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Friday, May 14, 1999
4:47pm PST - Would you like some cream with that, sir? Please forgive our lax editing today. We should never let the OCR software do all the proofing of faxed press releases for us. Optical Character Recognition occasionally makes mistakes. In the Artisan press release below, it should have read "encouraging retailers to get their feet wet, not their "teet" wet. We've corrected our mistake.

12:16pm PST - Artisan Home Entertainment today announced a unique offer which allows retailers to create an immediate disc rental option for consumers. According to Jeff Fink, President, Sales and Marketing, Artisan Home Entertainment has assembled two 12-packs of the best-selling DVD releases from its library of titles, including It's A Wonderful Life, The Crying Game, Suicide Kings, Rambo, Merlin and Stargate. The DVD rental packs will be available to consumers on July 20,1999 and pre-book on June 22,1999. "With these DVD 12-packs, we are encouraging retailers to get their feet wet in the DVD rental business by providing them with an instant library of top titles," saId Fink. "We're excited by the prospect of increased DVD exposure for home entertainment consumers and are confident that our 12-pack offers will help savvy retailers drive a new and vital business." Films to be released in the first DVD rental 12-pack include Angel Heart, Bad Boys, Bad Lieutenant, Earth Girls Are Easy, Narrow Margin, Weekend At Bernie's, Suicide Kings, Stargate, Rambo, Ringmaster and Wishmaster. Films to be released in the second DVD rental 12-pack include Air America, Capricorn One, Caught Up, The Crying Game, Hamburger Hill, Suicide Kings, Lock Up, LA Story, Merlin, P, Rambo Ill and it's A Wonderful Life. In addition, retailers will benefit from a special purchase discount of 10% off the suggested retail price.

10:54am PST - Nintendo isn't rolling over at the news of Sony's awesome Playstation in the works. The Japanese game giant has cut a deal with Matsushita to produce DVD-ROM drives for their next generation player and just inked a $1 billion dollar deal with IBM to design the custom processor.

10:48pm PST - Who's the real Phantom Menace around here? Here's an interesting follow-up to Robert Smith's letter the other day about the contentious feelings between theatrical exhibitors and George Lucas/Fox.

10:43am PST - Fox Interactive is preparing to launch the PC game of ALIEN vs. PREDATOR with a Playstation release in the Fall. You can see a trailer for the game on the upcoming ALIEN LEGACY DVDs from Fox.

10:36am PST - Here's a fascinating glimpse into Industrial Light & Magic. Great insider-info, like how many Terabytes it took per day to create THE PHANTOM MENACE and groovy stuff like that...

10:22am PST - Enquizitive minds want to know... RCA is a staunch supporter of the beleaguered Divx pay-per-view format. They've gone on record to make that emphatically clear. Now Radio Shack is gearing up to sell RCA DVD players. The $64k question is: Will the product lineup include Divx players? This could be a massive back-door effort to gain wider distribution for Divx at outlets throughout the U.S. and Canada. We've also noticed the TV campaign for Divx intensifying recently.

10:17am PST - You give me fever... Several manufactuers are ready to manufacture blue-purple laser devices. This story reports that "Concerning development of the light source for the next generation DVD, the development of blue-purple SHG (second harmonics generation) lasers is under way in fever pitch, along with blue-purple semiconductor lasers."

9:26am PST - Be sure to read Michael Banka's latest BIG Boxoffice Review of ELECTION. Looks like a film that might be worth the price of admission...

9:16am PST - Ever wondered about who is responsible for some of the great extra features contained on DVD? Check out Sharpline Arts -- they're the ones who assembled the commentary tracks for John Carpenter's THE THING, for example, and they're also the company working with Fox on ALIEN. We've added a link to their site under DVD production and authoring facilities for your future reference.

8:53am PST - UPCOMING REVIEW! Taking an in-depth look at The BIG Picture... Sony has recently announced a significant price drop in their sexy looking KL-W9000 LCD 16:9 widescreen rear projection monitor. Originally designed for the presentation market like it's front projection sibling, the venerable VPL-W400Q, the KL-W9000 features a bright, 50" image optimized for video (as in DVD) viewing. Although it lacks component inputs, composite and S-Video are standard. The original ticket on this baby was close to seven grand, but the new list price is under $3k. The units are streeting for around $2,200 and if you've been considering RPTV, this might be a very attractive option to consider. The BIG Picture will be reviewing this monitor in the coming weeks and we'll give you a comprehensive, side-by-side comparison of the KL-W9000 versus the VPL-W400Q.

