Site created 12/15/97.		page updated: 1/15/99 Rumor Mill (Archived Posts 10/22/98 - 9/5/98) Back to Previous Archives Back to Current Posts 10/22/98 A quick update about the Paramount titles for November and December. First of all, some or all of the second batch of November DVDs may be moving to early December, due to delays in production. This isn't official yet, but has come from enough good sources now, that I believe there's something to it. Also, there's a couple of additional titles coming from the studio (I believe still for December): Hard Rain and The Ghost and the Darkness. I'll post more on the Paramount December issue as soon as I learn anything solid. Also, add Commando to the list of DVDs coming early next year from Fox. 10/21/98 All right, so you've got Spartacus, Dr. Strangelove and 2001 on DVD, and you just can't get enough of director Stanley Kubrick's work. You'll be happy to know that next July, as the director's long awaited new film Eyes Wide Shut appears in theaters, Warner Bros plans to bring a trio of other Kubrick films to DVD. Specifically, you'll be seeing Full Metal Jacket, The Shining and A Clockwork Orange, all as special edition DVDs. Word is that Kubrick will contribute a commentary to at least Full Metal Jacket. They should be well worth the wait... 10/20/98 OK, first of all, let's start with Buena Vista. I've got the full details on that Armageddon DVD. It will street on January 5th, for an SRP of $29.99 (prebook is Nov 24th). The disc will be dual-layer, and will include the Aerosmith I Don't Want to Miss a Thing video, and two theatrical trailers. It will be in full Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, and will be a widescreen release. It will not be anamorphic, but Buena Vista Home Video's director of public relations tells me that the Divx version will not be anamorphic either. You should know, that I've been told by other sources that Divx's "anamorphic" enhancement (if it is done at all) will be electronically cheated anamorphic - it will not have the full vertical resolution that properly done anamorphic has (this is the same as what Warner Bros has done in Region 2). Back to Buena Vista - once again, the Scream: SE will not be the director's cut because of their previously mentioned policy against releasing unrated material. There's been some confusion about this, so I was able to untangle it - Buena Vista's policy is not to release unrated material that would otherwise have earned the film an NC-17 rating. The few added seconds of graphic violence edited from Scream thus fall into this category. Pretty Woman was released as an unrated director's cut, because the scenes that were added back into the DVD release, would not have changed the original rating of the film. They were not deleted to avoid an NC-17 rating. Hope that clears it up. Oh, by the way... the full title of Don't Be a Menace, is Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. Can't wait to see that printed on the DVD cover. Enough said. The street date for MGM's Disturbing Behavior is January 5th. Also, that Black Stallion DVD I mentioned the other day appears to be a re-packaging of the earlier DVD. There's a bit more Paramount information. In addition to Deep Impact, Private Parts, Sliding Doors and Event Horizon, I've also learned that Patriot Games and Escape from L.A. are all in the works for December. I am cautioned, however, that any of these titles could be delayed if production problems were to arise. In any case, rest assured that they're on the way. I'm also told that a host of Eddie Murphy films (Another 48 Hours, The Golden Child, Harlem Nights) are in the works for January. Finally, be sure to check out the official Universal press release on those Spielberg titles. The titles include his first film, Duel, which was mentioned here in the Rumor Mill a couple of months ago, as being in the works for DVD. Remember folks - The Rumor Mill is where you're hearing much of this stuff first. Accept no substitutes! 10/19/98 A couple of my sources e-mailed me over the weekend, with information on Paramount's first wave of December DVD titles. Ironically, a Bits reader also e-mailed me with the same titles, indicating that they are listed as coming on December 15th in the computer at the Blockbuster store where he works (thanks for the confirmation!). The titles are Deep Impact, Private Parts, Sliding Doors and Event Horizon. No word on features. I would expect a wave later in December (likely on December 29th) as well. 10/17/98 Thanks to a trio of my inside studio contacts, I've got the rundown on Buena Vista and MGM's January DVD plans. Here's what to expect from the studios: Buena Vista Armageddon (includes Aerosmith video and theatrical trailer) Don't Be a Menace Emma Terminal Velocity MGM Overboard National Velvet Warriors of Virtue The Black Stallion The Pebble and the Penguin And a DVD of Pink Panther cartoons The Buena Vista DVDs will all carry an SRP of $29.99. No word yet on specifics for any of the above titles (from either studio), other than what's listed above. There's also nothing specific yet on exactly which Pink Panther shorts will appear on the DVD. As for the DreamWorks December DVDs, here are the disc features: Small Soldiers - 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, pan & scan, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurette, trailer Mouse Hunt - 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, pan & scan, stunt footage, deleted scenes, trailer The Peacemaker - 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, stunt footage, outtakes and bloopers, trailer There's no word yet on the sound, but I'd be shocked if they weren't all in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. As for future releases from DreamWorks, expect both Paulie and an Amistad: Signature Series DVD in February. 