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DVD MARKS 25 YEARS ON THE SHELVES
PIRACY NEWS…
ILLEGAL STREAMING GANG JAILED
PUB GUV’NOR FINED
SPIDER-MAN FINDS A WAY INTO HOMES
NO WAY HOME OFF TO A “FLYING START”
BANNED! LOOKS AT NASTIES…
GOLD SET TO FEATURE
SOUPED UP DRIVE REVS UP
EUREKA UNVEILS SUMMER SLATE…
…AND PLANS AN EXECUTION IN AUTUMN
SECONDRUN HEADS TO VIENNA
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
AT THE MOVIES
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
The past seven days has seen the streaming giants, notably Apple and Netflix, highlighting the shift in industry dynamics after picking up Best Picture and Best Director gongs at the Academy Awards, a double that highlighted once more how much has changed. See out At The Movies section below, but there was another less marked celebration too, as it also marked 25 years since DVD was first launched onto an unsuspecting public in the US, with a trial retail outing. It would take another 12 months or so to land in the UK, this country saw the product launch hosted by Jonathan Ross at BAFTA, but it’s a notable occasion and one can’t help but notice how the two show the ever-changing nature of home entertainment…
We’ll start this week with a piracy update, as the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) has been busy in the courts securing convictions against illegal streamers and fraudsters, with a brace of successful cases against pirates and those enabling dodgy internet services. First, in Hampshire, the country’s trading standards office working with FACT staff successful saw four people jailed for more than 10 years in total. The quartet were convicted at Southhampton Crown Court on illegal streaming of copyright content charges and money laundering charges. Michael Simmons of Bursledon, was given five years and six months in jail on fraud and money laundering charges; Kieran Collins of Great Yarmouth was sentenced to three years in jail on similar charges; Amanda Collins also of Great Yarmouth was given 18 months in jail suspended for two years and ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work and Robert Kurian of Chelmsford, was given a jail sentence or eight months suspended for two years and ordered to conduct 180 hours of unpaid work, both on money laundering charges. All related to offering services such as BT and Sky Sports circumventing payment. Councillor Edward Heron, Hampshire County Council’s Executive Member for Recreation, Heritage and Rural Affairs, said: "Our trading standards officers are active in many areas, and often work in collaboration with other agencies, pooling expertise and skills to detect and pursue those who seek to defraud Hampshire residents. This successful prosecution in collaboration with FACT has helped to ensure that legitimate providers of digital content are supported, and crucially, that consumers are protected from downloading unregulated content. Illegal distribution of content presents significant risks – including children being easily exposed to explicit or age-inappropriate content, as well as people being exposed to malicious software and their data being misused. Other dangers might include electrical safety if adapted streaming devices don’t meet important required standards.”
Kieron Sharp, Chief Executive of FACT, added: “I would like to thank Hampshire County Council Trading Standards for taking on this case following an initial investigation by FACT, assisted by National Trading Standards. The individuals sentenced were involved in running a criminal enterprise that generated substantial profits with no regard for the rights of content owners. FACT continues to pursue those operating illegal streaming services who risk criminal convictions and forfeiture of assets.” Trish Burls, Chair of the National Trading Standards Tri Regional Investigation Team said: “Since September 2018, officers from our Regional Investigation Team have supported Hampshire Trading Standards and were able to assist in coordinated raids, arrests and suspect interviews across UK and Ireland, supported by FACT and other regional police services. Our regional investigators were also able to provide support to the digital review of computers and other devices to assist the investigation and ultimately the successful outcome of the trial. It is hoped this should send out a clear deterrent message to all those involved in this kind of offending, that it is not a victimless crime and will be investigated at every opportunity.
A few days later in Hereford, pub guv’nor Michael Hudson of the Prince of Wales boozer in Ross on Wye was ordered to pay fines and costs of more than £6,000 for illegally airing football from Sky in his premises without the correct licence. Kieron Sharp, FACT Chief Executive, said “Our aim is to help create an effective deterrent to publicans who endeavour to fraudulently show Sky content on their premises and FACT will continue to protect the intellectual property rights of its clients by pursuing those who continue to break the law.” Sara Stewart, Compliance Manager at Sky, added: “Now more than ever it’s important to protect the investment of our customers. Businesses that show Sky Sports illegally can leave our legitimate Sky subscribers feeling short-changed. We actively visit thousands of pubs every season to monitor the games they are showing and continue to support FACT’s work to protect hardworking Sky customers who are unfairly losing business due to this illegal activity. Venues who continue to televise content in this way are breaking the law, and are at risk of being caught, which can result in licensees being fined and having to pay legal costs, and/or losing their personal licence.”