8:52am PST - Please do not adjust your monitor, there is nothing wrong... Apologies are in order for the lean news yesterday and for the delay in postingour promised review of FRIED GREEN TOMATOES. One of those "circumstances beyond our control" deals. If you've never considered watching this fine film for whatever reason, you may want to reconsider a rental at least, after reading our comments.

Thursday, May 13, 1999
1:47am PST - Sometimes our greatest clarity occurs when we should be sleeping... Rather than getting in a stew about STAR WARS not appearing on DVD for the forseeable future and ALICE IN WONDERLAND making its auspicious Region 1 debut on Divx, we're going to simply let it go and concentrate on the positive aspects of DVD instead. Let's face it: The planet will not stop revolving because George Lucas withholds STAR WARS or INDIANA JONES from our preferred home video medium. The oceans will not evaporate if Steven Spielberg withholds MEN IN BLACK, E.T. or SCHINDLER'S LIST. Divx will not flourish even with ALICE IN WONDERLAND and/or every other Disney animated title to prop it up. If these titles make it to DVD eventually, terrific. If not, we'll shed nary a tear. There are too many good titles already here or announced that we should be excited about -- and this is where THE BIG PICTURE will concentrate our energies. Although we find it regrettable that our kids won't be able to experience the thrill of a home widescreen experience of watching some of our favorite movies until they're out of college and making mortgage payments, that's okay. The lack of blockbuster titles and Disney animated classics just give us an excuse to get outside in the fresh air with our families and find out what else life has to offer besides the intoxicating thrill of DVD.

1:38am PST - In case you were wondering, The BIG Picture currently features 371 372 DVD film reviews by Bob and Jeff and we expect to exceed the 400 mark by the end of the month. We're looking forward to seeing the kind of review volume that The Rest of The Picture guest review index will generate!

4:19pm PST - Here comes our favorite DVD reviewer in the world, Bob Banka, with a close look (and listen!) to Paramount's STAR TREK: INSURRECTION

3:45pm PST - Today, we received the cover art for Warner Bros. animated feature THE KING & I. We also received word from Universal that James Coburn, Oscar-winning co-star of AFFLICTION (due out on DVD on July 6th -- a week before the VHS version), is going to be available for a limited number of interviews to promote the film. We've thrown our hat in the ring and would love the opportunity to ask "Our Man Flint" a few questions about his career, his current film plans and his views on DVD technology, among other things. We'll keep you posted.

1:04pm PST - Here's a letter we recently received from Robert Smith of Mountain View, CA that we'd like to share with you:

I sympathize with your feelings about Star Wars on DVD and about the way
Lucas treats his fans.

The movie industry is a strange one: they spend a lot of money making
us want things, but then the more we want it, the LESS LIKELY they are
to let us have it.

Notice how quickly a flop gets put onto home video. Notice how long
something we really want takes. Hmm.

The best thing right now would be for Lucas and Fox to start running a
little scared about just how much DVD buyers really care about having SW
on DVD. If they start to get the idea that maybe we are becoming a bit
bored with the whole thing, then they'll release it, and pronto. If, on
the other hand, they think that we are all clammoring for it, and just
can't live without it, then they will figure that interest has not yet
"peaked", and we won't see it until later.

This is a historical trend. Films used to be pulled from theatrical
release while people still wanted to see them, only to discover 7 years
later that people had lost interest. Of course, that was in the old
days, when the studios could control everything. They have lost a lot
of control, and you can bet that they would like to get it back.

Well, I own 6 copies of the SW trilogy in one format or another, and I'm
really not that eager to buy another. If there is a really good SE of
the SW trilogy, this year, then maybe I'll buy it. Maybe I won't. But
my interest is not GROWING I will tell you that. The way I am being
treated is not making me particularly happy.

I suspect that there is a big negative reaction to Phantom Menace
growing, and that in a few months, Mr. Lucas will be singing a different
tune toward his fans. We will see a SW SE sooner rather than later
after they study the grosses.

Bob Smith

P.S. Lucas also did not want to release SW on video in the first place.
It was first released in 1982 (5 years after theatrical release), and
the first release was a very special rental version that had video
stores up in arms. It was not released sell-through on VHS for a long
time. Lucas also stated that he did not want it on broadcast
television. It first appeared, complete with commericals, in 1987, 10
years after theatrical release. So there is a long history here of
control and manipulation.

