Any Significance? (Indiana Jones) (1 Viewer)

[Douglas Monce]

I wouldn't be surprised to see the 4 indy film on HD sometime after the release. But I wouldn't expect to see the other films for a few years.

I'm gonna say that indy 4 will come out on SD only. 3 or 4 years from now we may get an HD boxed set.

Doug

 

[Joe_G]

That's what I'm thinking. Speilberg and Lucas were the last ones to jump on the dvd bandwagon,which was 3-4 yrs. after DVD was on the market, with Lucas being the last between the two. Since Indy is a Lucasfilm production, I think it's going to be a LONG wait before we see SW and Indy on HD.

I don't think will see any Lucasfilm titles in HD until there's only one HD format and enough market penetration with that format. American Graffiti might be the only exception, since Lucas doesn't have as much control over that title as he does with the rest.

 

[Paul_Scott]

I would think that Lucas and Spielberg are smarter than to just use a one size fits all paradigm when it comes to newer formats and distribution opportunites.
And these guys, especially Lucas, are opportunists.

There were a few things in play with DVD that impacted and influenced the way these properties were originally released, and when.
For one thing, Fox didn't even start releasing ANY dvds until late 1999 or early 2000. So when Phantom Menace showed up in 2001, it was
1) still fairly early in Fox's DVD history
2) postioned for Q4 sales
3) part of the early promotion/buzz for the next SW sequel the following summer.
It was on the shelf for Christmas sales, and would still be on the shelf for impulse purchases as buzz built for the second film.

In short, there wasn't a better time to release that particular film.

a year later, after AOTC had finished its run in the theater, did Lucas again wait 2 years before releasing the movie on DVD like he had done with the first film? No. The time to cash in on the film was then.

A year later when there was no new theatrical release, did he release the OT? No. But then, he was still making changes to it, and besides that he didn't have to- he had another property he could exploit- Indiana Jones.

But the year after that, well before his previous public statements of when the films were coming, he released the OT and started the ball rolling for buzz on the last prequel.

Three years later what is he down to releasing? The Young Indy TV show.
He can't release SW anymore , at least not for a while, because he's already saturated the DVD market with multiple repackings and repricings of that property.
And unless he kicks out a super duper uber IJ set on dvd next year, he isn't likely to move many more of those, since 90% of the people that have wanted it have had a chance to buy it in the last 4 (next year it will be 5) years.

in short; new format, different ballgame, different rules.
I think both of these guys are savvy enough businessmen to realize this.

 

[Douglas Monce]

While this is all true, one thing you missed is that Young Indy has been sitting on a shelf finished for almost 4 years waiting to be released.

Also by the time Lucas released Episode 1, DVD was in a lot more homes than HD DVD or Blu-ray are. I'm not saying that it won't happen, I'm just saying that I don't think its likely.

Doug

 

[Paul_Scott]

That's right, YIJ has been sitting there because Lucas had other, better things ripe for exploitation.
Even last years third release of the OT was designed to feed synergistcally off of something else (a Lego video game?)

I'm not up on the specifics of YIJ- If it ran for more than one season, it is possible the subsequent season(s) will come out in Fall '08 with the video release of Crystal Skull.
On the other hand, they could come out in May too.

I'm not saying an HD release is a certainty- I'm just giving it better than a 50/50 chance. Most other people here would probably put it like 80/20, 70/30 it won't come out.
I think the Christmas Lucas and Spielberg will be looking at how well Transformers, Harry Potter(boxset), Star Trek, and CEt3K do and how well inexpensive HD DVD players move, and I expect that to influence what they plan for '08.

 

[TheBat]

I wonder if lucas would HBO or cinemax play indiana jones like he did with star wars films.

Jacob

 

[JackKay]

I don't think there is enough hardware penetration to justify even the marketing expense in their eyes. 300 sold 150,000 copies (?) and is a top seller. Lucasfilm wants to sell millions, like when lV, V and Vl came out. I think they just see it as worth the wait. It's not like the demand for these movies will fade soon.

p.s. It's also a problem we early adapters have, once we have a high-def player hooked up to our high-def TV's we have an insatiable appatite for content and can't for the life of us understand whats taking so long.

