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4 GOES IN TO SEVEN
ITV'S BIG BUBBLES
UK TV DVD WORKS WITH BROADCASTERS
FOTHERINGHAM ANCHORS NEW JOB
PROMOTION ON THE SLY
BFI'S GREEN MEADOWS…
…AND ORANGE TINTIN
COALITION CUTS COUNCIL
BVA'S ANNIVERSARY AGM
DADS BUYING MORE DVD
FURORE HELPS 'KILLER'
SPITTING IMAGES
DISNEY BIG WITH GEEKS
LIES: TELLING THE TRUTH FOR FIVE YEARS
EONE CONTINUES MARCH
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
RELEASE OF THE WEEK: DEAR JOHN
AT THE MOVIES
SITE OF THE WEEK: HMVDIGITAL.COM
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
If you can't read this newsletter or see the ads, please click here
 It Was A Good Week For... Charles Fotheringham, back in the industry at Anchor Bay, a move welcomed across the industry…
It Was A Bad Week For… The Film Council. Latest victim of the Coalition's cuts… With last year's biggest TV title returning in a brand new series (one certain to boost its profile even further) and a new stand-up release from one of Britain's most popular and most shocking comics at the forefront of its 2010 line-up, 4DVD may not have the most titles a supplier is bringing to market this Q4, but it certainly has some of the biggest. Just seven titles make up its slate, but, with Inbetweeners and Frankie Boyle leading the way, it really does have some biggies. The third series of Inbetweeners is set to arrive later in the autumn, and The Raygun got to see a specially filmed segment which will help 4DVD and Channel 4's broadcast arm bridge the gap between the second series and the third, due on DVD immediately as its transmission ends. Miranda is the sketch series currently being repeated on BBC2 after its impressive bow last year. The release of the first series is timed to coincide with the BBC2 bow of the second outing. One title covered extensively already in The Raygun is This Is England '86, four hour long TV episodes due to air in the autumn and due on DVD afterwards. Directed by Shane Meadows and following on from the similarly named film, it will be a cornerstone of the station's schedule. Due later in the winter is the second series of Misfits, another programme growing in stature thanks to its current repeats. While there is no new live DVD from Russell Howard, 4DVD has the next best thing, Russell Howard's Good News, a Best Of compilation from the first series of the nearly live stand-up series which airs on BBC3. Again, 4DVD's release, which will contain some 30 minutes' worth of exclusive content, is coming to the market at the same time as a new series airs on television. As for live comedy itself, there's a new Jimmy Carr due on November 8 (as mentioned last week after the comic began his promotional activity early) and a sophomore outing for last year's bestselling debut live act, Rhod Gilbert. And saving arguably the biggest for last, 4DVD believes that in the second release from Frankie Boyle it could be sitting on this year's bestselling live comedy release. And, given his ever-growing reputation, who are we to argue? More over on the website shortly. Over to ITV Studios Home Entertainment where, overlooking London (we reckon it affords the best views of London any company in the industry has to offer), to hear about ITV Studios Home Entertainment's slate. This is another company that enjoyed a greater market share in 2009 and is looking to further capitalise on that this year. And, like its parent TV station, it now seems to have identified its strengths and is focusing on these, with a clear strategy backing it up. And 2010 sees it playing to those key strengths, taking in drama, comedy, box sets, soaps and a few gifting goodies.
