Lucasfilm's Rick McCallum says DVD hurts box office returns. (1 Viewer)

[Mark Hanson]

Lots of comments, still a bad movie is a bad movie. Have seem more in the last 12 months at the theater than the last 8 years. Had something I wanted to see, even though I knew I would get the DVD. This did not include a number of high budgeted high paid cast movies, that the reviews of on imdb and others thumbs downed on. To be honest the internet and reviews are more likely to hit the Box office returns than DVDs. Word of mouth and reviews made this years sleeper hit and have kept in the top 10 for how may weeks?

So get the hint, I enjoyed the original Star Wars 3 times each, but it is not a holy grail to me. The movies were good and made me want to see the next, so after Episode 1 it was a lets wait movie, effects, etc were not the sales for us. I had to want to see the movie, those that I do not want to see go to the DVD only or the skip it categories. Even though I will not reach the levels of other HTF members, the DVD collection is getting nearer to 1000 than I ever expected it to. This says something must be going right for the studios with DVD. Since Lucas is not selling his gold mine and producing movies not up to what some of expect in storyline they may have a slightly different opinion than other studios. They other studios know at current prices I will see time 2 and 3 at home and sell me the disk to do it.

 

[Josh Lowe]

I'd say the overwhelming probability is that the "legit copies" are actually LD dupes available on the Asian market, as discussed in another thread. The "I'm a good friend of George Lucas" story is a nice way to impress some people, though.

Go read the thread. While what you're still saying is very possible, I'd say that the possibility of them being legit is equal.. based on the belief that the poster is being truthful.

 

[Ricky Hustle]

Literally, our very lives are at stake now. George and I are just praying that we can finish 'Episode III' in time, before it's all over."

Is he fucking kidding me? Does this idiot actually expect us to empathize with his situation. I'm really late to this thread as I am not really a SW/GL fan, but I can't help but laugh at the above statement.

 

[RobertR]

based on the belief that the poster is being truthful.

The poster said his client told him something. The issue isn't whether the poster is being truthful about what he was told, but rather the source of what the client claims he has (he's NOT the first person to claim he has "legit" DVDs of the OT), which the poster hasn't independently verified.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Let's stay on the McCallum comments in the thread, there's already the other thread for the "validity" of Lucas's home made DVDs.

McCallum should feel fortunate that ticket prices are as high as they are at the box office because I sort of think that the demand for Star Wars films (in terms of attendance) is a price inelastic, i.e., no matter how much the tickets are, there is a core audience for Star Wars films that isn't getting that much larger with each successive installment.

Whether it's because people rather wait for the DVD, or not, it's Lucasfilm's fault for releasing the DVDs if they were so concerned about losing BO money. If they wanted to squeeze as much BO as possible, they should have waited to release TPM on DVD until Episode III was through with its threatrical run. But that's just leaving money on the table, so they put out TPM on DVD last year to get more money into their coffers, while moaning and groaning about how DVD is ruining their BO take. He wants it both ways.

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

Patrick,

I think you're exactly right.

On Lucasfilm's products, I don't know anybody who forwent seeing Menace or Clones in theaters because of impending DVDs. I do think many people might have seen the films less often or not at all because of the mixed reviews (both critically and popularly) that both films garnered.

 

[Scott Barnhart]

Literally, our very lives are at stake now. George and I are just praying that we can finish 'Episode III' in time, before it's all over.

I agree with Rick Gregoria - empathy is not something I can feel for Lucas's "precarious" position. I'm all for capitalism and the rich enjoying the money they worked for, but "our very lives are at stake now"? What bombastic, faux-common-man hyperbole!
According to Forbes this year, Lucas's net worth is $3 billion and he is 57 years old. Let's assume he will live to be 97 years old, that is 40 more years, or 14,600 more days. So if he just cashes out now, never makes another penny as long as he lives, and doesn't earn interest on anything, he has $205,479 a day to live on for the rest of his life! Oh, if only I could fight for my life in such circumstances!

 

[Ricky Hustle]

So if he just cashes out now, never makes another penny as long as he lives, and doesn't earn interest on anything, he has $205,479 a day to live on for the rest of his life!

That's all? Geez! That really isn't much. Maybe we should send some cans of food.