Spielberg confirms Indy films & E.T. coming to BD in 2012

[RingTrick]

Great news!

http://digitalbits.com/#mytwocents

Just a quick early update for you this morning with some very big and cool news...

At last night's L.A. Times/Hero Complex screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark in Los Angeles, director Steven Spielberg confirmed that the Indiana Jones films are "coming soon" to Blu-ray, but only when producer George Lucas is ready. Spielberg would apparently like that to be within 6 months, while Lucas is apparently on more of a 12-month schedule. [Editor's Note: Our industry sources continue to tell us to look for the release in the 2nd half of 2012, as part of Paramount's 100th studio anniversary celebration.] The print that was shown last night was the digital restoration that will be used for the Blu-ray, and it apparently looks terrific. Spielberg reportedly made a point of noting that nothing has been tampered with in the film and there's no added dialogue, which drew some laughs from the crowd for obvious reasons. It's not yet decided if the set will include all four films in the series or just the unreleased trilogy. Star Harrison Ford was also on hand at the event as a guest and said he'd be up for doing a 5th Indy film as long as his character "isn't going to Mars" (which drew more laughs as you can imagine). Talks for a sequel are apparently under way.

Spielberg also confirmed again that E.T. is coming to Blu-ray from Universal in 2012, but likely only the original theatrical cut. (Excellent!!!) He asked the audience if they'd care if the "new" version wasn't on the Blu-ray, which generated a big "NO!" Spielberg acknowledged this and said he regrets making the changes he did for the DVD.

So there you go - some good news indeed! Thanks to a whole bunch of our old friends (and many longtime Bits readers - too numerous to mention, but you know who you are) who were on hand last night and who e-mailed afterwards with these details. Let's just say our inbox was pretty full by Midnight!