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BASE AWARDS WINNERS IN FULL
UNIVERSAL SCOOPS FIVE…
…AND PRAISES CEREMONY
…SONY AND WARNER HAVE FOUR APIECE
LIONSGATE LEADS INDIES…
…AS ALTITUDE BAGS A BRACE
BEEB PAYS TRIBUTE TO WINNERS
HMV, AMAZON LEAD RETAIL CHARGE
HEROES LINE UP…
…AS CATEGORY LEADERS REWARDED
SIGNATURE HEADS INTO Q4…
…WITH COMPANY’S FALL LEADING THE WAY
EUREKA OPENS THE CABINET…
…AND HANGS WITH HUNG
TWEET OF THE WEEK TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
We've been away from our desks and on other projects since the BASE Awards, but here's the full round-up of last week's awards… See you next Monday.
And that, as the old saying goes, was that. The BASE Awards 2022 took place last Thursday (October 6) and the industry was out in force for the event, held at its most recent home of the Roundhouse in north London. The historic venue was taken over by all arms of the industry, from traditional physical retail and distribution to online retailers, streamers, boutique labels and all kinds of agency folk, showing how diverse and all-encompassing the business still is. We’re running through the winners, with comment from some of those who went home clutching awards, as well as from the judges. Liz Bales, Chief Executive, British Association for Screen Entertainment, said: “Every year, the BASE awards are a fantastic opportunity for the Home Entertainment community to come together and celebrate the successes but also the resilience and agility of our industry. I’d like to extend my huge congratulations to everyone who entered and won last night; the standard of submissions, once again, demonstrates the brilliance of our category, and completely blew us and the judges away. A massive thank you, as always, to the BASE team for putting together such a memorable night and of course, to our fantastic judges and supporters who make evenings like this possible.”
As is often the case, certainly in the 30-plus years we’ve been going, Universal went home with the most gongs, picking up an impressive five awards on the night. These included a joint award with Warner and MGM for 2021 Title of the Year (No Time To Die); two for its Inglorious Basterds Total Basterds Edition (Best In Class Packaging and Campaign of the Year Catalogue Single), another catalogue award Campaign of the Year Multiple with Studiocanal for The Thing and John Carpenter Collection; Campaign of the Year Specialist for Bisping; The Michael Bisping Story and Outstanding Innovation for its Streaming ‘Live’ to Your Living Room: Stand-Up Comedy with Eddie Izzard and Dylan Moran work.
Comment on Universal’s wins came from the company’s Louisa Mitchell, who said: “I am delighted that the talented team at Universal were recognised so generously for their expertise, creativity, and passion. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees. It was a fantastic event; the team at BASE really did the industry proud.” Further comment came from head of catalogue and TV marketing at Universal John Partridge who added: “It was great to be nominated with so many other amazing examples of physical special editions in the catalogue and packaging award categories, let alone win. The wealth of quality editions on display suggests that the superfan collector is as engaged with physical as they always have been and that distributors are equally engaged with meeting their expectations. Long may it continue!” 
The other biggest winners on the night included Warner Bros Discovery, which won separate statues for both Digital and Physical Distributor of the Year, a joint award for Title of the Year for No Time To Die (shared with Universal and MGM) and Campaign of the Year for TV for the Iron Anniversary work for Game Of Thrones. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment also scooped a quartet, taking in Best In Class Social/PR and a Campaign of the Year for New Release Film up to £15m Box Office for Spider-Man: No Way Home, a Campaign of the Year for New Release Film Over £15m Box Office for Ghostbusters Afterlife and a Creative Marketing Initiative for its Venom x Alexa voice activation initiative.
Lionsgate picked up two awards on the night, for 2021 Independent Label of the Year – Digital as well as the inaugural Hidden Gem award for The Father. The company’s Marie Claire Benson said: ““It was wonderful to receive two awards on behalf of the Lionsgate team. We were thrilled to receive the Independent Digital Distributor award, with one colleague telling me it was the highlight of their career. We’re also delighted to have been recognised for The Father and we're so proud of what we achieved for this film and all involved in it. We look forward to more successes with our British film slate just as we look forward to the next BASE Awards and the opportunity to celebrate our beloved home entertainment industry.”
