and let them know you are unhappy about the situation.

Again, just because I work for Wal*Mart, please do not think I am trying to support their decisions to carry more P&S titles over the superior Widescreen versions. I would really like Wal*Mart to take advantage of their opportunity to become a leader in offering the superior OAR versions of DVD titles.

If anyone has questions or comments, as to the best way to contact the Wal*Mart home office, please let me know. I would be happy to help in any way that I can.

 

[oscar_merkx]

wow, you go to sleep and you find that when you wake up and go back online to check out the responses to this thread, even more replies. It is interesting that Dan's thoughts about Dooku's past not being revealed now, makes EpII more intriging right now.

Art

great to hear what you think about the whole situation

 

[Dharmesh C]

What was AOTC's audio like? And particular stand-outs???

 

[Art Martinez]

Thanx Oscar, like a true HTF'er just doing my part.

 

[Adam_S]

Why can't these same people also get behind widescreen DVD? Imagine if filmmakers like Spielberg or even actors like Hanks or Cruise or Roberts appeared in short promotional clips talking about the value of widescreen and OAR. Imagine if these sorts of promo clips were featured in the same way some DVDs by major studios feature forced or automatic trailers. Surely these artists care about how their work is presented, and their words would carry more weight with the average consumer than would a studio representative or technical expert.

I think this would probably fall under the category of stuff that's impossible to add for legal issues, no doubt despite any of the artists good intentions or grand gestures their agents are going to make damn sure they don't hand out anything to the studios for free (after all if the celebrity gets paid something, their agent gets a chunk of it, so they have a stake to make sure they get paid for everything possible).
--- Back to the original post/topic...
What's really shocking is that this is still an issue at all. We've known for well over a year that the studios were not to blame at all, but the big retailers were, for putting pressure on the studios for pan and scan (because they were getting so much returned product due to consumer ignorance). I've thought for quite sometime that a truly successful campaign is not going to be an online petition for a catalog title to be rereleased, but to actually inform the retailers that they do have consumers that want, nay demand widescreen (as it is they've only been tending to the squeaky wheel), what have the satisfied customers (us with our oar presentations) done to tell WalMart that the product we got is exactly what we wanted, and preferable to an alternative presentation method? Every Wal Mart customer service desk has leaflets/brocheres to write letters of complaint to the office of local manager, district manager and the president of the company (and probably more). If HTF wanted to be really effective they should try to start up a "Wal-Mart campaign" to write actual letters complaining that for some reason Walmart is not carrying an OAR version of "My Girl", "The Road to Wellville", or "Ernest Scared Stupid". If Walmart gets complaints about titles they're not carrying in widescreen (because they don't exist) perhaps they'll decide they need to keep some of the widescreen version in stock, and when they can't immediately requisition it will put pressure on the studios for both versions. Unfortunately while this could possibly work, it will never happen because it involves more effort than dashing off a two minute email, that will most likely be trashed anyway. Actual letters are so much more tangible than online signatures or elusive emails; and they're taken much more seriously. Once again though, this is probably too much effort for most of HTF (it is for me); after all, how many HTFers are still CALLING disney to complain about pan and scan/open matte only releases? probably a very tiny percentage of those that called in the phone drive, and I bet that the volume of calls about widescreen=evil have not lessened in the months since. Inaction is tacit consent, most people are vocal in their disaproval, but never back it up with something more tangible than irate frustration on an internet message board.
No one is clearly the villian as all parties involved are to blame, except for 'joe-six-pack' as a collective, they are the only party acting out of ignorance, and can't be blamed for their lack of knowledge about (fairly obscure) film technicalia. the enthusiasts are to blame for our whining and complaining coupled with very little tangible action, and for leveling an unfair laundry lists of demands for every title (horrendous amounts of extra features, surround remix etc); the studios and retailers are equally to blame for failing to educate the mass consumer on the greatest feature of dvd (OAR); the retailers are to blame to caving to the the demands of ignorant customers and putting unfair pressure on the studios; and the studios are to blame for caving (to a degree) to that pressure.
There's alot that we take for granted (Walmart carrying dvds, making them available to a lot of people who otherwise would have no access), the way the studios have responded to our cries for OAR and anamorphic transfers (quite an obscene amount of them are out there, far outnumbering those without), and quality has consistently increased each year on new high profile releases (sound, transfer, and occasionally extras). Some Catalog releases have been getting a huge amount of love lately from Disney and Warner, both the vault disney and the two disc special editions make up some of the finest dvds released this year, and Disney has been doing a wonderful job on the Collector's market with their Disney treasures and Collector's series discs. I mention Warner and Disney because I think they get a lot of unfair flack, sure there are pan and scan releases, but in my opinion the good from the studios far outweighs the bad (though I am upset I won't be able to purchase Honey I shrunk the Kids or A Muppet Christmas Carol). And lets not forget the excellent job that MGM has made, catering to our demands.
Since I don't have HDTV equipment and probably won't for five years or more, why should I even worry about HDDVD, will I be able to buy Ernest Goes to Jail in OAR on HDDVD within the first couple years, or will it be more likely years and years (or how about never?) down the road? such a title would never convince me to invest lots of money in HDDVD alone, and I think it will be 5-10 years before the catalog is really developed on HDDVD, right now it's just beginning to really make a big appearance on DVD, why should I upgrade to a format that no doubt is going to rely chiefly on the huge blockbusters of the last twenty years for it's first two years? If it's a niche market what's the incentive to provide variety of product, especially when the difference (especially sonically) in old catalog is going to be miniscule at best?
I think the studios are doing a great job, and applaud Ron and company for defending them, there's no clear villian in the 'DVD/HT universe' and if anything is going to be accomplished some comprimises will have to be and the mud slinging stopped (thankfully it looks like that is grinding to a halt). Bring on the constructive criticism!
Adam