Spider-Man is on his way home. For after a sterling performance at cinemas, the teenage superhero has arrived in the third outing in his current incarnation, No Way Home, with Tom Holland taking on the role of Peter Parker and his alter-ego Spidey, on digital release ahead of the physical bow of the film on April 4. The title has moved quickly in its first few days on EST after Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the title, which bodes well for the imminent DVD, Blu-ray and 4K SKUs arriving in stores. The title is currently topping the Official Film Chart this week, ahead of The Matrix Resurrections as the highest new entry and is on a par with other digital trailblazers according to this week’s bulletin from BASE and the Official Charts COmpany, which noted: “The film, which is currently only available on digital download, flies straight to Number 1 in its first week, landing itself in the company of other massive week one performances from major blockbusters including Avengers: Endgame, Frozen 2, Avengers: Infinity War and Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker.”
For its part, SPHE has been busy and said the campaign for the No Way Home release is one of its most ambitious, with plenty of innovation. Ina Batra, Product Marketing Manager, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment said: “We couldn’t be happier with Spider-Man No Way Home’s performance. EST sales are off to a flying start and it’s great to see the fan’s love and support for this film translating from theatrical to the digital download market. Our marketing campaign is one of our most ambitious yet and includes some new formats for us including the launch of our very own, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment TikTok account which we are very excited about. We also have to thank all of our wonderful retail partners for their support and collaboration on this title to make sure our digital and physical retail set up is as fantastic as the film!”
Meanwhile, Tuesday night sees the launch of a new two-part documentary series Banned! The Mary Whitehouse Story, which charts the life and work of the anti-obscenity campaigner, whose targets included, as we all know, later included video nasties and it was her work that helped bring about the 1984 Video Recordings Act. The first episode airs on Tuesday night, March 29, at 9pm, the second, which looks like the one more likely to include the nasties furore, follows a week later. As the BBC noted: “In her final campaigning phase, Mary gets closer to the seat of power than anyone thought possible with her relationship with Mrs Thatcher. The birth of home video and her railing against so-called ‘video nasties’ raise her profile even further. But the growth of all media, leading to eventual advent of the internet, overtakes anything Whitehouse can do to censor content.”
Among those interviewed for the programme, are film critics such as Peter Bradshaw, and, also most notably for our industry, former S Gold and Sons supremo Barrie Gold, who was cleared at crown court on assorted obscenity charges relating to videos stocked and sold by the wholesale giant. As Gold recently told The Raygun;’s Tim Murray for a feature on nasties for the Blu-ray release of Censor by Second Sight: “I volunteered to go to court… They kept raiding us and taking stuff. I got to the point where they did it again and I just thought, ‘I’ve had enough of this.’ It didn’t feel as if I was doing anything wrong, I was actively trying to avoid selling things I shouldn’t be selling but I was being penalised. I was acquitted and given costs for the defence. They thought I’d just say it was OK, let them destroy the tapes and carry on. I wanted to help the whole industry; for rental dealers, it showed if you hadn’t seen the film, you couldn’t be found guilty.”
Mention of Second Sight leads us on to more from the label, as collectors were left positively salivating over the past week as the indie unveiled one of its forthcoming titles and it’s another absolute doozy. For Second Sight is releasing the definitive version of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive, one of the defining films of the past 20 years,. The Second Sight release is a labour of love for the label, and Refn has been involved in pretty much every aspect of the release, from the 4K mastering, the design and packaging and all the regular Second Sight features, such as a lavish accompanying book and a raft of extras alongside the seminal Ryan Gosling film. Commenting on the release, the label’s Chris Holden said: “We’ve been working on Drive for over a year now so seeing the reception the announcement has received has made it all worthwhile. Nicolas Winding Refn has been closely involved with the project from the start and been a fantastic support. With the original post production facility on board, and the original colourist creating the new Dolby Vision grade, the 4K mastering was in the best possible hands and given the official ‘Director Approved’ stamp. We knew Drive was perfect for a 4K release and that it needed attention to detail. We worked with Nicolas Winding Refn’s regular design agency AllCity to create some incredibly striking artwork across all parts of the release in keeping with the film’s iconic imagery. We feel very proud indeed to be able to present Drive as a partnership between Second Sight Films and NWR, and as the only release of the film with his personal involvement.”
