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Did anyone catch Frank DeCaro's Interview With George Feltenstein today? (1 Viewer)

Dick

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I can't seem to find a way to watch/play this after the fact, so perhaps a member here can relate to us what transpired during the show. Thanks!
 

Mark-P

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If you have a SiriusXM subscription you can play it back on demand. But for those who can't here's what they talked about.

He was there to promote the Grace Kelly DVD collection that came out today.
He talked briefly about the upcoming Blu-rays for Out of the Past and The Great Race.
They talked about the reason that Norman... Is That You? is not out is because it was shot on videotape and transferred to film. The film elements look like garbage so they are trying to track down all the original videotapes because the the videotapes they have were unfortunately edited for television.
They talked some about the loss of James Garner and the legacy of his work that is available through Warner. He mentioned that The Americanization of Emily Blu-ray became a bestseller as a result of the news.
And of course, due to Frank's bizarre interests, they talked about Gilligan's Planet.
There were no exclusive announcements.
 

haineshisway

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Mark-P said:
If you have a SiriusXM subscription you can play it back on demand. But for those who can't here's what they talked about.

He was there to promote the Grace Kelly DVD collection that came out today.
He talked briefly about the upcoming Blu-rays for Out of the Past and The Great Race.
They talked about the reason that Norman... Is That You? is not out is because it was shot on videotape and transferred to film. The film elements look like garbage so they are trying to track down all the original videotapes because the the videotapes they have were unfortunately edited for television.
They talked some about the loss of James Garner and the legacy of his work that is available through Warner. He mentioned that The Americanization of Emily Blu-ray became a bestseller as a result of the news.
And of course, due to Frank's bizarre interests, they talked about Gilligan's Planet.
There were no exclusive announcements.
To promote the DVD release of the Grace Kelly collection? It is to laugh. Seriously. And they want to expend all this effort for Norman… Is That You because there's - demand? Really? I have never met a single person in forty years who has ever actually mentioned the film let alone desired to have it. Beyond outré.
 

classicmovieguy

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I would have hoped we'd be getting "High Society" or "The Swan" on Blu-ray before this 'Collection', which is a yet another recycling job with the exception of Grace's final recorded interview.
 

Brian McP

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"Gilligan's Planet" -- well, considering it is coming up to the 50th anniversary of the show in September, at least it's better than nothing. What I wouldn't give to have Warner Bros come out with a "Gilligan's Island" bluray box set with the complete series, four movie sequels and two cartoon series -- similar to the design and presentation they are giving to the upcoming "Batman" set -- here's hoping one day this might happen.
 

Mark-P

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Mike Frezon said:
The moderator didn't ask about Blu releases of any of Grace's films? Like High Society?
No. And I really didn't expect Frank to ask the kind of questions that HTF members would be interested in. It's not his agenda.
 

JoHud

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haineshisway said:
To promote the DVD release of the Grace Kelly collection? It is to laugh. Seriously. And they want to expend all this effort for Norman… Is That You because there's - demand? Really? I have never met a single person in forty years who has ever actually mentioned the film let alone desired to have it. Beyond outré.
George Feltenstein is primarily (solely?) involved in the Warner Archive, which specialized in the extreme niche titles. In other words, they focus on catering to small core fandoms, and I'm sure this one is no different. It may surprise you how many closet fans there are for these kinds of films. I mean, we're talking about a label that bothered to do a new remaster of The Phynx. The label is gain a pretty good rep from these sorts of fans, thanks to them actually going through the trouble of putting together a credibly home video release, unlike a lesser label that would grab a 20+ year old video master and dump it onto a disc.

Norman… Is That You? will undoubtedly be an MOD title, so "demand" isn't much of an issue.
 

Matt Hough

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Norman...Is That You? is a dreadful film, and I'm certainly in no hurry to see it released. I'm sure there are those who are hungering for it, however.
 

atfree

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Matt Hough said:
Norman...Is That You? is a dreadful film, and I'm certainly in no hurry to see it released. I'm sure there are those who are hungering for it, however.
I actually had the misfortune of seeing this in a theater in 1976. Redd Foxx was at the height of his popularity from "Sanford and Son" and it was written and directed by George Schlatter, the producer of "Laugh-In". It was based on a play that ran for all of 12 performances in 1970 (a review said "It was a comedy, not a tragedy except, perhaps, for those who bought tickets").

