Twilight Time Discussion Thread

[davidthenikonuser]

Originally Posted by stvn1974

When is the Blob going up for pre-order? I want to ***** and moaning about how much it costs and the fact that it is limited to 3000 but I want to wait until closer to the actual release date before I do.

I'm guessing the end of September for a near Halloween release.

[bruceames]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

I have no great love or loyalty towards either film truthfully, both are so-so to me though I much prefer Mulholland Dr than As Good As It Gets. The point I was making was that no film is too "important" when it comes to being released by Twilight Time. If a film such as The Way We Were that was phenomenally successful at the box office and entered the cultural zeitgeist is now "reduced" to being released in a limited edition 3000 run from Twilight Time, then don't think that it can't happen to Mulholland Dr. either.

Absolutely, Mulholland Dr. has fantastic cult appeal and well sell very briskly if Twilight Time were to ever release it.

I suppose you think Gone With the Wind isn't too important either. Maybe the term "important" is not the best word, perhaps "big" is better apt. Historical Box office and Oscars won on catalog titles aren't that good a indication of what will sell well on home video today (depending on how well it holds up over time). Much better indicators are cult appeal, popularity (a good indicator is # of IMDb votes) and how highly regarded the film is. Mulholland Dr. scores exceptionally high in all three of those categories and so yes, there are some films that are too big for a limited 3000 copy release and this is one of them.

[thompsonjohn]

Twilight Time continues to blow my mind/piss me off. A couple weeks back I called them up and asked when the money from which they check in your account to make sure you have the funds during the pre-order process would be returned to my account, the answer is 48 hours. I ONLY inquired about cancelling, but ultimately said no I would not like to cancel let the order stand as it is, I want the movie.

The movie I'm referring to is "Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia" which is selling fast. Well, a few days ago I e-mailed and asked when the first shipments would be sent out as in the past they've sent me pre-orders before the scheduled release date. What follows is the response I got to my e-mail just about an hour ago..

...this order was canceled – did you call or email previously about cancelling it or wanting to change something. You will need to place a new order online. regards

So, I logged onto the SAE website, that status of the order in question is labeled as "Pending", not "Canceled." So, I went ahead and put in an order for another copy just in case these idiots actually cancelled my original order just for asking what the process is if I had cancelled it. This is absolutely insane.

Unfortunately, it was about 40 minutes too late when I found out about all this information so their offices were closed and no one is there to take my call, but tomorrow I'm going to call them up and figure out what the hell is going on here.

[itsaboutHD]

Originally Posted by thompsonjohn

Twilight Time continues to blow my mind/piss me off. A couple weeks back I called them up and asked when the money from which they check in your account to make sure you have the funds during the pre-order process would be returned to my account, the answer is 48 hours. I ONLY inquired about cancelling, but ultimately said no I would not like to cancel let the order stand as it is, I want the movie.

The movie I'm referring to is "Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia" which is selling fast. Well, a few days ago I e-mailed and asked when the first shipments would be sent out as in the past they've sent me pre-orders before the scheduled release date. What follows is the response I got to my e-mail just about an hour ago..



So, I logged onto the SAE website, that status of the order in question is labeled as "Pending", not "Canceled." So, I went ahead and put in an order for another copy just in case these idiots actually cancelled my original order just for asking what the process is if I had cancelled it. This is absolutely insane.

Unfortunately, it was about 40 minutes too late when I found out about all this information so their offices were closed and no one is there to take my call, but tomorrow I'm going to call them up and figure out what the hell is going on here.

I could be wrong, but I think Twilight Time and SAE are two different entities. It seems that the issue you have is with SAE, and apparently they have issues :-)

[thompsonjohn]

Originally Posted by itsaboutHD

I could be wrong, but I think Twilight Time and SAE are two different entities. It seems that the issue you have is with SAE, and apparently they have issues :-)

Sorry I refer to them as being one entity, I e-mailed SAE and SAE e-mailed me that response.

[thompsonjohn]

Things get even more bizarre. The SAE website lists that I tried to order "Bring Me the Head..." a number of 3 times.

