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DADS DRIVE BUSINESS
THRONES STILL RULES
MUCH ADO ABOUT KALEIDOSCOPE
UNIVERSAL EXPECTS SPIKE SALES…
…AND SPRING ON THE WAY
INN THE MOOD FOR FRIGHTS
TUCK IN TO A GOOD FILM…
WELL DONE, PARKER
ROSES BLOOM IN JUNE
FIELD READY FOR HARVEST
NORDIC WEEKEND FOR ARROW
DISNEY ON DEMAND VIA LOVEFILM…
…WHICH ALSO CATCHES WALKING DEAD…
…AND HEADS TO XBOX
EDEN DRIVES TRAFFIC…
COUNTDOWN TO HOME CINEMA DAY
OUT AND ABOUT
SIGHT UP FOR POSSESSION
HMV ON THE MOVE
QUOTE OF THE WEEKAT THE MOVIES
SITE OF THE WEEK
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
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It Was A Good Week For… Dads everywhere, all receiving nice DVDs and Blu-rays…
It Was A Bad Week For… We spent the first part of the weekend picking through the bones of the Revolver administrators' report and discussing it with industry types. It doesn't get better with age…
So, the last gifting opportunity between Easter and Christmas, Father’s Day came and went and it appears as if the activity planned around the event paid off, with the companies that planned releases in the run up to Sunday June 16 seeing their faith being paid off. Fox’s Lincoln and Universal’s Zero Dark Thirty both performed above and beyond some industry observers’ forecasts, while the former’s A Good Day To Die Hard and accompanying complete Die Hard collection doing strong business too. The box set mania continued as well, with new releases such as Breaking Bad (SPHE) and Dexter (Paramount) selling very well. HMV’s Andy Anderson said: “It shows that if you release titles before Father’s Day they can sell. Last year was quieter, but we were very pleased with sales this year.
One of the key success stories – again – was Game Of Thrones, which has again performed remarkably well for what is essentially a catalogue title. Even this week it’s continued; at the time of writing (Friday June 21) sales for the week so far were just under 10,000 units. As HBO’s Sophie Knight said: “"Last week saw a phenomenal week of sales for Game of Thrones in the lead up to Father's Day. We're delighted with the results; this title has such great gifting potential. We're looking forward to what Q4 holds following the success of last Q4." Many were expecting a further lift for HBO’s The Sopranos – the finest TV series in a generation in our humble opinion – following the tragic death of star James Gandolfini (see quote of the week, below).
It’s been a good week for Kaleidoscope, with the independent having a flurry of activity. You can’t have failed to have noticed its impressive campaign, especially on the PR front, for Joss Whedon’s take on Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing. Its activity included no less than five different premiere events, a Q&A at the Apple store, a junket and a press conference in the Bard’s spiritual home, the Globe theatre in London. It took £8,000 alone in its first three days at the Curzon Soho. Meanwhile, on the DVD front, its Battle Over Normandy got off to a strong start, shifting almost 7,000 units in its first few days, while family title Robosapien continues to sell, having shifted 14,000 copies in just a few weeks. As the company’s Adam Sergeant said: “It’s been a good week for us. Battle Over Normandy achieved the biggest DTV result of the week, Robosapien continues to tick over well, it’s set to run and run across the summer in a range of retail promotions, so come year end, the numbers will look great. And a whole host of fresh independent cinemas come online [with Much Ado] this Friday, and combined with a healthy slate of holdovers, we look set to record some good numbers. It hits DVD in early October.”
 To Manchester for the second time in a matter of weeks as Universal and theatrical partner Vertigo hosted a premiere for the second Stone Roses-related film in as many weeks, Spike Island. It’s following an interesting route to market – the film was originally slated to arrive via Revolver after its impressive first airing at last year’s London Film Festival, but that company’s failure helped Universal snag the rights to this tale of a group that revolves around the seminal Stone Roses gig. In a unique partnership, the company is working with theatrical distributor Vertigo, sub-licensing the film to them for its release in cinemas ahead of its later DVD bow. The film, which opens at cinemas today, was introduced by Universal’s local acquisitions chief Richard Thompson and attended by the cast and crew alongside Manchester faces such as, as our correspondent told us (it wasn’t actually us there, it was our contributor from the north), most of the cast of Coronation Street. His verdict? “I don't think the film could have been received any better. It's incredibly difficult to capture a time and place that is so important to so many people. As someone who was around at that point in time, I think they nailed it completely. The language, the fashion and most importantly the attitude is spot on. It's a uniquely brilliant British film, I think it should do really well with old fans and new and not just within the UK.”