10/16/98 I learned a couple of days ago, that Paramount has had some MPEG-2 compression tests done, on a reel containing some of the more intense action scenes from Titanic. Compression was done on the scenes at a variety of bit rates, so the studio could see how each affects image quality. The film is definitely on its way to DVD, but it looks very unlikely now that it will street in December, as was previously hoped. The latest information I've heard, indicates that it will likely arrive in March or April. In the meantime, I've received additional confirmation of a report I posted here a while ago, that Jaws is being prepped for collector's edition DVD treatment from Universal. Word is also that Close Encounters has finally been mastered for High Definition by Sony (Columbia TriStar), which is the first step towards an eventual DVD release, expected sometime during the first part of next year. Finally, I've been told that Universal has tentatively agreed to allow some 60 of its titles to be released as DTS-encoded DVDs during 1999. 10/14/98 OK, OK... I know Rumor Mill updates have been sparing for the last couple of weeks, but there a good reason for that. I've been VERY busy polling some 20 of my inside studio sources for information on DVDs planned for early 1999. So, how would ya like to see the first look at DVDs slated for December and early next year? Let's start with Columbia TriStar. December releases from the studio should include The Snowman & Father Christmas (animated, at $17.95), Madeline (includes cartoon), Body Double, Bugsy, The Caine Mutiny, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Pillow Book, About Last Night, Bottle Rocket, The Deep, Roxanne and Knock Off. Look for that El Mariachi / Desperado Special Edition sometime early next year - word is that director Robert Rodriguez has found some deleted footage and other material that he wants included on the DVD. January should see Dance With Me from the studio, and Urban Legend is expected in May. A hodgepodge of other tentative DVD releases for early next year include Disturbing Behavior (MGM), Out of Sight (Universal), The Truman Show (Paramount), Studio 54 and Mafia! (Buena Vista), and Return to Paradise (Polygram) all in January. In February, look for Snake Eyes (Paramount), One True Thing (Universal), and possibly ANTZ (DreamWorks). March should see Ronin (MGM), and Rounders (Buena Vista). Now, I've saved the best for last... 20th Century Fox is tentatively planning to go day-and-date with all of their new DVD titles (including Fox Searchlight films) starting in January. SRP for all day-and-date releases is expected to be $34.99. Expect mostly widescreen releases, but there's no specific word on anamorphic enhancement. Now for the list... Keep in mind that all Fox titles are very tentative. But among the DVDs currently expected in January, are How Stella Got Her Groove Back, The Slums of Beverly Hills, The Die Hard Trilogy (I, II & III - available singly and in a 3-pack, in both widescreen and pan & scan), Speed 2, The Posidon Adventure, Broken Arrow, Volcano, and Romancing the Stone. February should see Something About Mary, and (best of all) The X-Files: Fight the Future (a.k.a. The X-Files). This will reportedly be a special edition disc, with a commentary track and additional deleted scenes (including an alternate ending!) not released in the VHS or laserdisc versions! How cool is that? Ever After and Bulworth are tentatively set for March, and The Edge, Firestorm, The Newton Boys and Strange Days are reportedly in the works for May. And in June, look for all four Alien films, in conjunction with the 20th Anniversary video re-release of the original Alien. That's what I know for now. I don't have any more information on specific dates, or disc features than what I've listed above. But, whew! Looks like some good stuff in the offing for DVD, no? 10/12/98 I've heard from my sources that when those DreamWorks DVDs appear on store shelves in December, they'll be on DVD-10 (dual-sided) discs, with widescreen on one side, and pan & scan/full frame on the other. No word yet on anamorphic widescreen, but as it's beginning to look like DreamWorks will be doing some very nice DVD work, I would be surprised if the discs didn't feature anamorphic. Stay tuned... I've also checked that rumor which has been appearing on the Net, that Small Soldiers will be a special edition disc, and this appears to be true. For that reason, look for Small Soldiers to retail for $34.99, while the other titles retail at $29.99. 10/1/98 Look for Six Days, Seven Nights to be released on DVD by Buena Vista in December, along with possibly at least one of the new Miramax DVDs. Also, word is that when DreamWorks DVDs finally begin arriving in stores, they will be full-featured, including presentation in both widescreen and pan & scan, with trailers, featurettes and possibly commentary tracks. No word on anamorphic, but it seems likely. 