Also going home with a brace was Altitude, which won twice for Minari, first for the Campaign of the Year for Independent Film as well as a campaign award for New Release Film – Non-traditional. Commenting on its success, Altitude’s Adam Eldrett said: “What a fantastic celebration of our industry, we were incredibly humbled to be shortlisted for MINARI in the Independent Film and Non-Traditional Release categories. Minari was released between two lockdowns and as a result the entire distribution team at Altitude worked incredibly hard to deliver a campaign which worked across theatrical, PVOD and onto standard EST, VOD and Physical. Minari is such a magical and important film and we are all thrilled to be a part of it. Huge congratulations to all the nominees and winners across all the categories.”
More awards and the 2021 Independent Label of the Year – Physical went to BBC Studios, whose Lesley Johnson noted not just one of the on-stage spectacles that took place during the evening to honour the BBC’s output, but also paid tribute to its associated Catalogue Heroes awards recipient (more on those below). She said: “When we arrived and spotted the Tardis on stage we thought there was something afoot, but could never have imagined the scale of the brilliant BBC tribute performance put together in total secrecy by the BASE team to surprise us. They certainly did that! We are completely overwhelmed and thrilled to be awarded OCC Independent Label of the Year for Physical. It’s always harder for smaller labels to cut through against the movie studios with much bigger budgets, so we are especially proud of this. This award is for everyone on the BBC Studios Home Entertainment team who have worked tirelessly through a very difficult year to bring in that result of 5.6 volume share. To be recognised by OCC in this way is a real honour. We are also especially proud of Fiona Ball, Ted Hodson and Jo Harris, whose Category Hero gongs for Operations are so richly deserved. Between them they faultlessly managed an exceedingly complex and stressful transition into Spirit earlier this year, really impressive."
On the retail side, there were gongs for Amazon Prime Video, the Digital Retailer of the Year, and HMV, Physical Retailer of the Year, while the Retailer Platform Initiative of the Year went to Dogwoof. On the Amazon gong, the judges said: “Amazon Prime Video [is] the worthy winner of this hard-fought category for the second year running. Following another year of commercial success and promotional activity including their Home Premier store and their ongoing successful TVOD weekly deals, Amazon Prime Video continues to engage existing customers through strong promotional activity, and entice new consumers across from their SVOD platform, exemplifying the benefits of promoting the co-evolution of Home Entertainment, and the added choice and opportunity it gives audiences. Prime Video continues to innovate and inspire interaction with the growing digital transactional category and are always ready and collaborative partners to the category.”
And when it came to the HMV award, the judges noted: “Amazon Prime Video are the worthy winner of this hard-fought category for the second year running. Following another year of commercial success and promotional activity including their Home Premier store and their ongoing successful TVOD weekly deals, Amazon Prime Video continues to engage existing customers through strong promotional activity, and entice new consumers across from their SVOD platform, exemplifying the benefits of promoting the co-evolution of Home Entertainment, and the added choice and opportunity it gives audiences. Prime Video continues to innovate and inspire interaction with the growing digital transactional category and are always ready and collaborative partners to the category.” Dogwoof’s award, for its virtual cinema on Dogwoof on Demand service, was, the judges added: “This was a wide-ranging initiative that was inventive, intuitive, and used multiple touchpoints with impressive outcomes. The judges felt the launch of a virtual cinema during the pandemic was a bold initiative aimed at supporting the overall industry. Dogwoof secured partnerships from cinemas, and demonstrated a confident understanding of their audience. They utilised a connection-based interactive social media campaign that felt intimate, unique, creative, relevant and responsive to the pandemic.”
The final batch of awards were for category hero across different sectors, winners, including, for Innovation Kyle Daniels, Fetch Media and Will Attard, Warner Bros. Discovery; for Content Protection for Joanna Betts, Corsearch, Ruth Parkinson, The Walt Disney Company, Roz Cochrane-Gough, Universal Pictures and Trevor Albery, Warner Bros. Discovery. For Diversity and Inclusion awards went to Leo Pearlman andPhoebe Arthur, both from Fulwell 73 and Sania Haq, AudienceNet; for Leadership forRudy Osorio, Rarewaves, Sima Westley, Warner Bros. Discovery and Sarah Stanley, Spirit Entertainment; for Operations to Adam Rothwell, ASDA, the BFI’s Ben Stoddart, Fiona Ball, BBC Studios, Jo Harris, Spirit Entertainment, Rosie Burbidge, Sony Pictures and Ted Hodgson, BBC Studios and, for Sustainability Dee Davison, Deluxe, and Ruth Parkinson, The Walt Disney Company.
