Site created 12/15/97.		page updated: 1/7/04 Rumor Mill (Archived Posts 9/17/03 - 1/17/03) Back to Previous Archives Back to Current Posts 9/17/03 You know, it seems like we go through this about once a year. But, at the risk of inducing lots of eye rolling out there, here we go again. We've heard from a number of industry sources we trust (and who have proven their reliability in the past) in the last few weeks. They're reporting that Lucasfilm is seriously considering releasing the Star Wars Trilogy on DVD late next year. In fact, our information indicates that some work is already under way toward a 4th Qtr, 2004 release. Word is that Lucasfilm is pleased with the format of The Adventures of Indiana Jones: The Complete DVD Movie Collection they're releasing on 10/21 in conjunction with Paramount - so pleased, in fact, that they're planning to use the same format to release the classic Star Wars films. This would presumably mean a 4-disc set, with a disc for each film and a fourth disc of special edition materials for all three films. It would certainly make sense. First, it would be a great way to get a buzz going into early 2005, when the final film, Episode III, is set to arrive in theaters. Also, Lucasfilm has said in the past that there aren't a lot of behind-the-scenes materials available for the original films, so having a single bonus disc of extras (as opposed to three) would make life easier for them. Interestingly, as we were working to learn more about this from our sources, we received an e-mail from a Bits reader about a DVD column on the BBC's film site (slide down the page to near the bottom). It seems that Channel.com (sort of a U.K. version of Columbia House, run by Universal) listed the original Star Wars Trilogy as coming to DVD in 2004 in their latest brochure to members. Of course, we've certainly heard similar reports many times in the past, so we encourage you to take this information with a large dose of salt. Only time will tell if this is... FINALLY... the real deal. At the recent DVD conference in L.A., I spoke with Lucasfilm's Jim Ward, who predictably wouldn't discuss the DVD release plan for the original Star Wars films, other than to say that they WOULD be released on DVD at some point. He did, however, say that Episode III was being well documented for DVD, and he once again noted that the original theatrical versions of these films no longer exist - the new SEs are George's ultimate vision for these films. Frankly, we're really looking forward to these films being released on DVD... if only so we don't have to keep reporting on them here! In any case, THIS is the extent of what we know, so please don't bombard us with a lot of questions. You know as much as we do at this point. When we learn more, we'll post it here. Stay tuned... 9/16/03 With all the news lately about different TV shows being released on DVD, and with an industry conference on this very subject set for next month, we've learned that Warner is planning on releasing more animated TV product on our favorite format. Specifically, sources are telling us that 2004 could see the release of full seasons of Tiny Toon Adventures and Batman: The Animated Series from the studio, with the possibility of Animaniacs and more superhero animated TV product further down the line. Also, you Highlander fans might like to know that the entire TV series is expected to be released on DVD from Anchor Bay by the end of next year. Look for Season Three this November, Season Four in March, Season Five in July and Season Six in November 2004. Stay tuned... 8/8/03 We have some information from our sources on upcoming Fox DVDs. Sources are now reporting 28 Days Later as a 10/21 release, with X-Men 2: X-Men United following on 11/25 and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen due on 12/2. The new X-Men date contradicts what we've heard before, but multiple retail and industry sources have separately reported these dates to us in the last few days, so we have a feeling they're more reliable. Also, just FYI, Amazon.com is currently reporting that Paramount's Young Sherlock Holmes will street on 12/2 as well. Stay tuned... 7/28/03 Okay superhero fans... a number of retail sources have checked in over the weekend with tentative street dates for a couple of big titles. 20th Century Fox is reportedly soon to announce 9/12 as the street date for its 2-disc X-Men 2: X-Men United DVD. And Universal is reportedly eyeing October 28th for its The Hulk: Collector's Edition. Watch for official announcements soon. In other Fox news, you'll be happy to know that 12/9 is the tentative street date for Fox's Firefly: The Complete Series box set. And we've confirmed that My Darling Clementine is being prepared for release late in 2003 or early 2004. Stay tuned... 