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SIMON HELLER RIP
INDUSTRY PAYS TRIBUTE TO STALWART
FIRST INDEPENDENT, WARNER VISION, BVA/BASE AND MORE…
…FORMER COLLEAGUES REMEMBER SIMON HELLER
WARREN PEACE – WATERSHIP DOWN RESTORED
SILENTS FOR SHERLOCK
ENDURANCE FILM A FEAT
PIE IS SWEET FOR 88 FILMS
TERRIFIER 3 SETS SIGNATURE RECORD…
…AS FILM BECOMES A GENUINE PHENOMENON
MAXXXINE HAS THE X-FACTOR
LONGLEGS WITH A LONG TAIL
INDICATOR HEADS INTO JANUARY…
…AS RADIANCE UNVEILS FIRST BATCH FOR 2025 TOO
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
SPOTTED OUT AND ABOUT
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
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It was a good week for… Terrifier 3 on track to be Signature's biggest theatricla release ever and a bona fide phenomenon…
It was a bad week for… What happens to all those disused rental kiosks in the US?
We have been watching… We've outlined some of our LFF viewing below, but also worth a mention is Bird, Andrea Arnold's latest, picked up by MUBI, which really is special – and filmed in our old NW Kent stamping ground… It is with great sadness that we pass on the sad news of the untimely death of former industry stalwart Simon Heller, who passed away recently. He’d long been in and around the industry, from working at Columbia TriStar’s CM Lintas ad agency in the early 1990s, through a role overseeing the burgeoning retail arm of then UK distributor First Independent, on to Warner Vision, where he oversaw the video arm of the music giant’s business in the UK, through to stints at Universal Music and ITV, before a role at what was then known as the BVA (now BASE), overseeing its marketing and promotional activity during a period of flux in the industry. He went on to have his own consultancy business and had other roles outside the industry in recent years. BASE chief executive Liz Bales said “It was shocking to hear the tragic news of Simon Heller's departure. An untimely heart attack cutting short a flourishing life, filled with family and friends. Simon is known to many across the community of Home Entertainment, he was a team member and instrumental figure at the BVA working with Lavinia and our members leading multiple marketing and insight projects. Among his many successes were the highly influential and collaborative campaigns supporting the launch and evolution of the Blu-ray format. His passion for the industry will be applauded and remembered by many, along with his trademark dry humour. Our thoughts are with his family at this time as they mourn a kind-hearted and much-loved man.”
Former BVA chief Lavinia Carey, who worked with Simon Heller at the organisation, said: “It really was a shock to hear about Simon's unexpected death. I too admired Simon's total dedication to his job. He was a great team player at the BVA and I really enjoyed working with him. He somehow managed to keep his cool when committee work was irritatingly slow and unproductive. His enthusiasm buoyed him up and he was always good company, kind and considerate, self-effacing, witty, knowledgeable, well-connected, thorough, solid and dependable. You couldn't really ask for more. His desk was opposite the BVA secretary in Great Portland Street and if something wasn't going well he would sometimes utter oaths and blasphemies to vent his frustration. I had to ask him to tone it down when one of the girls complained about his language. As someone who has also been known to curse occasionally, I found it quite funny actually. He certainly was a good egg and will be sorely missed. I feel deeply sorry for his lovely family. I met Sue, Olivia and Louisa with my husband and young boys when we all attended the premier of Madagascar as guests of Charlie Mcauley. Then we all had a very happy lunch together and it was a great outing. I hope Sue and the girls will get some comfort from the affection and admiration expressed by his friends and colleagues at this sad time.”
John Morrissey, now at Powerhouse looking after the Indicator series and more, and once of Columbia TriStar, worked closely with Simon Heller during the latter’s time at CM Lintas. He told The Raygun: “I first met Simon when I joined Columbia Tri Star, to launch the 20/20 Vision label, he was working for the ad agency that they had commissioned for all the work to do with the launch. We would meet two or three times a week, and became firm friends, he was such a great guy to be around. He had a great in depth knowledge of the advertising world, which was exactly what was required for us to launch the label, which we did to great success. He was without doubt one of the nicest, most genial people I had met in the industry, never without a smile on his face, with a great positive outlook on life. My thoughts are with his wife and family at this very sad time.”