Comment from one of those Category Heroes, Ben Stoddart from the BFI, who told The Raygun: “I was absolutely blown away to be recognised as a Category Hero at this year’s BASE Awards, so much so I had to be convinced by more than one person that my name and photo were actually up on the big screen! I’ve worked in Operations for nearly 17 years and to be recognised for it by my peers means a huge amount to me both personally and professionally. My thanks to all the people I’ve worked with over the years and especially my manager at BFI, John Ramchandani and my former manager at both the BFI and Tartan Films, Sam Dunn.” 
On to non-awards newsand we’ve been talking to Signature about its slate for the next few months to the end of 2022 and getting an update from one one the industry’s leading Indies. The company’s Jeff Suter said: “The year is going from strength to strength from Signature and we’re hugely excited about our Q4 release. We have numerous theatrical hits releasing this quarter and it marks one of our most varied yet in terms of the content and genres.” As we moved into October, Signature kicked off its Q4 with the home premiere of its big FrightFest and theatrical hit, Fall. This is one of the most terrifying films we at The Raygun have seen for ages! Its Home Premiere release last week follows on the back of a strong theatrical performance, as the company’s Jeff Suter told The Raygun: “It’s been a great success and the theatrical release has set Fall up perfectly. The film is incredibly tense and vertigo inducing and once you see it, you totally get it, it’s a real word of mouth film. In fact, the audience reactions – ‘oh my god have you seen this’ – speak for themselves and are going to help this film reach new heights all the way from home premiere to EST, DVD and Blu-ray”. The title is followed this week by Western thriller The Last Victim, Suter added “This is a top-quality Western film, which fans of the genre will want to seek out”. The following Monday sees another high-octane, high-altitude thriller in the shape of Summit Fever, a Signature production which stars Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Thorp. Another buzzy title with a strong word of mouth building is Vesper. It’s a stunning sci-fi thriller, packed with familiar names, headed up by the ever-dependable Eddie Marsan. Hot on the heels of play at Fantastic Fest, Sitges Film Festival and Grimmfest, Vesper releases in cinemas and EST on October 21st with TVOD 10 days later. It Takes Three, which arrives on October 24th, is a teen romance drama that ticks all the right boxes for its younger audience. The same date sees a digital and physical release for FrightFest hit Terrifier 2. This horror sequel was given the perfect platform with a world at the prestigious horror festival “FrightFest generated an amazing buzz across social media and with fans, and this has helped to elevate the film beyond its core audience to wider genre fans”. There will also be Blu-ray boxset that features both Terrifier titles. Still on the horror sequel front comes recent theatrical hit Orphan: First Kill, which has hauled in more than £2 million at UK cinemas. “We’re absolutely delighted with the results so far, people just love Esther!” said Suter, “it’s surpassed expectations and is set to continue delivering as we manage the film through lifecycle.” The title lands on EST on October 31, in time for Halloween, with the VOD and physical release on November 14th. Orphan: First Kill will be released across, DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD, with a 2-film boxset also available. Another Signature production and FrightFest hit is Hounded, a film that blends survival thriller with class-based social commentary. It features a well-known Brit cast, including stalwarts such as Nick Moran and Larry Lamb alongside Samantha Bond.
More from Signature and on November 4 the company releases the wonderfully titled and charming comedy My Neighbor Adolf, starring David Hayman and Udo Kier as next door neighbours, one of whom may or may not be the eponymous Nazi leader. The film played to great critical acclaim at Cannes and a strong marketing and publicity campaign, led by David Hayman, will help bring this to the British audience. On November 7 Signature favourite Olga Kurylenko stars in the Korean organ-trafficking thriller The Vanished; also on this date comes the much talked about Final Cut – the French remake of super-low budget horror comedy One Cut of the Dead. Arabic twisty crime thriller The Alleys, a hit from last year’s London Film Festival, arrives on the 14th of the month, alongside BAR Fight! a comedy from Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Melissa Fumero. A week later there’s a digital release for biopic Lamborghini, the thrilling story of the man who launched the ultimate supercar brand. It comes with a vibrant and very Lamborghini style artwork, as Jeff Suter noted, “the film has really striking yellow artwork that looks fantastic and will stand out across digital platforms. This is a sexy and twisty biopic not to be missed.” Also releasing in November is L.A. Seduction, an old-fashioned 90s-style erotic thriller, starring Pretty Little Liars favourite Ashley Benson. Three Day Millionaire is a fun and exciting comedy and a sure-fire homegrown hit in waiting. Starring the instantly recognisable Colm Meaney it releases in cinemas and on digital platforms on November 25, Jeff Suter added: “It’s fantastically funny and feelgood. It’s perfect for British audiences and has regional appeal that will help drive its box office and home entertainment