7/22/03 We've got a few interesting new tidbits of information for you. First up, MGM is getting ready to announce their Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: Special Edition. Can you say anamorphic widescreen? Watch for the official word soon. Word from attendees at Comic-Con is that actor Richard Hatch let slip some details on the new Battlestar Galactica: The Complete Epic Series DVD. Apparently, Hatch and other actors contributed to the audio commentary track on some of the episodes. In addition, Hatch says Universal "obtained approximately 20 minutes of previously unreleased scenes from the 3-hour television version of the first episode" that is going to be added back into program for the DVD release. Great news if it pans out. Thanks to Bits reader Dave P. for that. 20th Century Fox is soon to announce a 2-disc special edition of X-Men 2: X-Men United. They're also working on a single-disc special edition of 28 Days Later - the recent zombie thriller that was a hit with critics. The X-Files: The Complete Eighth Season is being prepped for November release. A box set of classic Lost in Space is in the planning stages, while Firefly: The Complete Series is now in production (look for 2 or 3 unbroadcast episodes to be included). And for next year, Fox is in the very early planning stages on a Planet of the Apes: 35th Anniversary Edition. You can reasonably expect that it will include a new anamorphic widescreen transfer in addition to other extras. Finally today, word from retailers is that Paramount's working on Cool World, Fairytale: A True Story, Joseph Andrews, King David, The Last Tycoon, Oliver's Story, Pretty Baby, The Out-of-Towners, The Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Plaza Suite, Star Spangled Girl and, of course, Once Upon a Time in the West for November. And among the titles in the works for December are The Great Gatsby, Hud, This Property is Condemned, Wuthering Heights (1992) and Young Sherlock Holmes. Stay tuned... 7/15/03 Here's some information you Scarface fans are going to love. We've gotten confirmation from retail sources that Universal will be releasing a new Scarface: Collector's Edition on 9/30, along with a Scarface gift set that includes a re-done version of the original 1932 Scarface. Stay tuned... 7/10/03 Okay folks... a couple of very cool rumors today. First of all, we have it from very reliable sources that Universal is prepping a Schindler's List special edition tentatively set to be released in February of 2004. Sadly, Spielberg said no to audio commentary, but there will be lots of other extras. Also, our information is that The Matrix: Reloaded will be released on DVD (in both anamorphic widescreen and full frame versions) on October 14th. Watch for an official announcement soon. But here's the apparently close to final cover artwork... Stay tuned... 7/4/03 We've got some good Universal/DreamWorks rumors for you today. How about a list of street dates for their major films of recent weeks? According to industry sources, look for 2 Fast 2 Furious on 9/30, The Hulk on 10/28, the animated Sinbad on 11/18, Bruce Almighty on 11/25 and the forthcoming American Wedding at the end of December (12/30). Also we've got another Indy tidbit for you. Word is, Spielberg is making one single change to the original Raiders of the Lost Ark (whoops... maybe that should be two, since they've also changed the name to Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark). And if this is true, the change could easily fall into the "digital cleaning and re-mastering" category. Remember that shot where Indy falls into the snake pit, and you briefly see reflections on the glass that's protecting Harrison Ford's face from the snakes? Well... our sources are telling us those reflections are being digitally removed from the shot so you can't see the glass. While there will no doubt be purists who get tweaked by this, we think most people will appreciate the fixed effect. Anyway, remember that this is tentative information, so digest accordingly. Stay tuned... 7/3/03 We've got an interesting glimpse at what we might expect to be included in Paramount and Lucasfilm's forthcoming The Adventures of Indiana Jones: The Complete DVD Movie Collection (11/4). Information from retailers in the U.K. indicates that extras will include several featurettes on the making of the films, the stunt work and sound effects and music mixing, along with deleted scenes, screen test footage, documentaries, something called The Adventure Continues, trailers and galleries of still photos and artwork. It's vague, but tantalizing. With any luck, the powers that be will make more official, detailed announcements of extras soon. Stay tuned... 