Site created 12/15/97.		page updated: 8/20/02 Rumor Mill (Archived Posts 5/20/02 - 10/24/01) Back to Previous Archives Back to Current Posts 5/20/02 File this in the category of VERY tentative information, but we've been getting a number of reports from usually reliable retail sources on upcoming street date information for some MAJOR late 2002 DVDs. Here's what we've got, and this comes from multiple sources now... October The Scorpion King (10/2), Scooby Doo (10/15), E.T. the Extra- Terrestrial: The 20th Anniversary Edition and Mr. Deeds (10/22) November Spider-Man (11/5), Ice Age (11/12), Men in Black II (11/19), Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (11/26) December Stuart Little 2 (12/3), Lilo & Stitch (12/20), Back to the Future Trilogy and Spy Kids 2 (12/17) Talk about a potentially packed 4th quarter! Stay tuned... 5/13/02 Just a word of update for you on Buena Vista's next round of Walt Disney Treasures DVDs. Leonard Maltin apparently revealed at a recent Walt Disney Collectors Convention that the next wave of DVD tin sets will include The Compete Goofy, Mickey Mouse in Black & White, Behind the Scenes at the Disney Studios and Wartime Cartoons. Apparently, Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow and Walt Disney's True Life Adventures (which had been previously confirmed by Disney Customer Service) have been delayed until a later date. Look for Wave 2 sometime late this year. Stay tuned... 5/10/02 You may remember that a few months ago, we received a list of rumored Back to the Future DVD specs from a source in Brazil. Well, we've now received word of the officially announced specs for Universal's international release of the Back to the Future Trilogy (set for September elsewhere around the world). Keep in mind that the U.S. release is expected in December. But since the specs you see below are official, they're likely the same as the ones you'll see on the U.S. discs (or very close to identical). Here's the rundown: Back to the Future - the original "making of" featurette, a retrospective look at the film featuring cast and crew, all new audio commentary with Michael J. Fox, director/Writer Robert Zemeckis & producer/writer Bob Gale, outtakes and deleted scenes, original make-up tests, hover board test footage, trivia subtitle track option, production gallery with photographs, original storyboards and props, Huey Lewis & The News Power of Love music video. Back to the Future II - the original "making of" featurette, a retrospective look at the film featuring cast and crew, outtakes and deleted scenes, production gallery with photographs, original storyboards and props. Back to the Future III - a retrospective look at the film featuring cast and crew, outtakes and deleted scenes, production gallery with photographs, original storyboards and props, ZZ Top Doubleback music video. Thanks to our friends at BTTF.com for the info - click here for more on this. Stay tuned... 5/1/02 We've got some information on upcoming DVDs from several studios (note that none of these titles have been officially announced as yet). Early word is that August titles from Paramount should include Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful, Staying Alive, Saturday Night Fever and True Colors. And look for a bevy of Halloween-themed releases in September. E.T. is looking like a possible August title from Universal, but you can tentatively expect Brotherhood of the Wolf to be released first on 6/25. Once again, look for the Back to the Future Trilogy in December. Lucasfilm is indeed working on a 2-disc DVD version Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, for release in October or November (the final street date has yet to be determined, although many dates have circulated on the Net). Word is Columbia TriStar's going all out on the eventual DVD release of Spider-Man scheduled tentatively for later this year. Fox is working on a more deluxe X-Men: Special Edition DVD to include director's audio commentary and other extras, along with the first trailer for X-Men 2. MGM's Thelma and Louise: Special Edition has been pushed to 2003, but look for their Dances with Wolves: Special Edition later this year, to include both the American and European theatrical versions. And word from Miramax is that we can tentatively expect Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colors Trilogy (Blue, White and Red) and a Pulp Fiction: Special Edition before the year is out. Finally, Warner's The Iron Giant: Special Edition is still on track for the holidays. Stay tuned... 4/19/02 Thought we'd finish the week on one last Star Trek note. A lot of people have been asking us what to expect after Paramount finishes up with the last season of The Next Generation on DVD in December. Well... if you're laying a wager with your friends, put your money on Deep Space Nine in 2003. ;-) Stay tuned... 