 

[Jari K]

No significance whatsoever. Internet-sites will be flooded with news when these are being released on HD, so anything before that means nothing. I wonder why Amazon is doing this (this is not the only example)

 

[Joe_G]

Also keep in mind that Fox has NO control over the SW films. They did have control of ANH but gave Lucas the rights to that film for part of the PT distribution deal. So if Lucas wanted to release the films earlier on dvd, they would've had to do it, whether they (fox) were in the dvd game or not. I can see Spielberg giving way on HD-DVD/BD, but not Lucas - he'll wait until it's financially viable to jump in.

Also, this past summer, Rick McCallum said that no Lucasfilm title won't hit HD until there is one format. Things can change and have changed before, but that's the latest on Lucasfilm/hd/bd front.

 

[Jim_K]

Stop right there! Using facts and logic to dispel baseless speculation and delusional fantasy is unfair and uncalled for!

 

[Paul_Scott]

surely you are not suggesting that the words facts, logic, Rick McCallum, and Lucasfilm belong in the same sentence?

I could have sworn that the OT wasn't supposed to come out on DVD until after the PT was done? How could that have possibly happened if they gave their word?

 

[TravisR]

The difference is that they were saying that in 1999 or 2000 and the OT didn't come out until 2004. They're saying that they aren't interested in high def until there's one format in 2007, I don't think they'll suddenly change their minds in a year.

 

[Paul_Scott]

Change their minds on SW? No. That's not the point I was making.
IJ isn't SW. I was merely commenting on the notion of putting a lot of faith into the pronouncments out of McCallum and LFL.

The relationship LFL had to DVD was a special one due to circumstances beyond DVD itself.

 

[Averry]

But it's Paramount distro.


Do any of use know exactly how every single one of these movies is tied to who for what?


It's madness.

 

[Douglas Monce]

Lucas owns the Indiana Jones films and the Star Wars films. The studios only have distribution deals. Lucas can do what he wants with the films.

Doug

 

[Paul_Scott]

don't know why I didn't think of this earlier


Do you expect Lucas to re-release the first three films on sd dvd when Crystal Skull hits DVD in the fall of '08?

Do you expect these to sell well?

Will they need to load up more special features onto the set to make them sell well?

What would make people upgrade these films- given that the original set only had one bonus disc between all three films, how much more extra material would you realistically expect to be included on a new release?

How many units do you think they might move if they were re-released as combo discs?

For catalog titles like these, do you think the combo feature would work as a trojan horse?

Which scenario do you think would be more likely to move more units
-a re-release with several new extra bonus features per film
-a re-release with several extra bonus features per film + an HD DVD version on the flip side

still think these can only ever be years and years away?

 

[Chris Atkins]

You can still find the original IJ box set in Wal-Mart, Target, etc. I guess they could pull them and then re-release them next May...I would be shocked if they didn't.

 

[TravisR]

No. I think they'll promote the Young Indy sets and re-promote the original Indy box set in May and then in November, they'll focus on the Indy IV release.

 

[Jim_K]

Fact: Official word from Lucasfilm is that there will be no HD release of any Lucasfilm property until there is one HD format.

Logic: Based on the above it's highly unlikely that one of these formats will be gone by Q4 08 and based on the general apathy towards HDM from most consumers I don't see either format doing 3rd/4th year DVD-like $$ this time next year to convince them otherwise.

Fantasy: Amazon placeholder = HD release in the next year
or "I want it bad so it'll happen."

Conclusion: IJ4 on SD only coming Christmas 08 but I'll glady eat my shorts if I'm wrong.

and don't call me Surely!

 

[Paul_Scott]

[Juror #8's voice] I'm just saying it's possible...[[/voice]

Jim, I'm going to hold you to that- and no weasling out 14 months from now with something like "that shouldn't count, because it's a combo release. I meant there was no way we would see a plain HD release"