Also paying tribute was another industry stalwart, Jon Sadler, who first met Simon Heller during his time as a buyer, then reconnected later when they were at Momentum Pictures and Warner Vision respectively. Sadler said: “I first encountered Simon when he was working at First Independent Films, when I was working as a film buyer. I then got to know him better when I represented the BVA on behalf of Universal Pictures and later at Momentum Pictures. Simon was very active in the industry and it was an industry he truly loved. He was always very active in industry initiatives and later became a consultant for the BVA, before finally, and reluctantly, leaving the industry for good. Simon was always inquisitive and genuinely interested in other’s thoughts and opinions. He had a sardonic nature and a dry wit. I always enjoyed our catch-ups over a coffee. He was also refreshingly honest and I could relate to him very easily. I was ultimately saddened that the industry couldn’t find a place for him and I know it profoundly saddened him to leave it. On a few occasions, Simon found himself at the epicentre of the industry when everybody suddenly wanted to blag a copy of the Live Aid DVD or a copy of the highly sought-after Sex And The City box set or the equally lauded South Park sets. The fact that Warner Vision, a division of Warner Music international, that was essentially tasked with releasing music promo compilation videos and live concerts on DVD, had such riches to offer was down to the particular skills of the team that worked there and Simon was part of that senior team and they really did punch above their weight. I was really shocked and deeply saddened to hear of his highly premature passing and wish his family my most sincerest condolences.”
The Raygun’s Tim Murray said: “Simon was a lovely person who cared passionately about the industry as a whole. I knew him at CM Lintas, but saw loads of him at First Independent, Warner Vision and beyond. Loyal to a tee, he wanted the industry as a whole to succeed, and we’d spend hours in hostelries or elsewhere, putting the world – and the video and home entertainment industry – to rights. He oversaw big hits such as South Park when it landed on video (in a pre-DVD world) and had a great outlook on the business, what it meant and more. I remember him at the time recounting a tale of how lucky Warner Vision had been to counter South Park and his efforts to tell senior management that it was best to bank the money and not go searching for the next big thing, as South Park was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It\s no surprise that one of Simon’s former colleagues at Warner Vision said he was probably the best boss they ever had. Witty, erudite, pragmatic and yet with a real flair for marketing and more, it was always a pleasure being in his company, talking about both the interesting and important.” Our thoughts are with Simon's family, we will let you know about funeral details, time permitting. Contact Tim Murray at the usual address and we'll email you when we know . We may include more tributes next time, so let us know if you want to send youe thoughts and memories…
The Raygun has not been to nearly as many London Film Festival screenings as we’d have liked, mainly due to busy schedules and other work we’ve got on, but we finally managed to catch up with a few this week. Chief among them was Watership Down, the newly-restored classic slice of British animation which got a premiere on Saturday October 12 ahead of a theatrical bow on October 25 and an eventual release across 4k, Blu-ray and digital a month after that on November 25. The film was preceded by a brief talk from Doug Weir, the BFI’s content, remastering and delivery lead, himself a huge fan of the film. Before flagging the forthcoming release and its different platforms, he told a packed audience: “I grew up with Watership Down. I’m probably one of the people who wasn’t traumatised by the film, it’s a masterpiece.” He revealed how, as a teen, he’d saved up his pocket money to buy a Super 8 copy of the film that he then watched at home in a pre-VHS era, then looked at it again when he was studying animation as a student. That same Super 8 copy was retrieved, serendipitously scanned and has now ended up as an extra on the Blu-ray. “It’s a dream project,” he added. “You could say I quite like the film.” The BFI’s Justin Johnson, who presented the film also noted its strange journey with the BBFC, where it started as a U certificate and is one of the few films to have the rare distinction of seeing its rating going up – it was given a PG two years ago for “mild violence, threat, brief bloody images, language”. Weir highlighted the work done on the two-year project and noted just how good the film looks, as well as the incredible animation (“the technique is amazing,”), saying: “The main challenge for any project is making it faithful. That’s where research comes in – making sure the colours are correct. We had people commenting on the colours and I can tell you right now, the colours are very accurate. This is exactly as it looked back in 1978. A lot of people are used to a lot more Disney, primary colours. This is the anti-Disney film. If anybody’s not crying by the end well done. I’ve seen this film a gazillion times and I’m going to be weeping like a baby.” And yes, we did end up crying.
