Press Events

PRESS EVENTS

One of the most enjoyable things I do as a co-owner of this forum is to attend various Press Events that the studios throw to promote upcoming releases. These Press Events are usually in the form of huge, elaborate parties or functions that involve big-name celebrities. Here are the few of the most notable larger and smaller Press Events that Home Theater Forum has covered these past 10 years....

On June 11, 2001, Paramount held a street festival outside of Francis Ford Coppola’s pasta factory in Brooklyn to celebrate the release of THE GODFATHER DVD COLLECTION.

(Left) Emcee Martin Blythe and (Right) Paramount Home Entertainment President Eric Doctorow

The guest of honor, director Francis Ford Coppola

MOULIN ROUGE

This is the one event that I will never forget. Imagine taking the entire floor of of a high-scale New York City hotel and turning it into a brothel. This is exactly what the folks at Fox Home Video did! Once I stepped off the elevator I found myself transported back in time to the Moulin Rouge, its many courtesans, and of course....Baz himself!

(Left) Director Baz Luhrmann and Ron Epstein (Right) Fox Senior VP Peter Staddon and Ron Epstein

IT’S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD

This forum has provided me the opportunity some very special memories. Imagine the opportunity of spending an entire day with Film Preservationist Robert Harris, who in March 2002 was compiling missing footage from Stanley Kramer’s “It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World,” to present to MGM in hopes of a restoration.

An entire reel from this landmark film has been damaged due to storage neglect. The reel is warped, reaking of a vinegar-like odor and easily crumbled if touched.

When the announcement was made that the greatest science fiction trilogy of all-time was being released to DVD, Home Theater Forum went to New York City for the grand Press Event.

Various pictures of the highly animated Mark Hamill. (Left) Restorationist John Lowry and Ron Epstein

To celebrate the release of X-Men 2 on DVD, Fox rented out a club in downtown New York City and invited the entire cast and press to mingle with each other.

(Left) Restorationist Robert Harris