Absolutely one of the worst films I ever paid to see.....
 

ahollis

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Matt Hough said:
Norman...Is That You? is a dreadful film, and I'm certainly in no hurry to see it released. I'm sure there are those who are hungering for it, however.
Funny as dreadful as it is Warner Archive Instant is playing it now. I watched about 10 minutes of it, for I had never seen it, and turned it off for Dark Victory as more humor than this did, even though there was talent behind and in front of the camera. The transfer that is streaming looked pretty good though.
 

MatthewA

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It would be nice if the effort expended in finding the original tapes for Norman..Is That You? could be undertaken in finding the original tapes to a tape-to-film job people actually want, such as Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl.
 

Matt Hough

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Even though Norman had a very brief run on Broadway, it was a huge staple of dinner theaters and the straw hat circuit in the early 1970s which, I suspect, is why it was finally made into a film. I figured a film with Redd Foxx and Pearl Bailey couldn't be all bad, but I was certainly wrong.
 

JoeDoakes

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Brian McP said:
"Gilligan's Planet" -- well, considering it is coming up to the 50th anniversary of the show in September, at least it's better than nothing. What I wouldn't give to have Warner Bros come out with a "Gilligan's Island" bluray box set with the complete series, four movie sequels and two cartoon series -- similar to the design and presentation they are giving to the upcoming "Batman" set -- here's hoping one day this might happen.
Yes, and a Hot Wheels model of the S.S. Minnow!
 

Ronald Epstein

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So strange...

I was just thinking of Norman...Is That You? the other day.

I don't know why. I think it was because I was thinking of Wayland
and Madame -- which is something I am not certain I am comfortable
admitting here.

I saw the film during its release. Thought it was awful.

Still, every bad film seems to be getting its due sooner or later so why not
this one.

Would have liked to have heard the interview with George. He's a good
friend of this forum. I personally love the guy to death -- one of my favorite
people in the world. His personality is larger than life, and as thus, he must
have been very entertaining to listen to.

You can call me a shill all you want, but I'm proud to say there's no better
person in this industry than George Feltenstein.
 

Joel Arndt

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Ronald Epstein said:
So strange...

I was just thinking of Norman...Is That You? the other day.

I don't know why. I think it was because I was thinking of Wayland
and Madame -- which is something I am not certain I am comfortable
admitting here.

I saw the film during its release. Thought it was awful.

Still, every bad film seems to be getting its due sooner or later so why not
this one.

Would have liked to have heard the interview with George. He's a good
friend of this forum. I personally love the guy to death -- one of my favorite
people in the world. His personality is larger than life, and as thus, he must
have been very entertaining to listen to.

You can call me a shill all you want, but I'm proud to say there's no better
person in this industry than George Feltenstein.
I couldn't agree with you more! In the prehistoric days before the internet I sent George Feltenstein letters praising the lasers WHV was releasing at the time and asking a lot of questions. I received personal responses from him every time within a week. Even through the written word Mr. Feltenstein's passion and enthusiasm for film came through loud and clear. A true professional and fine gentleman.
 

Rob_Ray

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George Feltenstein has been my hero for about twenty-five years, going back to the MGM/UA laserdisc days. His love for classic Hollywood filmmaking is second to none in the industry and we fans of films from the studio era will be forever grateful for his work and his passion. It's not hyperbole to say that home video would not be what it is today if it weren't for him.
 

Ronald Epstein

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JoelA said:
I couldn't agree with you more! In the prehistoric days before the internet I sent George Feltenstein letters praising the lasers WHV was releasing at the time and asking a lot of questions. I received personal responses from him every time within a week. Even through the written word Mr. Feltenstein's passion and enthusiasm for film came through loud and clear. A true professional and fine gentleman.
That's so very cool to hear and sounds like George.

He's extremely personable. I think he knows and cares about his studio's
catalog titles more than anyone anywhere else in the industry.

He definitely is not in the position to make the final decision on what gets
released, but I know he pushes hard on the side of fans/collectors.

He's a dying breed as far as I am concerned.

George Feltenstein has been my hero for about twenty-five years, going back to the MGM/UA laserdisc days. His love for classic Hollywood filmmaking is second to none in the industry and we fans of films from the studio era will be forever grateful for his work and his passion. It's not hyperbole to say that the home video industry would not be what it is today if it weren't for him.

Just read your reply, Rob, after I posted mine.

Agreed. He's my hero as well.
 

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