success”. Next up on November 28 is The Witch Part 2, the sequel to the Signature horror The Witch. This supernatural horror features all-out action and striking visuals. Also on this date is Diamond in the Rough, a hilarious and super-fun rom-com starring Caitlin Carver and Samantha Boscarino, which is perfect for the social media generation. With December comes a seasonal movie in the shape of Mistletoe Ranch, which is poised to hoover up audiences in the increasingly high-profile genre. As Signature’s Jeff Suter said: “This a great Christmas themed movie which feeds the growing appetite for this genre.” This summer saw the release of Elizabeth: A Portrait in Parts, the definitive and must-see documentary about Queen Elizabeth II. This theatrical hit comes to digital and DVD on December 5th, the latter making a perfect present for monarchists and more in this most significant of royal years. A special edition DVD boasting almost an hour’s worth of additional footage and collectable artcards will be a crowning achievement for the release. Rebel is a further acclaimed social commentary thriller from Adil Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the duo behind the last Bad Boys film and the withdrawn DC outing Batgirl, which will further attract attention to this acclaimed thriller. Releasing on December 12th is Savage Justice, a revenge-thriller that pairs John Malkovich and Robert De Niro for the first time, Jeff Suter added: “This quality action-thriller is a great addition to our slate this quarter, it’s a fantastic genre for home entertainment and we’ll be marketing and promoting the title heavily this December.” Another mood and genre change leads us to Quintessentially British, a light-hearted look at the joys of being British with an all-star cast including Ian McKellen and Tom Allen amongst others. The brilliantly titled Bitch Ass is another film that had its premiere at FrightFest and following the critical acclaim and social media buzz from the festival the genre film will release across digital platforms on December 19. Also on December 19 and closing off Signature’s Q4 is Beautiful Things. This film premiered at Berlin Film Fest and is a quality coming of age thriller with a strong edge.
And staying in December, we’ve also been talking to Eureka about its December release schedule, with the company outlining its plans for the month. Here, as ever, is the com any’s Marcus Garwood, who said: “We round off 2022 here at Eureka Entertainment in fine style with three stunning new releases. First up its a double bill set of horror-comedies – 1939’s The Cat and the Canary AND 1940's The Ghost Breakers. Both films star multi award-winning comedian Bob Hope and Oscar-nominated actress Paulette Goddard and are chock full of ghosts and gags galore. Disc extras include brand new audio commentary tracks on both films with Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby. The sleeve is reversible and features original poster artwork, plus there is both a limited edition slipcase and limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Craig Ian Mann. Masters Of Cinema next and one of the most iconic masterpieces in cinema history, Robert Wiene’s Das Cabinet des Dr Caligari makes its UK debut on Ultra HD Blu-ray. Horror, film noir, and gothic cinema have all been shaped by this film and its nightmarishly jagged sets, sinister atmospheric and psychological emphasis are all superbly enhanced via this 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation from the extensive restoration completed by FWMS in 2014. The external aesthetics are a thing of beauty too, with the limited edition hardbound case featuring artwork by Kevin Tong (Tragic Sunshine). Disc extras include score options by Cornelius Schwer (2014) and Uwe Dierksen and Hermann Kretzschmar (2019), there is also a brand new audio commentary by Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby. The set is completed with a limited edition 100-page book featuring archival writing and articles including vintage writing on the film by Lotte H. Eisner; an original Variety review of the film; rare imagery; and more. Absolutely and categorically not to be missed.”
Last in December for Eureka and Marcus Garwood concluded: “Heading over to Hong Kong next for a Sammo Hung and John Sham produced action film Yes, Madam! (aka Police Assassins). This 1985 film gave a first starring role for both Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock, who stunned audiences with their incredible athleticism and stunt work. Yes, Madam! also went on to launch both a successful franchise (the In the Line of Duty series) as well as an entire sub-genre of action cinema (girls-with-guns – a genre which did not truly exist before this film). It makes its UK debut on Blu-ray from a brand new 2K restoration. Disc extras include (among others) a brand new feature length audio commentary by Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and Michael Worth, a brand new select-scene commentary with actress and martial-arts movie icon Cynthia Rothrock. The release is housed in a Limited Edition O-Card slipcase and also contains a Limited Edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver."
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Yes, we live tweeted the BASE Award, which nestled nicely alongside our broadly inappropriate musings. For more follow us on www.twitter.com/theraygun…
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
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This week’s most talked about…
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