9/28/98 Word has it that a few distributors have begun receiving advance sell sheets for Paramount's Titanic DVD. And I have heard from a couple of sources that the big day is Tuesday, December 8th. However, there has been a lot of bogus information floating around the last few days about this title, so I would caution everyone to really take all of it (this included) with a grain of salt... 9/25/98 A couple of my sources last night sent me the list of Paramount DVDs for November, along with the disc features and release dates. I'm pleased to say that many of them have already been mentioned on this page. You'll note that they indicate widescreen - I'm endeavoring to determine which are in anamorphic widescreen, and will post that info as soon as I have it. Note that Mission Impossible is in DD 5.1 - there had been some question about this, but it seems to be confirmed. Enjoy: Street Date November 10th Star Trek: Generations - Widescreen, English 5.1 Surround, English Dolby Surround, French Dolby Surround, English Captions, Spanish Subtitles, Interactive Menus, Scene Selection Mission Impossible - Widescreen and Pan & Scan, English 5.1 Surround, English Dolby Surround, French Dolby Surround; English Captions, Spanish Subtitles, Interactive Menus, Scene Selection, Theatrical Trailer John Grisham's The Rainmaker - Widescreen, English 5.1 Surround, English Dolby Surround, French Dolby Surround, English Captions, Spanish Subtitles, Interactive Menus, Scene Selection The Ghost and the Darkness - Widescreen, English 5.1 Surround, English Dolby Surround, French Dolby Surround, English Captions, Spanish Subtitles, Interactive Menus, Scene Selection, Theatrical Trailer. Night Falls on Manhattan - Widescreen, English 5.1 Surround, English Dolby Surround; English Captions, Spanish Subtitles, Interactive Menus, Scene Selection, Theatrical Trailer, Two Audio Commentary Tracks (1. director Sidney Lumet, 2. actors Andy Garcia, Ron Leibman, and producers Josh Kramer, Thom Mount) Street Date November 24th The Hunt for Red October - Widescreen, English 5.1 Surround, English Dolby Surround, French Dolby Surround, English Captions, Spanish Subtitles, Interactive Menus, Scene Selection, Theatrical Trailer The First Wives Club - Widescreen, English 5.1 Surround, English Dolby Surround, English Captions, Spanish Subtitles, Interactive Menus, Scene Selection, Theatrical Trailer Breakdown - Widescreen, English 5.1 Surround, English Dolby Surround, French Dolby Surround; English Captions, Spanish Subtitles, Interactive Menus, Scene Selection, Theatrical Trailer Switchback - Widescreen, English 5.1 Surround, English Dolby Surround, French Dolby Surround; English Captions, Spanish Subtitles, Interactive Menus, Scene Selection, Theatrical Trailer Now here's to hoping that Paramount gets Braveheart, Titanic and Deep Impact out before X-mas...! 9/23/98 Could Divx be grasping at straws? Does a frog bump his ass a-hoppin'? I've been told two very interesting pieces of information, which if true, certainly seem to indicate that all is not well in pay-per-view DVD land. First of all, sources have told me that Divx is planning to drop the price of the Zenith Divx player to $399 or possibly even lower, in an effort to get as many players sold as possible (and also to dump the unit, which I'm told makes a very lousy standard DVD player as well). Second, I've heard from one or two of my sources, who say they can confirm that Divx was trying to get the exclusive on the Clinton Testimony video, which eventually went to NetFlix on open DVD. The rumor was first reported over at The Big Picture (nicely done guys), in a 'final report' from an alleged Divx insider. This Divx stuff just gets more and more fascinating, no? 9/18/98 Word has reached me that Buena Vista's new Miramax special edition of Scream will definitely not be anamorphic enhanced. All I can say, is that this is really a shame. It will definitely hurt sales of the title, in my opinion, particularly among folks who already have the original release. I can't tell you how many readers have asked me why Buena Vista isn't doing anamorphic transfers on their discs. It seems a shame that the studio with some of the best titles is making some of the cheapest, bare-bones DVDs. In another brief bit about Disney, it is starting to look as if Armageddon may be a January or February release. I was originally told that this was planned to be out by the end of the year, but Disney is backing off on this now. Go figure. Like so many other DVD fans, I'm a bit frustrated at the Mouse right now... So let's move on. I've been told that Paramount has some very exciting things in the works. As many of you know, the studio has plans to release a new Star Trek title on DVD every couple of months. First Contact is already announced, and Generations is in the works. Plans call for this to continue, moving back through the films, until late spring of next year, when the forth-coming Star Trek: Insurrection will be released day-and-date with VHS. There are tentative plans to release TV series episodes next year, and to possibly release a boxed set of all the films for Christmas 1999. In a similar fashion, the studio will be moving backward through the