That tie in between Universal and Vertigo has already borne its first fruits. The pair collaborated on the theatrical release of Spring Breakers earlier this year and the studio is now readying itself for the home entertainment bow of the film on August 5. The deal has worked its magic already for Universal, with Vertigo’s nous helping the film garner plenty of publicity and awareness, all of which has set it up nicely for the impending release.
Sticking with Universal and the company has just finished some interesting activity around the release this week of Mama. The major partnered with the newly-opened Holiday Inn hotel in Camden, north London, to host the #surviveMAMA event, which invited consumers to spend a night in one of four rooms themed around the film. The result? Scores of consumers registered to try and win the chance to spend the night, there was Twitter and social media interest aplenty and plenty of press coverage too. Universal’s Mike Hewitt said: "Teaming up with the new Holiday Inn in Camden and AtmosFEAR, Europe's leading supplier of scare entertainment, our #SurviveMAMA event proved to be a great success. Taking place over 4 rooms over 4 nights, with a specially written script to link the evening's activities to the film's plotline, we had close to 900 applications from horror fans to spend the night at the 'haunted hotel'. We also gained some great coverage from journalists who attended, including the Daily Express, FHM, Daily Star and Take a Break. Thankfully, everyone did manage to survive and we're now looking forward to a strong week one result for this exceptional Guillermo del Toro-produced horror."
 Another Universal-related story and one that frankly we were somewhat sceptical of when we first received the announcement. For the forward-thinking company has unveiled a world first: the world’s first ever edible sleeve. It was a genuine limited edition – a mere 50 were made as promotional items – and it was aimed at pushing the drafting campaign for Despicable Me. In case you hadn’t noticed – and children’s and other TV channels and outdoor media have been full of it – the sequel is opening this weekend and Universal has been pushing the original animated title in its wake. As Universal’s Gavin Hutt said: “We’re looking to extend this further down the line, the aim was to push Despicable Me on DVD and Blu-ray alongside the release of Despicable Me 2 theatrically.” It picked up interest from film sites and blogs, giving a further boost to Universal’s release.
More premiere news and Lionsgate also held a major event to support its imminent theatrical bow. The film stars Jason Statham, the irrepressible Brit who is still video gold and one of the most bankable action stars around. Before Hummingbird arrives on shelves, however, there’s another big, big Statham release due. Parker arrives from eOne and pairs the Stath with J-Lo, aka Jennifer Lopez. The injection of glamour may be welcome, but eOne is still playing up the action credentials and Statham’s involvement. As eOne’s Stephanie Don said: “We’re backing Parker to be another Statham hit, with a heavyweight media campaign, fantastic PR activity including a bespoke Facebook competition app, partner promotions with the likes of Burton and impactful instore theatre that we’re linking in with the Safe Haven release.”
 Back to the Stone Roses, we’ve already reported on Made Of Stone, the current theatrical hit that is due later this year from 4DVD and the hugely positive reaction to the film so far. Its opening weekend saw it take some 400,000, in line with the likes of Senna. And, as 4DVD’s Lucy Bulmer said: “For Shane Meadows it's been amazing as this will be his most successful film opening to date, incredible considering that music documentaries are new territory for him.” What’s even more remarkable – and what bodes extremely well for the DVD release – is the rocketing album sales for the Manchester band this week. Some 100,000 units have been sold recently.
