"Club Penton" - Ask questions to Hollywood insider "Penton-Man"

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I’ve been busy searching the web for screenshots of the upcoming Star Wars Blu-rays in order to get an early preview on what there is to come. Where the heck is xylon, when you really need him?

So far only a dubious pirated leak is the source.

I doubt a Sony/Columbia VIP would want to impact LucasFilm/Fox IP just for screenshots

[Penton-Man]

Hey, I’m just an innocent bystander here. I had thought that with all the blogger hype about this set that maybe there would have been some advanced copies sent out to legitimate reviewers of some notoriety (who have a history of calling ‘em like they sees ‘em) so that not only would we have a written review by now, but actual official screenshots to serve as illustrative purposes of said reviews.

My only real fear is that when the screenshots are eventually posted, the Blu-ray.com server will crash and inevitably Ice and Marwin will be travelling at that time somewhere like in the Himalayas, unable to get the site back up and running.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by phansson

That is way to funny.....

How have you been Penton?

Lately, I have had much experience with physicians and like Mark Twain, I have learned "the only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not."

So, you know where that leaves me......

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

I've avoided all threads 'till now just to avoid the inevitable onslaught of kvetching, but stumbled over there just to peak.

The discourse is even uglier than I feared...

Well for some balance, I'll be looking forward to reading your reviews from TIFF, let's not allow Thom to steal all the limelight.

[sharkshark]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Well for some balance, I'll be looking forward to reading your reviews from TIFF, let's not allow Thom to steal all the limelight.

You giving a shout out to Captain Powers?

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Hey, I’m just an innocent bystander here. I had thought that with all the blogger hype about this set that maybe there would have been some advanced copies sent out to legitimate reviewers of some notoriety (who have a history of calling ‘em like they sees ‘em) so that not only would we have a written review by now, but actual official screenshots to serve as illustrative purposes of said reviews.

My only real fear is that when the screenshots are eventually posted, the Blu-ray.com server will crash and inevitably Ice and Marwin will be travelling at that time somewhere like in the Himalayas, unable to get the site back up and running.

Wait...Star Wars is being released on blu-ray? That's fantastic news! Someone should start up a thread about it, stat!

Himalayas! I hear the wi-fi there is excellent. So not to worry.

[Blu-Ray Watcher]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I’ve got a few irons in the fire.

I know you like to hear about any cutting-edge ASM news but, I can’t say much at this time. Only on a rather rare collaborative technical note, that ‘Alembic’ is being used on Spider-man......and to give equal billing to ILM – on ‘The Avengers’. In a nutshell, it permits animation graphics files to migrate between software apps easily, something which was not possible with previous file formats.

If you’re thinking about a career in this sort of thing, here is a more detailed explanation –
http://www.alembic.io/

And if you have any younger brothers or sisters, this is a nice 3D offering from the House of Mouse to young theatre goers , i.e. customized 3D glasses for those 8 years and younger (children's IPD’s are narrower than those of adults) -
http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2011/08...-roars-into-3d

Cool, thanks for the details. And I'll pass that Lion King tidbit along to my sister.

Anyways, I know you're not allowed to talk about ASM (and I'm not asking you to), but something has really been bothering me as of late. I, personally, am super excited for the film, and cannot wait until July 3rd (as you already know). BUT, it seems that this film has to fight a huge uphill battle. For example, as you and I both know, this film is a reboot. However, the general audience does not seem to grasp this. I was in school about a week ago, and was sitting next to some people who were talking about what they thought about Captain America. Now, they aren't as in the loop as I am, and are what you and I could call "the general audience". Naturally, talk of the Amazing Spider-Man trailer came up, where the person I was sitting next to said "They're remaking Spider-Man. That makes no sense", or something along those lines. The general audience doesn't fully get the difference between a reboot and a remake. This worries me. The originals are fresh in people's minds, and due to the lack of Lizard in the trailer (which I understand is due to unfinished CGI), and the tone of the trailer itself, it seems that the trailer is getting a very mixed reaction, and of course, first impressions are everything. My point is, I think this film should start things like viral marketing or even release an official synopsis to get the ball rolling earlier than usual in order to break down the stereotypes that people are having about this film.Things are just so quiet about it, and it's not really exposing the general audience or informing them about what this really is. I just want EVERYONE to be excited about it, and not just me.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by rickah88

Wait...Star Wars is being released on blu-ray? That's fantastic news! Someone should start up a thread about it, stat!...