 Drama, targeting what is known colloquially as "the Lewis audience" is represented by a new take on 70s classic Bouquet Of Barbed Wire; Albert's Memorial, with David Jason; Joe Maddison's War, a Home Guard wartime programme starring Robson Greene, Kevin Whately and Derek Jacobi; Come Rain, Come Shine starring David Jason and Alison Steadman; The Little House, a Philippa Gregory title; Moving On, the latest form Jimmy McGovern featuring a ensemble cast that includes John Simm and Christopher And His Kind, starring the new Doctor Who, Matt Smith. Into comedy and ITV has one major stand-up release, from comic Stephen K Amos. "He's set to be a household name," said ITV's Richard Bernard, "this is going to be his year. He's got a warm sense of humour with a really broad appeal." Amos is touring this year, playing to an estimated 60,000 people, with high profile appearances in his own show, The Sketch Show meaning, as Bernard said, "everyone will know who he is" this autumn. And with an increased advertising spend to support him, ITV will be driving customers into buying his debut stand-up DVD. Another high profile comedy series comes in the shape of Whites, starring Alan Davies. ITV Studios will also be really working its range of box sets this year; it has enjoyed enormous growth in this area in recent years (up 39 per cent in the last few years) and disproving the theory that the TV box set is all about gritty US series. It has honed its strategy, refreshing and reconfiguring certain boxes come Q4 and has now added branded strips to highlight the number of discs in each set. It is also working a range of seasonally themed films and impulse and budget-priced titles. It's in the gifting area that ITV's slate excels – taking in relatively new phenomena (the sensation that is Pineapple Dance Studios – The Fabulous Highlights, out in October, and Come Dine With Me in a specially made highlights programme, The Tasty Bits, offering unseen footage in November) alongside and old favourites. Last year's success story Loose Women returns, this time in Loose Women In New York – Let Loose In The City, as well as a new TV Burp title from the wonderful Harry Hill. In recent years, ITV Studios has reinvigorated the soap bubble releases, and this year it offers up a new Emmerdale and a new Coronation Street, both exclusive to DVD and supported by the might of the ITV network, with the bubble's storylines being mentioned in the TV programmes themselves. The Coronation Street one is part of a wealth of Corrie activity, with two further box sets for the series, to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Where ITV Studios' line-up works, The Raygun believes, is in its understanding of who the programmes and its releases appeal to, and how to further target those audiences, be it through traditional means (TV advertising) or newer routes such as social networking sites. More on this soon on the website. Talking of the website, as we were briefly, there's been loads gone up in the next past week, including the best of the weekend's DVD and Blu-ray press coverage; trailers for Down Terrace and The Passion Within; more on the nasties and a look at the documentary on the furore; an exclusive interview with the director of The Torment, talking about the benefits of a DTV release; a hilarious message from Ricky Gervais and co about our industry and your chance to win a Harry Hill TV Burp knitted character. Check it out here
 Interesting to note that, in keeping with the current trend towards closer co-operation between different arms of film distributors – witness, say, Warner on the studio side and Metrodome in the indie sector merging some theatrical and DVD marketing functions – both ITV Studios Hone Entertainment and 4DVD are now working far closer with their television broadcast partners too, enabling them to dovetail marketing, get a consistent look and feel and also ensure a high profile for on-air trails. It also means they can pool resources to create additional material that can be used to promote both transmission and DVD releases. Crucially, it can also be used as bonus features for the DVD release as well. ITV Studios' Kate Walker said: "We can connect up our plans with brand managers and leverage greater support from out network. 4DVD's Karla Berry said: "We have always worked very closely with Channel 4's broadcast marketing and publicity teams, but now we are sat side by side we can more closely co-ordinate our publicity launches and have more recently co-commissioned extra content to promote both the broadcast and DVD."
Recruitment news now, and Anchor Bay has appointed former head of video at HMV Charles Fotheringham to the role of head of commercial development. The popular Fotheringham, who started on Monday, joins another former HMV staffer, Rod Smith, now head of acquisitions/A&R at the company, and comes as the company moves into what should prove to be its biggest ever Q4. Anchor Bay md Colin Lomax said: "I am delighted to have appointed Charles to the newly created position as head of commercial development. Charles joins Anchor Bay at a particularly exciting time in the rapid growth of our UK business and his excellent experience and knowledge of the market will I'm sure be a fantastic asset to our business." Fotheringham added: "I am very much looking forward to working with Colin and the entire team. With a great Q4 line-up which features big hitters such as Al Murray and Lee Mack, it really is an exciting time to be at Anchor Bay." With the release of THE action film of the summer, touted by some as the anti-chick flick or bloke's version of S*x And The City (in case you haven't seen that fan trailer doing the rounds), only a few weeks away, the noise surrounding Lionsgate's The Expendables is getting louder. And this weekend sees the TV spots for The Expendables themed action promotion put together by Lions Gate and Optimum breaking. Press ads have already started appearing, with the range and accompanying in-store activity (a great trailer and strong branding, down to stickering and belly bands as well as pos) now in place, it's shaping up well for the films from the two distributors that feature either some of the film's stellar line up of action stars (Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, even Arnie) or plenty of explosions (think The Hurt Locker). Titles on offer include First Blood, Rambo, Crank 2, Chaos, Forbidden Kingdom and the daddy of them all, Terminator 2. Lions Gate Home Entertainment senior product manager Sarah Sanders said: "We're really pleased with the implementation and support so far. Utilising our unique position to link directly with the most anticipated movie of the summer is driving strong sales even prior to the launch of the TV campaign. Our Action Legends brand, inspired by The Expendables artwork but also pretty iconic in its own right, is being implemented across the trade to strong effect and we'll be looking to copy that template for future catalogue campaigns." See the excellent trailer here. And who will be top dog out of Sly and co? Check our website next week, as we'll be given an up to date report on who, according to the buying public, is the most popular among The Expendables. 