4/17/02 We've got an update for you this evening on Paramount's upcoming Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - Collector's Edition. As we mentioned earlier today in the daily column, the unannounced title was tentatively slated for release in June, but has since been delayed. Our sources now indicate that the title will likely arrive in August instead. But here's the good news - you can expect it to be a Director's Edition, similar to the recent 2-disc Star Trek: The Motion Picture re-release. We'll post details on content as soon as we're able to confirm anything. Stay tuned... 4/4/02 We've heard and tentatively confirmed that the Walt Disney Treasures, Wave 2 DVDs (due very late in 2002) will include Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow, Mickey Mouse in Black and White, The Complete Goofy and Walt Disney's True Life Adventures. At this rate, it's looking like there will be one new wave of these DVDs each year. Watch for official announcements soon. Stay tuned... 3/28/02 It looks like ADV is getting ready to start releasing the second season of Farscape as 2-disc sets. That will mean that the entire season will be released in 5 or 6 volumes (2-discs each), with each volume containing 4 or 5 episodes. Look for it to start arriving in May or June. Word is that Andromeda is also soon to find its way to DVD. Also today, we've got word that Disney's Muppet Treasure Island (street date 6/4) will feature a Tim Curry/Muppet-related surprise in the interview section. Should be fun. Stay tuned... 3/26/02 We've gotten word from our retailer sources on street dates for a number of new Paramount titles. Here's what to look for: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - Collector's Edition (6/25), I Love Lucy - Season One, Volume One (7/2) and Black Sheep, Gung Ho, It Came From Hollywood, Big Bus, Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy, Top Secret, I Love Lucy Season One, Volume 2 and Better Off Dead (all 7/16) Expect these to be officially announced in the coming weeks. Stay tuned... 3/21/02 The webmaster of the DVDPortugal website this morning sent us a list of what is reportedly the spec list for Universal's forthcoming Back to the Future Trilogy DVDs (due unoffically in December). This hasn't been confirmed, but these international leaks have been pretty accurate in the past so we decided to reprint the list here. But you've been warned - take this with a healthy dose of salt. Here's the list: Back to the Future - The Making of Back to the Future, Time Travel: Fact, Fiction & Fantasy featurette, feature commentary, trailers, The Power of Love music video, Johnny B. Goode music video, pop-up trivia quiz, deleted scenes, footage from the original auditions, make-up tests, outtakes, original storyboards and conceptual artwork, photograph gallery, prop museum, DVD-ROM features with script to screen comparison Back to the Future: Part II - "behind-the-scenes" special presentation, feature commentary, trailers, deleted scenes, footage from the original auditions, make-up tests, outtakes, original storyboards and conceptual artwork, photograph gallery, prop museum, DVD-ROM features with script to screen comparison Back to the Future: Part III - The Secrets of the Back to the Future Trilogy, feature commentary, trailers, Doubleback music video, deleted scenes, footage from the original auditions, make-up tests, outtakes, original storyboards and conceptual artwork, photograph gallery, prop museum, DVD-ROM features with script to screen comparison 3/19/02 We've got word on a couple more Paramount titles for you today. We've confirmed that Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season Three is due on July 2nd. We've also confirmed that Orange County will street on June 18th. You'll also be happy to know that Top Secret and Better Off Dead are close to being announced (we're hearing for sometime in July). And I would expect to hear something official about the Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - Collector's Edition in the next few weeks as well (our best sources say this will street on June 25th). Stay tuned... 3/15/02 Our sources have been busy lately digging up information on some of the biggest titles of the year. First of all, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings is soon to be announced for release in two versions (as you already know) - a theatrical 2-disc DVD for August and a 4-disc special edition set to street in November. We expect to have official details for you on this title in a couple of weeks. Also, our sources have confirmed that Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones will be released on DVD this year, in time for Thanksgiving. There's some uncertainty as to whether it will street in October or November, but work on the disc is already underway. Speaking of which, you can view the film's final theatrical trailer, entitled Clone War, online at this link (the final one-sheet artwork is available as well). Also today, we've got word on upcoming Paramount DVDs. As you know, Brotherhood, Atlantic City, The Gambler and Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 2 all street on 5/7, with Vanilla Sky and Sidewalks of New York following on 5/21 and The Fan, Silver Bullet, Sorry, Wrong Number, Graveyard Shift, MTV The Real