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HARRY POTTER AND THE APRIL RELEASE DATE
BVA TO AID DIGITAL REVIEW
EONE GETS A BUNCH OF TITLES
GALLANT LEAVES
LEGENDS LIVE ON
DRAMA AND DOCS DOMINATE AT ITV
TRAM CRASH AHEAD
SCANBOX GETS IN THE RING
A GAME TO GET YOUR TEETH STUCK INTO
PLANET NOT SAVED FOR Q4
ANUVA HIT FOR REVOLVER
SKINS CONTROVERSY TO AID RELEASE
OPTIMUM'S GUIDING LIGHT
ATLANTIC CROSSING OVER
BFI ENJOYS BOOM
EVENT OF THE WEEK
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
RELEASE OF THE WEEK – SKYLINE
AT THE MOVIES
SITE OF THE WEEK
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
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 It Was A Good Week For… Warner, with Harry Potter firmly on the slate and the franchise helping the major to some impressive financial results
It Was A Bad Week For… It was a bad week for… freetards. We found that name while trawling through online comments about the Digital Economy Act (see below). This name, used to describe people who consistently illegally download and believe they should be entitled to free material, was one we've not come across before, but we love it… Oh, what a week it's been for Harry Potter and his chums. There's been the news of a special BAFTA to mark the huge success of the film franchise, but, more pertinently, there's been a flurry of activity on preparation for the latest movie outing, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, arriving on DVD and Blu-ray. The weekend saw a facebook initiative for the film's scores of UK followers (900,000 and counting), who, in a filmed piece from star Emma Watson, were given the chance to choose the eventual Blu-ray sleeve for the film. After that decision was made (see here for Ms Watson unveiling the winner http://www.facebook.com/HarryPotterUK), Warner then officially unveiled an April 11 release date for the film in a number of different versions. The full marketing campaign is not being revealed yet, but Warner has promised a "huge multi-platform national campaign targeting all audiences" and reflecting the size of the franchise. Speaking about the facebook initiative, Warner Home Video UK marketing director Sarah Bird said: "We’re delighted to be offering our UK and Irish Harry Potter fans the chance to get more involved in the film franchise. This exciting and innovative Facebook initiative for the Blu-ray launch of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 is the first of its kind and further demonstrates our commitment to loyal fans." The BVA was this week among the assorted interested parties who are being given the opportunity to defend the Digital Economy Act in a judicial review being carried out into the legislation. Internet service providers Bt and TalkTalk were granted the review towards the end of last year, saying that the DEA, which will clamp down on illegal downloading online by, in its most extreme provisions, cutting off the Internet connections of repeat offenders, could infringe consumers' rights, and was rushed through parliament. Now trade bodies, including the BVA, will be allowed to make oral and written submissions and representations in court highlighting the importance of the act in protecting the creative industries. The government, as well as the ISPs, allowed the assorted organisations to make representations. Producers' organisation PACT chief executive John McVay summed up the mood among the creative industries when he said: "The act can help repair the damage that illegal downloading causes to the UK creative industry and reduce the threat to the hundreds of thousands of jobs that the creative companies supports. The DEA is the result of many years of consultation and presents a reasonable and balanced solution." That move came as culture secretary asked OFCOM to investigate whether the act's provisions for blocking sites for persistent offenders were actually workable. OFCOM is expected to report back later in the spring. We mentioned last week that there were further announcements due from eOne, the indie trailed the impending deal with The Wild Bunch and FrightFest, and now eOne has revealed the full details of its plans. The deal sees eOne getting the home entertainment distribution rights to titles from European operator Wild Bunch, and includes titles from the Wild Bunch and Wild Side arms of the French-based company, as well as the new joint venture between the company and Frightfest, which will see horror films carrying the long-running festival's seal of approval released through Wild Bunch. The first title released under the deal will be April's Enter The Void, directed by Gaspar Noe, while the first Frightfest title will be psychological horror Shadow due in May. eOne's Jon Bourdillon said: "We are excited to team up with Wild Bunch. These new releases are undoubtedly an exciting addition to our growing distribution catalogue." Wild Bunch's Alain de la Mata added: "We enjoy an excellent corporate relationship with Entertainment One, and its impressive home entertainment team and very professional sales force make them the perfect fit for our product."  