Ed Wood delayed AGAIN??? (1 Viewer)

[Colin Jacobson]

Yeah, but in that instance, they wanted to promote the awards won by the film itself. Not an issue for Wood...

 

[Stu Rosen]

Post Edited By Administrator. Please, don't name retailers that break street dates.

I love the movie, but is this something that's going to go for a bloody fortune on eBay thanks to people who can't wait a few more months (when it'll probably be released)?

In other words, do I break open the shrink-wrap?

 

[Robert Ringwald]

I'll bet it'd make a killing on Ebay. And since you can probably just get it at a later date... I'd go for selling it.

 

[Randy A Salas]

Right, and Warner waited until Bowling for Columbine had been rescheduled by MGM before it announced a release date for its DVD of Roger & Me--the same day as that of Bowling. Again, it's piggyback marketing.

The difference here is that Disney announced its most recent release date for Ed Wood in early November--well before Big Fish came out and started getting all the Oscar buzz, which has been building in recent weeks. So now Disney has to backtrack, much to the chagrin of Ed Wood fans, to capitalize on the free promotion and added consumer interest it could get from a re-release that's timed with that of Big Fish.

 

[James Reader]

But does the average person in the street care about who directs a film? They don't even care about pan and scan releases. Will a sticker really encourage that many sales for a film like Ed Wood? Plus, everyone knows who Depp is, and the sort of people to be impressed with a Murry nomination for Lost in Translation are likey to know about Ed Wood anyway. Can anyone actually show me that such promotions actually work to a significant amount?

There is a slight difference, while the other releases were held back for piggy-back promotion, Ed Wood was made, shipped and distributed. Delaying a release date when no physical product exists is not costly. Recalling stock, paying for shipping back to the distribution center (and then the studio?) does cost money. As does storing the discs in a warehouse until Disney decide to release them.

It still sounds like a lot of effort and money for limited returns to me.

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

I can understand the idea behind holding the title back to promote the presence of Oscar nominated/winning actors/directors in the film, but what about the people that have had this title on order for YEARS? If they are holding Ed Wood back for an Oscar tie-in promotion, can't they gather up a list from vendors and send out the finished copies to the people on those lists? Of course, we won't know why the delay, just like we still don't know why it was delayed the first time.

Bruce

 

[WillG]

I don't think, (for the sake of arguement I'll just say)J6P really cares about who directed a film. But many of the people described by the characteristics above can be impressionable and tend to form opinions on the quality of a film by buzz. In contrast, most members on this forum would probably at least read a few reviews before picking up the DVD or going to a film. So "Big Fish" is now getting this Oscar buzz, people go to check it out. "Ed Wood" is more of a cult film. So, even putting a just a sticker on the "Ed Wood" package that says "From Tim Burton, Oscar Nominated/Winning Director of "Big Fish" probably will result in some more sales of the title. Don't know how much, or if an incremental forecast increase justifies the delay and associated costs (I guess the studio believes it does, if this is indeed the reason)

Not that we aren't immune to impulse when it comes to buying DVDs either, but people like us usually go in with a little more knowledge

 

[Julian Lalor]

Which of course explains why, for a second time the disc was physically delivered to retail stores and then pulled. What was that the reason the disc was pulled the first time? You do not release a DVD to stores and then recall it just so you can add a sticker about the participants current Oscar chances. Murray's nomination for Best Actor, at least, has been a sure bet for months. This title could easily have been delayed a fortnight weeks ago. This is, and always will be, a marginal title as far as the mainstream audience goes. Landau and Rick Baker won Oscars for this film and it still didn't perform well when released to home video in 1996.

 

[GuruAskew]

It makes some sense that Disney would pull this DVD to wait on Oscar nominations as long as you don't factor in the cost of producing a disc, shipping it out to stores, recalling it and ultimately destroying it. The ability to slap a sticker on the case that proclaims the Oscar nominations blows a huge hole in the side of that argument. That, coupled with the previous cancelation, points to a rights issue.

 

[Jonathan.e]

Being pedantic, the disc wasn’t recalled. Existing copies were allowed to be sold but all future pressings after the settlement date had to have the statue digitally blurred. Also the sculpture used in the movie was (too)"similar" to an existing work by an artist but it was not his actual piece that was used in the movie.

 

[Don Giro]

I seem to remember a similar situation when "LA Confidential" was released way back when. I was lucky enough to get one on the original release date, but stores like J&R and Virgin claimed they got WAY fewer copies than usual. They were unavailable for weeks, if memory serves me correctly, re-surfacing again after Kim Basinger won the Academy Award...

 

[Robert Ringwald]

Yeah a lot of people tend to form opinions based on the opinions or buzz already generated by a film.

More people will go see, and sometimes even like a film more, if there is general oscar buzz.

I talked to a friend of mine (considers herself a huge film fan, she's probably seen more films on the AFI list for.. ____ insert any genre/category here..., than I have.) yet...when we talk about certain movies, and I give a different opinion... such as...

"Oh, I didn't care for _______movie because of this reason..." she responds with "You know, it was an oscar winner."

Like that automatically makes it more valuable to her personally.

So a lot of people honestly would pick this up after seeing it was associated with Big Fish.

 

[JonZ]

Like I said - when you go multi region your want list gets MUCH shorter.

I cant believe this title has been delayed again. This is one of only 4 LDs I still own (along with Star Wars Faces THX and Dream Lover).

Im tired of waiting. I want to retire my LD so Im going outside Region 1 for this.

A HUGE again to my least favorite studio

 

[Bill Geiger]

Speaking of ebay, look at this nonsense

LINK TO LIVE EBAY AUCTION REMOVED BY ADMIN. DO NOT REPOST.

 

[Matt Gordon]

As badly as I want a copy, I would never give my money to people who do that. When I get my copy, I'll pay list price plus shipping, at most.

 

[JonZ]

That price tag looks like FYE to me. Maybe Ill go by and see if they have any.

Both FYE and Suncoast didnt go out of their way to get back recalled version of Swamp Thing(I saw the title in both places weeks after the recall).

I have 2 FYEs by me and theyre also constantly breaking street date as well - sometimes by a couple weeks.

 

[todd stone]

haha, I would never pay that much for someone that greedy.

 

[Marty Christion]

Logically, there is only one explanation.

Once the discs are made and shipped, it must cost mucho $$$ to cancel them, especially if they have to destroy them and make new ones (which we'll see when the new disc gets announced). There is no rational reason for Disney to lose $$$ on an old title like Ed Wood. If they wanted to tie it in, they could still re-promote it.

The only person who wouldn't care about Disney losing the $$$, and have the power to stop it, is Tim Burton (or maybe Johnny Depp?)

Unless it is a huge quality control screw up, I think it can be safely said that it isn't Disney's doing.

 

[Dave H]

The market is what is driving the price. People WANT to pay that much for it. Nothing wrong with that.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't pay more than $20.00 for it. Good movie, but that's all it's worth to me --- especially knowing *some* day we'll be able to get it for under $20.00.

 

[CraigF]

Well, call me suspicious (esp. of eBay and its affiliates), but considering the status of this release, I would assume anybody who pays that much at this point is either rich or plans to bootleg it (notice I didn't say they're stupid!).

Edit: The pre-order price at amazon.ca was ~Cdn$20, about US$15, so we sure can't complain about that...once we get it.