3D is, of course, the buzzword(s) of the day and Cornerstone Media has pulled off something of a coup by becoming the first company to market with 3D Blu-ray product after inking a deal with Big Picture Digital Productions. The deal takes in a number of titles made for IMAX cinemas and will be released as 3D (and also 2D compatible) Blu-ray versions from October onwards. The titles boast a combined US box office of $100,000,000 (yes, that's right) and include such 3D friendly titles as The Grand Canyon Adventure and Van Gogh – Brush With Genius. The company's Nick Cooper said: "The 3D market is ideally suited for these titles and will provide a solid range to this new format. We are so proud to be able to step up to the plate and support this fantastic new format. With the support of Big Picture and with the research that we have done this is the time to get involved."
We mentioned the wonderful Shane Meadows earlier on, as part of 4DVD's Q4 line-up, and October will also see a further release for an earlier, rarely seen title of the great director's come to DVD courtesy of BFI, which will release Small Time to coincide with the transmission and DVD bow of This Is England 86. Better still, it also includes an early Meadows short, Where's The Money, Ronnie? The BFI has further unearthed another gem, in early Robert Carlyle and Iain Glen starrer Silent Scream. Both are, as the BFI's head of video publishing Sam Dunn said, "unjustly long out of print". Andy Lyon, sales director of Lace Digital Media Sales, which looks after the BFI's sales and distribution, said: "It's often very difficult for BFI published lines not to be pigeonholed as specialist offerings, but with the quality of these titles, as well as the mainstream cast and directors and impressive previous sales histories Lace are very confident that these will find themselves on many more customers' shelves than any other BFI products. These titles still sell regularly fetch anywhere between £30 and £50 on VHS even now, which illustrates a serious pent-up demand for these titles on DVD."
Equally interesting from the BFI in October is the release of two rarely seen films following the adventures of Herge's creation Tintin. They're notable for two reasons: firstly it further highlights the BFI's widening range of titles, particularly children's; secondly they come on the cusp of a renewed interest in the character, ahead of next year's release of Steven Spielberg's big screen take on Tintin, Captain Haddock and co, long talked about and now finally on the way. The BFI's two sumptuous looking titles are Tintin And The Mystery Of The Golden Fleece and Tintin And The Blue Oranges. The BFI's Dunn said: "There are some huge Tintin fans here at the BFI, and the excitement is palpable. These exceptional films have long been impossible to see, and yet they do such perfect justice to the flavour of the original, much-loved, Hergé books. The releases feature stunning original artwork, adapted from archive film posters, and the new HD transfers are positively eye-popping. A lot of people are going to be very happy indeed when these hit the shelves." Lace's Lyon added: "This is a real example of BFI's intention to publish a more mainstream and commercial offering as a compliment to some of its more specialist lines. Tintin stands on its own as a commercial opportunity with a massive publishing and merchandising history. With Spielberg giving Tintin the big budget feature film treatment in 2011, we are extremely confident that we should see some of BFI's widest distribution ever at retail with these titles." Back to Shane Meadows, and, of course, his wonderful This Is England. That film was, of course, produced with the help of the UK Film Council, and we were saddened to read about the coalition government's plans to axe the organisation as part of its sweeping range of across the board cuts. The move was confirmed by culture secretary Jeremy Hunt (no, don't tempt us…) as part of Department for Culture, Media and Sport cuts. He said he wanted the £3 million saved from cuts to the administration to be "given more directly to film-makers". It is not final, however, and the DCMS will be consulting the industry over the summer. UK Film Council chairman Tim Bevan said: "Abolishing the most successful film support organisation the UK has ever had is a bad decision, imposed without any consultation or evaluation. People will rightly look back on today’s announcement and say it was a big mistake, driven by short-term thinking and political expediency. British film, which is one of the UK’s more successful growth industries, deserves