One of Gallant's last projects he oversaw at ITV Studios Home Entertainment was the forthcoming Legends series of concerts and subsequent DVD programmes. Filmed at Metropolis in West London, ITV persuaded assorted legendary names to play one-off gigs at the studios in front of an invited audiences of devotees. The series of six DVDs released on May 11 takes in Bill Nelson, of Be Bop Deluxe fame, prog rockers Van Der Graaf Generator, sixties legends The Zombies, Caravan, Roy Harper and Barclay James Harvest. All will also air on television. Staying with ITV, and ITV Studios Home Entertainment is looking forward to a busy few months in Q2, with detectives, dramas and documentaries forming the core of its focus, in keeping with the aims of the network itself too. Key programming includes Monroe, tipped as the UK's answer to house and a major push from ITV (its transmission will be backed by a seven figure marketing campaign, the DVD is due in April); Vera, a detective drama with a Brenda Blethyn in the title role (also April); the fifth season of Lewis, a detective franchise that continues to grow (May); the latest from Martina Cole, The Runaway, which will follow the same route to market as the excellent The Take, airing as a high profile series on Sky One ahead of its DVD bow in May; more from Miss Marple and Case Histories, a crime thriller with a difference, due in June. Factual programming includes The Lakes, the similarly-themed The Dales and Lion Country. "With the dramas we'll be looking to leverage the catalogue on the back of the new releases," said ITV Studios Home Entertainment's Kate Walker. "We'll look at driving the whole range and box sets of previous series." Meanwhile, coming sooner than that is a title from ITV Studios Home Entertainment that is genuinely being released due to popular demand. Coronation Street's tram crash to mark its 50th anniversary which aired over a week at the end of last year, was one of the highlights of the programme's five decade history and is now due on February 21 as a two-disc box set. Marketing will include five on-air trails after episodes of Coronation Street mentioning the tram crash, each reaching at least 10 million people. ITV Studios Home Entertainment's Kylie Featherstone said: "We are also leveraging ITV.com and the Weatherfield Gazette to support the release, ensuring all fans know the most dramatic week in Coronation Street history is available to buy on DVD."  This week on the website: we've had loads go up, features, some interesting marketing developments, loads of trailers… As ever, for more, click through to www.theraygun.co.uk
Some interesting acquisitions news from Scanbox, the High Fliers-owned imprint. The company has picked up the rights to the much-admired and keenly sought after British boxing flick Risen. The timing is perfect, with Scanbox planning a release for May (limited theatrical and then DVD), somewhere between the theatrical and home entertainment launch for Momentum's The Fighter, which has heralded a return for pugilistic pictures. Scanbox's tale has the added benefit of being a homegrown story, and, like The Fighter, is based on a real story, this one following the tale of Welsh boxer Howard Winstone. It stars, among others, Shane Ritchie. Scanbox's Ken Law said: "The timing couldn’t be better with the release of The Fighter. There’s not been a big Hollywood boxing film since Cinderella Man six years ago, so it’s good for retail buyers and consumers to see that there is consumer appetite for such sporting-based stories." An interesting initiative from Fox to support its forthcoming release of Vampires Suck, the February 14 Twilight spoof from the same team that made Epic Movie and Meet The Spartans. It has developed an online game, which premiered on teen website Sugarscape before it moves over to the film's facebook page this weekend. The game offers fans of the film to whack a twi-hard, in keeping with the daft nature of the film. It already boasts a fair few plays – more than 1,500 in a matter of days – and flags up the imminent release too. Have a go during a quiet moment today here. More television and the fourth episode of the BBC's latest factual extravaganza Human Planet. And with its audience holding strongly at around the 5 million mark, it's another winner. It looks at human beings as a species, putting them under the same kind of scrutiny as the BBC's ever-excellent natural history programmes would for animals. 2 entertain is putting an impressive marketing campaign together for the February 21 release. “We’re releasing Human Planet hot on the heels of great ratings and a wave of publicity and we’re giving it high level marketing support,” said 2 entertain’s Nancy Twynam. This will include television advertising around similar documentary programming on the likes of Channel 4, Sky One and Discovery, with further support in the form of press advertising in The Times, Guardian, Independent, Evening Standard, Metro and Time Out. Revolver's first homegrown production, Anuvahood, is on its way and the trailer went live for the film, a spoof of Brit hoodie flicks, at the end of last week. Within a matter of days it had notched up almost 150,000 views on youtube, with more on facebook too. All of which bodes well for its impending release, the film will be released theatrically in March ahead of home entertainment later in the year. Revolver's marketing director Jon Sadler said: " It was one of the most watched videos on YouTube’s homepage on the weekend and has now been viewed 148,000 times in under a week on YouTube alone, plus we are now up to 25,000 likes on Facebook – which put us well ahead of any other films released in the same period, so we are delighted by this early response to the film. The comments we have had from the public in response to the trailer have been overwhelmingly positive and there is a genuine demand from our growing fan base to see the film upon its opening weekend on March 18."  You can't have failed to have noticed the press coverage surrounding the latest series of Skins, from the predictable outrage at the new UK series, the fifth, on E4 last week and the huge ruckus that followed the debut of the US version of the programme on MTV (advertisers pulling the plug and the likes). Well, the coverage is playing into the hands of 4DVD, currently getting ready for its release of the fifth series in March. The debut episode last week was the second highest rated multi-channel programme of the evening, beaten only by Eastenders, with viewing figures of somewhere in the region of 1 million live and on E4's +1 service. This beat the final episode of the fourth season. The outcry and column inches given to the brand since its bow on US screens caused such a stink can only help the impending DVD release too.
