Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[Cbeck]

Originally Posted by deepred

I wonder why TT chooses not to mark their limited editions.

I think they would have to if they do second runs. I am guessing at all this, I have no knowledge of what may happen. I just think it is obvious the studios do not care about most catalog releases. It isn't ten years ago. I love blu ray, but it has not taken off like DVD from the perspective of the studios. You can't expect them to keep pumping money into the catalog films you want to see if their sales don't justify the risk. They obviously find it more beneficial to license these titles out.

[Paul.R.S]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

Thanks for that. If I'm reading this correctly, the thing with royalties is simply that it's a single payment for the royalties with everything on one quarterly statement instead of constant royalty payments spread out over several statements. So all that vitriol a few pages back from posters about TT being slimy by avoiding royalty payments all together was total bogus.

Perhaps you mistyped and included the word "quarterly" when you didn't mean to because other portions of your post indicate that you understand this but . . . Just a minor point of clarification: There is/are no quarterly statement(s). It's a one-off, upfront payment. Redman states that that is precisely what is attractive to the studios.

"It appeals to the studios because for them it’s a model that eradicates paperwork."

"It’s a much cleaner model than say licensing 50 films from them and saying ‘We’ll pay you a $50,000 or $100,000 advance against royalties,’ because then they’re dealing with royalty statements every quarter . . ."

[jetthead]

Originally Posted by Paul.R.S

Just a minor but IMO significant point of clarification on this: There is/are no quarterly statement(s). It's a one-off, upfront payment. Redman states that that is precisely what is attractive to the studios.

"It appeals to the studios because for them it’s a model that eradicates paperwork."

"It’s a much cleaner model than say licensing 50 films from them and saying ‘We’ll pay you a $50,000 or $100,000 advance against royalties,’ because then they’re dealing with royalty statements every quarter . . ."

Yeah the studios can make some money on titles they (probably) were never going to release on Blu-ray anyway. Makes sense from the studios point of view.

[Musicguy]

Originally Posted by klauswhereareyou

Has Sony even released a catalog title themselves this year in North America other then the warehoused for years Ishtar???

"Funny Girl" & "From Here to Eternity" so yes, they released 2, woo-hoo!

[klauswhereareyou]

Originally Posted by Musicguy

"Funny Girl" & "From Here to Eternity" so yes, they released 2, woo-hoo!

And Twilight Time will have released 14 of their titles by the end of the year. Hilarious...sorta.

[NoirFan]

What's up with Mill Creek? I thought we'd have a lot more Sony double-feature discs from them by now.

[klauswhereareyou]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

What's up with Mill Creek? I thought we'd have a lot more Sony double-feature discs from them by now.

What happened...Twilight Time happened. I'm guessing Twilight Time gets first dibs.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by klauswhereareyou

What happened...Twilight Time happened. I'm guessing Twilight Time gets first dibs.

I had expected more overall output from Mill Creek - there are more than enough films for both companies to release. As far as I know, Mill Creek has nothing upcoming, and hasn't released any catalog stuff since May.

[klauswhereareyou]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

I had expected more overall output from Mill Creek - there are more than enough films for both companies to release. As far as I know, Mill Creek has nothing upcoming, and hasn't released any catalog stuff since May.

Well..TT is grabbing up all the good stuff, what's Mill Creek going to release, Who's Harry Crumb????

[Paul.R.S]

Originally Posted by FatalSpiderbite

Wasn't surprised about Body Double but movies like Sleepless In Seattle and As Good As It Gets getting TT releases instead of studio release still stun me (even though I wouldn't own either one of them personally). But I would like the option to rent them (and other TT releases) on BD. That option is taken away in this release format.

I agree. There are a LOT of catalog titles amongst the TT library alone which I'd love to rent but simply do not need to own.

It would be wonderful if Ted Sarandos/Netflix was paying attention to boutique BD releases and approaching a TT and buying copies from them to rent to their subscribers. But not only is that unlikely (they're too busy spending hundreds of millions to acquire streaming rights), if they did I'm sure there are some unscrupulous folks out there who would report that limited availability BD they rented as, um, "lost." Meanwhile Netflixers who rent discs continue to have to pay a fee for "Blu-ray access" but I digress . . .

[deepred]

Rapture was one that I was curious about as it sounded like something I would like but I can't afford to blind buy at TT's prices.

[SpartanIre]

Originally Posted by Paul.R.S

I agree. There are a LOT of catalog titles amongst the TT library alone which I'd love to rent but simply do not need to own.

It would be wonderful if Ted Sarandos/Netflix was paying attention to boutique BD releases and approaching a TT and buying copies from them to rent to their subscribers. But not only is that unlikely (they're too busy spending hundreds of millions to acquire streaming rights), if they did I'm sure there are some unscrupulous folks out there who would report that limited availability BD they rented as, um, "lost." Meanwhile Netflixers who rent discs continue to have to pay a fee for "Blu-ray access" but I digress . . .

I believe the TCM channel and one or two others have aired some of these films in the past couple of years...

[klauswhereareyou]

Are these transfers actually available in high definition streaming legally somewhere?

[Paul.R.S]

Originally Posted by SpartanIre

I believe the TCM channel and one or two others have aired some of these films in the past couple of years...

Thanks for the tip.

But not only does that broach the question of whether the presentations are HD or not but--and I suppose this is where I am a "victim" of my own consumption preferences--I wouldn't be getting any available supplements. And I prefer discs. And I wanna watch when I wanna watch. And I don't watch enough cable to warrant paying TWC's higher prices for premium packages--basic cable here. I'm a nearly disc-exclusive household: When the 82-incher goes on, so does the OPPO (although I did watch Charlie Rose last night). No DVR.

