WHV Announcement: Looney Tunes: The Platinum Collection Volume 3 (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Dick]

That's why studios don't like to do chats because if they don't release a title as originally planned, people accuse them of broken promises not delivered. Crap happens within the studio structure. Not much different than other large corporations as company politics, bean counters putting their foot down and marketing downturns affects titles release plans.

I don't know, Robert -- my sense in reading the text of every chat that has occurred on HTF is that they were courteous to a fault and mutually-informative. That is not to say that some posted comments after a chat weren't a bit harsh, but the chats themselves were beyond reproach on both sides of the discussion.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I don't know, Robert -- my sense in reading the text of every chat that has occurred on HTF is that they were courteous to a fault and mutually-informative. That is not to say that some posted comments after a chat weren't a bit harsh, but the chats themselves were beyond reproach on both sides of the discussion.

There is more to the chats than just the published transcript and that's all I'll say on that matter.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

The chats were always courteous.

The aftermath thread of comments....well....often weren't.

...and that made things incredibly uneasy for us and them.

People didn't realize that the studios just can't come on here
and announce their upcoming slate of releases. To this day,
it's very difficult to get a date out of anyone on projects that
we know are already completed.

This is information that has always been kept tight to the vest.

However Warner Bros. always gave us an exclusive on at least
one or two titles. We knew that in advance and were very thankful
they used our chats for that purpose. The rest? Well, what else are
you going to say when you really can't say anything.

I know the studio took a beating on The Bowery Boys by promising
its release 5-7 years before it actually happened. However, there
were some crucial things that happened with those titles and the DVDindustry itself that ultimately delayed those releases.

The studio also took a huge amount of criticism from HTF members
over their Warner Archive Program. Granted, they had a very shaky
start, but a lot of things were out of their control. I think they attempted
to put their best foot forward from the beginning, and when things went
wrong, they learned from their mistakes. Today, I think they have a very
successful program going.

Really, the folks at Warner are still the good guys in this business. The
people there really do care about their library.

It's a real loss for this forum and its members not to be able to persuade
the studios to do these chats anymore. I just don't think they want to be
put under the gun for everything they say and get chastised for the things
they cannot.

In all, it seems the industry is just not the same as it was when this forum
began in 1997. Back then, it seemed to me the studios catered more
towards the collector. Today, you can see it's all about milking titles over
and over again to squeeze as much money out of the consumer as possible.

Just my opinion.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Another thing, certain members like to question the integrity of specific studio executives. Doing so, makes it a personal matter for those executives so I can't blame them if they don't want to directly converse with the general public by doing chats.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

^^^^^^^^^That's sadly the truth.

 

[JoHud]

Didn't they stop the chats when George Feltenstien and his colleagues branched off into the Warner Archive division? It seemed his tenure in WHV was instrumental in reaching out to the hardcore fandoms and collector demographic. It holds true with the WAC--what other MOD line reaches out to the Comic Con crowd and other fan conventions? Probably likes it better in the WAC too because there's less bureaucratic red tape involving certain films not being considered profitable enough or too obscure to release.

The chats are somewhat less important now with the exception of what wondering what blu-rays WHV are cooking up. The WAC Facebook and Twitter page generally answer what they can about ownership and when films are in the pipeline. Even then a lot of upcoming blu-ray releases tend to leak early (i.e. The Time Machine). Though it's not quite the same thing, they also have a letter reading segment in their weekly podcasts that answers consumer questions or shares their views on the program. One of their December podcasts offered the only news of a golden age cartoon collection in the works. The podcasts also put forward a more human face behind the home video program than a usually canned official chat.

We certainly don't need a chat for these blacklisted cartoons since it's patently obvious the studio has no intention of releasing them and will try its best to pretend they don't exists outside of physical print assets. It's not about those select cartoons sitting around waiting for some home video love, they're off the table entirely and would be treated like every chat question pertaining to The Devils.

 

[lukejosephchung]

It's been made pretty clear by industry figures "in-the-know" who communicate with this Forum that ONE specific unnamed executive who has veto power is holding back the blacklisted cartoons...it's definitely NOT the entire studio, so I wouldn't condemn those who want these missing cartoons out there but aren't being ALLOWED to release them...

 

[Ken_Martinez]

@Ejaniss, on the last page:Not to derail the thread, but wasn't that the case for the animation chats, too? I seem to recall most of the questions being about Hanna-Barbera shows (and shows that WB didn't own were usually H-B's work-for-hire).

Plus animation always shared the chat with Live-Action TV, the fans of which were equally guilty of supposed "pie-in-the-sky" requests and asking for shows WB doesn't own. Is it only wrong or unacceptable when animation fans do it?


@lukejoesphchung: This. It's hard to defend a blu-ray getting screwed because of one executive's personal vendetta.

JoHud makes the most sense. The folks who spearheaded the chats and seemed to like dealing with fans are with the Warner Archive now. The Facebook page is essentially the successor of the chats.