Sticking with 4DVD and we’ve this week seen the excellent TV spots for A Field In England, due on Friday July 5. The film is, as we’ve reported here, being released day and date across all formats, taking in home entertainment, digital options, theatrical and television. And where the ad succeeds is in getting across the message of the different types of availability clearly and succinctly. As 4DVD’s Lucy Bulmer said: “"There's a definitely an air of excitement surrounding the upcoming release for A Field in England. With the trailer and promos out there it's now up to the consumer how they wish to watch the film which will be very interesting. With so many parties involved over each platform we've all supported one another and kept the same messaging across all the marketing. The DVD and Blu-ray pre-orders are looking promising and with some great homepage take-overs on Empire, Total Film and trailer spots on Youtube we're definitely building hype for the July 5. Fans of Ben Wheatley's and the journalists are supporting him in their masses for what he says is his best work to date." You’ll be able to see the ad up shortly on our website…
To the Farmiloe building in Farringdon on a wet and windy weekend and although it seemed deserted from outside, inside the warehouse building as a hive of activity as Arrow hosted the first ever Nordicana event. Part fan convention, part film festival, it was organised as the latest initiative under Arrow’s hugely successful Nordic Noir banner. We’ve got a close look at the busy event and talk to Arrow in more detail about the thinking behind it on our website shortly. But we are pleased to report that Arrow’s bold move has paid off. The company’s Jon Sadler said: “The feedback we’ve had on Facebook and Twitter has been quite heart-warming. If I’d been a punter, I’d really have enjoyed being there. There were a few technical niggles along the way but we were really pleased with it.” For more, see our website shortly…
 Another week and another raft of announcements in the fiercely competitive streaming and digital world as the major players and new entrants continue to duke it out. This week saw LOVEFiLM dominating the proceedings, with the Amazon-owned organisation unveiling a new deal with Disney, which sees a wealth of classics from the major’s library joining LOVEFiLM’s streaming service under a Disney Movies On Demand banner. The range includes more recent outings such as Wall-E and Ratatouille joining older classics such as Dumbo and Lady And The Tramp. It also includes live action titles such as Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian. LOVEFiLM chief marketing officer Simon Morris said: “"Disney is renowned for creating world famous, quality family entertainment that parents can trust; from the earliest animations to modern classics. We are thrilled to enhance our relationship with the launch of Disney Movies on Demand, and even more excited about bringing our members so much new content in the process." Disney’s svp for media distribution for EMEA Catherine Powell said: “We always aim to offer families the best possible selection of Disney movies when, where, and how they want it. Working with LOVEFiLM, I'm delighted we can provide their customers with a superb range of movie entertainment and a great viewing experience."
And more too from LOVEFiLM as a few days after this the company made another key announcement, as it announced that it had snagged the exclusive streaming rights to The Walking Dead, the hugely popular zombie series. It also boasts the distinction of being the most watched drama series on US cable history. The programme even has its own magazine over here as well as the comic it was based on (the magazine, incidentally, is edited by our old mucker and former trade press editor Toby Weidmann. The first series is up on the Instant service now, with further series being added over the next 19 months. It will receive a further boost in the months to come, with the fourth series set to arrive on its broadcast home, Fox, and the third series is due on DVD and Blu-ray from eOne, complete with what we hear may be a stunning box set. LOVEFiLM’s director of film strategy Chris Bird said: “"Securing the exclusive streaming rights to The Walking Dead is another exciting development for us. It is seriously impressive that the show has become one of the most-watched drama series in basic US cable history, and a real testament to its quality. We are thrilled to bring this great content to our members, especially as we are the only subscription service in the country to do so."
Last announcement of the week from LOVEFiLM and the company has just launched an enhanced streaming app for the Xbox 360, which, it said, marked “the latest development in the ongoing rollout of the next generation app”. It boasts improved search and recommendation functions, as well as introducing the Watchlist feature. There’s also a homepage display that enables users to keep an eye on what they’ve been viewing, and pick up from where they left off. It was available from today (Friday).
Also this week, the BBFC has announced that Sainsbury's has adopted its ratings for the supermarket giant's video on demand service. Welcoming the move, which covers some 400 titles currently available, BBFC director David Cooke said: "We are very pleased to announce Sainsbury’s Entertainment as the latest platform to feature BBFC age ratings. In 2011 we asked the public whether they wanted to see BBFC age ratings on video on demand platforms and 85 per cent said they consider it important to have consistent classifications available for film downloads. This figure rises to 90 per cent amongst those with children under 16. By adopting BBFC age ratings Sainsbury’s Entertainment is taking an important step in meeting this high public demand for recognisable and trusted age ratings." The BBFC is also, according to some reports, set to unveil a traffic light-style rating system for people uploading videos on to YouTube.
 Clear Vision is continuing to develop its film slate, with one of its next releases being Eden, due on September 9 from the company. It’s a hugely powerful drama about human trafficking in the US that, despite being based on a true story, plays as much like a tense thriller as anything else. The film is continuing to pick up awards at assorted film festivals, among the gongs its won recently are the audience award for best film at the Milan International Film Festival, as well as the best director award for helmer Megan Griffiths at the same event. Clear Vision’s UK sales manager Paul Archer said: “In a congested sector of the market “Eden” is a independent film that really does stand out from the crowd. The film is based on a true shocking story of child abduction and sex trafficking which the director and cast have handled extremely well. Chong Kim - is the lady that the film is about - is coming to the UK and her story will no doubt enthral and drive real media interest.”