As ever, as we near the end of the month (and yes, that’s the first quarter of the year over and done with, remarkably) and, as ever, Eureka and its Masters Of Cinema imprint are among the first to unveil schedules for the coming months, this week revealing its titles due in June. And here’s national accounts manager Marcus Garwood to talk us through the titles for summer month. He said: “Crime, action and melodrama are the key genre elements of our June slate here at Eureka Entertainment. We start off with a 1920 silent era gem from Dracula director Tod Browning. Starring the iconic Man of a Thousand Faces, Lon Chaney (The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, The Phantom Of The Opera), alongside the glamorous Priscilla Dean (Drifting, White Tiger), Outside The Law follows the story of hard-boiled jewel thief Molly Madden (played by Dean) as she teams up with safecracker Dapper Bill (played by Wheeler Oakman, Lights Of New York) to avenge the framing of her father for murder by Black Mike Sylva (Chaney). It's released on our Masters Of Cinema imprint as a 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from a 4K restoration conducted by Universal Pictures. Extras include a new video interview with author / critic Kim Newman, plus a collector’s booklet featuring an essay by Richard Combs. Staying with The Masters Of Cinema Series and a 1972 film by Director Lee Hsing (who is often referred to as ‘the godfather of Taiwanese cinema’). Execution In Autumn has its 50th Anniversary this year and we are extremely proud to be bringing this stunning restoration to Blu-ray for the first time ever. It's a tragic tale whereby the film’s central character Pei Gang kills a pregnant woman – who indicated him as the father of her unborn child – and her cousins; for this he is sentenced to death, and will be beheaded in autumn, the traditional season for executions. His grandmother tries to save him, but is unable to, so instead makes him marry while in prison so that the Pei line does not die out. The first print run of 2000 copies will be encased in a limited edition slipcase. Disc extras include a new video piece by film critic Tony Rayns.”
More on Eureka’s June releases, with the final title another addition to its burgeoning kung fu catalogue. National accounts manager Marcus Garwood continued with his outline, saying: “Our third release for June is one for our ever-growing martial arts fanbase as we present on home video for the first time in the UK, a new 2k restoration of director Huang Feng's The Shaolin Plot. Breaking new ground at the time for action cinema and also giving Sammo Hung (Skinny Tiger And Fatty Dragon, Millionaires Express) one of his first major acting roles The Shaolin Plot is a towering classic that deserves to be recognised as one of the best and most important works of martial arts cinema. The first print run of 2000 copies will be wrapped in a limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring stunning new artwork by Darren Wheeling. Disc extras include a new feature length audio commentary by Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and Michael Worth, plus a limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver.”
And, of course, if it’s the last Friday of the month, it’s time for Arrow Video to take to social media and all the right places to tell the world about its next line-up, this time spilling the beans about what’s in store for its devoted fans in the month of June. As ever, it’s a diverse selection, with classics new and old as well as some undiscovered or rarely seen gems, as well as what we reckon to be one of the greatest creature features ever made and a further addition to a comprehensive range featuring one of the finest directors ever… Chief among them is the film said to be Italian horror great Lucio Fulci’s swansong movie, Demonia, a film destined for cinemas but ended up on TV, with the feature seeing him returning to his late 1970s and early 80s heyday. Here’s the company’s Fran Simeoni on the slate, he said: “We’re delighted to announce the usual bevy of exciting releases for our fans on Friday with a late shocker from Lucio Fulci, Demonia, this deluxe edition comes packaged in bespoke cross style packaging with a limited edition exclusive disc featuring a candid doc with the man himself alongside more treats on the main feature disc, gorgeously illustrated throughout the package by Graham Humphreys. Next we have our final instalment in our triptych of Fassbinder box sets featuring new restorations of four of Fassbinder’s more obscure works alongside three made for TV features and a host of new extras, with an extensive 80-page booklet and stunning new artwork by Sister Hyde. Then we have the worldwide Blu-ray debut of telekinetic terror The Initiation of Sarah from a new restoration carried out by Team Arrow with all new extras and artwork by Luke Insect. Sticking with horror we turn to the Edge of Sanity with Anthony Perkins once again providing the madness, this time in a Jack the Ripper inspired tale of terror from exploitation producer Harry Alan Towers. Another UK Blu-ray debut from another Arrow restoration, packed with extras and new artwork by Graham Humphreys. Finally we announce our gorgeous edition of True Romance this time for the North American market.”
