Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[hariseldon]

I think any real expectations of SAE/TT reprinting anything OOP is reading WAY TOO much into what appears to be a poorly worded Marketing Release. Essentially they'd have to start from scratch with the licensing/payment/legal stuff and go from there.

Repressing the last 1/3 or 1/2 of the original 3000 assuming they didn't press them all already is different. Making sure the 3 year exclusive period stay alive by not letting TT go belly-up and Out of Legal Existence is an important thing.

New Stuff like an encore edition is a completely different planet.

[Aclea]

Originally Posted by SonnybytheSea

I'm just wondering how the Disney take over would have effected licensing deals already set before the merger? Disney can prevent further licensing deals, but anything before the merger would have to wait until the contract runs out. They couldn't prevent the labels from releasing what they already paid for!

Didn't Shout mention that Fox never allows restorations and creation of new masters of their titles, all masters were done in house and basically any label that wanted a title needed to use Fox's approved master?

They can't prevent existing deals being carried out until the end of the licensing period, but they clearly didn't feel it worth their while to provide the promised restored masters of The Iron Horse, Alien Nation, Fallen Angel or Whirlpool, probably because the restorations were cancelled in the run up to the sale and Disney didn't see them as a priority after (to be fair to Disney, TT waited years for Fox to remaster The Quiller Memorandum, which probably cost them sales: that said, from a quality point of view it was worth the wait because it's an outstanding remaster of a film that had never been treated well on home video). In those cases, aside from Whirlpool, where TT clearly went with an old master, I'd imagine there was a refund of any monies paid upfront, but it's probable that since it was an ongoing deal there was a payment schedule dependent on the receipt of delivery materials before they had to shell out.

[SonnybytheSea]

Originally Posted by Aclea

They can't prevent existing deals being carried out until the end of the licensing period, but they clearly didn't feel it worth their while to provide the promised restored masters of The Iron Horse, Alien Nation, Fallen Angel or Whirlpool, probably because the restorations were cancelled in the run up to the sale and Disney didn't see them as a priority after (to be fair to Disney, TT waited years for Fox to remaster The Quiller Memorandum, which probably cost them sales: that said, from a quality point of view it was worth the wait because it's an outstanding remaster of a film that had never been treated well on home video). In those cases, aside from Whirlpool, where TT clearly went with an old master, I'd imagine there was a refund of any monies paid upfront, but it's probable that since it was an ongoing deal there was a payment schedule dependent on the receipt of delivery materials before they had to shell out.

Thanks that makes more sense! Comments from Kino and Shout it sounds like Fox would license title that hadn't been remasters and in some cases (Kino) they would triad one title for another if Fox wasn't going to restore the film in time. I personally think that once Disney picks the bones of Fox's catalogue title for there own services (Disney+/Hulu) will eventually see them license out to other labels (earliest being 2022/23)!

[Brandon K]

Originally Posted by slimdude

Why some people are so surprised. Every customer who has ordered movies from SAE, should've received that same email notification today. If you've checked your email it should be in your inbox.

My first orders with TT and SAE were on Sunday. I signed up for the TT mailing list (and confirmed I was already on it today by trying to sing up again), and today when I tried to sign up for the SAE mailing list, it said I was already on it, confirming your point that they automatically sign you up when you order.

However, since Sunday, I haven’t seen any newsletters or announcement emails from either of them. I have seen all my order confirmations etc so I know I’m getting their emails fine on my end.

[Brandon K]

Originally Posted by jmclick

Navigating the Twilight Time website is an exercise in frustration and wasted time ... especially since they've added back in all the out-of-stock titles, which means more pages of nothing-at-all to click through.

They’re “only” listing 120+ as opposed to their full catalog of 400+ (according to Blu-ray.com), so who knows what they’re doing...

It’d be nice to see their complete catalog on their site for reference, with an “in stock” filter for buying.

I don’t disagree though that their site is awful for browsing on mobile. But I will say that as a web developer myself, I love responsive design and design for mobile... it can be great if done right. If it isn’t though, I definitely prefer old school sites such as SAE for mobile browsing.

[hariseldon]

Originally Posted by Brandon K

They’re “only” listing 120+ as opposed to their full catalog of 400+ (according to Blu-ray.com), so who knows what they’re doing...

It’d be nice to see their complete catalog on their site for reference, with an “in stock” filter for buying.

I don’t disagree though that their site is awful for browsing on mobile. But I will say that as a web developer myself, I love responsive design and design for mobile... it can be great if done right. If it isn’t though, I definitely prefer old school sites such as SAE for mobile browsing.

They've basically added back the items that went OOS Monday and Tuesday -- it's not quite that simple with 3 or 4 of the Sunday items added back and a half dozen items that went OOS around the same time in the early morning Tuesday hours not of the list). It essentially like the went back to the list that it would have been early Monday morning, but with the current stock determining which button's are active. The items that have gone OOS since around 5-6am ET Wednesday are being removed like normal. It's mostly that group of items that went OOS 6am Monday to 6am Wed that are stuck (again with some odd windowed exceptions).


It might be nice to see the full catalog and you can actually get to some items manually that were on TTM and now OOP, but items that were OOP before TTM website existed or were exclusive SAE items aren't there at all.

