|
LIFT OFF FOR PLANET
NEW SITE LAUNCHED
AIMING TO DELIVER NEW REVENUE STREAMS, REPLACE LOST SALES
GOING WEST
IT’S GUCCI TIME AGAIN
UNBELIEVABLE
GOD ONLY KNOWS
SHEPHERD’S DELIGHT
PARKLAND TALKS SLATE
LOST GEMS AVAILABLE AT LAST
BROADCAST SET TO AIR
CHOPPER’S BACK
GET BACK COLLECTOR’S ITEM
AT THE MOVIES
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
Following last week’s news of Tesco joining Sainsbury’s in phasing out DVDs and Blu-rays from the shelves, distributors and labels have been thinking of how they can replace sales lost as retailers exit the market. And sales company Elevation has pointed a way forward for its labels after launching its own B2C website in the shape of Planet of Entertainment. The site offers pretty much everything from the Elevation catalogue, featuring all its distributed labels, from Lionsgate and Studiocanal (the owners of the joint venture operation), major studio Paramount, through to independent boutique labels such as Powerhouse and its Indicator series, as well as 88 Films, Curzon and more. It’s no mean feat building such a site – there are around 5,000 titles featured on it – and Elevation has to ensure its offering doesn’t undercut its retail partners or upset the existing retail applecart too much, while at the same time offering its labels a chance to reach new consumers. Planet of Entertainment covers everything from pre-orders, with regular updates through its date partner, West 10 Entertainment, through to deep catalogue.
The Raygun spoke exclusively to Elevation’s Andy Chatburn, an industry stalwart with retail experience from across the trade who was charged with getting the site up and running. He said: “We work with labels like Powerhouse and 88 Films and have seen how successful they have been with selling direct to the consumer and we wanted to offer a similar opportunity to our labels. It’s a case of looking to the future and seeing where the market is beginning to go. We want to offset some of the revenue streams lost to Sainsbury’s and Tesco and offer new sales opportunities. We have our own platform on eBay, but we incur additional charges and costs through this route to market, where as POE provides us with a more cost effective way to showcase all our labels content’.” Elevation said it’s not about competing with existing retailers, but trying to replace lost sales and find new sources of income too, He said: “We’re going to have competitive pricing without doing anything silly to undermine or devalue the market.”
Elevation’s labels have been kept abreast of developments as the site has been worked up over the past year or two, with Cinram providing the fulfilment and West10 the data. It offers up the lion’s share of Elevation titles, with new additions added almost daily. It is anticipated that the range will be maintained at around 5,000 lines moving forward. “It’s a soft launch for us,” said Chatburn, noting that labels will be able to use the URL and site on their own marketing information and packaging to help spread the word. He said it will develop and evolve as learnings are made – the site has only been up and running since the end of January. “We’re going to wait and see how it develops and grows so we can look at more effective ways to target consumers,” he concluded. “It’s a long-term strategy. The great thing about Elevation is we’re passionate about physical media, and this is about us trying to make the most of physical.”
Further comment on the launch of the planetofentertainment.com website came from West10 and the company’s sales director Barry Smith said: “Since 2005, the team at West10 have worked right along the industry ecosystem and we share Elevation’s passion for the industry and are delighted to have been chosen to help to realise its vision for the future of physical media. The data we supply is proven to be the best time and time again, but just as important is the value we place on providing first class service to meet Elevation’s requirements, by creating tailor-made data feeds to ensure the easy integration into its systems. The trade is now realising the value of data created to the highest standards and working closely with the team at Elevation, West10 looks forward to being able to help them achieve success in what are otherwise harsh economic times.”
London Fashion Week is taking place (it’s on until Tuesday February 22), so what better time for Universal to release the year’s best-dressed outing, Ridley Scott’s House Of Gucci. The Monday February 21 release comes on the back of its Oscar and BAFTA nominations and the campaign has got underway with paid social activity and “tactical” print advertising. Much of it is based around the awards and reviews, playing on the eminently quotable lines from the film (“Father, Son, House of Gucci”). The creatives have been tailored to suit the audience – the fashion crowd is being targeted with adverts focusing on the glamorous and stylish elements, with broader audiences seeing spots playing up the cast, director and thriller elements. Publicity will feature coverage with hair and make-up artist Goran Lundstrom, talking about how he transformed star Jared Leto for the film, with an exclusive clip going on Metro Online. And release days will see Universal partnering with Pasta Evangelists, with a press drop delivered to influencers including the film, a pasta-making kit, chocolate and coffee – to make the perfect Italian night in. Senior product manager Emily Evans said: “With great support from ASDA, Morrison’s and hmv, the release will also be unmissable in-store. House of Gucci is the perfect accessory this London Fashion Week, sweetie.”
