Official Warner Chat Discussion See Post #2 for Chat Transcript Link. (1 Viewer)

[Elijah Sullivan]

Nobody asked about BLADE RUNNER?

:frowning:

I know it's about the most repititive thing Warners has ever been plagued with, but the question is obligatory!

 

[PhilipG]

No Looker? :frowning:
No (w/s) Man With Two Brains SE? :frowning:
No definite plans for (anamorphic) Ladyhawke SE? :frowning:

Hmph!

 

[Joe Caps]

Couldn't join the conversation last night.
Butit shows you, that unless you ask specific questions, you won't get specific answers.

I love musicals, but the only info I got about them is that Goddbye Mr. Chips won't be until 2007 and the SEof Americna in Paris promised for this year won't be until 2007 either.

 

[Steve...O]

Any guesses as to the 2 non musical Doris Day films being released? One has got to be STORM WARNING which was mentioned in last year's chat. If the other is WINNING TEAM that would lead credence to the rumored Reagan set. Or it could be WEST POINT STORY.

I must say, one of my favorite parts of the chat was Mr. McCart's question about the Caddyshack II 3 disc SE?

Great to see so many B-movies on the radar of so many different genres (mystery, action, comedy, etc.). As much as I love the A list titles, it's those B movies that I grew up with that have gotten recorded most often over the years and that get watched over and over again.

Steve

 

[Mark Cappelletty]

BLADE RUNNER came up. They were deliberately vague on it.

Was only around for 1st half of the chat, but couldn't get in no matter how hard I tried. Can't beieve someone didn't mention O LUCKY MAN! Am dying to know i they're ever going to put out THE BUTCHER BOY or M. BUTTERFLY, but fear those, like SUBURBIA, are low on the totem pole. No FEARLESS SE? And no questions about THE DIRTY DOZEN or GRAND PRIX SEs coming out later this year? I think an EXCALIBUR SE would be a no-brainer and a big seller.

Seems like a lot of opportunities were lost this time out in terms of questions (did someone REALLY ask about a Mandy Moore SE?). This was a good thread though to check to see if Warner had already addressed an issue or two while you were waiting to post.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Here's the Warner chat transcript so you can see all of the questions and answers in their entirety. It was a great chat and even though some of you might be disappointed in some of their answers, that doesn't mean that certain requests will not be met in the future. I can't tell you how many titles have made it to dvd due to the efforts of the HTF membership. However, it should be obvious that they simply can't release all of our personal favorites to dvd because like it or not, they're a business that operates like any other company within the constraints of their budgets and financial projections.





Crawdaddy

 

[walter o]

Mark,

odd HIGH ROAD and LASSITER would not be under WB control anymore, considering the Golden Harvest titles Fox put out, DEATH HUNT and MEGAFORCE is still under Fox, as DEATH HUNT recently came out from Anchor Bay thru their deal with Fox, and Fortune Stars logo wasn't anywhere in the Anchor Bay's package.

 

[Dale MA]

Great, great chat last night. I got my question in:


Very interesting to hear that the Tough Guy Collection IS basically the Gangster Collection Vol. 2 -- also this set sounds stunning, a must buy!

Warner Brothers really are an incredible studio

I wanted to ask about the chances of a Giant 50th Anniversary Edition but you can't win 'um all!

 

[Eric Peterson]

Some great, great news!

I'm glad to hear that some Norma Shearer is on the way. One of the greatest stars of the late 20s and early 30s, but is nearly forgotten now.

I'm also very excited about nearly every boxset mentioned, and especially the Lon Chaney, Tough Guys, Jimmy Stewart, Cagney, etc.., etc..

My only disappointment is that there were few dates offered.

Thanks WB, and I can't wait for the Animation chat!!!!!

 

[Jay E]

Every year I really miss not getting to participate in the Warner chat, at least to show my gratitude for their excellent, and appreciative approach to their film library. Just imagine what the DVD world would be like if Universal, Paramount & Sony had the same approach as Warner...yes it would be heaven

Some great films asked about in the chat, and I'm so excited that many of them will see the light of day on DVD withen the next 2 years!!!