Talking of plenty of press outrage, we at The Raygun can remember those dim and distant days some 20 years ago when the original Lovers' Guide came out on video, via Pickwick, and the resulting furore it caused. Well, as that anniversary approaches, we note with some interest the press coverage surrounding the new 3D take on the franchise due from Optimum next week. Unlike the original, there's no cloak and dagger secrecy involved (we on the trade press weren't told about it until it was released to avoid outcry ahead of its arriving on shelves), so much so that the forthcoming Blu-ray 3D release was featured heavily in Sunday's News Of The World. And it's a sign of the times that instead of calls to "ban this filth" (© every newspaper at the time), it's editorial was supportive and, while slightly tongue in cheek, not calling for the heads of either Optimum or the BBFC. Speaking of the release, Optimum's Ellie Davies said: "This film has been described as the Avatar of sex guides and that really says it all. It’s the 20th anniversary of this once controversial, now much loved brand, and it’s a different and exciting release for us. Out in time for Valentine’s Day, this is one for the gifters who are more concerned with passion than perfume this February.” More on TV, and as well as the bow of the aforementioned Skins, this week also saw the much-lauded (and heavily advertised) launch of the new HBO and US programming-led Sky Atlantic channel. The debut of the channel and the eagerly-awaited new Martin Scorsese-produced series Boardwalk Empire drew more than 400,000, impressive given that it's only available to Sky subscribers. As previously noted, the launch means that HBO can now finally get down to the business of releasing programmes such as Boardwalk Empire on DVD and Blu-ray, particularly following its recent success with The Pacific. An interesting press release lands in our in-box, from the BFI Southbank, that highlights the fact that, even in January, when the public is notoriously pressed for cash, the venue enjoyed a record month in terms of admissions, with more than 140,000 visitors through its doors to see such titles as Breakfast At Tiffany's and The Big Sleep. The success of the cinema (always good to see, especially as it'll have positive knock-on effects in terms of sales of titles such as that), has been matched by recent strong performances from the sister DVD label. It too has enjoyed some notable successes, with the likes of its Chaplin At Keystone and others all outperforming expectations. BFI's James Blackford said: "The high sales of our recent Chaplin collection and Jacques Tati HD releases comes on the back of some fantastic press coverage highlighting the quality of the products as well as some targeted, strategic marketing. We're really pleased to see these titles perform so well in the current environment." Next up is the already announced next documentary project, Tales From The Shipyard, due on February 14. We'll end with some good news for our industry, as this week saw an ebay trader jailed for six months after admitting six counts of imorting counterfeit DVDs and three of money laundering. Gary Finch, of Brighton, was advertising mostly TV box sets as genuine, only to send out snide copies. Police were alerted after a customer reported him. Finch said he was doing it on behalf of a shady Malaysian gang. Detective sergeant Mick Richards from the Sussex Police Economic Crime Unit said “I am pleased that the sentence was passed. It is clear that Finch knew he was acting unlawfully and was earning a substantial salary for acting as an intermediary. He tried to minimise his role within the organised crime group, but his role was instrumental in over a quarter of million pounds being transferred to overseas criminals. We have worked in close partnership with FACT throughout this investigation and will always look to pursue those criminal networks and to strip offenders of their criminal assets.”
 EVENT OF THE WEEK
We were lucky enough to be invited along to the premiere of Optimum's first homegrown production (see last week's newsletter), Brighton Rock, a new take on Graham Greene's original Britisgh gangster novel, now updated and set during the mods and rockers heavy days of the early 1960s…
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"If you feel as passionately as I do about record shops and think they should stay on our high streets, please give His Master's Voice a chance and buy your next album from HMV."