Sticking with the BFI, and we also caught up with Silent Sherlock, presented just down the road from The Raygun’s north London HQ at Ally Pally, in the marvellous theatre there. The three films shown, accompanied by a new score played live, are part of a major restoration project by the BFI to bring the series of British silent films featuring Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s creation back to screens. The Stoll Collection of Holmes films spans almost 50 works, with a raft of shorts spread across three series and two feature films. All are being restored as part of the project, with new music being scored for each, with three shorts, one from each series (A Scandal in Bohemia, The Golden Pince-Nez and The Final Problem, in which he comes up against his nemesis Moriarty), airing on the night. More details to come about the release plans and strategy – be patient, it’s taken five years to get this far – but given the BFI’s work, this should end up as a much-sought after box set for home entertainment (that’s what we’re hoping). It was an absolute treat – fun, exciting, the restoration looks superb and the new scores are great, fitting in neatly with the original, lovingly restored images. Presenting the trio Arike Oke, BFI Executive Director of Knowledge, Learning and Collections, said: “Tonight's presentation of the first three titles [in] our major restoration program for the complete set of all three serials and two feature films, 47 titles all told, all of which are silent and require music, for audiences to enjoy at home and live with the hope to include accompanying research projects, new commissions and education resources.” The project has already garnered plenty of coverage, with Bryony Dixon, BFI's silent film curator, who introduced the screening alongside Arike Oke, telling the BBC: "There’s been a demand for these for years. People are waiting with bated breath for basically the last of the silent Sherlock Holmes films - the last ones to be restored in the whole world. The Stoll Sherlock Holmes series has never been publicly available. We hope to do it proud - but it is a big project.” Watch this space for more detail on the eventual release strategy…
Another London Film Festival title we caught up with was Endurance, the National Geographic documentary that simultaneously charts Ernest Shackleton’s doomed 1914 voyage to Antarctica that lasted for two years and pushed the explorer and his crew to the limits, as well as the more recent journey south to discover the shipwreck of the Endurance, which sank after being trapped in ice in the region. It’s a real journey and was not just one of LFF’s highest profile documentaries, but one of its biggest films too. It went down a treat with the packed audience, not least as it charted the depths of despair that Shackleton crew faced as disaster followed disaster on their cursed journey, but also the hidden strengths and hidden reserves they used in a bid to survive. It sits perfectly across the BFI’s South & The Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration on Film release from a few years back and landed with a raft of strong reviews, including the Telegraph, which said it was “terrific” and a gripping, gruelling voyage in Ernest Shackleton’s wake”, before concluding: “It’s a film that exploration boffins will cherish most, but there’s plenty of grizzled male hardship here to engage fans of The Terror or The North Water. Unlike in those, you’re assured of at least one happy ending, too.” It’s still playing at cinemas now, before heading to home entertainment courtesy of Disney+ in November.