6/12/03 We've got interesting details on a few more upcoming DVDs for you today. First up, we've learned that, with next year being Miramax's 25th anniversary, the company has plans to re-release The English Patient as an anamorphic widescreen special edition. The title is tentatively set for spring release. More Paramount news today... as you may know, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country are both being prepped for release as 2-disc Collector's Editions. These will both contain the same, previously released cuts as before, but with additional special edition materials. Both will obviously be anamorphic (Star Trek VI was previously letterboxed widescreen only on DVD). Star Trek V will be released before the year is out, with Star Trek VI following in 2004. Finally, Universal has confirmed the information we posted yesterday about the Monty Python's The Meaning of Life: Special Edition. So here's another interesting tidbit for you. We've actually been hearing rumors about this for a while now, but we've started to get confirmation from industry sources on it. Word is, a more elaborate DVD version of Scarface is on the way for release in November. Stay tuned... 6/11/03 Okay... in our last update, we mentioned Warner's The Matrix: Reloaded DVD as streeting sometime in October. How does October 28th sound? You'll be gettin' busy with Neo and all the gang in time for Halloween. We've got some new Fox DVD news too. Speaking of Halloween, the studio is releasing Blood Moon, The Calling, Creepy Crawlers, Do You Wanna Know a Secret?, Frightmare, Ginger Snaps, Hellion, Reign in Darkness and Severed on 9/2 (SRP $9.98), along with The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror ($14.98). They also have more TV titles on the way, including Futurama: Volume 2 (August 12), Family Guy, Volume 2 (September 9), Angel: Season 2 (September 2) and NYPD Blue: Season 2 (August 19). Watch also for the features Chasing Papi (August 26) and The Good Thief (August 19). And on the Paramount front, look for a great batch of catalog titles in September, as well as a couple of new TV offerings. On the way are Regarding Henry, Nobody's Fool, Losing Isaiah, Milk Money, An Almost Perfect Affair, Leap of Faith, Campus Man, I.Q. and The Homecoming, as well as C.S.I.: Season Two and MTV Cribs. Oh, but there's more! Universal is set to announce the DVD release of Monty Python's The Meaning of Life: Special Edition on September 2nd! Can you hear us all giggling like school girls here at The Bits? Look for anamorphic widescreen video, both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 audio, a new introduction by Eric Idle, audio commentary, deleted scenes, The Meaning of Making the Meaning of Life documentary and a slew of featurettes (including The Songs, Snipped Bits, Un Film de John Cleese, Songs Unsung, Education Tips, Fish, Re-mastering a Masterpiece, Song and Dance, Virtual Reunion and Selling the Meaning of Life). SRP will be $26.98. How bleedin' cool is that!? Stay tuned! 6/9/03 We've been getting some early information from various industry sources over the last week about Warner's eventual DVD release of The Matrix: Reloaded. Word is, the disc will street sometime in October if all goes well. That would make sense, given that The Matrix: Revolutions is due in theaters in November. In addition, we've been told by sources that both Universal's Schindler's List and an anamorphic widescreen re-issue of Paramount's Top Gun are on tap for 2004. Stay tuned... 6/4/03 We've got some interesting details for you today on Disney's forthcoming The Lion King: Platinum Edition DVD (street date 10/7). Some of this is already known, but there are a few new details here that have been leaked to us, which is why this is in The Rumor Mill. The disc, which has been in production for well over a year now, will include new interviews with Elton John and Tim Rice. You'll get a look at several deleted scenes, in the form of original storyboards, which were never fully completed. The discs' animated menus reportedly feature both new traditional cell and CG animation. The character of Zazu hosts the menus on Disc One, for example, and explains what you'll find on the disc. Using the latest digital technology, the filmmakers have apparently restored and "added