 

[Justin Pledger]

Hi

I have read this thread with great interest and whilst I absolutely do not want to come across as smug I have to point out that the withdrawal of studio support in reaction to posts here has been something I have warned would happen for some time both on this and other forums. I do not post here very often and tend to read a lot more than I contribute thanks to the volatility of the membership.

It was obvious that these unfortunate events would come to pass but I must say that whilst the postings of some members has been pretty appalling some blame must also lie with the HTF itself. Many threads started by Ron and others have inflamed the situation and done nothing to try and regain some semblance of reality. Threads such as secret conversations about OAR and ads in Variety and banning and alienating all those members who are not avid supporters of OAR, having a mission statement about the same sujcet matter - all these things conspire to create a community inflamed by one another - each egging the other on with talks of conspiracies and so on and on ad infinitum. I am not saying that the forum's management is to blame but that the blame cannot be laid squarely at the feet of a few, 'bad eggs' but on the community of this forum as a whole and that does include those responsible for its' direction.

I enjoy reading the majority of this forum immensely and there are many, many people who post here whose opinions I value. Let us try to regain some semblance of our enthusiasm for a format that has created this community in the first place without winding each other up to the point of fanatacism (a charge I have levied many times in the past.)

I love home cinema and DVD and it has bought enormous pleasure and satisfaction to my life. I make my living from it! I hope that this forum remains a resource and a place for us all to post our passions and our grievances but perhaps we will all be a little wiser and a little more gentle with one another.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Many threads started by Ron and others have inflamed the situation and done nothing to try and regain some semblance of reality.

Perhaps yes. Perhaps no. I still feel that all
the studios should have taken a stand and refused
to cater to Walmart's pressure. I also still feel
that anything we could have done to bring the OAR
situation to light through media advertising would
have brought more awareness to the situation.
There is a total lack of communication between
studios and media when it comes to this sort of
thing. I can see the studio side of it -- they
can't readily broadcast their reasons for what
they do. The media/Internet side is that without
this communication we are left to make judgements
on our own.
This is why our yearly trips to LA are so important.
It gives us the opportunity to talk to the various
studios and sort of get a feel as to why certain
decisions are being made. The fact that Columbia
and Fox sat down with us shows that these
are two studios (who have been under fire from this
forum) that CARE about what you guys have to say.
As I stated before, this forum will continue to
support all the studios. And, when there seems to
be a negative shift in attitude, we will be here
to voice our concerns. In any event, we expect that
all the feedback that comes out of this forum is
done in the most professional manner possible.