Sometimes you’ll speak to an indie distributor or label and one of the staff will have something of a passion project, a film close to their heart (see BFI restoration guru Doug Weir talking about Watership Down elsewhere) and it’s the same case with a Monday release that’s just landed in stores from 88 Films. For the indie, which is now going well beyond its genre roots, is releasing 90s gross-out blockbuster American Pie in deluxe Blu-ray and 4K SKUs on Monday October 21, with the feature remastered in both its original theatrical and unrated, extended versions, alongside a raft of new extras and original elements too. 88 Films’ md Richard Elliott is a fan of the film and for him it was a personal project that took three years to come to fruition and its eventual release: "After about three years of stress, worry, equal measures of disappointments and delights, uncertainty and not an inconsiderable amount of money it doesn’t feel real that I’ve finally got the finished product in my hand of one of my favourite films… Has it ruined it a bit for me? Maybe is the honest answer, but I would much rather have gone through this to make this product than to let some other company do it and not make it how I wanted. A massive thanks to all the cast and crew who made this film such a big part of my teenage years. I hope fellow fans like the package and the new transfer."
And lo, it came to pass that Signature has enjoyed its most successful theatrical outing thus far, with the massive box office success of low budget horror franchise Terrifier in its third outing. We’ve written about it extensively on The Raygun across the two previous releases and covered the third as it hit cinemas on October 11, but its success has taken the industry by storm. It earned more than £1 million at UK cinemas in its first weekend, more than doubling the record opening haul for a Signature film. Along the way it scooped more records, as Signature’s announcement noted: “Terrifier 3’s UK and Irish box office success marks it as the highest-opening for an 18-certificated horror film in 2024, beating out vampire horror Abigail and 80s-set star-studded slasher MaXXXine plus Sydney Sweeney starrer Immaculate. It has also set a new record as 2024’s highest UK & Irish box office opening for an 18-certificated independent film – the record was previously held by Northern Irish rapper biopic Kneecap.” Its performance throughout last week and its second weekend have now seen it easing past the £2 million mark (Screen Daily called it “a solid hold”), meaning its UK box office alone has now outpaced the cost of production on the film. The Damien Leone-directed Terrified 3 has now earned $41.5 million worldwide, with $36 million of that coming in the US, where it has broken a slew of records too.
Many pundits are now noting that the success of Terrifier 3 is now approaching Blair Witch Project levels of record-breaking and box office success for an indie, low budget film, and Signature’s Cliff Green told The Raygun after its opening frame success: “There was no doubt from our team of horror fans that Art the Clown was destined to become a horror icon in his own right and as we see the news of box office dominance globally, TERRIFIER 3 was certainly the little indie film that could. The fan obsession started from the moment Art hit the scene in his first debut feature back in 2016 and they were primed and ready to see this latest instalment on the big screen. The mainstream horror audience, bombarded by the viral, publicity and social content and ‘you’ve got to see it to believe it’ word of mouth have followed making Terrifier 3 not only Signature’s biggest over opening weekend but now firmly on track to be our highest grossing film to date. Where others would have shied away from the extreme content in this franchise, our team leaned in to create a viral sensation across social media and traditional media. The show doesn’t end here though as we head into the next phase of release, closing out 2024 with the Home Premiere, EST, VOD, DVD, Blu-ray and UHD release.”
This year has been blessed with some classic horror and fright-fare at cinemas, and right now titles such as The Substance and Terrifier 3 are making waves – and big bucks – at UK cinemas, following in the wake of earlier horror hits such as Late Night with The Devil. The latter title lands on physical media on October 28 and a further two are hit the shelves on Monday October 21 on the back of successful theatrical outings at cinemas. First up was MaXXXine, the third in horror-meister Ti West’s series based around adult film star Maxine Minx, following in the wake of X and Pearl. It’s being released by Universal and marketing manager Steve White said: “After the success of PEARL last year, it’s a thrill to finally bring MAXXXINE, the final part of Ti Wests X trilogy to Home Entertainment formats so new audiences can discover the stylish visuals, some eye-wateringly horrific moments, and Mia Goth’s incredible performance.”
