This may seem like a simple story, but believe me when I say that this is a collaboration made in heaven.
One Frame of Lowry Digital Images breathtaking restoration of “North by Northwest”.
As per Variety today:
Demos joins Lowry Digital Images
Exec named senior algorithm scientist
By DAVID S. COHEN
Gary Demos has joined Lowry Digital Images. Demos will be a senior algorithm scientist at Lowry, which is an industry leader in digital film restoration and image enhancement.
Demos received the Gordon E. Sawyer Oscar in 2006 and has received scientific & technical awards from the Academy in 1985, 1995 and 1996. Lowry was acquired in April by Indian-owned Reliance Big Entertainment.
Pixar and Disney have just announced that both Toy Story I & II are being re-rendered in actual 3D for re-release in October 2009, as a prelude to March 2010’s release of Toy Story III–also in 3D. But Why would they go through all of the effort re-rendering both I & II when so much is being converted to 3D from an original 2D format. Why? The answer after the break….
Today, the soundtrack CD to the 1960’s classic television show ‘My Favorite Martian’ was released by La La Land Records. This CD was Produced by 2 Live Fools co-host David C. Fein, and has almost 80 minutes of classic music by the late George Greeley.
Have the Blockbuster Online guys hacked Netflix???
Last night I went to log in to Netflix to watch a streaming episode of Masters of Horror only to find their website down with a promise of restoration by 8PM. I came back at 8, and it said 11PM, I came back at 11, it said 2AM. This morning I returned to the site, at 8AM, and it wait ‘be back up at 9AM… 9 AM said 11AM, and now it simply reads “temporarily unavailable.
It’s reported that Netflix shares are now at an all time low, and that the company recently reduced the price of all of their plans by roughly $1. What they didn’t expect was the site to go down.
The Boston Herald reports that Netflix claims that they will be back online by 4PM but doesn’t state the reason for the outtage.
You can be sure that some hacker at Blockbuster is getting a huge bonus today. Amazing when you consider the power of a intelligent nerd in a closet… Hail nerds!
It’s the end of the war! BluRay wins! Hands down! Uhh… That’s what I’ve been reading. I don’t agree. If Walmart said they will no longer carry HD-DVD… well, that would be the nail in the coffin, but Blockbuster just made a poor business decision, and people declare the end of the war. This simply is a business decision.
Why did Blockbuster go BluRay? More than any other reason, I’d have to go with Disney’s films. Blockbuster stores have many sections, and right next to new releases would be family when it comes to most rentals. When you consider the studios exclusive to BluRay, Disney, Sony, Fox, etc. While HD-DVD has Universal exclusively, you have to go where the content is.
While Warner is working on a dual disc format that features both versions on one disc, they have been unsuccessful in convincing me that I need to purchase their dual HD/standard DVD discs. I always felt that the secret to winning this battle would be to release dual discs so while someone is buying a new movie, they are receiving a HD-DVD and DVD version at the same time so that by the time they have a player, they already own the movies. Warner Bros. has jumped onto this concept, and released dual version discs, but for $10 more making their HD-DVD releases COST MORE than their BluRay version. What is the use in this?! Now it’s cheaper for HD-DVD buyers to buy the standard DVD of a film instead of the HD-DVD version. This is not acceptable, and is hurting the HD-DVD market. Blockbuster also knows this, and would never want to invest in a disc that is dual format for additional money when they can get the lessor expensive BluRay discs. Thank you Warner for your dedication to the market, yet poor business decision to raise prices above market acceptability.
As for the studios, Fox is willing to do what it takes to move their products. They discount their discs, and continue with unusually high quality releases. When you consider that the successful movies of the summer, Spider-man 3, and Pirates of the Caribbean 3 will be coming to BluRay exclusively you can again understand Blockbuster’s choice.
Am I happy about the choice? No, but given the fact that there is a war going on at the moment, we have to hold steady until the market decides. At least Xbox 360 owners who have purchased the HD-DVD player attachment know that they didn’t have to make the huge investment into one side or another, and if BluRay does win out, you can bet the Microsoft will quickly release a BluRay attachment for the 360 as well. With the Playstation 3, you have no other choices but BluRay, and Blockbuster knows that as well. Every PS3 game renter is a potential BluRay disc renter, whereas they don’t know for sure who has HD-DVD.