World You Never Saw: Chicago and MTV The Real World: Decade of Bloopers due on 5/28. We've been told by our retail sources that Bad Company, Goin' South, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Five Card Stud, Nevada Smith, Will Penny and the Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - Collector's Edition will all arrive in June, with the first episodes of classic I Love Lucy following in July. And Top Secret, Staying Alive, Saturday Night Fever, Flashdance, Footloose, Major League and The Duelists are among the titles you can expect to arrive on DVD before the year is out. Finally, we've received credible (but still very tentative) information that Raiders of the Lost Ark is finally moving forward as a potential holiday release. This seems to be supported by a recent report in the French DVD magazine Les Années Laser (who were among the first to confirm the Episode I DVD - thanks to Bits reader Alain G. for the tip), which says it's a potential "Winter 2002" release. Stay tuned... 3/5/02 We've got word of more TV product coming on DVD later this year. Bits reader John B. send us proof that Columbia House is offering both Babylon 5 and I Love Lucy as TV series that you can collect on DVD through them. Our sources tell us that more Babylon 5 episodes will be released widely in stores on DVD by Warner later this year. They also tell us that Paramount plans to debut I Love Lucy as well (sometime in the summer). More when we have it... 2/28/02 We've checked in with our sources and learned some interesting things. First of all, word is that (if all goes well) Miramax will be releasing collector's editions of Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown and Krzysztof Kieslowski's Blue, White and Red before the year is out. We've also learned that those collector's editions of The English Patient, El Cid, The Fall of the Roman Empire, Circus World and 55 Days from Peking are still in production but are likely to be 2003 releases. On the Trek front, we've been told that fans can look for not only a Star Trek II special edition (due, as we've said before) in June, but also a special edition of Star Trek III late in the year (probably timed to take advantage of the release of Star Trek: Nemesis to theaters). Hey... we're not done yet. The rumors are true - Universal will release Duel, Silent Running and It Came from Outer Space along with the Legend: Ultimate Edition on May 21st. And here's another good title you may not have known about - Brotherhood of the Wolf is tentatively set for June (no word if it will be as elaborate as the Region 2 release, so don't ask). Stay tuned... (LATE UPDATE - 2/13/02 - 10:30 AM PST) Look Ma... two Rumor Mill updates in one day! Just thought you all might like to know: we've checked in with more of our sources, who have learned that Universal is now targeting December for the release of The Back to the Future Trilogy on DVD. No word yet on whether there will be a theatrical re-release this summer first, but it's possible. Also, we have it on good authority that Universal has a DVD version of Steven Spielberg's Duel on the slate, with at least some extras. We've got a bit of MGM news this morning. We're hearing that their Dances with Wolves: Special Edition will arrive sometime in the second half of the year, and it will have both the U.S. theatrical version and the longer European cut of the film. Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson has confirmed that he's doing an audio commentary for the DVD (probably the 4-disc version that streets in November). In fact, he's probably working on it as we speak. He also confirmed that he's adding 30 minutes back into the cut of the film for the disc. All this comes via New Zealand TV during an interview with the director about the film's 13 Oscar nominations (click here to see a Real Media clip - it's long but good and the DVD stuff is at the end). You know, Peter Jackson's my kind of guy. You gotta love it when the director talks about his DVD work. Who needs to dig for this stuff when he's willing to tell you! Thanks to Bits reader Jefferson Morris for the tip. One last bit of news today. You fans looking forward to DreamWorks' The Time Machine remake and Columbia TriStar's Spider-Man will be happy to know that we've confirmed that the eventual DVDs are already in production. Have a nice day... ;-) (EARLY UPDATE - 2/13/02 - 12:01 AM PST) Our most reliable sources have checked in with the street date for Universal's long awaited 2-disc DVD "Ultimate Edition" release of Ridley Scott's Legend. Look for it to hit stores on May 21st. Expect an official announcement soon. Columbia TriStar's recent Ridley Scott film, Black Hawk Down, is also expected to arrive on DVD sometime in May. We'll let you know when we have a street date on that. Stay tuned... 