Also landing this week, on Monday October 21, is another from relative newcomer to distribution Black Bear, which followed the genre success of Immaculate with Longlegs, arguably the biggest break out horror git of the year. The film grossed more than $100 million at cinemas worldwide, with the UK’s performance – more than £7.6 million – the best overseas. Don’t just take our word for it, as the I’d Christina Newland said: “From the outside, Oz Perkins’s Longlegs looks like just another serial killer flick, but it’s that rarity: a horror film that gives you a bona fide case of the heeby-jeebies.” Time Out’s Phil de Semylen said: “With Nicolas Cage as both its producer and the deeply unsettling serial killer of the title, Longlegs is a work of chilling brilliance that should electrify genre fans for years to come.” Meanwhile, in a noteworthy pre-Halloween comment, The Telegraph’s Tim Robey said in his review: “Only about once every two or three years does a horror-thriller as good as Longlegs lope into view… Mind out for many future Halloweens when someone’s lurking, in creamy denim and a hideous wig, because they’ve come as Longlegs.”
Forthcoming title time and boutique labels have, as ever, been unveiling their forthcoming wares and such is the march of time that we are now looking at what’s going to come out in January 2025. Among those revealing titles for the first month of next year was Powerhouse and its Indicator series, with the company’s Sam Dunn saying: “We're delighted to be presenting another selection of classics from the American studio vaults, each of which is directed by and stars some of the giants of cinema history. In Henry Hathaway's The Lives of the Bengal Lancer, Gary Cooper and Franchot Tone face impossible odds in a remote outpost on the northwest frontier of the British Raj. In The Shepherd Of The Hills, our second Hathaway offering of the month, Harry Carey and John Wayne clash in a community riven by hatred. Next up, Humphrey Bogart leads a group of soldiers across the desert in Zoltán Korda's Sahara. Finally, in director Don Siegel's Edge Of Eternity, Cornel Wilde and Victoria Shaw team up to investigate a series of killings in a ghost town on the edge of the Grand Canyon. Spectacular photography, breathtaking locations, and edge-of-the-seat thrills combine to make all four of these long-overdue UK Blu-ray premiere editions a must for film lovers.”
Also announcing was Radiance Films, also showing what to expect in 2025, with its January title reveal. Here’s the company’s Cara Hermit on what to expect, she said: “We're kicking off 2025 at Radiance with three absolute heavy-hitter titles, from a double-disc Olmi set, our second Suzuki flick, following on from November's Tattooed Life, and Peter Fleischmann's Weak Spot. Il posto + I fidanzati is a delight of a double-disc set, containing a pair of films from 1961, and 1963 respectively. With an extensive selection of special features for each film, this is a true gem of a release, which Radiance is proud to have curated. Underworld Beauty, which releases paired with Suzuki's earlier short film Love Letter, is another fine addition to our growing collection of exemplary Japanese cinema. We're so excited to be able to bring this gorgeous, inventive noir to Blu-ray for the first time. Finally, Weak Spot, newly restored in 4K by Studiocanal, and on Blu-ray for the first time, will satisfy that appetite we know Radiance viewers have for these kinds of tense thriller flicks. We're incredibly proud of all three of these releases, and they kick off what's guaranteed to be a bumper third year for Radiance, with new UHD options, a truly expansive selection of titles, and so many more surprises, it's going to be a wild ride.”
SPOTTED OUT AND ABOUT
The night-in promotion, beloved of the video industry, both in suermarkets and rental stores, in the 1990s and beyond, is still a thing. Here's Proper popcorn and Netflix, with a partnership that includes a limited flavour and competition prizes, as well as this pillow-sized pack. Apparently, it's "reimagining everyday moments", rather than an extension of an old video industry concept…
 BASE has put together a brace of trailers for Halloween to urge consumers to buy into spooky series and freaky films, with one for younger viewers, taking in Addams Family Values, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Gremlins. Haunted Mansion, Hotel Transylvania, Monster High 2, Thomas & Friends: Ghost Train…
The BASE Halloween trailer fro grown-ups, takes in everything from Abigail to Zombie Town…
Three and a half hours for less than $10 million…
Good buzz on this from the LFF screening…
Alternate 90s universe alert…
Get the hump…
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