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Posted by Allan on 10/05/76 11:36
http://www.localnewsleader.com/brocktown/stories/news-00119955.html
Four studios unveil Blu-ray hi-def lineups
04 January, 2006
By Thomas K. Arnold and Kurt Indvik 52 minutes ago
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Four studios have announced slates
of titles to be ready for the soon-to-be-launched Blu-ray Disc
high-definition format.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
and Lionsgate (formerly Lions Gate), all of which have lent their
support exclusively to Blu-ray, announced their plans Tuesday, a day
before supporters of the next-generation, high-definition optical disc
format stage a formal unveiling at the Consumer Electronics Show in
Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, which has said it
would support both Blu-ray and format competitor HD-DVD with disc
releases, also unveiled titles it will have ready for both formats at
launch.
More studios are expected to announce their high-definition launch
slates this week.
Sony and Fox each have earmarked 20 titles, while Lionsgate and
Paramount each have lined up 10 for release on the Sony-developed
format, timed to coincide with the debut of Blu-ray hardware in North
America, Japan and Europe sometime in the early part of 2006.
Sonys initial offering is led by such high-profile theatrical films
as "Hitch," "The Fifth Element," "Legends of the Fall" and "House of
Flying Daggers."
Foxs first wave includes major releases "Fantastic Four," "The League
of Extraordinary Gentlemen," "Behind Enemy Lines," "Kiss of the
Dragon" and "Ice Age," among others.
Lionsgates lineup includes "Lord of War," "The Punisher," "The
Devils Rejects" and "Saw."
Paramounts launch slate will have recent releases such as "Four
Brothers," "Sahara," "Aeon Flux" and "Sky Captain and the World of
Tomorrow."
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment president Benjamin Feingold said he
and his executives would be meeting with consumer electronics
manufacturers at CES to pin down more specific dates for Blu-rays
launch.
"Our objective is to provide a real show of support from the software
side," Feingold said. "With the announcement of these first 20 titles,
the age of Blu-ray has truly arrived. BD delivers the most advanced
high-definition experience available to entertainment enthusiasts
today, while offering filmmakers a limitless canvas to express their
artistic vision."
Mike Dunn, president worldwide for 20th Century Fox Home
Entertainment, said Fox plans simultaneous releases of its films on
Blu-ray and DVD as the format takes hold with consumers and deepens
its household penetration.
"The release of our films on Blu-ray will provide consumers with
in-home entertainment beyond anything they have imagined," Dunn said.
Lionsgates upcoming May theatrical horror release "See No Evil,"
featuring WWE star Kane, will be the companys first title released
simultaneously on DVD and Blu-ray, Lionsgate president Steve Beeks
said. Beeks noted that Blu-rays advantages extend beyond
higher-quality picture and sound. The formats expanded storage
capacity will enable studios to offer increased menu navigation and
other enhanced interactive capabilities "that will make the
movie-watching experience at home unparalleled," he said.
Sony said its initial slate will be released on single-layer, 25GB
Blu-ray Disc with the exception of "Black Hawk Down" and "The Bridge
on the River Kwai," both of which will be issued on 50GB dual-layer
discs in the summer.
Other films slated for Blu-ray release from Sony include "Bram
Stokers Dracula," "Desperado," "For a Few Dollars More," "The Guns of
Navarone," "A Knights Tale," "Kung Fu Hustle," "The Last Waltz,"
"Resident Evil: Apocalypse," "Robocop," "Sense and Sensibility,"
"Stealth," "Species," "SWAT" and "XXX."
Lionsgate will include catalog hits "Terminator 2: Judgment Day,"
"Reservoir Dogs," "Total Recall," "Dune" and "Rambo: First Blood" to
its initial Blu-ray lineup.
Thomas Lesinksi, president of Paramount Pictures Worldwide Home
Entertainment, said the company will launch its titles under the
banner Paramount High Definition and will include, in 2006, "Mission:
Impossible 3" alongside "Mission: Impossible" and "Mission: Impossible
2."
Paramounts other Blu-ray/HD-DVD titles at launch will include "The
Italian Job," "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," "U2: Rattle and Hum," " Tim
Burton s Sleepy Hollow," "We Were Soldiers" and "The Manchurian
Candidate."
The announcements are seen by observers as a pre-emptive strike
against rival HD-DVD, which shortly after the Blu-ray Disc
presentation was set for Thursday, announced a CES presentation of its
own the night before.
Both formats are vying to become the successor to DVD, which is not
high-definition. Some industry analysts say Blu-ray currently enjoys
the advantage, with software support from five of the six major
studios, as well as Lionsgate Home Entertainment. HD-DVD, developed by
Toshiba, has three studios lined up.
At last years CES, the three studios that support HD-DVD --
Paramount, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video
-- announced an ambitious slate of titles timed to hit stores in the
fourth quarter, when the first hardware units were slated to arrive.
By late summer, however, all three had pulled back, saying they would
wait until 2006 to release movies and other programming. This, in
turn, prompted Toshiba and other consumer electronics firms to delay
the introduction of HD-DVD players, as well.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
"Arguing with anonymous strangers on the Internet is a sucker's game
because they almost always turn out to be -- or to be indistinguishable from
-- self-righteous sixteen-year-olds possessing infinite amounts of free time."
- Neil Stephenson, _Cryptonomicon_
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