better." He added that the Council would be pressing the government to confirm funding levels and functions and would aim to work with the DCMS to guarantee the future of British film. Oh, and it's not just This Is England, by the way; the past decade's Film Council backed films include (deep breath) Bend it like Beckham, Bright Star, The Constant Gardener, Fish Tank, Gosford Park, Happy-Go-Lucky, In The Loop, The Last King Of Scotland, Man On Wire, Nowhere Boy, Red Road, St Trinian’s, This Is England, Touching The Void, Vera Drake ,The Wind That Shakes The Barley and Streetdance 3D. We need add no further comment… Speaking of the government, another of its ministers, Ed Vaizey, who oversees the creative industries brief, will be guest speaker at this year's BVA Annual General Meeting and reception, due to take place on November 2 at BAFTA. The event will celebrate 30 years of the BVA and look ahead to the future too. Guests, it is promised, will have the chance to quiz him on government policy… BVA marketing manager Hannah Conduct said: "We are pleased to have the new minister speaking at what is a landmark year for the BVA – our 30th year. We look forward to hearing Mr Vaizey’s views on the creative industries, particularly as his portfolios cover both the Department of Culture Media and Sport and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills. We look forward to an interesting and entertaining evening."
 Also from the BVA, some interesting research from the BVA into the children's sector, which suggests that dads are becoming increasingly involved in choosing or buying (or, in the Raygun's case, blagging) DVD and Blu-ray titles for their offspring than ever before. The research, carried out by Kantar Worldpanel, showed a 34 per cent rise in the amount of revenue from children's videos bought on impulse by dads over the previous year. Dads said their spending – on average £43.26 a year – was up 30 per cent on last year and impulse purchasing by fathers now accounts for 20 per cent of the entire children's market. It is likely that much of that is down to dads' resolve weakening as children scream "can I have a DVD" while out shopping. Children's sales in unit terms have grown by nine per cent year on year, and seven per cent in value terms, now accounting for more than 10 per cent of the value share. BVA director general Lavinia Carey said: " Our research shows that these days fathers are more involved with their children’s entertainment as part of the shift towards more hands-on parenting, so they can take advantage of the wide selection of great value children’s titles available on the high street and in supermarkets. Although they may be giving into ‘pester power’ from their own children, another reason for this could be the ever-increasing availability of cherished classics from their own childhood which appeal to their sense of nostalgia."
It's one of the most controversial – and shocking – films of the year, sparking debate about its content, but when it arrives on DVD and Blu-ray in September 27, Icon Home Entertainment's The Killer Inside Me will be uncut from its original theatrical version. The film is a modern-day noir, directed by the ever-eclectic British director Michael Winterbottom and stars Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson. Winterbottom, obviously equally at home in the dusty, hot American heartland as he was for, say, rainy Manchester in 24 Hour Party People, has vigorously defended its violent content, but the debate can only have sparked further interest which should benefit the release, which Icon will be backing with a significant marketing campaign built around the cast and notoriety the film picked up. Shocking of a slightly older nature, and also from the aforementioned Lace stable, is the original I Spit On Your Grave, riding on the wave of what seems to be a resurgence of interest in the original nasties (see last week's newsletter or here for more). The film is being released in September in its original and "most complete version ever", which will include unseen footage. And, after making its name on VHS, the title, from Screen Entertainment and 101 Films, with sales and distribution handled by Lace Digital Media Sales (already mentioned elsewhere here), is also making its debut on Blu-ray. The DVD version will be housed in a special edition box, with a special booklet and A2, double sided poster; director Meir Zachi has been interviewed for the release. The man behind this release is industry veteran Carey Budnick, returning to the fray some 25 years after he began releasing titles on video. Lace's Andy Lyons (again) said: "We are very excited to be working on such an influential and world famous film. Love it or hate it, this remains one of the most controversial films ever made. This edition will be the fullest edition of the film ever published in the UK. This is a very commercial project for 101 Films and we have high expectations for the release, especially in light of the remake due later in the year from Anchor Bay at UK cinemas [as featured in a recent edition of The Raygun newsletter]."  