My initial pre-order made on 2/19 in now listed as cancelled which I never asked to be cancelled. Then there's another order made days later on 2/21 that is "Pending" and the odd thing about this one is the order number. It appears that every single order number ends with "7782", well my second order which I never placed ends with "ADM."

Then of course is the order I just placed now because I really do want the film and don't want to lose out on it and whoever from SAE e-mailed me, they told me my order was cancelled! But, obviously two orders, one of which I didn't even place on the SAE website says differently. This is such a clusterfcuk.

Stupid shit like this really just makes me wish SAE/Twilight Time didn't exist and some other more reliable company or a studio themselves just put all these good titles out. Like I'm sure someone else has said before SAE/Twilight Time is a major necessary evil. Such a love to hate, hate to love company. I just wish they could run their shit properly.

[kuro_sawa]

These guys are the bling bling rappers of film distributors. Their response to "you more than legitimately screwed me over, here's proof" would be "we don't care!" as they show you a stack of bills.

[Yojimbo]

Originally Posted by thompsonjohn

Stupid shit like this really just makes me wish SAE/Twilight Time didn't exist and some other more reliable company or a studio themselves just put all these good titles out. Like I'm sure someone else has said before SAE/Twilight Time is a major necessary evil. Such a love to hate, hate to love company. I just wish they could run their shit properly.

I know it was just said previously, but to reiterate, your issue is with SAE, not Twilight Time. They are two separate companies.

[Cocophone]

If company A uses only company B to distribute their product then company A needs to pay close attention to how company B is treating their customers. If company B which was chosen by company A is screwing up my order then I would have an issue with A and B.

[Douglas R]

Originally Posted by thompsonjohn

Twilight Time continues to blow my mind/piss me off. A couple weeks back I called them up and asked when the money from which they check in your account to make sure you have the funds during the pre-order process would be returned to my account, the answer is 48 hours. I ONLY inquired about cancelling, but ultimately said no I would not like to cancel let the order stand as it is, I want the movie.

The movie I'm referring to is "Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia" which is selling fast. Well, a few days ago I e-mailed and asked when the first shipments would be sent out as in the past they've sent me pre-orders before the scheduled release date. What follows is the response I got to my e-mail just about an hour ago..

My sympathies are entirely with SAE if they have to spend time constantly dealing with trivial emails, such as those enquiring when items will be despatched even before the announced release date, and it's probably not surprising that confusion arises if someone phones them, asks when their bank will be charged or whatever, and then starts dithering about whether to cancel an order or not.

I've been dealing with SAE for more years than I can remember and have ordered hundreds of items from them and have never had to raise any sort of issue with them.

[JoeBuck]

Originally Posted by Douglas R

My sympathies are entirely with SAE if they have to spend time constantly dealing with trivial emails, such as those enquiring when items will be despatched even before the announced release date, and it's probably not surprising that confusion arises if someone phones them, asks when their bank will be charged or whatever, and then starts dithering about whether to cancel an order or not.

I've been dealing with SAE for more years than I can remember and have ordered hundreds of items from them and have never had to raise any sort of issue with them.

If you can't deal with questions that come with a retail job (which can sometimes be incredibly stupid) then dont get into a retail job.

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by JoeBuck

If you can't deal with questions that come with a retail job (which can sometimes be incredibly stupid) then dont get into a retail job.

yup, simple risks of the business.

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by wormraper

yup, simple risks of the business.

Not to mention he would have gotten his answer by simply reading this thread or TT's Facebook page: It's one of the March 11 titles held up because TT demanded non-eco cases. I'm waiting on All the King's Men instead (it's "pending" like everyone else's orders), but given the sales figures (and to paraphrase my earlier query which was only to this thread & overwhelmed by all the Mulholland Drive squabbling), I can understand them delivering Alfredo Garcia's head before Willie Stark's.

[thecalm_7]

Originally Posted by Cocophone

If company A uses only company B to distribute their product then company A needs to pay close attention to how company B is treating their customers. If company B which was chosen by company A is screwing up my order then I would have an issue with A and B.

You're talking logical, no sir, that won't work. It just doesn't work to think things through and have good business nowadays.

I would never order from SAE again, but some of the titles I want are probably the fast movers and probably won't be available a TCM.