2/12/02 We've got very reliable word that when 20th Century Fox bows the Hughes Brothers' From Hell to DVD in May, it will be available in a limited edition 2-disc set, that will feature tons of exclusive material. Word is that the Hughes Brothers have been working closely with Fox to create lots of special content for this edition, including some 23 deleted scenes, an alternate ending, a specially remixed version of the soundtrack and more. You can also expect the usual anamorphic widescreen video and dual Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 audio options. Then, after a short availability window, the limited edition will disappear, to be replaced by a more basic, single-disc edition of the film. One other note today - there's a story over at Yahoo that corroborates what we've been hearing about The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season. Which is basically that you can expect it to hit stores in May. Stay tuned... 1/31/02 Well... we've covered Warner and Paramount upcoming DVD projects. Now it's time for a look at what's cookin' over at 20th Century Fox. We've checked in with a number of retailer sources and here's what we've learned. As we mentioned yesterday in the daily column, Fox's Joy Ride: Special Edition is set for release on March 12th. That same day, you'll also get Sexy Beast and Baz Luhrmann's Romeo+Juliet: Special Edition (which will be available later in the year in a Baz Luhrmann DVD collection including Moulin Rouge and a Strictly Ballroom: Special Edition, plus a special bonus DVD of additional extras). April will see the release of Behind Enemy Lines, The Deep End and Black Knight. Look for the Hughes Brothers' From Hell in May, along with Shallow Hall and Waking Life. For June, expect lots of Paul Newman on disc, including The Hustler: Special Edition, Hombre and The Verdict. And the Speed: Five-Star Collection should be released around mid-year. Look for more TV product to appear by mid-year as well, with the second seasons of M*A*S*H, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Simpsons all currently in production. Some other quick upcoming title news... look for the anime Spriggan from AD Vision in April. That same month, Rhino will release a 5-volume box set of the complete first season of The Transformers (16 episodes in all). And word is that Universal's Mulholland Drive is set to arrive on DVD on April 9th, with New Line's I Am Sam slated for a tentative June arrival on DVD. And as you've probably heard (we mentioned it yesterday in our daily column) director Peter Jackson's confirmed that New Line's Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring will be available in 2 versions on DVD - the "theatrical" version in August (on VHS and DVD), and a special edition DVD in November, which will include about 30 minutes of additional footage. Stay tuned... 1/28/02 Okay... the following information (unless otherwise noted) has been officially confirmed by the studio. We're just putting it here in The Rumor Mill 'cause it's the first place most of you go when you read The Bits anyway. ;-) Paramount has a number of interesting projects in the works for DVD release in 2002. First of all, the studio has confirmed that Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Two will street in May. The Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - Special Edition is also in production for release this summer (rumor is June, but that's not confirmed). The studio has, however, confirmed that June will see the release of another batch of classic Westerns to DVD. The specific titles are yet to be announced, but don't expect Once Upon a Time in the West until late in the year at the very earliest. You can, on the other hand, assume that Gunfight at the O.K. Corral will be released this year. Another long awaited title that's definitely on the way is Better Off Dead. And you can look for Atlantic City to be announced very soon, possibly this week. The other thing we've been able to confirm is that Paramount's trio of Ridley Scott films (1492: Conquest of Paradise, Black Rain and The Duellists) are all going to be released as special editions in the future. First in line for DVD release is The Duellists, which has recently been restored by the studio. If all goes well, it should be out by the end of the year. And as you all know, Saturday Night Fever will finally find its way to DVD in 2002. Paramount will only confirm this, but no details are as yet available. And there's no official word yet on Grease, a Titanic: SE or the Indiana Jones Trilogy. Now then... this is UNOFFICIAL. We've been told by various sources that at least SOME work has been done to get Raiders of the Lost Ark closer to release on DVD. Word is that the films would be released one per year, as 2-disc special editions. And our friends at The Force.net have received an interesting report on this subject. Apparently, director Steven Spielberg paid a surprise visit to a film class at USC last week. During a Q&A with the students, he mentioned that he doesn't do audio commentaries for his work because he thinks they detract from the film experience (which we already knew). More importantly, however, he revealed that he recently turned down a request from George Lucas to record commentaries for the DVD release of the Indiana Jones films. Which confirms that at least some serious thought is being given by Lucasfilm to releasing them. Does that mean we can expect to see Raiders on disc in 2002? We'll certainly let you know if we hear anything more substantial on this note. Stay tuned... 