Today, theatrical exhibitors are really angry with Lucas for the terms
he extracted and the hassle he gave people for Phantom Menace. More
than one of them would not cry if the film sort of flopped. They are
not doing much to help Lucas, I will tell you that. If it dies the day
after it leaves their theatres, they could care less at this point.

Tuesday, May 11, 1999
11:14pm PST - TBP Congratulates Thomas Cunningham of Burbank, CA for finally nailing our latest Mystery Screen shot... Check our contest page and scroll down to see the title that had thousands of your fellow readers stumped for nearly three days!

8:50pm PST - Next review up, Bob takes a gander at STAR TREK: INSURRECTION and tomorrow Jeff will cook up a review on FRIED GREEN TOMATOES. We're still working on THE THIEF, also. Hang loose and check back soon.

8:47am PST - Still no correct guesses on our latest Mystery Screenshot contest... Give it a try? What have you got to lose? And in case anyone is wondering, but were too polite to ask, feel free to compare notes on our forum -- it might help you rule out certain titles and narrow in on others!

8:44pm PST - The problem with aliens... X-Marks the spot in Bob Banka's review of the new THE X-FILES DVD. So, how well does the TV show translate into the big screen and then back to the not so big screen? Read the review and fasten your seatbelts.

8:06pm PST - The emperor has no clothes... We predict that soon, George Lucas is going to start feeling the force -- of the Internet and the DVD community. We're a small -- but vocal and rapidly growing group of consumers. We're beginning to see a growing tide of resentment directed at The Phantom Menace on message boards everywhere, ignited by mixed reviews combined with Lucas' arrogance and apparent disregard of his own loyal fans. What he's doing is a very dangerous thing in this "age of instant information". It's taking a surprisingly long time for the film industry and corporate America as a whole, to realize that we are no longer a faceless mass of disconnected consumers, scattered over the landscape and unaware of the big picture. Simply put, those in positions of mass influence cannot get away with the same shenanigans that they were able to pull with immunity, before the Internet brought us all together. The BIG Picture has been receiving some excellent commentary from readers concerned over the recent turn of events after Lucas' comments regarding STAR WARS (or lack thereof) on DVD last week. Why was DVD okay for AMERICAN GRAFFITI, but not the original SW or revamped SW:SE Trilogy? Where are the other 9 out of ten best selling films of all time? (TITANIC is the only one of the ten slated for DVD thus far). Where's INDIANA JONES? Where is CITIZEN KANE? THE GRAPES OF WRATH? JURASSIC PARK? Where are some of the outstanding titles on our DVD Wishlist page? As octegenarian Clara Peller demanded in those Wendy's commercials years ago, WHERE'S THE BEEF?? We've asked permission to reprint one of them in particular. Stay tuned.

6:56pm PST - One of our readers and regional newspaper columnist Bill Kelly III was making his usual rounds of Divx and caught ALICE IN WONDERLAND. We have to wonder why Disney has chosen to enter the classic animation market in a format that draws such strong opposition from so many consumers? Perhaps the "powers that be" consider it a calculated gamble. We consider it an unfortunate marketing decision that sends all the wrong signals to consumers. You may recall that Kelly (who writes for a Richmond, VA publication) originally gave a favorable review to Divx. Our readers then dog-piled on the guy with a barage of critical e-mail. To Bill's credit, in due time he came around to the open DVD side of things and has become a friend to The BIG Picture in the process, submitting his regular column links for our readers... His next column spotlights Dolby Digital versus DTS. Timely considering our poll topic this week. We'll be sure to post a link to Bill's article once it's published.

5:40pm PST - Sonic Solutions and DTS have big designs on broadening the distribution of DTS 5.1 DVD audio....but do enough people care? Check our latest news survey results to find out.

5:35pm PST - If you were drawn to the creepy hijinks of Linda Blair in THE EXORCIST, you might want to take a peek at IN THE GRIP OF EVIL, an interactive dual-platform DVD that chronicles the true story of demonic possession of a 13-year-old boy who inspired the book -- and later, the film.

5:31pm PST - And the beat goes on... Image Entertainment reports that 4th quarter DVD revenues were 40% stronger than comparable 4Q sales the year before.

5:28pm PST - You can dress it up... but can you bring it home to mom? DVD Empire has re-tooled their adult DVD section. We haven't been over to see it or anything... Uh, but here's the press release in case you'd like to learn more...

