Ask questions to Sony Pictures Entertainment insider "paidgeek"

[iceman]

This thread is dedicated to asking questions of industry insider "paidgeek" (Sony Pictures Entertainment) who has graciously taken the time to participate here. paidgeek and all our insiders do this out of their free time and to try to keep us informed to their best abilities, and therefore are to be treated with respect and courtesy.

Before asking a question, please skim at least the last weeks worth of posts in order to make sure that the question hasn't already been asked or answered. Using the search function is also always a good idea. Please conduct your inquiries in a professional manner and avoid asking "chicken little" questions or asking when unannounced titles will come out.

paidgeek - Sony Pictures Entertainment - Intro - Track posts

[paidgeek]

Hello again.

I'm sorry for any inconvenience it might have caused that I have not been keeping up with the threads or posting lately.

I'll do my best to devote time to answering questions again, but I'm sure you will understand if I get tied up with the day job....the one that pays my mortgage...

[JasonR]

Glad to finally have you back!!!

[Elandyll]

Welcome back Paid !
We all also hope to see Max come back here again soon.

Back to business
With Toshiba trying a last offensive round (probably to try to generate some saels to reassure Uni and Para, and maybe with the faint hope of turning Warner around before the fateful May 31st deadline), can we expect a similar wave of ads/ infos coming around soon from the BDA (and maybe the new line of players seen at the CES) ?

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Elandyll

Welcome back Paid !
We all also hope to see Max come back here again soon.

Back to business
With Toshiba trying a last offensive round (probably to try to generate some saels to reassure Uni and Para, and maybe with the faint hope of turning Warner around before the fateful May 31st deadline), can we expect a similar wave of ads/ infos coming around soon from the BDA (and maybe the new line of players seen at the CES) ?

To the best of my knowledge, there will be no let up in Blu-ray promotion activity. I think the catalyst for the current situation has been the retailers, and I expect them to continue to push for Blu-ray to be the single format they offer to their customers.

[JasonR]

Do you expect more to go exclusive, or just a push by having more Blu movies in stock?

[sj001]

Welcome back Paidgeek! Good to have you here once again!

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by JasonR

Do you expect more to go exclusive, or just a push by having more Blu movies in stock?

I expect more to go exclusive, but this is not my area of business so take this as a personal opinion.

[martinstraka8282]

Hi Paid, Welcome back!

Do you think Toshibas latest moves are really to increase sales for the longevity of the format, clearance players and movies, or as Bill Hunt suggested, putting themselves in a position to have more bargaining power with the BDA when they are ready to throw in the towel?

Even Toshiba must know that they cant win, and not only that but that the demise of HD DVD looks to be happening faster than even i expected.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by sj001

Welcome back Paidgeek! Good to have you here once again!

Thanks, please know that I regret not being able to devote more time here lately. Just not enough hours in the day....

[sj001]

What perhaps is in the pipeline for educating folks on the format? Now that the BDA essentially thinks the war is over? Does Sony or the BDA plan on having perhaps dedicated Blu-ray reps to help push the format in retail stores?

[davidPS3]

Welcome back. Glad to see you have returned and looking forward to your insight.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by martinstraka8282

Hi Paid, Welcome back!

Do you think Toshibas latest moves are really to increase sales for the longevity of the format, clearance players and movies, or as Bill Hunt suggested, putting themselves in a position to have more bargaining power with the BDA when they are ready to throw in the towel?

Even Toshiba must know that they cant win, and not only that but that the demise of HD DVD looks to be happening faster than even i expected.

It's speculation on my part (always dangerous), but if they have inventory, why not try to move it before the retailers refuse to even handle it...

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by sj001

What perhaps is in the pipeline for educating folks on the format? Now that the BDA essentially thinks the war is over? Does Sony or the BDA plan on having perhaps dedicated Blu-ray reps to help push the format in retail stores?

We have a number of activities here, but educating customers can be expensive in terms of actual product demonstrations. We are looking at some options.

[JasonR]

Not asking specifics, but should we expect some big Sony releases announced in the coming months?

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by JasonR

Not asking specifics, but should we expect some big Sony releases announced in the coming months?

I would say so... and we are going to try some new features to test PiP and BD-Live.

[JasonR]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

I would say so... and we are going to try some new features to test PiP and BD-Live.

Awesome!!!

[Slec]

Welcome back! Hope all has been well and healing up nicely.

I'm fairly new to this, so please excuse my ignorance in what may be a silly quesiton. It seems as though studios are preparing movies for release on a 1:1 ratio (i.e. the movie is picked, then prepared and released). With the direction things have taken this year, is there a time in the near future (say by end of 08) where studios are preparing their films en masse, to get the prep work completed for future releases, even if dates have not been set?

Again, not knowing much about how this is done, but this type of commitment would certainly show a difference.

Thanks

[ezcobar411]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

I would say so... and we are going to try some new features to test PiP and BD-Live.

This is good to hear. I can think of a few movies that I would like to see asap.

[bangy38]

Welcome back Paid! I have a couple questions about some Sony Pictures Classics titles that have been released. First, I was wondering if you could offer some insight on the decision to windowbox Paprika. I was also wondering if there's any chance of ever seeing a remastered release of House of Flying Daggers (perhaps in the form of a special edition). I believe in the past you've mentioned that Sony did not have access to the original film elements and acquired the master as a finished product (please correct me if I'm wrong)... I'm just wondering if there's any chance at all of ever seeing a remastered version one way or another.

Thanks for the time you give to the forum!