Loads of news from Comic-Con this week, the annual geekfest in San Diego, California, that has, over the past decade, gone from mere fan convention to becoming the must event for the film industry to unveil its wares. And the winner this year? Disney. What with its film of The Avengers capping off a fevered bout of Marvel-related activity, Tron: Legacy being one of the hits of the event and activity surrounding Guillermo Del Toro (two Disney-related projects, one via Miramax for grown-ups and the other based on The Haunted Mansion theme park attraction), as well as a new Pirates Of The Caribbean film, it looks as if the next few years will be Disney-dominated (and that's not even mentioning its Pixar-related projects on the back of current box office number one Toy Story 3). For more, see our At The Movies section below… And keep an eye on The Raygun website for an exclusive report from a UK distributor… It's official. Blu-ray is cool. Cooler than Abercrombie & Fitch, Jack Nicholson, Diesel Jeans, Michael Caine, Dolce And Gabbana, Stevie Wonder, The Rolling Stones, leather jackets, Rolex watches and, er, Simon Cowell. On the downside, however, it's not as cool as the Internet, Sky +, the Nintendo Wii, Lego, James Bond, Christian Louboutin shoes, Promark, Glee, the Wonderbra and the Fonz. How come? The format was voted the 83rd coolest thing on the planet in a poll of Costa Coffee customers revealed at the weekend. Coolest items were the iPhone, iPod, iPad and Apple, according to the survey. Audi's R8, promotional partner of Paramount's Iron Man, also made the list…
To East London's Kingsland Road, where The Raygun, along with the cream of the UK's independent distribution sector was gathered to help Little White Lies magazine, one of our favourite film publications, celebrate its fifth birthday (30 issues, and counting). We like the magazine because a) it's a cracking read, free from the kind of commercial pressures that, while being a necessity on some magazines, don't blight this one and b) because it has always supported our industry, leftfield and DTV titles and all. Publisher Danny Miller said: "It's great that The Raygun, and so many other good folk from the Blu-ray/DVD industry could be there. It's really important for us that we're tuned into what's happening on Blu-ray and DVD just as much as the cinema scene. Ultimately, it's all movies and that's what we're here to celebrate." Entertainment One, aka eOne (the company formerly known as E1 – note style change, a proof readers' nightmare) has added another two territories to its global expansion plans, further improving its acquisitions power when it comes to buying new films. It has now secured deals to see films it has acquired being released via in Scandinavia and South Africa via local distribution deals, with AB Svensk Filmindustri (SF)in the former and Next Entertainment in the latter. President for Filmed Entertainment at eOne Patrice Theroux said: "Our expanded presence is allowing us to acquire rights on a broader scale and distribute content across several formats, including DVD, TV and digital, in multiple territories. Similar to the recent additions of France, Australia and New Zealand, eOne International Television will oversee sales to international digital outlets and local television networks while eOne-branded DVD titles will be released through local distributors. This model allows us to establish our brand in multiple territories without the significant costs associated with an acquisition."  QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"The [US Copyright Office] Librarian’s decision unnecessarily blurs the bright line established in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act [DMCA] against circumvention of technical protection measures and undermines the DMCA, which has fostered greater access to more works by more people than at any time in our history." The Motion Picture Association of America's spokesman comments on the decision to allow documentary filmmakers, teachers and students to legally rip copyright protected DVDs as long as it's for "fair use".