more detail" to the image, to bring more clarity and vibrancy to the film. In addition, a special Enhanced Home Theater sound mix has been created for the first time on this DVD release, that is specially designed to "envelop the listener in the sound" and enhance the emotional impact of the film. You will be able to choose to view either the original theatrical version of the film or the new special edition version (with the new musical number, Morning Report, created by the original filmmakers). And, for BOTH versions of the film, you will be able to choose to listen to either the original theatrical audio, or the new Enhanced Home Theater mix. Here's the cover... Just FYI, here's also a look at The Lion King: Special Edition Collector's Gift Set, which will include the DVD, plus 5 exclusive character portrait drawings signed and sketched by the original animators and a new The Lion King: Special Edition book, all contained in a custom slipsleeve case. SRP is $49.99. It streets the same day. Clicking on the images will take you to pre-order pages at DVD Planet. Also today, we've got a pretty good idea now why Warner Bros. has delayed The Iron Giant: Special Edition, which had been slated for release on 8/26, until 2004. Pixar's The Incredibles anyone? Here's a link to a streaming preview trailer for the film, which is currently running in theaters attached to Finding Nemo. It's written and directed by Brad Bird, who (not coincidentally) directed The Iron Giant. So Warner is likely planning to tie into that theatrical release with its DVD. The shame of it is, The Iron Giant: Special Edition has been done for over a year now. Hey Warner... maybe we'll get a 2-disc set for waiting so long? Hint, hint... Finally today, we're hearing that Fox's 24: Season Two is tentatively set for release on 9/2. But keep in mind that it's not official until announced by the studio. Stay tuned... 4/28/03 Word has reached us from a number of independent industry and retail sources that Paramount is preparing their announcement of the Indiana Jones Trilogy DVD box set. The buzz is that the studio will make the news official in the next few weeks. Our sources are telling us that the set will be 4 discs in all - 1 each for the films (all in anamorphic widescreen) along with a 4th disc of bonus content. The films will reportedly only be available in the box set. And the set is expected to see worldwide release in November. Thanks to everyone who's sent in information on this. Keep in mind, that this is still very much in the rumor stage. But even the various talent involved has confirmed that the DVDs are in the works, so we felt it important to post this information as a sort of heads-up. Of course, we'll post any and all official news on this release in the daily column the moment it comes in. Stay tuned... 4/15/03 According to director Peter Jackson, direct from The Lord of the Rings: Official Fan Club Magazine, the 4-disc The Two Towers: Extended Edition (tentatively set for release in November) will have 43 additional minutes of footage. Much of it will reportedly expand upon the various characters, as was the case with The Fellowship of the Ring: Extended Edition. Word is more than 150 new effects shots have been completed for the new cut as well (since there are many new scenes with Treebeard). Thanks to Dr. T. for that tidbit. Finally, we've gotten word from sources at Disney about the next set of Platinum edition animated titles to expect from the studio. As you know, The Lion King will street on DVD on 10/7. The Platinum title for 2004 is expected to be Aladdin. In 2005, look for The Little Mermaid. And finally, Bambi will hit DVD in 2006. 4/10/03 Here's an interesting bit of DVD information that's come to us in the last few days from retail sources here in the U.S. and Canada. It's already been posted to several online DVD discussion boards, so we felt it appropriate to mention here. It's a look at MGM's planned DVD release slate for the rest of 2003. Keep in mind that all of these dates and titles are tentative until officially announced: 7/22 - Nicholas Nickleby 8/5 - Agent Cody Banks, The Sure Thing: SE, Valley Girl: SE, Breakin', Last American Virgin, Bright Lights, Big City, Flamingo Kid, Hot Dog: The Movie, Johnny B. Good, Rachel Papers, Thrashin', Foxes 8/15 - Carrie (TV movie), Bulletproof Monk: SE 8/26 - The Howling: SE 9/2 - Stargate SG-1: Season Four, The Outer Limits: The Original Series - Season Two 9/9 - City of Ghosts 9/16 - Just for Kicks, Fargo: SE 10/7 - Silkwood, Alien from L.A., Impulse, Street Smart, Straight out of Brooklyn, Whales of