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Friday, May 28, 1999
11:01pm PST - Did you hear about the deleted scene in the next AUSTIN POWERS flick that's destined for DVD? According to Studio Briefing "A closing scene in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) involving Robert Wagner and Rob Lowe in bed together was removed from the film so that it could receive a PG-13 rating, Lowe has told syndicated columnist Cindy Pearlman. Wagner and Lowe play older and younger versions of the same character, a henchman working for Dr. Evil. In the deleted scene, Wagner remarks, "The best thing is technically it's not cheating. I'm with myself." Lowe said that the scene is being saved for a DVD version." Gee, it's a good thing Buena Vista isn't producing this movie. Talk about DVD material before the theatrical release would be (egad!) unthinkable!

12:09am PST - Is it true that Wall Street is signaling the beginning of the end for Divx? It would appear so if you can trust the newsgroups and posts on our own forum page...

Thursday, May 27, 1999
11:41pm PST - Feel like you're ready for a meltdown? Don't worry, be happy and read Bob's review of THE CHINA SYNDROME.

4:28pm PST - By now you know that in our exclusive interview with Warner Bros. a couple of months ago, it was revealed that Babylon 5 would be coming to DVD, but our guests couldn't provide any more information as to aspect ratio or release dates. A call to Warner Bros. this afternoon reveals that there is no new information on the series, but the studio IS very much aware of the Internet petition for Widescreen, anamorphic Babylon 5 episodes, featuring over 1,300 signatures so far. If you have an interest in this series on DVD, we suggest you add your name to the growing list. Numbers talk.

3:34pm PST - Good cop, bad cop or just sloppy PR? After our story about Disney's policy earlier today regarding animation, DVD and VHS, we received a note from our comrade-in-arms Peter Bracke at DVD File (to whom our rep gave the same information to previously). Peter informed us that in his subsequent call to the studio this afternoon, they did an about-face and stated that classic animation currently in moritorium (sounds too much like mausoleum) could appear on DVD without VHS being involved. We don't know if our befuddled Disney rep is suffering from multiple personality disorder or perhaps his statements are so vague that nobody can correctly interpret them, but one thing is for sure. This has been an embarrassing episode and TBP will issue no more statements about Disney animated titles on DVD until we see it in writing from the studio. We apologize for our part in the senseless confusion and want to make it clear that we were making no references, veiled or otherwise to The DVD File in our previous story. We expect that the information we receive from our studio sources would be the same information given to other DVD sites, but apparently this is not the case as it pertains to Buena Vista. At least, not today...

3:01pm PST - In the mood for a great foreign film? You may want to give BOP (that's Russian for THE THIEF) a try... Jeff provides the details in his latest review for TBP.

2:57pm PST - Man, THAT was quick! My 14-year-old son just arrived home from high school to report that he and his classmates in his Internet Publishing class were watching THE PHANTOM MENACE on two bootleg VCD's that another student brought to class. I asked him about the video quality. "Kinda dark, but pretty good!" was his reply. "Did it look like someone just used a camcorder in the theater to make the copy?", I asked. "No, the quality was really pretty good!", Alex said. The kid who brought the discs was understandably nervous about revealing much detail about where he obtained the VCDs, but you can bet that they're going to start showing up in the trunks of flea market dealers any day now, if they haven't already.

12:22pm PST - Separating the wheat from the chaff... We called Buena Vista Home Video today to clear up some misinformation that we've seen bandied about on the Internet. Specifically, we wanted to know if it was true that no animated titles on moritorium would be released on DVD. The answer is as follows: Disney can decide at any time which titles to remove from moritorium at which point a DVD may be offered, but not without accompanying VHS support. So while it's possible that animated classics will make their way to DVD, don't expect any red carpet treatment from Disney directed towards the open DVD market. The studio remained tight-lipped about any possible titles or dates, saying only that it will happen "sooner or later", which of course, doesn't say anything substantive at all (admittedly, their preference). We asked if TARZAN might be the first animated release we see on DVD following its theatrical run and the studio denied any comment on the matter. In fact, they seemed downright shocked that we'd even ask such a thing before the theatrical release! Funny. It seemed like a sensible question to us, considering that DVD versions of most theatrical releases are almost a foregone conclusion with most studios. Our Buena Vista rep seemed somewhat bemused at all of the interest and rumors floating around the Internet and said simply: Anything you might see (about Disney animated titles or dates) on the Internet in the next couple of months (at least) are just people "spinning their wheels." To which we'll simply add: Scrrrrrreeeeeech!

