>>>> Spoke to Warner Rep today concerning WONKA & CATS - here is what I was told..... (1 Viewer)

This afternoon I called Warner Brothers and
spoke to a rep directly involved with
Warner Brothers Home Video. This person
is not an official "spokesman" for WB Family
Entertainment and I promised I would not
divulge a name.
I was told that Warner Brothers did an
extensive survey and found that family
buying consumers prefer the Pan & Scan
format.
This seems to be the direction in that
all future family titles will be released.
Warner IS aware of the Willy Wonka demand
from the internet and is now considering
releasing another Special Edition letterboxed.
As far as petitions go....
Warner has NO email address that these
petitions can be sent to. All petitions must
be sent to:
Warner Home Video
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank, CA, 91522
Whether you like this information or not
this is their current state of mind.
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Ronald Epstein (pronounced like the English "Ronald Epstein")
Circa 2000
Home Theater Forum Administrator
All forum questions & to get on our private forum mailing list (new members)... Email: [email protected]
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Email Packy [email protected]

I guess we just have to wait 5 years down the road for another consumer survey for these same families to "prefer" 16x9 discs.
They'll all be complaining about their "square" videos then...
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webmaster davisdvd.com
International Exclusives

Ron,
Did they give any reason why they couldn't release family DVD titles providing both viewing options...as they have done in the past and other studios continue to do?
If everyone from the forum wrote a serious letter to this address, would it make a difference?
Because we WILL!!!.
-dave

Thanks for posting the info, Ron.
My current state of mind tells me that more of my money will go to studios that care (like Fox).
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-Dwayne
"And vidi films I would."

I sent out the Wonka petition this morning addressed directly to Warren Lieberfarb, President of WHV. (3903 West Olive Avenue, Room 3144, Burbank, CA 91505) This address can be found at thedigitalbits.com as a studio contact.
I am also considering printing out and sending one to their DVD Department, which uses the 4000 Warner Blvd address. (Printing out the petition is a task though-- 365 pages! And that doesn't include about 1000 new signatures since when the document was printed yesterday.)

Damn shame...
Apparently the DVD community is still considered a mere minority in the eyes of WB.

There goes Harry Potter...Weeeeeeee bastards...

Did anyone on this forum participate in their "extensive" survey? I know I sure did not. I would be interested in knowing the methodology they used when conducting their survey and how valid it is. I know I for one will not be buying anymore Warner titles and look forward to the upcoming chat.

Damn, I feel like going out right now and pick up 5 Fox titles that I planned getting later on, and 5 more from Columbia.

Looks like the Iron Giant SE is in trouble (unless WB's "never release a pan-and-scan-only DVD of a Panavision title" rule applies to it). I just hope they release Watership Down in 16:9, as it, although being animated, is NOT a family title!
[Edited last by Jeffrey Gray on August 17, 2001 at 05:02 PM]

How ridiculous. Why can't they put both the movie and the cut up version on the same disc? especially for ones that aren't crammed with extras. Its almost as if they are deliberately pissing off film enthusiasts. Maybe AOLTImeWarner like bad publicity. Oh well there goes The Neverending Story
No OAR = No Sale
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-- Will Work for Five Million Dollars
[Edited last by CharlesD on August 17, 2001 at 05:02 PM]

Thanks for pursuing the issue, Ron. I was hoping for more satisfaction from their response, but I suppose Warner truly IS as clueless as everyone thinks.
I'd also love to know what sort of "extensive survey" was performed, and where. It certainly couldn't have been extensive at all if not ONE HTF member caught wind of it. We thrive on that kind of stuff!
Here's hoping that this disc sells poorly!
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Scott
Check out my Movie Reviews at Epinions. Help support my debilitating DVD addiction!
AOL IM: TheAngryJew29

Thanks for the information Ron.
I think Patrick is correct that some day when 16x9 TVs are norm the public will then demand Widescreen because then they won’t want all that “wasted space” on the sides of the screen. The question is how many years will it take?
It's a shame that those of us who appreciate Widescreen now will simply have to wait until the market forces that guide studios like Warner swing to our favor.
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What continues to baffle me about this is how a studio can go from being such a great supporter of DVD to almost making a complete reversal. I certainly don't understand why both widescreen and P&S won't be included in these instances.
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The thing that really confuses me is that they went to all the trouble to gather up the five original Wonka children (now adults) to do an audio commentary on this family DVD.
Do they really think that kids are going to be interested in listening to this track? It's obvious that the DVD started out as a package both adults and kids could enjoy and suddenly they decided to gear it towards children only.
How hard is it to put the full-screen version on one side and the widescreen version (with the commentary) on the other? The previous release was done this way.
And why should we be teaching children the abomination of full-screen at such an early age? So they can grow up pissed off?
Since Warners is doing a HTF chat soon I hope we'll be able to use profanity as it would definately be appropriate.

quote: Since Warners is doing a HTF chat soon I hope we'll be able to use profanity as it would definately be appropriate.[/quote]
Oh please! So they'll take your comments far more seriously if you swear at them? Don't be silly - you'll come across as rude and slightly deranged and your comments won't get past the moderators.
A rational, carefully thought out and worded post will get the message through MUCH better.
[Edited last by Jon Robertson on August 17, 2001 at 05:18 PM]

It's the SNAPPER's fault! I say that jokingly but it may well turn out to be true. They don't want to do dvd18 and they don't want to use double keepcases or even single keepcases for that matter. They want single disc dvd editions and will screw us to get their way!
Why is this so surprising? Because dvd WOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE TODAY if it wasn't for us! Who do you think was buying 30-40 dvds a year since March 1997??? Joe Sixpack? I DON'T THINK SO! Warner has forgotten us now that dvd has gone mainstream and looks to continue so in the future. Don't say you weren't warned as we discussed this in 97, 98 and 99'. It's a shame that a company would do this to its' main supporters...
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dvdguru
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You know what, ths is the attitude i'm starting to take regarding Warner, SCREW EM, just write em off. They don't seem to need our business, so fine, i'll just forget about them, and give my money to a studio that appreciates me. I've started a topic in the 'S M Feedback' area entitled 'An open letter of thanks to all studios (except Warner)' I feel very strongly that it's a step in the right direction, check it out. Goodbye Warner, don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out!
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Listen to the bells fellow members, for it tolls for us.

I was content, albeit unhappily so, to watch Willy Wonka (rent, not buy) with my kids (14 and 11) who love this film. When I explained to them what was happening, they just said, "Never mind, dad, we'll wait."
My kids must be weird. They love DVD, HT, and understand OAR in a simplistic way ("if that isn't what we saw in the theater, then why are we watching it now, dad?").
I can't help but think that the first question on this supposed survey or research poll, or whatever, was something like: "Hi, this is WB; we're doing a poll, but first we need to confirm that you do NOT have a TV larger than 27", or a surround sound system. Preferably, you have children 6 or under and/or adults in the home who act and think like them and refer to properly formated movies as 'the ones with those damn black bars.' Thank you"
BTW...thanks for the info, Ron!