1/25/02 The Rumor Mill's been keeping us so busy this week, that we figured we should close out the week accordingly. So here's a few last rumors to keep you going over the weekend. First of all, we've got word on a FEW of MGM's May DVD titles. Look for The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Devil's Brigade, The Hound of the Baskervilles, I Want to Live!, Khartoum, The Vikings, The Pride and the Passion and The Last Waltz: Special Edition. We've also heard that the Dances with Wolves: Special Edition may be released in May or June as well. Looks like Warner will finally make all you Babylon 5 fans happy, by releasing the complete first season of the series on DVD this fall. We're waiting for more details on this release, but we've been told Warner intends to release a lot of TV product before the year is over. And word is they're happy with sales of the single B5 disc they've released thus far. The B5: Legend of the Rangers fan site's heard something similar, so we'll keep a close eye on the situation. And finally, MGM is expected to release Stargate: SG-1 Season Two on DVD in September (which makes sense, as Artisan's new Stargate: Special Edition is due then as well). We'll post more when we hear it. Thanks to Bits reader Jeff K for the confirmation. Stay tuned... 1/24/02 We're keeping The Rumor Mill buzzing this week, aren't we? We've got word today that Universal's Back to the Future Trilogy is set to street in July, with E.T. following in August. Warner's The Majestic is tentatively set for May 12th. You'll be pleased to learn that there's a Blue Velvet: Special Edition in the works for release later in 2002 at MGM, along with Spaceballs and Thelma & Louise. Warner's The Color Purple is also expected to be released as a special edition this year, as are Amadeus and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (the latter will both be 2-disc releases). Fox's Speed: Five Star Collection should be announced soon, although True Lies has been pushed back on the slate (due to the Sept 11th attacks). Criterion is working on The Fireman's Ball, and has plans to do Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket and The Royal Tenenbaums as well. Artisan is working on Glengarry Glen Ross for March, and the long-awaited Frank Herbert's Dune: Special Edition (for mid-year). They also have the Reservoir Dogs: 10th Anniversary Edition (due in July now), and a special edition of It's a Wonderful Life due in September that's expected to include lost footage. A new special edition of Stargate is also due in September (maybe anamorphic this time?). Columbia TriStar's already at work on Black Hawk Down, and their Jerry Maguire: Special Edition is due by mid-year. Finally today, Anchor Bay's Plenty is due on April 16th. Stay tuned... 1/23/02 More Warner news today. We've gotten confirmation from several sources now that the studio is planning to street their 2-disc Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on May 28th, 2002. We've also heard from a number of retailers that their recent remake of Ocean's 11 will arrive on DVD on May 7th. Stay tuned... 1/22/02 We've heard from several sources now that Warner's upcoming Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone will be released on DVD as a 2-disc set in the April-June timeframe. Expect the packaging to be similar to what Warner's used recently for Citizen Kane and Doctor Zhivago. There will be two versions of the disc, both special editions. One will be anamorphic widescreen, the other full frame. We've been told to look for director's commentary, deleted footage and/or a possible longer cut of the film. In other news, Paramount's Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Two DVD box is expected to street on May 7th, with their 2-disc Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - Special Edition following on June 25th. And Miramax is getting ready to announce the DVD release of their Serendipity for an April 16 street date. Rounding up other recent news we've heard here at The Bits, don't forget that Warner's Friends: The Complete First Season DVD box set is expected on April 30th, along with a 2-disc DVD release of the BBC TV version of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and the BBC sci-fi/comedy Hyperspace. Stay tuned... 