11:50am PST - Meet George Jetson... Continuing in our fine tradition of veering off the DVD course now and again, we just had to share this cool looking device with you! We expect to see this gadget in the next James Bond or Ice Cube movie -- or maybe both. Kyocera has intorudced the VP-210 VisualPhone, incorporating an image sensor with over 100,000 pixels and a 2-inch TFT color LCD display. Along with the audio signal, the nifty little thing receives full color images in real time at a rate of roughly two frames per second, making it the world's first color videophone. More information about this and other cool devices can be found on Steve's Digicams website.

11:43am PST - Best Buy has some good shopping suggestions for dear old dad this coming Father's Day. So do we: Buy him a new DVD player, give him a a link to The BIG Picture Premium Picks page (for title suggestions) and a gift certificate for a few DVDs. Remember that statistically, men don't live as long as women, so be sure to spoil the old duffer before it's too late!

11:33am PST - Promising to bring DVD to the masses, Sensory Science is selling a home-theater-in-a-box type of products that contains a DVD player and a Dolby Digital audio system with DTS decoding for under $599.

10:59am PST - A personal item from Barbara Streisand?? In a nice PR move, DVD Express will be hosting an online celebrity and movie memorabilia auction to benefit Cedars-Sinai's C.O.A.C.H. for Kids Mobile Medical Clinic. The June 2nd auction will feature "signed guitar from The Eagles; a personal item from Barbra Streisand; autographed boxing gloves from "Sugar Ray" Leonard, Oscar de la Hoya and Evander Holyfield; Sylvester Stallone's hiking boots; a Cheryl Tiegs collection including jewelry, a bathing suit, signed 8x10 photo and signed magazine; a signed script and 8x10 photo from "Dharma & Greg"; a Magic Johnson autographed basketball; a Kenny G autographed CD; and more." Cheryl Tiegs bathing suit? Can we use it to make soup?

10:55am PST - Warner Bros. has announced a new wave of DVD titles coming soon to a video store shelf or online retailer near you. Stanley Kubrick's collection takes center stage, but there are some other great titles to look forward to, also.

8:53am PST - We've since learned from other readers that the Microsoft Thesaurus will generate the same response to any phrase that begins with "I'd like to". The BIG Picture apologizes to anyone who might have been politically offended by the example used below.

12:01am PST - Although it has nothing to do with DVD, this is just too funny to pass up. One of our readers, Shaun Brooks, sent us this e-mail puzzle last night. This might be old news to you, but it was sure news to us:

Here is proof that either: Bill Gates has a great sense of humor, or he
is part of the right wing conspiracy Hillary keeps talking about.

Follow these steps:
1) Open a Microsoft Word (or Works) document, or use the one you are currently
working on. It doesn't matter. Just do it in Microsoft Word (or Works)
2) Type the phrase: I'd like Bill Clinton to resign.
3) With your mouse, highlight the entire phrase as if you were going to check for spelling.
4) Move to the menu bar and click "tools" "thesaurus" or "tools" "language" "Thesaurus."
5) Look at the suggested replacement phrase.

7:42pm PST - Hot off the keyboard: Bob's latest review -- WHAT DREAMS MAY COME.

2:00pm PST - "Paging Josh Dare....paging Josh Dare"... A couple of weeks ago, we posted information about a fairly balanced, but slightly innacurate DVD versus Divx story on another site and invited you to kindly set the author straight on a few things. Our readers responded, and the surprised author -- the lovely and toothsome Susan Woita -- published two of our readers' comments, with more to follow, apparently. Woita is begging for anyone who actually likes Divx to defend the beleagured DVD rival, but so far, no takers...

12:43pm PST - Columbia Tristar has officialy announced the July 20, 1999 release of 8MM, THE GENERAL, DOUBLE PLATINUM and ORLANDO.

10:32am PST - Too many chefs spoil the broth... In an effort to address a complaint about our news ticker yesterday, we moved it to the bottom of the news page -- which in turn, generated even more complaints. Seems that just as many folks like it as don't. Considering that burying the scrolling text links at the bottom of the page completely nullifies the benefits of using it, we've decided to place the ticker back up top, where it makes the most sense. We respectfully request your patience in the matter while we sort things out and suggest that you simply scroll past the ticker if you find that your eyes are going haywire. Please bear with us and just give the new addition a little time. We think that you'll appreciate the new feature as time goes on. If not, we'll terminate the ticker.

10:18am PST - Of particular interest to our Region 2 readers. Fox-Pathe is rolling out about 30 titles to you over the next year, including the oft-heralded TITANIC and a special edition of SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, slated for worldwide release later this year. For further details, be sure to check The U.K. DVD Debate.

10:14am PST - The Rest of The Picture, TBP's Guest Review Index is off to a great start with about 48 reviews already posted! We're looking forward to seeing a lot more. All are welcome to contribute! Special thanks to those who have already...