 

[Robert Crawford]

@Ejaniss, on the last page:Not to derail the thread, but wasn't that the case for the animation chats, too? I seem to recall most of the questions being about Hanna-Barbera shows (and shows that WB didn't own were usually H-B's work-for-hire).

Plus animation always shared the chat with Live-Action TV, the fans of which were equally guilty of supposed "pie-in-the-sky" requests and asking for shows WB doesn't own. Is it only wrong or unacceptable when animation fans do it?


@lukejoesphchung: This. It's hard to defend a blu-ray getting screwed because of one executive's personal vendetta.

JoHud makes the most sense. The folks who spearheaded the chats and seemed to like dealing with fans are with the Warner Archive now. The Facebook page is essentially the successor of the chats.

To a point and that's a fact not an opinion as some nasty things have been said on this forum about one of those individuals.

 

[AnthonyClarke]

Do we have a list of the blacklisted cartoons? I know the T & J blacklist, but does the exec's veto power extend to Looney Tunes as well or do her powers stop there? I'm wondering whether Rhapsody Rabbit has suddenly become off-limits because of Bugs pulling a gun on the audience ... ..... but then, can't see that being a worry in the USA!

 

[Ejanss]

Do we have a list of the blacklisted cartoons? I know the T & J blacklist, but does the exec's veto power extend to Looney Tunes as well or do her powers stop there? I'm wondering whether Rhapsody Rabbit has suddenly become off-limits because of Bugs pulling a gun on the audience ... ..... but then, can't see that being a worry in the USA!

I suspect Australia's censorship is different. (The Aussie version of the "50 Years of Bugs Bunny" short had to have a clip from "A Lad in His Lamp" removed, not for content, but probably just because the short may have become off-limits.)

The Censored Eleven are mostly old 40's racial depictions, and don't affect the more modern cartoons, but they've been the fan Holy Grails all along.
Even Turner-blacklisted cartoons, like Mississippi Hare, Bewitched Bunny (oh, brother, the reason that one was censored! ) and Frigid Hare all showed up on the GC DVD's.

 

[AnthonyClarke]

Thanks for that ... I'll trawl through my GCs to remind myself of Bewitched Bunny .. sounds intriguing ... but I still bemoan the absence on Blu ray of my all-time favourite Bugs, Rhapsody Rabbit -- looks like I'll never see it in HD format!

 

[Ejanss]

Thanks for that ... I'll trawl through my GCs to remind myself of Bewitched Bunny .. sounds intriguing ...

Not really--When Witch Hazel is turned into a cute bunny at the end, and Bugs asides, "Oh sure, but they aren't they all witches inside? ", some goofy network executive unfamiliar with Sinatra songs took that to be a "misogynistic" comment and took it off the Cartoon Network roster.
Suffice to say, that didn't keep it off the Vol. 1 Blu-ray.

 

[Jari K]

So how many shorts are still "left" after vol. 1-3?

 

[Patrick McCart]

So how many shorts are still "left" after vol. 1-3?

Of the 1930-1969 theatrically released shorts, 831 cartoons remain to be released in HD and overall 485 are not available on either DVD or Blu-Ray (480 if you include the five unrestored cartoons included as extras on live action films). This figure does not include non-theatrical releases (like Bosko the Talkink Kid or the Snafu shorts) or the specials like So Much for So Little and The Adventures of the Road Runner. Although, the former is only available in remastered form on the Oscar set. Even the version on Blu-Ray is an older master.

Also, the Censored 11 would be nice, but fans unfamiliar with the cartoons should be warned that they're not all that great. Coal Black is one of the best cartoons ever made, plus Tin Pan Alley Cats and All This and Rabbit Stew are very funny. But I'd rank Sunday Go to Meetin' Time, Angel Puss, and Jungle Jitters among the worst cartoons to come out from the studio.

 

[bigshot]

Angel Puss is one of the worst cartoons to come from *any* studio.I really like Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land.

 

[Ken_Martinez]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but insiders have said that the "blacklisted" cartoons were restored and prepped for release before the plug was pulled. I think that's what Jerry communicated on Stu's Show.

Since Warner doesn't have a ongoing restoration agenda for their library (like Sony does), that sure was a waste. That money could've gone to shorts that might've actually seen the light of day.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but insiders have said that the "blacklisted" cartoons were restored and prepped for release before the plug was pulled. I think that's what Jerry communicated on Stu's Show.

Since Warner doesn't have a ongoing restoration agenda for their library (like Sony does), that sure was a waste. That money could've gone to shorts that might've actually seen the light of day.

What is that based on?

 

[Ken_Martinez]

Also from Jerry. He said this on his FB page to give context to WB's inability to restore any cartoons. I can dig up a quote if you need it.

 

[Jari K]

"Of the 1930-1969 theatrically released shorts, 831 cartoons remain to be released in HD and overall 485 are not available on either DVD or Blu-Ray."OMG!