1/14/02 We've been hearing from a number of readers since last week, who are reporting that Blockbuster has been replying to their inquiries (about the company's full frame bias) with news that Blockbuster will begin ordering more widescreen versions of dual version DVDs starting in February. One even sent an MP3 recording to us (and to IGN DVD's editor, Jeremy Conrad) of a message left on their answering machine from Blockbuster. The basic text of the message is as follows: "...after complaints concerning the fact that we do not carry widescreen DVDs in our stores, I am calling to let you know that we will be changing that policy. Going forward with the February buy, we will make every effort to buy the widescreen version in addition to pan & scan versions on all DVDs that are released that we are actually buying." We have yet to hear this officially from Blockbuster, but if this is true, it's a welcome response to our Blockbuster petition (created jointly with IGN), which has now garnered nearly 19,000 signatures. If anyone from Blockbuster would care to confirm this, please e-mail me to let us know. And if other readers are hearing the same thing, drop us a line as well. Stay tuned... 1/4/02 We've been hearing reports from our readers that audiences who go to see the current IMAX re-release of Disney's Beauty and the Beast are being treated to a preview of the next animated title that will make its way to theaters on January 1st, 2003... The Lion King. That means you can reasonably expect The Lion King to be the Platinum animated title for the 4th Qtr of 2003. This is a slight change from Disney's previous release schedule, which had Aladdin coming in 2003, with The Lion King following in 2004. Not that we're complaining. As much as I dig Aladdin, I love Lion King and it'll be great to have the title on DVD at long last. Thanks to Bits reader Tim and everyone who sent this in. Stay tuned... 1/3/02 We've got an update on that Titanic rumor. It seems that Cameron did indeed return recently to dive to the wreck of the Titanic, for a 3D IMAX documentary he's producing called Ghosts of the Abyss. You can visit the site's official website here. The site has videos of the dive that you can watch. Our information (from several sources now) is that while there, photographs and full motion video were taken for use in an eventual Titanic: SE. The expedition itself was also documented on video for a behind-the-scenes DVD, called EarthShip.TV: On Expedition (which will be released later this year). You can actually pre-order the Expedition DVD on the site for $19.98. Now for more Lord of the Rings DVD news. The Urban Cinephile website recently posted an online interview with Barrie M. Osborne, who was a producer on the project. Here's an excerpt from the article which pertains to the eventual DVD release: "As for the DVD, Osborne promises it will be released just before the second film is released theatrically, and it will have on it the longer cut. And at some point, he admits, the 9-hour version of the trilogy – all three films, end to end - is also a distinct possibility." We're also hearing that in addition to the longer cut, you can expect numerous deleted scenes, audio commentary and extensive behind-the-scenes material (all of which is arguably a given). The DVD will at least be a 2 disc (and probably a 3-disc) release. And, as you've probably already heard (in recent comments by New Line's president for worldwide distribution and marketing, Rolf Mittweg, on TheOneRing.net), the disc is expected to be released in August, and to include an exclusive preview for the next installment, The Two Towers. By the way... a number of sources are telling us that May 7th is the unofficial release date for Warner's Harry Potter on DVD (although a few sources are also saying April 30th). October 15th is also being touted as the street date for Disney and Pixar's Monster's Inc. on DVD (in both movie-only and collector's edition versions). We'll see. Stay tuned... 1/2/02 Here's a fascinating rumor that you Titanic fans will love. We've heard an unconfirmed report that director James Cameron has recently been back to the wreck of the ill-fated ship, to take new images and full motion video for use in an upcoming special edition DVD version of the film. We do know that Paramount has plans to produce a new SE, which would feature a new anamorphic widescreen transfer, but it's still more than a year away at least. We'll try to confirm this trip and post an update soon. In the meantime, here are two things we can confirm for you right now: work is already well under way on upcoming DVD versions of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Fellowship will be released in the second half of this year, but I'll lay odds that we hear something official about Harry Potter fairly soon. Stay tuned...! 12/5/01 Okay Lord of the Rings fans... we've already got word on plans to bring the first installment of the series, The Fellowship of the Ring, to DVD. Warner is reportedly distributing the title in Europe, and word from our friends there is that the studio revealed the tentative street date in R2 (September 19th 2002) in a scheduler to retailers for the year. If true, that means we can reasonably expect the R1 version of the DVD to street about the same time, if not sooner. Hey - cheer up! That's only 285 days to wait. Thanks to Karsten of the German site Area DVD for the tip. One other item this morning... the website Toon Zone reportedly heard from producer/animator Bruce Timm that the first Batman: The Animated Series DVD will arrive in April of 2002. Surprise... it will reportedly be a collection of episodes, rather than a complete season release. Still... the collection will reportedly be the first five episodes of the series (On Leather Wings, Christmas with the Joker, The Last Laugh, Pretty Poison and Nothing to Fear), leaving the hope that future volumes will continue to release episodes in order. The website also has an in-depth interview with Timm that's well worth a look. Fans will be pleased to learn that Warner is finally going to be releasing the uncut version of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, and possibly the first episode of Justice League to DVD as well in the new year. Stay tuned... 