August 10/14 - Shredder 10/21 - It Runs in the Family 11/4 - Legally Blonde 2: SE, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: SE (maybe anamorphic widescreen this time?), Green Acres: Season One, Mr. Ed: Season One, Custer of the West, Duel in the Sun, Hell in the Pacific, Junior Bonner, Too Late for the Hero 11/18 - Together, Hour of the Wolf, Passion of Anna, Persona, Serpent's Egg, Shame, plus Bergman special editions 11/25 - Boardheads 12/26 - Escape from New York: SE It's worth noting that this list does NOT include several special editions that MGM has already released in Europe (but not yet in the States), among them more elaborate editions of Robocop, Misery, Rain Man and The Great Escape. And in a bit of Fox DVD info, Ain't it Cool News is reporting a few possible details on the studio's planned Firefly box set. All the episodes (including a few that were never aired) will reportedly be released on disc later this year, in anamorphic widescreen video, with other extras TBA. Here at The Bits, we've heard that this will include audio commentary with series creator Joss Whedon and various cast members for each episode. Just FYI. Stay tuned... 4/2/03 We have an additional update on the Walt Disney Treasures DVDs expected to be released later this year. The latest intelligence indicates that you'll get The Chronological Donald, Disney: The War Years (which will include Victory Through Air Power as expected) and Mickey Mouse in Living Color 2. The other title we mentioned the other day, Disney in Outer Space, IS in production, but we're told now that this will probably not make the 2003 slate. Stay tuned... 3/31/03 We've gotten some interesting info on this year's potential slate of Walt Disney Treasures DVDs. Word from Leonard Maltin himself is that Disney in Outer Space is among the titles in the works, which would include all three of the classic Ward Kimball/Werner von Braun TV collaborations (Man in Space, Tomorrow the Moon and Mars and Beyond). Additional extras on the disc would include the 1959 satellite short Eyes in Outer Space. Also a potential 2003 release in this series would be the title delayed from last year, Wartime Disney, which may include the rare Victory Through Air Power feature. And there's also every likelihood of another character set as well, probably featuring Donald Duck. We'll post more when it's official. 3/28/03 We've got something very cool today for you fans of TV shows on DVD. Amazon has revealed 20th Century Fox's TV DVD plans through the end of 2003, and even into very early 2004. Keep in mind that these titles haven't been officially announced by the studio, so it's to be taken as unofficial only. Also, things can change at any time. But here's the skinny: NYPD Blue: Season 2 ($59.98) - August 19 Angel: Season 2 ($59.98) - August 19 Futurama: Volume 2 ($49.98) - September 2 24: Season 2 ($59.98) - September 2 Family Guy: Volume 2 ($49.98) - September 9 The Shield: The Complete Second Season ($59.98) - October 7 Dark Angel: The Complete Second Season ($59.98) - October 21 The X-Files: The Complete Eighth Season ($149.98) - November 4 King of the Hill: Season 2 ($39.98) - November 11 M*A*S*H: Season 5 Collector's Edition ($39.98) - December 9 Lost in Space: Season One ($79.98) - January 13, 2004 TBA - Simpsons: Season 3 and Malcom: Season 2. Also, be aware that work is underway to release Firefly on DVD in 2003. Thanks to Gord L. for alerting us to this. Stay tuned! 3/11/03 We've got an interesting tidbit for you Looney Tunes fans this afternoon. Readers Voice.com has posted an interview with historian Jerry Beck, author of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, which is a complete guide to the Warner Brothers animated shorts. In the interview, Beck reveals the planned street date for the long awaited Looney Tunes DVDs! Here's the relevant passage: "RV: What projects are you working on related to cartoon research or anything else at the moment? JB: I'm working on the DVD release of Looney Tunes - and a new book, LOONEY TUNES: THE ULTIMATE VISUAL GUIDE, both of which will be out in November 2003." Obviously, this is to be considered tentative until Warner makes an official announcement. But it does represent the first confirmation of an approximate release date by someone involved in the actual production. Stay tuned! 3/6/03 Just a quick tidbit for you today... you'll be very pleased to learn that the long-overdue 2-disc The Right Stuff: Special Edition will soon be announced by Warner Bros. for release this summer. Look for digipack packaging (like the studio's other recent SEs), plenty of supplemental bang for your Buck (Rodgers that is) and, with any luck, no doo-doo in the Capsule. Correction... no doo-doo in the Spaaaaaaacekraft. Stay tuned! 