Jack Ryan/Tom Clancy films for DVD release. Again, Clear and Present Danger is already announced, Patriot Games is in production, and Hunt for Red October is tentatively planned for December or January. With any luck (and pending Spielberg's approval), you may see Deep Impact among the November releases. Also coming from the studio (or so I'm told), are day-and-date DVD releases of Sliding Doors (in December) and The Truman Show (in January or February). Fox, however, seems to be taking a much more cautious attitude towards day-and-date releases, apparently wary of the effect that DVD availability may have on VHS sales and rentals. However, I'm told that we will see some major catalog product on DVD from Fox in the 1st quarter of next year, including Aliens and Die Hard films, and films like Broken Arrow. The X-Files: Fight the Future should be in their next batch of DVDs, after the first of the year. Also under consideration for 1st quarter, are Ever After, How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Something About Mary. Sadly, I have again confirmed that none of the first batch of Fox DVD titles will be anamorphic enhanced. We can only hope that this will change for round two. But you can take a proactive stance and let them know what you think, by using the Bits' studio contact information. 9/17/98 A brief update today. Look for Ghostbusters to finally be released by Columbia TriStar early next year, and 6 Days, 7 Nights day and date from Buena Vista in December. Word is that DTS is working with Universal, in an attempt to release at least one or two DTS DVD titles prior to the end of the year. Image Entertainment may also be working with DTS to release a title or two. Stay tuned... 9/16/98 Word from multiple sources is that DreamWorks SKG is preparing to announce Mouse Hunt and The Peacemaker, among others, for DVD release. With any luck they'll be out in time for the holidays. I'm following this closely, so stay tuned... Also, I've learned three more titles in the works from Paramount: Switchback, First Wives Club and Hard Rain. I would expect all in the November or December line-ups. By the way, I've received a couple of reports from readers who purchased Divx players to check them out, and then (surprise) returned them disappointed. They report that the video artifacting problem (which I first reported early on, and described as 'rain-dropping'), is indeed present in all of the final software, and is quite annoying. So much for that "stunning digital picture". Also, the few who have tried Divx, have told me that the modems in the players have horrible problems connecting with the Divx host computer, making it very difficult to establish an account... Finally, I'm told by a reliable source, that all of those new Fox DVDs (at least their first wave) are coming from D2 source masters, and will not be anamorphic-enhanced. 9/15/98 Well, folks... fully a month ago, I reported to you here that a Mask of Zorro DVD was in the works from Columbia TriStar, and that director Steven Spielberg was getting close to greenlighting his films for DVD. Despite all the recent (and widely reported) stories that no Zorro DVD would be released, I told you otherwise. And the Zorro DVD was finally announced yesterday (see the official press release here). In light of yesterday's announcement, I'm again told by sources that other announcements of Spielberg DVD releases are coming very soon. It's beginning to look as if you will see across-the-board announcements of Amblin/Spielberg titles from DreamWorks, Universal, Paramount and Columbia TriStar. In other news, word is that DTS is feeling the heat from DVD player manufacturers, who have agreed to include the new DTS-out on their player line-ups, and are none too pleased at the software delay. Chief among these is Panasonic, which has had its DTS-capable player out for many weeks now. You may recall (from a post here a few days ago) that Universal is making DTS delay their titles until next year, probably February at the earliest. I have heard that DTS is working hard to release a Fox title or two on DTS DVD before the end of the year, but it's not looking good... Stay tuned... Finally, here is the actual quote from director James Cameron, regarding the release of Titanic on DVD, as reported in the October issue of Rolling Stone (page 57): "Cameron - who accepted his Golden Globe award with the words "Does this finally prove size does matter?" - is less disappointed than you might think about having to scale down his epic film for video. "It's an acceptance of the difference between the two media," says the director, who spent hundreds of hours on the video transfer. "Frankly, I think I fought it to a draw." He clears his throat. "It's like hearing a good song on your car radio with the windows down at sixty miles an hour; it's still a good song." Tech-heads, take note: A Titanic laserdisc will debut on October 13th, and a DVD - a digital format that Cameron has called "the platform of the future" - should appear around Christmas. A video containing excised footage - what Cameron refers to as an "alt-version" - is far off in the future. "I gotta get on to other things first," he says, "get Titanic behind me." " 9/14/98 Word is that Columbia TriStar will announce their Mask of Zorro DVD very soon, possibly as early as today. More Amblin title announcements could come soon, possibly including Deep Impact. Stay tuned... Also, I'm told that Divx sales in the test markets were VERY lackluster. How lackluster you ask? Well, I've been informed that, as of this last Saturday, a total of 4 Divx players have been sold at all of the Good Guys stores involved in the test markets. 