Best of Route 66 - Page 4

Re: Best of Route 66

With reference to the inclusion of commercials, the best approach that I've seen is the "Studio One" releases from the Canadian releasing company VSC (Video Service Corp.). They give you the option of watching the shows with or without commercials. But I also liked Image Entertainment's approach to "Naked City." The commercials were there, but as an added bonus and not included as part of the shows.

Re: Best of Route 66

Here's yet another confirmation of the "Route 66" release on October 23rd, this time from CD Universe. This one is along the lines of Amazon's in that it lists Infinity Resources, Inc. as the studio and does not show a "season 1, volume 1" reference. But it appears that "Route 66" will get fairly wide distribution, at least in terms of online stores.

http://www.cduniverse.com/productinf...le=movie&BAB=M

Not to be an alarmist, but the description says 1 disc; I can't imagine this to be the case and am guessing (and hoping) that this is simply a lack of information on the part of CD Universe, i.e., they need to "fill in the blank" with some number and probably since little information is available at this point in time from Infinity, they simply used the minimum number.

*** UPDATE ***

Add Buy.com to the list of retailers: http://www.buy.com/prod/route-66/q/l...205001820.html

Re: Best of Route 66

Thanks, Ivan . . . . . this really makes it official and answers the question, somewhat, as to who Roxbury Entertainment is. It appears as if Roxbury has the rights to the series and Infinity is doing the distribution. The "Best of" set issued by Roxbury several months ago via Amazon appears to be a quasi-"home made" effort and it looks like they needed a company (in this case, Infinity) with good distribution channels to really get the season sets out to a wider audience. The press release does indicate that classic commercials will be included but does not answer the question as to whether they are embedded in the shows or included as an extra feature ala "Naked City" from Image. Based on Roxbury's initial release, they'll probably be embedded.

I still wonder, though, about the fate of "Naked City." The brief information at Billy Ingram's "TV Party!" blog suggested that Sony relinquished rights to this other great Herbert B. Leonard/Stirling Silliphant series. I wonder whether Roxbury picked up the rights to this series as well.

Re: Best of Route 66

I found this listing at Oddpath.com but can't swear that it's the same Roxbury Entertainment that's releasing "Route 66." My computer is also blocking access to the company's web site. For what it's worth, here it is:

http://www.oddpath.com/view/californ...ertainment-Inc

Re: Best of Route 66

Wow, the TVShowsonDVD.com article must have given this set a real shot in the arm sales wise, at least at Amazon. As of this writing, it ranked 2,260 among DVD sales at Amazon. If my memory serves me correct, it was something like 21,000 or so yesterday . . . . . not bad for a release that's three months away and has no available cover art yet . . . . . not quite "Fugitive" numbers, but not bad nonetheless.

Re: Best of Route 66

Gary, I think "The Fugitive" sales are going to surprise the folks at Paramount, perhaps not in the way that season 1 of "Hawaii Five-0" did, but still well enough that they might reconsider the split season sets for this series. I don't think that "Route 66" will do quite as well due to the fact that it's being released by a smaller studio and likely won't get shelf space at brick & mortars. In fact, I've yet to see anything from Critics Choice/Infinity Entertainment show up at a B&M; I think they're pretty much limited to online stores. By contrast, "The Fugitive" is sure to get space at Best Buy, Wal-Mart and, probably, Circuit City. Incidentally, the Amazon sales ranking for "Route 66" jumped to 897 this morning, so the online "Buz" is starting to take off.

Re: Best of Route 66

There's nothing really stopping Roxbury Entertainment (and its distributor Infinity Entertainment) from releasing the show on a season by season basis. But I'd guess that they have some concerns about releasing a 47 year old black & white drama (which Sony passed on releasing when they owned the rights), in a manner that's similar to Paramount's handling of "The Untouchables," "Perry Mason," "Rawhide," and the upcoming release of "The Fugitive." There just appears to be a bit more of angst on the part of the studios when it comes to releasing black & white dramatic series. But, they may also feel that with a list price of $29.99 (and discounted selling price of around $20 to $25) that they can sell more sets than a full season set that lists at $60 (discounted to $40 to $50), particularly to impulse buyers.

Re: Best of Route 66

Now starting to see some of the web sites dedicated to Route 66 (the road, not the series) mentioned by Michael KS in a previous post, pick up the information on the season 1, volume 1 release.

http://www.route66guide.com/ (scroll down a little)

As these sites begin to pick up on this information, this should really help stimulate interest in this release.

Re: Best of Route 66

Cool cover art posted at TSoD: http://tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=7781

Re: Best of Route 66

Found this article at the web site "Route 66 News" . . . . .


The upcoming DVD release of the critically acclaimed “Route 66″ television series will be a four-disc set of the show’s first 15 episodes in 1960.

Among the special features will be descriptions of the Chevrolet Corvettes used during the series’ run, plus biographies and filmographies of impressive list of actors who appeared on the show.

Also, new DVD sets of additional episodes of “Route 66″ will be rolled out about every six months, until all 116 episodes about Buzz and Tod’s road adventures across America are back in the market.

These additional details about the long-awaited DVD release of “Route 66″ episodes were revealed by Kirk Hallam, president of Roxbury Entertainment, during a telephone interview. Roxbury, along with distributor Infinity Entertainment Group, are releasing the first “Route 66″ set on Oct. 23.

Amazon.com is taking pre-orders for the set, with a list price of $29.98. That’s less than eight bucks per disc. “Route 66″ fans have waited for years for a proper DVD release, and shoddy bootlegs have made the rounds in the interim.

The episodes will be digitally remastered for the best sound and picture possible. Roxbury appears to have good record in this regard. It released a “Best of Route 66″ two-DVD set of 11 favorite episodes, which was widely praised for its picture quality.

Hallam said he hopes future DVD releases will contain interviews with “Route 66’s” directors and supporting actors. Unfortunately, that probably won’t include co-stars Martin Milner and George Maharis, both are in fragile health. Glenn Corbett, who replaced Maharis when he left the show, died in 1993. “Route 66″ producer Herbert B. Leonard died in October.

Hallam said he acquired the rights to “Route 66″ from Leonard about seven years ago and the distribution rights from Sony two years ago so he could produce a “Route 66″ feature film.

Hallam also acquired rights to Leonard’s “Rin Tin Tin” shows so he could produce a “Finding Rin Tin Tin” movie, slated to be released later this year.

Hallam said he always was a fan of the original “Route 66.” He found out he wasn’t alone.

“Along the way, we met so many people who asked, ‘Whatever happened to the old TV show? Why can’t we see it?’” Hallam said. “I realized there was a pretty big fan base who wanted to see it again.”

That convinced him to release “Route 66″ on DVD.
Hallam says the “Route 66″ feature film is in pre-production, with a release date of 2009 at the earliest. He says it already has secured a “major” director and screenwriter. Filming is tentatively scheduled for 2008.

Hallam says he and the main screenwriter soon will take a road trip down Route 66. He said all of the film’s exterior shots will be on the Mother Road, including in Joliet, Tulsa and San Bernardino.