5:23pm PST - Believe it or not, the deceptively simple mystery screenshot has still not been revealed. I'm going to let my wife pick out the images more often!

5:13pm PST - the Evil Empire personified... George Lucas' comments with Leo Maltin on ET was like "the shot heard 'round the world. We were extremely impressed that the "number one question" was pertaining to the Star Wars Trilogy release on DVD, but disheartened by Lucas' tepid response. While not advocating an outright ban of The Phantom Menace, speaking strictly for myself, I plan on seeing it once, maybe, but then, that will be it. No STAR WARS toys for the kids, no VHS copies of the movie, no laserdiscs, no Burger King happy meals, etc. Somewhere along the line, some very BIG directors have lost sight of the simple truth that they are in the service of the fans, not the other way around. And it's a shame. Millions of STAR WARS fans will be denied the pleasure of ever seeing the trilogy on DVD unless George Lucas has a change of heart, or requires a transplant, in which case he might be willing to distribute the series on DVD as a last parting gesture of goodwill. Lord knows he doesn't need the cash.

2:09pm PST - Our latest mystery screenshot contest is breaking duration records. So far, no one has correctly identified it. Can you?

10:55am PST - The debut of our reader-submitted review index, "The Rest of The Picture", is slated for the end of next week. Our CGI programmer is busy at work, creating a very special interface that when finished, will yield guest reviews in very similar format structure to our "official" reviews. Guest reviewers will not be subjected to minimum home theater equipment requirements, but a listing of primary audio and video display devices will be mandatory. At a glance, you'll be able to see an alphabetical listing of titles, user-defined ratings of each title, along with the name of the reviewers. We know that many of your are looking forward to sharing your views on DVD titles - and many more are looking forward to seeing them.

10:53am PST - So far, our mystery screen shot on The BIG Picture contest page remains just that. Care to take a crack at winning the DVD that the clip comes from? Give 'er a shot!

10:45am PST - Domain police! Pull over and show me your registration! This is what we get for counting our chickens before they were hatched. Last week, we were led to believe by our ISP and Internic that we had secured the rights to the domain thebigpicture.com. Imagine our shock when we checked for our name, only to find that the domain had been awarded to a third party that registered 3 days after we applied. We've notifed the third party that we believe their registration is in error, filed a formal complaint with Internic and will pursue rights to the domain, as we believe we can prove that we are entitled to it. However, in the meantime we have secured our second choice, TheBIGPictureDVD.com. Be looking for that page to be active and functional by the end of the week. If you'd like to take a sneak peek, you can click the link to take a gander at our new graphics work in progress. The image you see now is a work in progress and may be subject to change.

10:19am PST - The dark side of the force, reveals itself unto mankind...We didn't see the Leonard Maltin inteview with George Lucas, but one of our forum readers did and we're disappointed, to say the least, with what he saw:

Leonard Maltin: "Here is the single most asked question, George, the number one question out of the five thousand. Bill asks, 'When can we expect to see the Star Wars Trilogy released on DVD?'"

George Lucas: "We have been kind of waiting on the DVD because I have been trying to make sure that the DVD is the ultimate repository of the Star Wars saga. And primarily what we are trying to do is wait until I have all six of them before we release them on DVD."

(If this exchange does in fact turn out to be true... we now enter the fantasy portion of the interview, where Jeff McNeal pokes his head around a curtain after Lucas's remarks -- insert harp gliss here)

The BIG Picture: "Are you suggesting that we won't see STAR WARS on DVD until 2005, and maybe not even then? Are you suggesting that Laserdisc was the ultimate repository for the DVD trilogy? Or were you just after a quick buck? How about VHS? Does that mean that you won't be releasing the Phantom Menace on VHS either? Or do you consider VHS the "ultimate" repository? Oh, and may we recommend the ultimate suppository to help clear your thinking on the matter? How about one of these candy-filled telescoping double-sided light sabers that my kid just bought at Target with his allowance money, George? Arrrggghh!!

If Lucas was misquoted, then kindly disregard the above paragraph.

12:57am PST - Your friend and ours, Bob Banka is back from a brief hiatus and back into the fold with his review of BABE: PIG IN THE CITY.

It never fails to amaze us how quickly our eagle-eyed readers crack the Mystery Screenshot on our contest page each weekend. Well, here's another chance for someone to show off and score a free DVD. Good luck!

Here's one of those reviews we promised earlier in the week that got lost in the shuffle. Terrence Malick's directorial debut. The BIG Picture reviews BADLANDS.