RELEASE OF THE WEEK It's already been a resounding success at the UK box office (£5.5 million in receipts) and Momentum is now planning to make its DVD and Blu-ray bow for Dear John something to write home about. As Momentum's Kristin Ryan said: "Dear John appeals to a very wide audience; it's as appealing to a 13 year old girl keen on the summer romance theme as it is to a 35 year old woman who enjoys a great love story in the tradition of The Notebook and The Time Traveller's Wife. The chemistry between heart-throb Channing Tatum and everyone's favourite 'girl-next-door' Amanda Seyfied made it the year's hottest love story, and if the continuous chatter on our Facebook group is anything to go by, a hotly anticipated DVD release." The campaign will focus on TV and online with additional press, mobile and poster elements. TV wil kick off with an event spot during the first show of the new series of The X-factor in the Saturday night ahead of release ("It really launches our campaign with great force," said Ryan) and takes in ITV, Channel 4, E4, 4 Music, E1, Living, Five, Fiver and MTV, Nick and Viva for that younger, teen audience. Online activity will take place around facebook and Stardoll, with sites such as Channel 4, Mizz and Bliss taking in the teen and gossip sites and the likes of MSN for the older females. Mobile activity takes place through the Yahoo network, offering prizes, downloads, clips and ringtones, while more traditional press advertising will appear in younger publications (Mizz, Bliss, Sugar) and older gossip and fashion weeklies with one word names (Heat, Look, More). PR offers up goody bags and even trips away, as well as coverage on summer romances and the likes. In terms of packaging, the key art already has a high profile and is being housed in a premium O ring and pink case, with accompanying bright pink in-store POS. As Ryan concluded: " Overall, the campaign for Dear John reflects the films' wide ranging audience appeal… the year's hottest love story is sure to be the summer's hottest DVD release." AT THE MOVIES Toy Story 3 rules the roost with a whopping £21 million plus in its opening weekend, beating off Inception, which has now taken more than £14 million. Other new entries included The Rebound (£360,015), Splice (£110,225) and, on the Bollywood side, Kattha Meetha (£124,104). In the US, Inception has now best $140 million (proving the perfect dollars to pounds, UK 10 per cent to US box office ratio). It's now an institution, but the geeks' version of Cannes, Comic-con, is also going to be celebrated in its own film. The wonderfully-titled Comic-Con Episode Four: A Fan's Hope will follow seven people on their way to the annual San Diego event. Those behind the project range from Marvel supremo Stan Lee, Supersize Me helmer Morgan Spurlock and uber-fanboys such as Ain't It Cool's Harry Knowles and Joss Whedon. Well, it guarantees an audience of nerds watching it, in a purely self-referential, post-modern kind of way. And then they can all blog snide remarks after having seen a 30 second trailer, sating how it wasn't as good as the comic it was based on, we guess. Talking of Joss Whedon, he was in town, or rather San Diego, for his own Comic-Con announcement, as the full cast of Disney's superhero pic The Avengers was unveiled on stage in front of a slavering audience. Among them were those we already know about (Chris Evans as Captain America, Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury et al) and a new one or two – not least Mark Ruffalo, now down to play The Hulk after recent rows between producers and Ed Norton. Also unveiled was the new Hawkeye, Jeremy Renner. This was the one that got everyone hot under the collar, alongside Scott Pilgrim Vs The World and Tron Legacy. Also at Comic-Con, which has dominated the blogs over the past week (we suspect there may have been more bloggers there than there were "normal" attendees), was Guillermo Del Toro, unveiling his post-Hobbit projects following the failure of the film to get off the ground due to MGM's financial woes. And they will be twofold, both for Disney: there's the full on horror of Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark for the Miramax arm (now operating more as a banner under which non-family Disney fare can exist) and now the Haunted Mansion. "Didn't Disney try and turn that into a franchise a few years back with Eddie Murphy?" we hear a half dozen people who have heard of that outing cry. Well, yes, but Murphy won't be allowed near Del Toro's vision, which is certain to be far darker. As Disney chief Rich Ross is reported as saying: "Millions of people from around the world visit the Haunted Mansion each year, but no one has ever had a tour guide like Guillermo del