Thanks to Anders for asking about Up the Down Staircase! I hope it does come out in 2007.

Great News on Prince of the City and the MGM horror titles from the 30's!!!!

Keeping my fingers crossed on the Allied Artists titles, especially the sci-fi/horror ones.

I'm a little disappointed that The Devils has not been finalized for release...I really hope that when it does it will be fully restored. Very disappointed that Fearless won't be released any time soon in it's OAR.

I would have asked about Straight Time, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and Billy Budd if I could have attended the chat. Hope these are being considered for release one day.

Overall, an excellent chat and thanks to Warner & HTF for making my day, week & year!!!!

 

[dana martin]

First of all thank you Robert for the compilation list of announcements, last nights chat was great, and i believe we will be getting a lot of great things the year and next.

Agreed that some of the answers might have sounded vague to some, i look at it as the glimmer of hope, and the fact that the stated that PD is hell is such a wonderful statement coming from an industry leader. I only wish that more would feel this way and correct it.

the other thing that was one of my questions aside from the Tarzan and Dorian Gray, oh yea baby with the color inserts!!! just wish i could have gotten in and ask if they were planning on releasing Lugosi's eight Monogram pictures, i think they own those. one of the other topics was the packaging, because i have noticed that some were concerned with them changing certain series, that had been started.
what i got from last nights chat is that if it is an existing or on going it will follow the same format.
one of the topics that i did not see discussed is HD/BD and what is going to be done with that, as badly as i want the new Kubrick's and i am waiting to hear the extra features, i wonder if these will be same day releases?

 

[ReggieW]

I also wonder if "Beast of the City" and 'The Secret Six" will be somewhere among the Gable/Harlow releases? They have been unavailable on VHS for a long time now, and I would certainly like to retire my shabby VHS copies taped off TCM.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I just want to thank all of you for being
part of last evening's chat. Everyone was
highly respectful to our guests, and that
allows us to do more of these kind of events.

There was a lot of great information provided
by the studio. I think we got in all the big
questions we have been discussing for months.

The studio attitude toward Internet forums like
ours has changed greatly over the years. We were
an important source of feedback during the infancy
of the format. Now, I find it impossible to get
studios to even do these kind of chats anymore.

It's a shame, because Internet forums like this
shaped the DVD format and catapulted its growth.
The same thing will happen when HD-DVD/BLU-RAY
arrives in a few months.

The point I am making is that last year Parker
and I had the opportunity to go out to Warner
Brothers and meet George Feltenstein, Ronnee
Sass and a few other people from WHV. I was
taken back by how excited all of these people were
about meeting us. They read this forum on an
almost daily basis, and they see the value of what
goes on here. George Feltenstein is a character
full of life. He sat and told us stories of the
movie stars he met and how they interacted with
the studio when it came time to putting their films
on DVD. I would have loved nothing more than to
put Robert Crawford in that room with him
and watched the both of them discuss classic film.

These guys know their product. You saw
how knowledgeable George and company were last night
about not only their library, but others.

Moments before the chat last night, I received a
call from George and the gang. They were so excited
about doing this chat. You could hear it in their
voices. They absolutely love to come face-to-face
with their consumers -- something that other studios
do their best to shy away from.

Yeah, I'm sure this all sounds like a huge "Class A"
suck-up post, but I really wanted to convey to all
of you that this studio, above most others, really
cares about what you say on this forum. I think you
will find that titles released in 2007 will be a
direct result of some of the requests you made last
night.

Thank you all for the deserved respect you gave
our guests last night. It made Parker and I very
proud of our members here.

 

[Charles Ellis]

I was the one who asked about the Dark Shadows films last night- after two prior years of not being able to get WB's attention during its annual chat!!! Darren Gross (who is spearheading the NODS restoration effort) was also at the chat, and he is worried that the WBHV may just use the 97-minute version of Night of Dark Shadows in a double-feature disc with House of Dark Shadows.