10:07pm PST - Better late than never.. Well folks, we promised you two new reviews today and here they are. Of course, if you're on the East Coast or Borneo, it's already tomorrow, but hey, for us Californians and Hawaiians, there's time to spare! Bob takes a look at the 1997 version of ROMEO+JULIET while our good friend Jeff McNeal takes a gander at some salacious hotties in SIRENS. Better bring a hardhat.

12:29pm PST - Before we eighty-six our latest poll, we thought you might find the results interesting:

How many are taking the DTS plunge? Do you like it?

39% said: I have no plans to purchase DTS equipment.
24% said: I might buy into DTS someday.
22% said: I own DTS audio gear, use it and really love it.
13% said: I own DTS gear but I'm a bit disappointed. I expected a greater difference in sound.
2% said: What in the heck is DTS?

10:44am PST - Word is out that Fox TV will have first crack at broadcasting THE PHANTOM MENACE on television somewhere around November of 2000, about six months after the home video release, which if what George Lucas says is true, can only mean VHS... Gee, that should give plenty of time to those who are so inclined to purchase recordable DVD drives. While Lucas might not be giving a boost to DVD in the most obvious (and wanted) way, he may have found a way to drive DVD sales yet -- from the hardware side via collectors not wishing to wait until the middle of the next decade. Comments, anyone?

10:31am PST - Be on the lookout for two new reviews coming up later from TBP. Bob reviews ROMEO & JULIET while Jeff gets an eyeful with SIRENS. Hubba hubba hubba.

10:21am PST - Did you hear that a complete film print of THE PHANTOM MENACE was stolen from a Menomonie, Wisconsin theater the other day? We wonder if the fear of high-quality bootlegs and new DVD+RW devices might encourage Lucasfilm to officially release the film on DVD prior to 2005... Speaking of which, we saw Episode One this past Sunday -- complete with nicks and dirt in the film (already!). In addition, some of the outdoor scenes were overly contrasty, really washing out detail. To make things worse, as soon as the THX trailer ended, we noticed a big drop in low-end sound -- almost as if the sub woofers had blown a fuse or something. When the producer of this film stated in a recent Canadian article that DVD replicates movies better than 99% of the commercial theaters out there, he wasn't kidding.

10:20am PST - Ticked off by the ticker... We received a couple of complaints (one anonymous which we completely disregarded and one from a regular which we took seriously) over our recent addition of the news ticker to this page... For the time being, we've moved it to the bottom of the page, so hopefully it will be less distracting to those who were bothered by it. The BIG Picture always welcomes constructive feedback from our readers, but if they are sent without a valid e-mail for us to respond to, we tend to take the comments with a large grain of salt. About the size of a bowling ball.

6:20pm PST - The pain is almost too much to bear... What's worse? A young wife, a young rival or a young wild and angry bear in the woods? Bob Banka finds out which one gives Anthony Hopkins the most trouble in his review of THE EDGE. Dig it, baby!

5:01pm PST - If they can't mention the price in the press release, it probably costs too much... Sony has announced their first internal 3 gig DVD+RW drive. Better save your Yen.

4:41pm PST - "Made in Tawain" is going to cost DVD makers in China a 10% royalty, according to this article in Asia Biz Tech.

Pardon our dust... It's going to take us a few days to add the new Sony KL-W9000 Forum and Guest Review Index (The Rest of The Picture) to our filmstrip menu that appears on most of our key pages. In the meantime, the quickest and easiest way to find these new additions to our site is to bookmark www.TheBIGPictureDVD.com and choose the "Forums" menu button. We apologize for any inconvenience during this transition.

Things just keep getting curiouser and curiouser... Jeff drops into a rabbit hole and emerges dazed and confused after seeing Artisan's ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

DOW giving Divx the boot... It's nice to see we're not the only ones working on Sunday. We heard directly from Tweeter Group's President and COO today and here's what he had to say about Tweeter, DOW and Divx:

It is NOT our plan to carry DIVX at DOW and we ARE working with the current
owner of that company to return all the DIVX product before the effective
date of our merger which is 6/30/99. We want to return the product now
because we do not want to negatively impact the market by "blowing out the
DIVX product" when we take over the company in July.

Regards,

Jeffrey Stone
President & Chief Operating Officer
Tweeter Home Entertainment Group, inc.

Mr. Stone also provided us his phone number to discuss the matter further (which we have declined to publish here), however, The BIG Picture considers Mr. Stone's comments to be conclusive evidence that Divx has just lost another distributor. As you may recall, one of their other few distributors, Future Shop, announced closure of it's U.S. stores a couple of months ago...

Ask me no secrets, I'll tell you no lies... Bob takes a discerning look at the latest Arnie action flick to grace the shelves before its official street date. TRUE LIES.