Well, at least they’re up-front in addressing the changes through a more reputable journalistic source, i.e. The New York Times –
https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=7234

rather than dismissing or outright ignoring the changes as if they didn’t even exist (as others have recently done in the past), after which more creative people have been compelled to find work-around solutions pertaining to another Blu-ray movie of some recent notoriety.....
https://forum.blu-ray.com/5102761-post10454.html

So, a tip of the hat to Lucasfilm Ltd. for their quick responsiveness and honesty about the issue of ‘changes’ in regards to this particular Blu-ray set and using The New York Times to get their message out.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

You giving a shout out to Captain Powers?

He's bigger than me (size-wise).

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Blu-Ray Watcher

...Naturally, talk of the Amazing Spider-Man trailer came up, where the person I was sitting next to said "They're remaking Spider-Man. That makes no sense", or something along those lines. The general audience doesn't fully get the difference between a reboot and a remake. This worries me. The originals are fresh in people's minds, and due to the lack of Lizard in the trailer (which I understand is due to unfinished CGI), and the tone of the trailer itself, it seems that the trailer is getting a very mixed reaction, and of course, first impressions are everything....

Perhaps something for the talent to be made especially aware of during the press events leading on up to the theatrical premiere.

Thanks for the input.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Well, at least they’re up-front in addressing the changes through a more reputable journalistic source, i.e. The New York Times –
https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=7234

rather than dismissing or outright ignoring the changes as if they didn’t even exist (as others have recently done in the past), after which more creative people have been compelled to find work-around solutions pertaining to another Blu-ray movie of some recent notoriety.....
https://forum.blu-ray.com/5102761-post10454.html

So, a tip of the hat to Lucasfilm Ltd. for their quick responsiveness and honesty about the issue of ‘changes’ in regards to this particular Blu-ray set and using The New York Times to get their message out.

I actually liked Bill Hunt's article today about the many revisions of Star Wars over the years. It's basically become fatiguing trying to keep up with every little tweak. Why not just rename the saga SW v1.0, 1.1, 1.2...etc.
Don't get me wrong I'm, extremely, excited for this release...and it sounds like a lot of effort went into it. So, as with any big BD release it will be interesting in the weeks leading up to said release.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Blu-Ray Watcher

Cool, thanks for the details. And I'll pass that Lion King tidbit along to my sister.

Anyways, I know you're not allowed to talk about ASM (and I'm not asking you to), but something has really been bothering me as of late. I, personally, am super excited for the film, and cannot wait until July 3rd (as you already know). BUT, it seems that this film has to fight a huge uphill battle. For example, as you and I both know, this film is a reboot. However, the general audience does not seem to grasp this. I was in school about a week ago, and was sitting next to some people who were talking about what they thought about Captain America. Now, they aren't as in the loop as I am, and are what you and I could call "the general audience". Naturally, talk of the Amazing Spider-Man trailer came up, where the person I was sitting next to said "They're remaking Spider-Man. That makes no sense", or something along those lines. The general audience doesn't fully get the difference between a reboot and a remake. This worries me. The originals are fresh in people's minds, and due to the lack of Lizard in the trailer (which I understand is due to unfinished CGI), and the tone of the trailer itself, it seems that the trailer is getting a very mixed reaction, and of course, first impressions are everything. My point is, I think this film should start things like viral marketing or even release an official synopsis to get the ball rolling earlier than usual in order to break down the stereotypes that people are having about this film.Things are just so quiet about it, and it's not really exposing the general audience or informing them about what this really is. I just want EVERYONE to be excited about it, and not just me.