Mention of the word “sweetie” brings us to one of the more uniquely titled films from the past 12 months, Sweetie, You Won’t Believe It, an extreme film from Kazakhstan that pretty much defies description, wowing audiences at FrightFest last year and now making its way to home entertainment courtesy of 101 Films. Commenting on the release, 101’s Tim Scaping said: “The breakout hit of last summer's FrightFest, along with several other festivals, we're excited to be bringing outrageous Kazakh comedy-horror Sweetie, You Won't Believe It to broader audience with a Blu-ray and digital release. The film features a group of hapless friends find themselves caught up in a series of violent events that escalate to jaw dropping effect. The perfect mix of violence, gore, humour and heart, it really has to be seen to be believed (or not…)."
Documentary of the week comes courtesy of Dogwoof, with the release of Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road, which charts the life and career of Beach Boy founder and songwriter extraordinaire. Comment on the release came in a statement from director Brent Wilson (no relation) who said: ““My partners and I set out to tell Brian’s story in a way that had never been done before. With so many books, documentaries and films already out; I knew this was an almost impossible goal. This documentary is for both the hardcore fans and the ones who want to get to know Brian on a personal level. Brian has had an extraordinary life and you can see how his music career has influenced so many global stars of today. We created Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road to bridge the gap between myth and reality and we’re excited for the UK audience to see it at home from February 12.”
Also in stores tomorrow is the latest from independent Parkland Entertainment and its new Dark Distribution imprint with the release of London Film Festival hit Shepherd. Commenting on the release, the company’s Tom Stewart said: “After its UK premiere and theatrical release, Shepherd will be released on our new genre label, Dark Distribution, and is out on Monday on Blu-ray and across pretty much all digital platforms. We’ve had such great press, with more than 20 four-star reviews including Mark Kermode’s headlining quote that it’s ‘one of the most atmospheric films of the year’. And we’ve just had a competition go live with SciFi Now [see here]."
Sticking with Parkland and the company gave us an outline of some of its forthcoming theatrical titles due at cinemas before making their way to home entertainment. Here’s Tom Stewart on the forthcoming slate, he said: “We’re getting busy in the kitchen, with our new film Master Cheng, releasing March 11, with Picturehouse nationwide previews on Tuesday, from the talented Finnish filmmaker, Mika Kaurismaki, Master Cheng Is a warm charming feel-good film that features some glorious food for the soul. Hot on its heels, we’ll release The Road Dance (May 20) which will have nationwide previews from SKY VIP early May. Inspired by true events, The Road Dance is a coming-of-age drama set in the years surrounding WW1. A young woman from a small island community dreams of the wider world and a life away from the harsh land and strict religion of her home. But tragedy strikes twice – once at a village party, and again, when her boyfriend is sent to war. [You can see the trailer here]. And with the success of last year’s The Last Bus, we’re bringing Timothy Spall’s new film It Snows In Benidorm, from the Director of The Bookshop. It’s the familiar “second shot in life” story of Peter, who after being pushed out of his job at a Manchester bank, decides to visit his brother in sunny Benidorm, only to discover a new challenge in his life.”
One Elevation level that is performing particularly well at the minute is Powerhouse’s Indicator imprint, which continues to mine a rich seam of, as it noted in its latest announcement, “under-appreciated and under-seen British gems from the 1970s”. The label has just announced its titles for May this year, which includes a major project that has taken several years to bring to fruition in the shape of a box set entitled The Pemini Organisation 1972-1974, which features a collection of films rarely seen since their original release from a UK production outfit that had a relatively short-lived but admired output. Complete with a raft of extras, this is the first ever home entertainment release for these titles. It will be backed by two further releases, Blu-ray firsts for Bette Davis and Michael Redgrave in Connecting Rooms and Peter O’Toole in Murphy’s War. Commenting on the Pemini set, the company’s Sam Dunn said: “This week was announcement week for us, and it's been fantastic to see the response we've had to our latest titles. In particular, our Pemini Organisation set, which presents the entire output of a now-forgotten, but incredibly bold and dynamic British independent production company from the early 70s, has got a lot of traction on forums and social media, and has been pre-ordering extremely well. It's incredibly exciting to be digging so deep into the history of British cinema and unearthing such rare and forgotten films as these, especially since they feature so many familiar names, such as Edward Woodward, Celia Imrie, Ian Hendry, June Ritchie, Mike Pratt, Edward Judd, Frank Windsor and Keith Michell. And it's been great to have so many original cast and crew members – including actor June Ritchie, director Peter Crane, and celebrated producer Jeremy Thomas (who was assistant editor on two of these Pemini films) - come out and talk about their time making the films. We can't wait until customers start getting hold of their copies in May and are able to finally see these rare and wonderful films for themselves.”
Also announced this week was a theatrical and further digital and Blu-ray release for another FrightFest hit, Broadcast Signal Intrusion. The film is a cross-genre affair that blends film noir with a touch of sci-fi, among other things, to tell the story of some rather strange pirate video broadcasts in the 1990s. Originally a short, the film was developed into a feature after winning through a FrightFest competition and also boasts the involvement of an industry stalwart, and someone we’ve oft quoted here on The Raygun, namely Giles Edwards, formerly of, among others, Metrodome and now at Queensbury. The film has been acquired by Lightbulb Film Distribution and will be released at cinemas on March 25 with the digital and physical release following on Monday March 28. Commenting on the release, Lightbulb’s sales and acquisitions director Peter Thompson said: “Broadcast Signal Intrusion is an immersive, mind-bending, elevated-genre film. We cannot wait for UK and Irish audiences to go down the retro tech-thriller rabbit hole. For fans of Censor and Archive 81, this should be next on your watch-list!”