3/4/03 Word coming in from retail sources is that Fox's Daredevil: Special Edition will street in early to mid-June (6/10 is the date that's apparently being targeted). If everything holds together, that same day you can expect Solaris as well. And Just Married will follow later in the month. Look also for The Song of Bernadette: Fox Studio Classics on 6/3 (tentatively). Stay tuned... 3/3/03 Here's some additional corroboration to the rumor we've been reporting about The Indiana Jones Trilogy FINALLY coming to DVD later this year from Paramount and Lucasfilm. In an interview with In Focus magazine (which is a publication for theater owners), writer/director Lawrence Kasdan (the man who scripted both Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Empire Strikes Back) has let on that the Indy DVDs ARE indeed in the works. Here's the relevant passage: [Question] Now, you told Starlog in 1981 about your “Raiders” script rewrite: “A little bit of my script's logic and character development fell out along the way.” What was missing? And will it show up on the Indiana Jones DVDs? [Kasdan] I don't think so. [laughs] Actually, I ran into Frank Marshall over the holidays, and he's working on that [DVD] collection. I don’t think there's going to be a lot of.... I don't know what they have planned. They obviously made a lot of smart decisions about what should be in the movie and what shouldn't. When you're a beginning writer, you know, you hurt for everything that's lost. After you've directed 10 movies, you see that you cut stuff for a reason. Click here to read the complete interview at In Focus. Thanks to the MANY Bits readers who sent this in. Slowly but surely, the evidence is mounting that old Indy will indeed be cracking his whip in your home theaters before the year is out. Stay tuned... 2/26/03 Retail sources are informing us that both Columbia TriStar's Black Hawk Down: Special Edition and DreamWorks' Catch Me If You Can are expected to arrive on DVD in May. We'll post dates when we can better confirm them. Also, word is that DreamWorks is tentatively planning to release Steven Spielberg's Taken on DVD late this year (likely 4th Qtr). And we're also hearing from industry and retail sources that New Line's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers DVDs will follow the same August 2-disc/November 4-disc schedule as was used last year for The Fellowship of the Ring. The June rumor reported previously has been laid to rest as just that. Stay tuned... 2/20/03 Retail sources are telling us to expect the 2-disc theatrical version of New Line's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in June (tentatively 6/30). And the eagerly anticipated 4-disc extended version of the film will arrive in November (this will include between 20 and 30 minutes of added footage, as was the case with The Fellowship of the Ring). This information is also being reported by various Rings fans sites. We'll post more when it's available. Stay tuned... 2/19/03 We've gotten word from our sources (as well as several fans of the band) that BMG will be releasing more DVDs of live concert performances by the Dave Matthews Band later in 2003. Three shows were apparently recorded in September of last year (at The Gorge in Washington state) for inclusion as part of a future DVD release. And in other band news, any Tenacious D fans out there? The director behind the band's past music videos, Liam Lynch, has let it be known that he's working on a DVD release with the band. The disc is expected to include a live concert performance, backstage and on-the-road tour footage, the videos for Wonderboy and Tribute (along with video "making of" material) and the three HBO specials (six shorts altogether). Look for the disc in Q3 2003 (we're hearing September). Stay tuned... 1/30/03 We wanted do a quick follow up on that Steven Spielberg deleted scene story we posted yesterday. It seemed a little strange to us, so we checked in with our contacts at DreamWorks to get the full story (they went so far as to hunt down the actual interview tape and gave it a viewing for us so we could get the complete and accurate details). The story is that Spielberg was on The Today Show on 12/19. During a lengthy interview with Matt Lauer to promote Catch Me If You Can, Spielberg was asked about deleted scenes in his films - what becomes of them. That's when the director revealed that there was some 30 minutes of footage cut from Catch Me, and good hour from Schindler's List. He then proceeded to explain that he keeps them in his own personal collection (apparently on DVD and obviously the original film as well) for reference purposes. But as DreamWorks explained to me, Spielberg has yet to include much in the way of deleted material on his DVD releases thus far, so there's no guarantee that any of this material will ever be publicly released on disc. Thanks to our contacts at DreamWorks for helping us get to the bottom of this rumor. Stay tuned... 