After comparing both formats, my enjoyment in presentation says firmly with HD-DVD while my appreciation of which technology is superior falls on BluRay.
The saddest part of this whole war is that to most people, standard DVD is crisp and clean enough, and they really don’t need a HD disc format at all.
Before DVD, low quality, fuzzy, and full-screen VHS ruled the world. People are just not ready to repurchase their collections over again in HD.
BluRay 1, HD-DVD 0 this round. Let’s see what’s in store next. Cheers!
We fools love a great deal… and I’ve had this set since it first came out, and I paid close to $200 for it. This new release features the thin cases instead of the full size cases that my box had. It takes up very little space on your shelf, and has over 1750 minutes of great British humour!
Here’s every episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, and the special “Monty Python Live!” 2 disc set in one box for 50% off it’s normal price at A&E for this week only.
UPDATE: This deal has expired, however the price has only risen to $49.95 which is still an amazing deal. Follow the link above if you are still interested.
So, if you consider the price plus shipping for $.99, you get both films for $13.86 delivered (tax not calculated), then subtract the full price of the ticket (at least in California and New York) you get both movies for $3.36 delivered, and already have your ticket for Ocean’s Thirteen. (If you split $3.36 in half, you arrive at $1.68 each).
It’s always a pleasant surprise to uncover past works that have been re-released by the studios. Today, Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment re-released The Guns of Navarone as a 2-Disc DVD Set which features all of the original special features from the original release, plus more new and unique features for this one.
A number of years ago I had the great pleasure of producing an enjoyable documentary entitled “Memories of Navarone”. It was a great experience to talk both on camera and off with Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, James Darren, and Director J. Lee Thompson. Each man was warm, energetic, and brought a unique perspective to the camaraderie, professional, and personal experiences making the picture. I’m sad to say that three out of these four great men are no longer with us. Whenever I think about the history and talent behind the making of a great motion picture, I get a little choked up, and proud of the people who took the time to record these artists so that we can forever remember them and their work behind-the-scenes.
For me personally, it was my two hours talking with Anthony Quinn that I will never forget.
Spider-Man 3 is on sale for $1 on the streets of Beijing. What’s worse? I bet it will be all over the world via internet by the end of the day.
Professionally I always get nervous and upset when I hear news like this. Chinese pirates beat Spider-Man to the punch. In todays world, the success of a film is in its opening weekend, and word of mouth can kill it as quickly as it opens.
That’s one of the biggest reasons that the number of reviews prior to release has decreased, and studios work to build anticipation while insuring that there is NO chance that you won’t be able to see the film opening weekend if you so desire. 1200 screen openings are not unique for a popular film.
While the Producers have claimed that it isn’t the final version, October’s release of ‘Highlander: The Source’ has already hit the internet in a widescreen stereo version.
In the near future, we’re going to do an entire Podcast devoted to this subject, and the importance of a carefully planned and executed motion picture marketing plan.
Until then, don’t watch an advance copy of an upcoming movie… wait and go see it the way it’s intended, in it’s uncut or director’s cut DVD… err… in the theater!
UPDATED: Sony says China pirated Spider-Man DVDs are fakes. While it is possible that all of the bootleg discs are actually Spider-Man 2, it wouldn’t be abnormal for Sony to make this claim to stop people for looking for their own copy. If we get confirmation that Spider-Man 3 has been leaked, we’ll let you know.
You have to admit, there are several DVDs in your collection that you might watch twice–if that. And there just might be a time when you need that really obscure video that Blockbuster, Amazon, Netflix, Hollywood Video just ain’t got. The Fools have been enthusiastically tracking this little start-up out of San Diego that helps you share the wealth. And damn if it might even work. We couldn’t figure out how until now, sooooo here it is (drumroll please)…
iLetYou (www.iletyou.com) finally launched the public beta of its open online rental community this week, creating the first rental platform where users can instantly start their own online rental store for DVDs and Games, as well as rent a wide range of titles from other stores in the iLetYou community.
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