Every few years, Australian cinema throws up a brutal, much-talked about and hugely commercial feature film, which goes on to critical acclaim and strong performances at cinemas and notably home entertainment. One of those in the early 2000s was Chopper, the tale of notorious Oz criminal Mark Chopper Read. It also brought director Andrew Dominik and star Eric Bana to a global audience and was a bona fide video hit. Now it’s returning to mark its 20th anniversary, courtesy of Vertigo Releasing, with a theatrical and digital bow. The company’s ceo Rupert Preston, who helped release the film first time around. said: “Chopper is a stone-cold classic movie that launched the careers of some incredible talent. What an exciting opportunity it is to re-launch it for a whole new generation of film-lovers.”
Our favourite story of the week surrounds the US Blu-ray release of Peter Jackson’s superlative Beatles documentary Get Back. The title was due for release on February 8, but was pulled ahead of the date due to technical issues. But in a story mirroring every retailer’s worst fear, some copies still made it onto the shelves, a few were bought by keen consumers and ended up on eBay – being flogged for serious amounts of money. As US trade magazine Media Play News noted: “But apparently some copies still found their way into the public’s hands. An early morning check of eBay, the online auction site, found 14 copies of Get Back listed for sale, at prices as high as $999.99. Under ‘completed auctions’, there were several successful sales, including one for $399.99 that sold on February 7, the day before the Blu-ray Disc was supposed to be released.” Many years ago, The Raygun remembers a major VHS release of what was then one of the biggest films going on sale early in a store in Oxford Street. The md of the major releasing it spotted the standee on their lunchbreak, and told staff behind the counter. “That’s not been released yet.” He said. “Oh it has, that’s why we’ve put it out,” they replied. “I’m md of the company and I can tell you, it’s not been released yet.” Cue frantic staff at the retailer taking the copies off the shelves…
AT THE MOVIES
In an open letter to fans, the Duffer Brothers, the creative pairing behind Netflix runaway hit Stranger Things have announced their plans for the fourth series of the programme. After their joint hello (“Hi nerds! Do you copy?”), the duo highlighted the lengthy time it had taken them to put this together and their plans going forward/ “Given the unprecedented length, and to get it to you as soon as possible, Season 4 will be released in two volumes. Volume One will release on May 27; Volume Two will release five weeks later on July 1. So that’s the good news. It’s coming soon. And it’s bigger than ever. It’s also the beginning of the end.” The pair went on to highlight that the whole story arc had been planned seven years ago, with four or five seasons planned. They confirmed the upcoming S4 will be the penultimate series, followed by the fifth and final outing…
Meanwhile, over at Disney`+, the full cast has been announced for the streaming company’s first UK original series, Culprits. The eight episodes will follow the team behind a heist who are being targeted by a killer some time after their blag. The cast will include Eddie Izzard, Gemma Arterton, Niamh ALger and, in the lead, Candyman’s Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. The series has been created and is directed by J Blakeson, who worked with Arterton on The Disappearance of Alice Creed.
And we can’t let At The Movies go without mention of a forthcoming title that sounds great – Ray Gunn. The animated film, a long-time passion project of director Brad Bird is now up and running at Skydance Animation, an arm of the production powerhouse run by former Pixar chief, and associate of Bird’s, John Lasseter and sees Bird moving away from Pixar too. Ray Gunn is not your favourite weekly newsletter in this case, rather a private eye in a world inhabited by aliens and humans alike. Skydance ceo David Ellison said: ”From his work on The Iron Giant tom The Incredibles films and the work we did together on Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Brad is one of the greatest filmmakers working in the industry today. As a lifelong fan of animation, it is incredibly rewarding to be re-teaming with him to create this bold new world and we’re excited to get started.”
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Follow us on www.twitter.com/theraygun
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
Leaving the building, entering the cinema…
At cinemas in April, MUBI in the summer…
More Stan at Disney…
Broadcast commencing…
Due from Altitude…
More Strange goings-on…
The return of the Rings…
THE OBLIGATORY GDPR BIT
You're on The Raygun newsletter mailing list, which has been running for eight years, because you requested it, have been recommended to us or sent us emails. You can unsubscribe at any time, if you're daft, using the link elsewhere or by emailing as below. But of course, you don't want to do that, do you? We don't share your information with anyone else, we don't like cookies and we're the good guys. We care because you do…
To subscribe to The Raygun newsletter, please email info@theraygun.co.uk
with subscribe in the subject matter
To unsubscribe, email info@theraygun.co.uk with unsubscribe in the subject
line
For editorial or advertising queries, contact tim@theraygun.co.uk
The Raygun
7 Lightcliffe Road
London N13 5HD
|
 | Powered by YMLP.com | |
| | ||