1/29/03 This hasn't been announced, but it comes directly from authorized studio sources, so you can consider it official. We've been told by Warner that their upcoming special edition release of King Kong will NOT be released in 2003. The studio very much wanted to make it happen this year, given that it's the film's 70th anniversary, but their greater concern is to make sure that the film is presented in the highest possible quality on DVD. Apparently, the process of fully restoring and remastering the film has been very time consuming and the studio wants to make sure it's done properly. If all goes well, look for Kong in 2004. It's going around the Net this morning, that during a recent appearance on NBC's The Today Show, director Steven Spielberg spoke briefly on the subject of DVD deleted scenes. Reportedly, there's a half hour of extra material from Catch Me If You Can, and nearly an hour of deleted material from Schindler's List, which could possibly find its way onto the eventual DVD releases for each film. Catch Me is soon to be announced by DreamWorks, but there's no word on when Schindler's will be released. We didn't see this interview, so we can't confirm the story. But if it's accurate... good to know he's at least thinking about the DVDs. And here's a fun little Spielberg rumor our industry sources have been buzzing about for a while... and which has now been reported by Video Business in their latest issue of DVD Premieres. It seems Paramount and Lucasfilm may be gearing up to release the Indiana Jones Trilogy at the end of this year. Also noted in the issue are The Hitcher 2, TimeCop 2 and a Fast and the Furious: Tripped Out re-release from Universal, a new Terminator 2: SE from Artisan with new extras (in June)... and of course, the eventaual DVD releases of Chicago (possibly with a new musical number included on the DVD), 2-disc and 4-disc versions of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and a Die Another Day: Special Edition (soon to be announced by MGM - we've heard for May). Stay tuned... 1/27/03 According to TV Guide, the first season of Alias will be released on DVD on September 2nd. Executive producer J.J. Abrams told the publication a little bit about his plans for the DVD in a recent interview: "There are going to be a lot of great special features. When I filmed the pilot, a good friend of mine shot like eight or nine hours of behind-the-scenes footage and did interviews with most of the cast. So, in addition to a number of other really cool features, we're going to edit together a behind-the-scenes piece on the making of the pilot." Stay tuned... 1/17/03 Amazon is reporting a street date of 5/15 for Disney's Vault Disney release of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. 20th Century Fox is set to release Son of the Beach on 4/29. And Universal's April DVD releases are expected to include Red Dragon, The Truth About Charlie, The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists, The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island, The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock, The Andromeda Strain, Continental Divide and Fahrenheit 451 and The Breakfast Club (4/1) and A Night at the Golden Eagle (4/22). Sources at Paramount have let it be known that the classic Shogun miniseries is planned for DVD release later this year. Also, and consider this very tentative, a couple of retailer sources have sent us street dates for interesting upcoming product. According to these contacts... Sex and the City: The Complete Fourth Season will street on 5/20 and E.R.: The Complete First Season will street on 6/3. Frasier, Cheers and Arliss are also tentatively slated for 5/20 as well. Finally this morning, we have word from reliable sources that while the first season of Smallville was in consideration for DVD release this year, it's now tentatively set for next year. This is also borne up by recent statements by Warner Television and a new report by The Futon Critic. Stay tuned... Archived Posts
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