 

[Yumbo]

Ron,

Your explanation is a bit redundant.
We need to know, so that we don't speculate and whinge.

As a few have pointed out, I doubt places like Walmart (which I liked) call for P&S in niche titles.

Drop the extras if there is no space for P&S, but also make it SS-DL please.

I hope I've always been polite.

I agree that a celebrity (actor) explaining OAR would be highly effective.

There is a need for mor epeople like us to work at Walmart, to only buy from Walmart (when possible) and demand OAR as a choice, which then would filter back to studios.

yes, I still promote OAR instore.

Cheers

 

[Frank Anderson]

Jeez... all this talk about AOTC. Let's not forget that Spider-Man looked awesome as well. Better than it did in theaters.

I have a quick question about the spidey dvd.. did anyone from sony give an official statement about the missing teaser from the spider-man dvd?

Ron already answered this but guess who asked the question?

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

So who is going to be the first to compile all of the petitions aimed at the studios for OAR and retitle them for use towards Walmart? I know I'll continue to hide all of the P&S copies of dvd's as I come across them at my local Walmarts.
Cool news about the upcoming dvd's. I was really pleased to read about the extra short featuring Scrat. He definately made Ice Age a must buy.
Also really interesting to hear that HD-DVD has a good chance of showing up a year from now.
Can't wait to read your indepth reviews Ron.

 

[Walt Riarson]

Good reports, everyone. Glad to hear that the trip went well.

I used to love Columbia, but my opinion of them altered a little within the past year. This was mainly due to their P&S only titles (which has caused me to hope that certain titles on my Columbia wishlist...like Happy Birthday to Me...will not be released until they get all of their WS/P&S issues completely resolved) and their recent trend in completely changing original theatrical and VHS artwork for DVD releases. The changes have mostly been for the worst, as many fans can attest, causing the films in question un-deserving degradation.

Ron and a few others have answered the P&S Columbia questions, but did anybody ask them why they have changed their policy on original artwork being used for DVDs?

I know cover artwork is a relatively minor offense when we're also talking about the more serious issues like presentation, etc. but to a large portion of the DVD community, cover art is a part of the whole cinema experience. Me included.

Did Columbia give any info about why they've seemingly changed their cover art policy?

Once again, thanks goes to Ron and the mods.

 

[TheBat]

thanks you for the answer about the teaser?
how was the menus for the spidey two disc set?
thanks for the imput on the dvd.. on how it looks?

guess you asked that question? (about the teaser)
you did? Frank?

what did you think of the extras on the spidey dvd?

JACOB

 

[Ronald Epstein]

But am I to infer that we are to excuse any studio for releasing MAR product because they wine and dine you?

You have a lot of nerve making a statement
like that.

I would hope you would know all of us are
better than that.

Your question doesn't deserve a reply.

 

[John Berggren]

The studio absolutely wanted that teaser on
the DVD. They did not have the last say on it,
however. We will leave it at that.

woah.

I may be reading too much into this, but if I'm not... woah.

The studio SHOULD have the last word. I'm disturbed that there is an external force at work here.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

The studio SHOULD have the last word. I'm disturbed that there is an external force at work here.

When you are dealing with a licensed property, you don't always have the last word, and not just on matters like this.

 

[TheBat]

did sony say that they might be able to release the teaser at another time? perhaps when spidey 2 comes out or something?
wait a few years after the 911 thing?

JACOB

 

[Robert Crawford]

Jacob,
To answer your questions, you never can tell what might occur in future dvd releases.



Crawdaddy

 

[TheBat]

probably right Robert.

JACOB