9/11/98 While attending the John Carpenter signing last night, it was learned (from one of their expert sales staff) that Steven Spielberg's assistant was in Dave's Video recently, and purchased a DVD player and one copy of every DVD title in stock for the director. I find the timing of this very interesting. Separately, I've also heard again that the director has greenlighted DVD releases of some of his Amblin and DreamWorks films, as well as older product, and that official announcements could happen soon. No word on exactly how soon, however that Wall Street Journal article on DVD mentions that a DreamWorks announcement is expected "imminently". Stay tuned... 9/9/98 All right, let's start off with Universal's December line-up, shall we? Coming just in time for the holidays are: Eiger Sanction, Fried Green Tomatoes: Collector's Edition, Greedy, The Hunted, Jungle Fever, Junior, Reap the Wild Wind, Two-Minute Warning and Village of the Damned. Unfortunately, I've learned that An American Tail III: The Treasure of Manhattan Island and The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock are not being released on DVD, as previously reported. And unfortunately, plans for the Babe: Collector's Edition DVD have been placed on indefinite hold. In other news, however, I continue to hear whispers (from some pretty good industry sources), that Spielberg may be nearing some kind of commitment to DVD. Spielberg and company are currently in Europe, doing press junkets for Saving Private Ryan. But word is that we'll be seeing Amistad and Deep Impact on DVD soon, as well as other DreamWorks titles previously mentioned here. As for the rumors of no Mask of Zorro DVD, all I can tell you is that everything I'm hearing indicates that one is definitely being planned. Finally, don't expect to see any DTS DVDs until after the holiday season. Universal, which is providing most of the initial titles to DTS, reportedly wants to wait until after the holiday sales season to introduce DTS DVDs, to avoid confusing consumers and complicating retailers' plans. Stay tuned... 9/5/98 OK, it is apparently true that Fox has pulled The Abyss from their initial DVD line up, and replaced it with Speed. A few days ago, I was told that both Speed and Marked for Death were in the pipeline for DVD release from Fox. But I had also been told that Abyss would be the director's cut with extras, so everything seemed on track. There didn't seem to be any connection between those two bits of news. Alas, there is. Here's what I'm told has happened, and this affects a couple of other big titles as well. Director James Cameron has apparently decided that when Titanic, The Abyss, and True Lies are released to DVD, he wants them to contain BOTH the matted letterboxed version and the full frame version, and have room for extras as well. As you may know, Cameron shot all these films in Super 35, meaning that both versions released to video contain additional picture area (matted letterboxed adds image area on the sides of the frame, while the full frame adds image area on the top and bottom). The only way to release both versions on a single DVD, would be to release them as DVD-18 discs... dual-sided, dual-layered. This has not yet been done on an official release (although QC techs are working very hard as we speak to perfect the process so that it works on all players). I'm told that Fox is pushing hard for this technology (lots of their films could benefit from this, including X-Files: Fight the Future, which was also shot Super 35). HBO was apparently also interested in DVD-18 for From the Earth to the Moon (if you recall, an early press release from them on this title indicated that they might be DVD-18 discs). This reason also jibes with information Peter Bracke was able to uncover at DVD Pro (see the relevant page of his report here) - namely that Artisan is waiting to do their T2: Special Edition DVD on DVD-18 (l'm guessing at Cameron's behest). And there's no denying that Cameron has pushed the envelope of the DVD format previously - as you know, his Terminator 2: Judgement Day (released by Artisan - then Live) was the first DVD to employ RSDL dual-layer technology, using the 'on-the-fly' layer switching technique. The disc also featured ground-breaking, full-motion menu screens as well. So what does all this mean for Titanic, True Lies and The Abyss? As I said, technicians are working hard to perfect DVD-18, and make it workable on all existing players without a hitch. We'll probably know more about this soon. In any case, I'm told all three titles may not arrive on DVD until at least February or March of next year. But, yes Virginia... they should be well worth the wait. Now, I told you I had some other new release news as well. I'm told Paramount has green-lighted Star Trek: Generations, Breakdown and Patriot Games for DVD, likely for Nov or Dec release. Stay tuned... More Archived Posts Back to Current Posts
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