I know I can't be the only "old" guy here.

[klauswhereareyou]

Originally Posted by Paul.R.S

Thanks for the tip.

But not only does that broach the question of whether the presentations are HD or not but--and I suppose this is where I am a "victim" of my own consumption preferences--I wouldn't be getting any available supplements. And I prefer discs. And I wanna watch when I wanna watch. And I don't watch enough cable to warrant paying TWC's higher prices for premium packages--basic cable here. I'm a nearly disc-exclusive household: When the 82-incher goes on, so does the OPPO (although I did watch Charlie Rose last night). No DVR.

I know I can't be the only "old" guy here.

I'm wit you. Cable is a waste.

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by Paul.R.S

Perhaps you mistyped and included the word "quarterly" when you didn't mean to because other portions of your post indicate that you understand this but . . . Just a minor point of clarification: There is/are no quarterly statement(s). It's a one-off, upfront payment. Redman states that that is precisely what is attractive to the studios.

"It appeals to the studios because for them it’s a model that eradicates paperwork."

"It’s a much cleaner model than say licensing 50 films from them and saying ‘We’ll pay you a $50,000 or $100,000 advance against royalties,’ because then they’re dealing with royalty statements every quarter . . ."

No, I did not mistype, perhaps you misread but I will clarify. I was saying that (according to Redman), the royalty payouts would show up on a single quarterly statement [belonging to the studio] instead of being spread out over several quarterly statements, that's all. It just seems that someone along the way misinterpreted that as meaning that there would be no royalty payments.

[ctyank]

Sexy Beast just arrived in my mailbox! Woohoo!

[rkolinski]

Originally Posted by klauswhereareyou

Are these transfers actually available in high definition streaming legally somewhere?

I have a Roku streaming device and these are the ones which are available on that device:

Christine (Rent - Amazon & Vudu)
Night of the Living Dead (Redbox Instant - Free with Subscription)
Journey to the Center of the Earth (Rent - Amazon & Vudu)
Mysterious Island (you have to purchase it from Amazon or Vudu)
Fright Night (Free with Crackle & Redbox Instant - Free with Subscription, purchase @ Amazon and Vudu)
Cover Girl (purchase from Amazon & Vudu)
Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines (Rent - Amazon & Vudu)
As Good as It Gets (purchase from Redbox, Amazon & Vudu)
Desire (rental - Amazon & Vudu)
Bite the Bullet (purchase from Amazon & Vudu)
Demetrius and the Gladiators (Rent - Amazon & Vudu)
Pal Joey (purchase from Amazon & Vudu)
Picnic (purchase from Amazon & Vudu)
The Roots of Heaven (rental - Amazon & Vudu)
Bye Bye Birdie (purchase from Redbox, Amazon & Vudu)
Steel Magnolias (Free with Amazon Prime)
Enemy Mine (rental - Amazon & Vudu)
Bonjour Tristesse (Purchase from Amazon & Vudu)
The Rains of Ranchipur (rental - Amazon & Vudu)
The Blue Lagoon (free with subscription @ Redbox, Purchase @ Amazon & Vudu)
Beloved Infidel (rental - Amazon & Vudu)
Experiment in Terror (rental - Amazon & Vudu)
In Like Flint (free with Netflix)
Our Man Flint (rental @ Amazon & Vudu)
Nicholas and Alexandra (Rental @ Amazon, purchase @ Vudu)
Major Dundee (rental @ Blockbuster, purchase @ Amazon & Vudu)
Philadelphia (purchase @ Redbox, Amazon & Vudu)
Hard Times (fre @ Crackle, purchase @ Redbox, Amazon & Vudu)
Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (free @ Netflix)
Sleepless in Seattle (Free @ Amazon & Redbox & purchase @ Vudu)
Sexy Beast (free @ Netflix & Amazon, rental @ Vudu)
Body Double (rental @ Amazon & Blockbuster, purchase @ Redbox & Vudu)
Alamo Bay (rental @ Blockbuster, Amazon & Vudu)
Drums Along the Mohawk (free @ Amazon)
Mindwarp (purchase from Amazon & Vudu)
The Way We Were (Free @ Amazon, purhcase @ Redbox & Vudu)
Oliver! (purchase from Redbox, Amazon & Vudu)

Refer to Post #1 of this thread to find out which ones are not available for streaming at the moment by comparing that list with this one.

[EffenBlue]

Originally Posted by Lonely and Blu

To add to what chriszilla said above me...

Read THIS interview with Nick Redman, producer and co-founder of Twilight Time. He explains TT's business model (including how they settled on the magic number of 3,000) and a lot more that many of you need to understand. Hopefully it will clear up some of the things that many of you boldly assume. Plus, it's a great interview. I learned quite a bit from it.

Interesting read. Part 2 with Julie Kirgo contains an interesting paragraph that I've been curious about for a while:

MRH: Soon after, I was having coffee with a friend who writes for one of the major publications in Toronto, and I asked him about Touch of Evil (1958), which is available as a limited Blu-ray in Britain, along with Silent Running (1972), and I asked if he thought the films would be coming out soon in North America. His response was ‘I don’t think so,’ because Universal’s Blu-ray of Psycho didn’t do well at all.

Some people like to say that if company "x" put this movie or that movie out instead of TT then it would sell more, but if Universal wasn't happy with a movie like Psycho's sales then lesser know movies must not stand a chance.

Which brings me to my question. Other than the weekly numbers available at the numbers, are the actual sales figures available anywhere?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by EffenBlue

Interesting read. Part 2 with Julie Kirgo contains an interesting paragraph that I've been curious about for a while

Unrelated, but that's a great avatar. Friday the 13th Part 2 is my favorite film of that entire franchise by miles and miles.