This is still in the database
https://www.twilighttimemovies.com/m...3d-2d-blu-ray/

while something like Experiment in Terror or Swamp Water are not

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Yup, all of Disney's major revenue streams have been indefinitely shut down - namely their theme parks and theatrical releases. Even when they open up their revenue is going to be pittance compared to what it used to be for a very long time. Not so exciting to go to the magic kingdom with all the guests and staff wearing masks and gloves with social distancing guidelines.

My mind is picturing the guy at Disneyland in the Mickey Mouse costume, with the huge MM mask on his head, waving his white-gloved hands.

Me, I've never been to any of the Disney parks, and have no desire whatsoever to break that streak. That said, if I had to be there this summer, I'd rather it be with a bunch of guests and staff wearing masks and gloves than not wearing them.

[Dollar Colonel]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

I think any real expectations of SAE/TT reprinting anything OOP is reading WAY TOO much into what appears to be a poorly worded Marketing Release. Essentially they'd have to start from scratch with the licensing/payment/legal stuff and go from there.

Repressing the last 1/3 or 1/2 of the original 3000 assuming they didn't press them all already is different. Making sure the 3 year exclusive period stay alive by not letting TT go belly-up and Out of Legal Existence is an important thing.

New Stuff like an encore edition is a completely different planet.

This is where I would love to see the contract. You'd think studios would have language in there to terminate the deal if ownership changes hands. Even roofing contracts have similar language.

Part of me hopes (with all evidence pointing to the contrary) that the reason for the Fox moratorium is because Disney's lawyers want to take full inventory of rights, royalties, and licenses before signing new deals.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Dollar Colonel

Part of me hopes (with all evidence pointing to the contrary) that the reason for the Fox moratorium is because Disney's lawyers want to take full inventory of rights, royalties, and licenses before signing new deals.

I was thinking that maybe Disney wants to do a full audit of exactly which Fox titles (film, TV, whatever) they have in their possession, where the materials are located, and what state they're in before they move on any decision about what they will do with which. They'd be smart to do their own accounting instead of relying on whatever documentation Fox handed over to them. Given current events, this might not be a top priority right now.

[Wernski]

I'm thinking SA is just keeping their rights in place for the titles they're still selling until they're done selling them. So no other studio comes around and licenses Gidget while SA is still trying to move the TT Gidget stock and releases a competitive Gidget blu, maybe even sending a cease and desist letter to SA to stop them selling their original TT Gidgets. I doubt anyone at SA is really looking to restart the TT machine and start making more product.

[jayembee]

As one very silly person put it...and now for something completely different...

As some folks have reported, they've discovered that somewhere between ordering and shipping, a title or two they've ordered sold out. And that they'd be credited for the discs they wouldn't get. I found myself a bit concerned that it might happen to me while waiting for my order to ship.

My concern increased a bit when I noticed that two of the titles I ordered -- Chilly Scenes of Winter and The Man in the Moon -- lost their "Add to Cart" buttons. I hadn't heard anything from TTM about it, so I logged into my account to see what the status is. It's "Awaiting Shipment". So far, so good.

However, four of my ordered titles have curious notations:

The two aforementioned titles say:

"Unfortunately this product is no longer for sale so it cannot be reordered."

While two others say:

"This product cannot be reordered because it's out of stock."

It's the fact that they say "cannot be reordered" that intrigues me. That suggests to me that all four titles have been packed with the others, and I'll get them, but if I cancel the order at the last minute, or the package goes astray, I'm S.O.L.

I'm hoping that "Awaiting Shipment" means the discs have all been picked, packed, and just waiting to be posted. I suppose I'll find out in due time.

La de da, la de da.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by jayembee

However, four of my ordered titles have curious notations:

The two aforementioned titles say:

"Unfortunately this product is no longer for sale so it cannot be reordered."

While two others say:

"This product cannot be reordered because it's out of stock."

It's the fact that they say "cannot be reordered" that intrigues me. That suggests to me that all four titles have been packed with the others, and I'll get them, but if I cancel the order at the last minute, or the package goes astray, I'm S.O.L.

That just means that the title is sold out so if you want to order a second copy you cannot.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Gunsnroses092789

Just got an updated email from SAE omitting the reprinting part and adding this to the end:

No further details will be made available until after July 1, 2020.

That was also in the original email.

[koberulz]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

I think any real expectations of SAE/TT reprinting anything OOP is reading WAY TOO much into what appears to be a poorly worded Marketing Release.

The fact that they sent out a new release an hour later which removed all mention of reprinting makes that pretty clear.

[Bugg]

Maybe it meant they have reprinting rights to American Buffalo.

[Dollar Colonel]

Originally Posted by Bugg

Maybe it meant they have reprinting rights to American Buffalo.

Oh please. They could release it with a limited slipcover and a breathless writeup about the ultimate realization of two-man stage dramas and it would fly off the shelves.

[RalphoR]

Disappointed that the 3 Worlds of Gulliver has sold so poorly. It has a lesser Harryhausen imprint but it's still a fun movie.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Dollar Colonel

Oh please. They could release it with a limited slipcover and a breathless writeup about the ultimate realization of two-man stage dramas and it would fly off the shelves.

Needs real buffalo fur on the slipcover

[drownsoda]

What would the point be of Screen Archives acquiring Twilight Time's catalog if they weren't planning on reprinting titles?

[MovieDood]

Originally Posted by drownsoda

What would the point be of Screen Archives acquiring Twilight Time's catalog if they weren't planning on reprinting titles?

To sell their product for profit. Why else?