Toro." We've already discussed the curious case of Joaquin Phoenix and his strange career trajectory as featured in the forthcoming documentary I'm Still Here: The Lost Year Of Joaquin Phoenix, which may, or may not be, faked for the cameras, but it just took another strange turn. Last week director Casey Affleck, who helmed the film following his pal's ill-fated attempts to become a rapper, was hit bt a $2 million lawsuit from one of the film's producer. Amanda White is suing Affleck, claiming s*xual harassment and the fact he withheld her fee after she refused to spend the night with him. She claims she was forced to endure, ahem, "debauched" behaviour during filming, as Phoenix and co spent an evening filming in Las Vegas with some of the city's seedier residents and workers. This whole unusual tale looks set to run and run. SITE OF THE WEEK
HMV continues its inexorable march towards becoming a fully-formed entertainment brand with the launch this week of its new hmvdigital music download store. Operating from its own site, as well as via HMV's exiting online store, it offers increased content of up to 10 million tracks, better search capabilities and greater speed and ease of use. Perhaps most important, it also offers a unique download manager, making it fully compatible with iTunes, and Windows Media Player. It also has a pre-order facility, tying in with HMV's strategy of driving pre-sales. It was built by 7digital and went live on Monday with a raft of offers. HMV's head of online and digital Sarah Hughes said: "Our partners at 7digital have built for us a significantly improved new site that looks great and has never been easier to use. With so many innovative and wonderful features, it offers a truly intuitive and engaging customer experience that I very much hope will lead to HMV becoming a bigger player in the burgeoning digital market." Check it out here
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK New, Comic-Con friendly trailer for Red: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/summit/red/ The one that had the crowd at Comic-Con positively salivating… http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/disney/tronlegacy/ Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, gets back to grown up films after his sojourn into family fare: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/faster/ "Holy the locomotive…" We can't take James Franco quite so seriously after the last series of 30 Rock, but this does look good: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/howl/ Zack Snyder, he of 300 and Watchmen fame, returns with another green screen workout: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/suckerpunch/ OUT NEXT WEEK ON DVD
100 Rifles (Optimum)
Austin Powers (Optimum) (Blu-ray)
The Banquet (Metrodome)
Battle Of Britain (Acorn)
Butch And Sundance: The Early Days (Optimum)
Class Act: The Complete Series (Network)
David Cross Biggerer And Blackerer (PIAS)
Dear John The Complete Series Two (Acorn)
Doctor Who Series 5 Volume 3 (2entertain) (DVD and Blu-ray)
East Of Eden (Acorn)
Fatbelly: Chopper Unchopped (Lionsgate)
Foyle’s War Series 1-6 box (Acorn)
Free Willy Escape from Pirate’s Cove (Warner)
From Paris With Love (Warner) (DVD and Blu-ray)
Guns At Batasi (Optimum)
The Haunting Of Marsten Manor (MVM)
I Love You Phillip Morris (eOne)
Invisible Target (Cine Asia) (DVD and Blu-ray)
Jam & Jerusalem Series 3 (2entertain)
The Last Wagon (Optimum)
The Lives Of Others (Lionsgate) (Blu-ray)
Mahoromatic Something More Beautiful 3 (MVM)
The Most Dangerous Man In America (Dogwoof)
Mother Of Invention (Kaleidoscope)
My Old Man The Complete First Series (Network)
NCIS Los Angeles Season 1 (Paramount)
Nitro Circus (Paramount)
Old Dogs (WDSHE)
The Ox-Bow Incident (Optimum)
Pardon My Genie The Complete Series One (Network)
Pet Shop Of Horrors (MVM)
The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie (Acorn)
Rivers (Acorn)
Robert’s Robots The Complete First Series (Network)
The Second Front (Metrodome)
Shelter (Icon)
The Shock Doctrine (Dogwoof)
Shutter Island (Paramount) (DVD and Blu-ray)
Sonny With A Chance Season 1 Volume 1 (WDSHE)
Sorry Series 3 (2entertain)
South Park The Hits Volume 2 (Paramount)
Spider-man 5000 Volume 3 (Clear Vision)
Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends Season 1 (Clear Vision)
The Spy Next Door (Momentum)
Storm (Soda)
Tim And Eric Awesome Show Season Two (Revolver)
Wedding Bros (Anchor Bay)
WWE Extreme Rules 2010 (Silver Vision)
OUT THIS WEEK AT CINEMAS
The A Team (Fox)
Beautiful Kate (Matchbox Films)
Down Terrace (Metrodome)
Frontier Blues (Artificial Eye)
Gainsbourg (Optimum)
Karate Kid (Sony)
Separado! (Soda)
South Of The Border (Dogwoof)
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