11/29/01 We've got an interesting rumor on the release of the Back to the Future Trilogy. A number of retailers have e-mailed us to say that the title is tentatively slated for release in parts of Europe on August 21st of next year. Keep in mind that that's a long way off - this definitely makes it a little more wild a rumor that we usually post here. But rumors are going around these days. The Force.net's has already posted rumors (again from Europe) that Star Wars: Episode II is already planned for DVD release in August of 2002. Europe's even where those Star Trek: TNG packaging rumors came from. Damn... what's up with that? Maybe we should rename this page Le Rumeur Moulin... ;-) Okay... so what else is new...? Retailers are being told that Artisan's Twin Peaks: Season One DVD has been pushed back a couple of weeks to December 18th. Seems demand is much higher than expected. Also, we're still hearing that Steven Spielberg's A.I. is tentatively due on January 29th. Stay tuned... 11/19/01 Buena Vista's unofficially set February 12th as the tentative release date for Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. We've been told that this will indeed be a special edition. Details to follow as soon as we get them... Paramount has let it slip that their long-awaited Saturday Night Fever will finally see the light of day in 2002 (no word on Grease). We've also got word that the Star Trek II special edition will arrive on 6/25 of next year, with TNG Season 1 due on 3/19 and Season 2 following on 5/7. Universal's quietly informed retailers that its 2002 slate will FINALLY include the Back to the Future Trilogy (reportedly due Summer 2002) as well as collector's editions of The Sting and Slap Shot. This is in addition to the DVD release of the E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: 20th Anniversary Edition, which it's now confirmed will contain both the new cut of the film and the original theatrical version. And finally, we've got word that Anchor Bay's forthcoming Evil Dead: Book of the Dead Edition will feature a second disc of the film's soundtrack, along with a booklet that will include 13 pages of new Book of the Dead artwork created by Tom Sullivan himself. Stay tuned... 10/24/01 Hey Trek fans... with Paramount's Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition arriving on DVD on November 6th, and the last two Star Trek: The Original Series DVDs (volumes 39 & 40) coming on December 11th, you may be wondering what the mountain has next in its plans for Star Trek on disc. Well... we've been hearing from our sources that your next DVD adventure into the final frontier will come on March 19th, when Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season One will arrive on the format. Season Two is tentatively panned to follow in early May and the Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - Special Edition is currently slated for late June. Keep in mind, this isn't official until it's official. Also today, we've got word that a School House Rock DVD set is on the way for next spring (probably from Disney, which owns ABC TV). The DVDs will feature animated menus and a brand new cartoon, made just for this DVD, called Electoral College. It features all new music and animation. Should be a blast. Sing it with me now: I'm just a Bill, yeah I'm only a Bill... And finally, there's more word that the forthcoming E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: 20th Anniversary Special Edition, which is being released in theaters next March and will arrive on DVD over the summer, is being altered. We'd heard that there would be a new director's cut of the film, with new digitally-enhanced special effects, but according to this post at Ain't it Cool News/DVD Sewer, there will be "political correctness" changes as well. I have mixed feelings about this. While I wish the original version of the film would be preserved on DVD, I do appreciate that a director has the right to make any changes he or she wants to their films. It's a tricky issue with a lot of hotly contested opinions. By the way, a trailer for the new release appears on the forthcoming How the Grinch Stole Christmas DVD. And speaking of trailers, I have confirmed that New Line's forthcoming Rush Hour 2: Infinifilm Edition DVD has the two most recent Lord of the Rings hidden trailers on it. I've seen them both on DVD, and they rock. Stay tuned... Archived Posts Back to Current Posts
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