It’s 100 days and counting… Yes, if we were running a countdown clock, today would mark the fact that there’s just 100 days until Home Cinema Day on Sunday September 29, the climax of the month-long Scalarama “celebration of cinema” event taking place at venues around the country. A statement from the organisers, Phil Wood and Michael Pierce, which grew out of a film season commemorating London’s hugely influential rep cinema, said: “Continuing to celebrate all forms of cinema, this year a core programme - a curated selection of new digital restorations, live rescores and rare archive prints - will play in key cities across the UK alongside all the weird and wonderful range of Scala-season events. Screenings will take place up and down the country in cinemas, film clubs, festivals, pop-ups, schools, in fields, under motorways, on boats… and even in your home.” Film clubs and societies around the country are being encouraged to take part. The statement this week gave some further details about Home Cinema Day too, adding: “In Home Cinema Day, the climax of the season on Sunday 29 September, where anyone and everyone can pick a film, invite friends, family or neighbours round and turn their home into a cinema for the day.” A pair of screenings are being held to raise funds for the event, which receives no public funding, taking place on July 4, where the classic John Waters film Polyester will be shown (complete with scratch and sniff cards being handed out) and, on July 17, the equally classic horror film Possession (see below for more on that). The Raygun is closely involved with the day, contact us for more details…
 We’ve recently looked at Network’s groundbreaking work on its theatrical to DVD releases such as No, which was released this week on home entertainment formats (and was one of the best reviewed titles on our regular round up of press coverage on our website), and it’s interesting to see the independent continuing to look at ways of promoting its releases with impending theatrical release of gay thriller Out In The Dark. It is working with charity Stonewall, which will see the pair hosting a special screening at the Hackney Picturehouse as well as working on marketing, publicity and social media work. This partnership will continue through to its home entertainment release and will include advertising the charity’s logo appearing on the trailer and artwork. The event, chaired by sometime Raygun contributor (and Heat and Guardian writer) Charles Gant, will include discussion with the film’s stars and representatives from Stonewall. Network’s Tim Beddows said: “We are delighted to be working with Stonewall to raise awareness of the issues in this powerful, award-winning gay thriller. “ You can see the trailer here…
We’ve just mentioned Possession and we’re pleased to announced that this classic slice of out and out weirdness is due to make its Blu-ray bow courtesy of Second Sight on July 29. Better still, the company has sourced some cracking artwork for its release, as the company’s Chris Holden said: “We were able to access a higher-quality theatrical poster image, and have decided to stay truer to the original colours. We're really pleased with the result.” You can see it shortly up on our website…
And we’ll end with some moving news, as HMV’s head office staff bade farewell to Soho this week, heading off to new offices out of the West End. Its new HQ will be at Mermaid House, Puddle Dock, Blackfriars, London, EC4V 3DB. The move came as stories surfaced that the retailer is poised to return to Ireland (it exited when it entered administration at the start of 2013) and may also be returning to its spiritual home, 363 Oxford Street, site of the first store opened by Elgar. HMV left the premises in 2000 and moved yards across the road; that store was shuttered during an earlier cost-cutting round, but it is now said to be mulling over a move from its current 150 Oxford Street premises to its old location…
 QUOTE OF THE WEEK
We're all in shock and feeling immeasurable sadness at the loss of a beloved member of our family. James Gandolfini was a special man, a great talent, but more importantly a gentle and loving person who treated everyone no matter their title or position with equal respect. He touched so many of us over the years with his humor, his warmth and his humility. Our hearts go out to his wife and children during this terrible time. He will be deeply missed by all of us."
HBO mourns the loss of James Gandolfini, the man who launched millions of box sets with The Sopranos
AT THE MOVIES
The latest comic book hero to arrive at UK cinemas pummeled all out of the way in his rise to the top slot at the box office, with Man Of Steel debuting with an impressive £11.2 million. It’s a figure only just behind Iron Man 3’s bow…
Speaking of Iron Man, or rather Tony Stark, or, even better, Robert Downey Jr, it’s been announced that the star is back on board, along with his alter-egos, for the sequel to Marvel Avengers Assemble, the super-hero team up flick that broke all kinds of records in 2012. No word yet on further Iron Man sequels, but at least he will definitely be in both Avengers 2 and 3…
More sequel news now and with foul-mouthed, more grown-up (and obscene) comedies still performing well at the box office (see The Hangover Part III, currently at cinemas), Sony has this week announced that it is giving the nod to a sequel to Bad Teacher, the foul-mouthed comedy where Cameron Diaz played a teacher who was, er, bad…
50 Shades Of Grey update: it’s this week been announced that Sam Taylor-Johnson, the artist turned director who includes Nowhere Boy on her CV, will be behind the camera for the eagerly awaited film adaptation of the saucy bestseller…
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
That Anchorman 2 trailer we’ve all been waiting for…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elczv0ghqw0
For grown-ups as well as children…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPnY2NjSjrg
A masterclass in making a trailer as this film moves up everyone’s must see list…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iszwuX1AK6A
For people who like their men to be manly…
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