We must all tell George Feltenstein to start moving with the NODS restorartion ASAP!! The diehard fans will only accept the pre-release 129-minute version. Also, producer/director Dan Curtis is fully behind the NODS restoration efforts, so Warners will have to listen to Mr. Curtis and the fans. Maybe George can take a page from the Paramount HV execs who have listened to Star Trek fans who demanded special releases!!

 

[Jeff Wilson]

Very disappointed to read that The Magnificent Ambersons remains stuck in the eternal search for better materials, but since the Warner folks mentioned Journey Into Fear as being tied into Ambersons' release, hopefully they will include both extent cuts of Journey on any release, i.e. the American release cut and the alternate European cut. Very excited as well that The Loved One is coming out...

 

[Joe Karlosi]

That's great to know, Ron. I only wish the other studios felt the same way. So there's no luck whatsoever in getting new chats organized with Universal, Fox, Columbia, etc...?

 

[Randy Korstick]

Dissapointing news on The Bowery Boys films delay. I too am willing to overlook quality on these films just to have them. Since these are old B-Films from Monogram its hard to expect too high of quality anyways. Since these films have been hard to find for the last 20 years just to have them all would be the key to the release. I think most fans would agree. I also really want them in order to see the changes in characters and change to the tone of the series as the serious elements are slowly dropped in favor of pure slapstick. I hope they don't mix them up and just give us the ones with the best prints and then stop the series.

Good news on Errol Flynn Vol. 2 though especially with "Gentleman Jim".

 

[Danny Burk]

Very pleased and excited to learn about all the upcoming goodies last night. The Chaney set, other silent treasures, PRISONER OF ZENDA trio, William/Myrna, '30s horror, and Norma Shearer set (with silents!) have all made my day.

I'm glad Norma isn't being overlooked; I was afraid that her films might not be represented on DVD since none, other than THE WOMEN, have been released so far. Hmm, I'd guess that STUDENT PRINCE will be one of the silents...

I agree that PICTURE SNATCHER would be a terrific choice, either for an upcoming Cagney set, or equally good as a Pre-Code inclusion. I saw it on TCM for the first time last year and I'm now regarding it as one of my favorite Pre-Codes.

Many of my questions were answered in the chat. I couldn't get through to ask one that particularly interested me, so in case the WB guys are reading, I'll mention it here! It would be fantastic if something were done with some of the films that presently have rights problems and can't be shown, even on TCM. Many of these have major stars - LETTY LYNTON, IT'S A WISE CHILD, CHRISTOPHER BEAN, the silent GARDEN OF ALLAH - and I know that a lot of us are dying to see these. What a great addition these would make...maybe a "Buried Treasures" set?

One more thought: TCM widely promotes its "Young Composers" ongoing series. Wouldn't these make a nice set?

Thanks, WB!

 

[Parker Clack]

Sorry to hear that some of you had issues with the chat last night. The java works pretty good but if you have issues with java on your computer or you are behind a firewall you will not be able to connect. The other issue is with shadowfire.org that handles the irc. They require that the network you are accessing the chat through is recognizeable. If it is not shadowfire will not connect you.

If the future the best way to use the chat is to download an irc client like mIRC or Pirch. While the java client is good a dedicated irc program is the best way to go.

Thanks to everyone for participating last night. I know some of you were not given the chance to ask a question but some really great questions were asked and we got some really good news about a lot of upcoming titles. I don't know about you but my checking account is runny out of money.

We will be letting everyone know when Warners is up for a chat about animation and TV product. So stay tuned.

Our thanks to Crawdaddy and Keith for taking the time to post the questions asked and the answers to those questions in this thread.

George, George and Ronnee. Great job as usual and thank you again for a wonderful evening with out membership.

 

[Kevin Martinez]

No one asked about Pee-Wee's Big Adventure? Crap, Crap, Crap.

Also, Beetlejuice being mentioned in the same sentence as Blade Runner isn't too assuring for me.


Hope the animation chat turns out better.