Secret Shopper Mary Portas on the retailer in her weekly Daily Telegraph magazine column. RELEASE OF THE WEEK It was one of the surprise theatrical hits of the latter part of 2010, raring to the top of the UK box office charts (before that pesky Harry Potter fella came along), amassing almost £3 million. It may not initially have seemed like a blockbuster, but Momentum certainly turned Skyline into one. And now it is aiming to continue this event-style marketing through to the sci-fi film's March 21 home entertainment release. Coming in a cool lenticular sleeve for both Blu-ray and DVD, ir willl be supported by a TV campaign that will feature spots on both terrestrial and satellite TV, the latter targeted around Sky Sports' live football. Press spots will appear in the tabloid and lads' magazines. As Momentum's Adam Eldrett noted: "Our press campaign will be significant to ensure Skyline continues to look and feel like an event release." Spoof invasion-style press ads will run on the radio and Spotify, with further online spoofs. FSDUs will be QR-friendly, giving tech-savvy punters the opportunity to find out more about the film. Eldrett concluded: "Our release of Skyline is in every way akin to a major Hollywood blockbuster, laden with the best special effects around. We have sky high hopes that the film will perform for us on DVD and Blu-ray."
 AT THE MOVIES
If we didn't have a self-imposed ban on the phrase "gaining momentum" during any mention of the company of the same name, we'd use those words to describe the ongoing success of its hit The King's Speech. Despite being knocked off the top spot, the film still beat its first weekend's haul in its fourth week of release and has now made almost £25 million. Expect this one to run and run. It was deposed by Disney's Tangled and while that film may have been one of Disney's most expensive ever animated outings, its £5 million plus opening was impressive. Other new entries were The Mechanic (just shy of £1 million), and How Do You Know (£0.375 million). It's long been rumoured, few were sure if it would actually happen or not, but it appears as if John Woo's English language take on his classic The Killer, one of the films that introduced his unique style to UK and US audiences, is going to happen. And it'll be in 3D. Woo himself may not direct, that right will go to John H Lee, the director of 71: Into The Fire (due soon from Showbox). The only name attached so far is Jung Woo-sun, from the excellent Icon title The Good The Bad The Weird. Fletch lives. No, really. Or at least he could do. The long dormant franchise may be making a return, after Warner acquired the rights to the Fletch novels, following the exploits of the eponymous investigative journalist. It's long been mooted after Warner's first two film adaptations helped Chevy Chase to his iconic 80s comedy status. Kevin Smith was reportedly working on a third outing more than 10 years ago and the story resurfaces every few years. Now, however, it looks as if it's back on track, although no word yet as to who will star. It used to be that you'd wait years for a biopic, often until the subject had actually departed this mortal coil. But in an Internet age, where everything is immediate, and in a post-Social Network world, all that's changed. This week news emerges of a third (yup, that's right, third) film about Julian Assange and the Wikileaks brouhaha. The latest will centre on Assange's relationship with The New York Times and The Guardian newspapers, and is based on an article in the latter. Hurt Locket writer Mark Boal is involved. It joins a documentary about Assange and another biopic based on a yet to be published biography is also said to be in the works… News you should already have read this week… Joseph Gordon-Levitt is said to be set to team up with Christopher Nolan again for The Dark Knight Rises (the Internet is burning up with speculation as to who he'll play). And Henry Cavill is set to become the new Superman for Zack Snyder's latest comic book flick… SITE OF THE WEEK After our look last week at children re-enacting this year's Oscar nominations, here's an equally daft look at what those films should really have been called. Thanks to our pals at Name for that, and thanks to our old mate Toby for this film thesis generator TWEET OF THE WEEK We review every film we watch via Twitter, follow us at http://twitter.com/#!/theraygun TRAILERS OF THE WEEK We nearly done a cry just watching this trailer. Feelgood guy stuff: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/winwin/ Hey, it's The Hangover. For ladies. Kind of. (It actually looks better than that…) http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/universal/bridesmaids/ A sequel to a film not many saw, but causing something of a buzz this week: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/elektraluxx/ It's Superbowl time (well, nearly), so there's an onslaught of high profile TV spots for this summer's blockbusters on the way. Here's the latest Pirates Of The Caribbean teaser: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1107925529/ To subscribe to The Raygun newsletter, please email info@theraygun.co.uk
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