Monday releases and due in stores from thriving world cinema distributor Second Run is another slice of Czech business in the shape of Coach To Vienna, a 1966 outing highlighting the country’s acclaimed New Wave, Second Run;’s Chris Barwick said; ““COACH TO VIENNA is one of the most significant films of the whole Czechoslovak New Wave – distinguished by the fact that it was banned before even being released, and remained unseen for many years. Now beautifully restored and presented from a new 4K master by the Czech Archives, we’re thrilled to present this powerful and often harrowing film for the first time anywhere on Blu-ray. Those who have been enjoying our recent slate of Czechoslovak restorations will not be disappointed - and we hope they will find the film a revelation.”
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“The phone stopped ringing. It was like, ‘What do you mean we’re not doing National Treasure 3? It’s been 14 years. Why not? Well, Sorcerer’s Apprentice didn’t work, and Ghost Rider didn’t really sell tickets. And ‘Drive Angry’, that just came and went.
“I’ve got all these creditors and the IRS and I’m spending $20,000 a month trying to keep my mother out of a mental institution, and I can’t… It was just all happening at once.
“When I was doing four movies a year, back to back to back, I still had to find something in them to be able to give it my all. They didn’t work, all of them. Some of them were terrific, like Mandy, but some of them didn’t work. But I never phoned it in. So if there was a misconception, it was that. That I was just doing it and not caring. I was caring.”
Nic Cage on his many made-for-video DTV releases…
AT THE MOVIES
And as the dust settles on the Oscar ceremony – the punch-ups (well, it was one, singular, but enough to dominate the headlines), the presenters, the controversy over not featuring all the awards in the telecast (some technical categories were awarded before the big night) and more will be the subject go conjecture and debate for some time afterwards, but there’s no denying the power of the streamers. Mind you, Coda has featured incessantly in For Your Consideration ads we saw over the past month or so, as the film gained momentum and Apple upped its spending, showing that, maybe, at the end of the day, it’s still about how much a distributor spends and the momentum a film can gain, rather than how and who distributed it. On the home entertainment side, it’s a shame that Dune didn’t get more of a fanfare for its six Oscars, but the buzz should increase sales, and despite his on-stage slap, Will Smith’s win should give another boost to King Richard… You can see all the winners here https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2022
Meanwhile, with the Oscar safely tucked into its back pocket, Coda is heading out of cinemas, away from the Apple+m streaming service and into theatres (not the American cinemas, but actual theatres with stages). Yes, get ready for Coda, the musical and stage show. Seems as if producers Vendome and Pathe are working on a stage version, complete with songs, and the involvement of pioneering theatre company Deaf West, which works on signed and spoken word stage craft. Vendôme Pictures’ Philippe Rousselet said, “We, with Pathé, have been humbled and honoured to see the success of CODA from Sundance, through its premiere on Apple TV+ and awards buzz this season. This is a timeless story that we’ve always believed in and knew would resonate with audiences far and wide. For this reason, we are looking forward to continuing our incredible journey and bringing this universal story to life from screen to stage. We are excited at the caliber of Broadway talent interested in collaborating with us on the project.”
Back in the real world, or rather the world of film production and announcements, Take That jukebox musical Greatest Days is moving on to the big screen. Elysian Film Group, the company started by former Studiocanal chief Danny Perkins, will be looking after the film in the UK, overseeing the production as well as distributing. The film follows a group who have the time of their lives at a boy band gig and then meet up a quarter of a century later, and features Take That’s songs. The film will star Aisling Bea, alongside the ever-excellent Alice Lowe and Nativity star Marc Wootton. The remaining trio of full-time Take That members, Gary, Mark and Howard (Messrs Barlow, Owen and Donald) are signed up as executive producers and the boy band is loosely based on their 1990s antics…
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Follow us on www.twitter.com/theraygun…
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
This looks a blast…
ECNALUBMA
Big forthcoming Apple title…
THE OBLIGATORY GDPR BIT
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