The idea of another re-boot just does not appeal to me. The old spidey still seems so fresh in the memory. The new Peter Parker does not seem so geeky either. Another mistake in my opinion.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by rickah88

I actually liked Bill Hunt's article today...

I like the T-shirts which he sells on his website.

[Penton-Man]

Can’t make it to IBC but, you are still seriously interested in Beyond HD acquisition? - http://www.pro.sony.eu/biz/lang/en/e.../1219910891494

Then there is a local alternative at the DGA Theatre for SoCal filmmakers interested in seeing imagery acquired in-camera with an 8K CMOS sensor and recorded out at 4K resolution –http://pro.sony.com/bbsccms/ext/ebla..._NonPress.html

[Steedeel]

4K? Now that is worth getting excited about! Penton Man, do you think this technology will be available to mainstream by end of decade?

[Penton-Man]

I can’t comment on the launch timeline of a future consumer device which could in any way impact the marketing or sales of a current product cycle, so you’ll have to ask others for their opinions on that.

I will say that many believe the primary driver in building and offering ‘affordable’ *consumer-sized* TVs with a panel resolution of 4k x 2k will be.....to bring folks glasses-free 3D viewing (3D rez being HD) – without the positional degradation/limitation you may have seen with some other monitors at expos featuring other types of glasses-free 3D viewing solutions having a panel resolution of only 1920 x 1080 pixels.

[Steedeel]

Fair enough, cheers. Reading between the lines the glasses free tech is probably 4 or more years away from working succesfully.

[4K2K]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I can’t comment on the launch timeline of a future consumer device which could in any way impact the marketing or sales of a current product cycle, so you’ll have to ask others for their opinions on that.

Can you comment on what some of the specs of a future (the next) consumer media playback device could be? eg. would it be 4K? higher? Would it use optical media?

I will say that many believe the primary driver in building and offering ‘affordable’ *consumer-sized* TVs with a panel resolution of 4k x 2k will be.....to bring folks glasses-free 3D viewing (3D rez being HD) – without the positional degradation/limitation you may have seen with some other monitors at expos featuring other types of glasses-free 3D viewing solutions having a panel resolution of only 1920 x 1080 pixels.

The 55ZL2 (3840x2160) is supposed to be out in Europe in December this year, but from the web, some people say it's good but others not. Do you have any comments on it and are Sony and other manufacturers producing similar TVs? Would this and others be limited to HDMI 1.4 specs?

Is the resolution of each of the views when viewing 3D content (3840x2160)/9 or lower? I thought some companies were working on more than 9 or a panel that could attach to a TV that could give many more than 9. Is there going to be any content produced at more than stereoscopic (eg. 9 view multiview) that these types of TV could display without conversions or are all these TVs going to convert stereoscopic 3D (or 2D content) into 'fake' multiple views (assuming it shows a different perspective to each of the 9 views)? I know there's some people (incuding the BBC) testing that type of 3D.

[RiseDarthVader]

Hey Penton-Man,
Do you know for TRON: Legacy if the 2.35:1 scenes were shot with any sort of anamorphic lens or was the entire movie shot at 1.78:1 on the Sony F35 and the decision for the switching aspect ratios made entirely in post? Also were there any 2D>3D conversion shots in TRON: Legacy at all?

[Scorxpion]

Hello Penton and How are you? I know you are responsible for Columbia pictures or Sony Pictures and if you speak loudly your voice will be listened by others.In middle east region Sony Blu-ray 3D and FOX 3D are selling them as one disc edition no second disc for 2D playback one of the examples are RIO 3D and Priest 3D so if you don't have now 3D hardware compatibility just you collect for future viewing.My question is and very simple i like to collect 3D Blu-ray which does have another 2D disc for playback viewing at home. Like Tron Legacy done by Disney i bought it today i watch it as 2D and in future as 3D what is happening now is you have to buy them separately and pay too much money as if you are buying two different movies .For GOD sake do not do this for the Middle East Region because i know this does not exist outside this region.