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by thecalm_7

You're talking logical, no sir, that won't work. It just doesn't work to think things through and have good business nowadays.

I would never order from SAE again, but some of the titles I want are probably the fast movers and probably won't be available a TCM.

If you won't order from SAE, then you don't want the movie -- except from scalpers on eBay, that is.

[thompsonjohn]

What's bizarre is why would they just cancel my order which I dearly want without asking or telling me first or after it happened, but instead place another order for the same movie for me 2 days later and not tell me about that, it's screwing with my bank account because when you pre-order they take the $35 out of your account that day it's ordered for 48 hours then put it back. So money randomly disappeared and came back.

Then I just simply asked when I could expect it not even knowing they cancelled it and RE-ORDERED it for me! And they stuck to the cancelling thing for which remember I never asked for I simple asked about it, what the process was and they also did not tell me they placed another order for me, but told me to place another order so then I would have TWO copies "Pending."

No one is on the same page at this company. When dealing with any customer via customer service, no matter what they ask, they should ask you for your information so they can see what you've bought, ect. I'm guess whoever you deal with via e-mail just answers your questions best they can off the top of their head, the person I talked to on the phone seemed much more knowledgeable.

By the way, whenever I say Twilight Time or SAE I don't mean to mix them up I just associate them as being one in the same, everything I'm doing is through SAE's website.

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by thompsonjohn

What's bizarre is why would they just cancel my order which I dearly want without asking or telling me first or after it happened, but instead place another order for the same movie for me 2 days later and not tell me about that, it's screwing with my bank account because when you pre-order they take the $35 out of your account that day it's ordered for 48 hours then put it back. So money randomly disappeared and came back.

Then I just simply asked when I could expect it not even knowing they cancelled it and RE-ORDERED it for me! And they stuck to the cancelling thing for which remember I never asked for I simple asked about it, what the process was and they also did not tell me they placed another order for me, but told me to place another order so then I would have TWO copies "Pending."

No one is on the same page at this company. When dealing with any customer via customer service, no matter what they ask, they should ask you for your information so they can see what you've bought, ect. I'm guess whoever you deal with via e-mail just answers your questions best they can off the top of their head, the person I talked to on the phone seemed much more knowledgeable.

By the way, whenever I say Twilight Time or SAE I don't mean to mix them up I just associate them as being one in the same, everything I'm doing is through SAE's website.

(a) Glitches happen. As long as one of them says "pending" (i.e., placed but not yet ready to ship) you should be OK. As far as the rest, SAE is human just like everyone else; they're just a little warehouse off a country road in rural Virginia. (I've seen the location via Google Earth.)

(b) Apparently you're a little unclear on the term "preauthorization hold"; Google is your friend. If you can't deal with preauthorization holds on your checking account balance, don't use a debit card.

[rrpmpstck]

Things like this are why I dread when they announce a film I love, because I know it will be a major hassle and cost way to much. It's like paying a hooker extra to kick you in the junk after your finished.

[thompsonjohn]

Apparently the mere mention of cancelling anything over the phone prompts the woman with an itchy trigger finger to go ahead and cancel the order by the end of our conversation when I said I don't want to cancel I was just inquiring she went ahead and replaced the order without my knowledge.

Then the lackey that does customer service e-mail responses has no knowledge of anything and just somehow knew the product was cancelled but how could he not know the order was placed again via the company? So, he tells me to order again because sure why not have two copies of "...Alfredo Garcia" he thinks he's making the company more money.

Originally Posted by RBBrittain

Apparently you're a little unclear on the term "preauthorization hold"; Google is your friend. If you can't deal with preauthorization holds on your checking account balance, don't use a debit card.

I know what "preauthorization hold" is, I was simply questioning how long the hold was. I have no problems with using and maintaining my debt/credit cards, but thanks for concern.

[thompsonjohn]

Originally Posted by rrpmpstck

Things like this are why I dread when they announce a film I love, because I know it will be a major hassle and cost way to much. It's like paying a hooker extra to kick you in the junk after your finished.

Right. It's a shame MGM/Fox couldn't just have done a newly David Lynch supervised transfer release of "Wild at Heart." With him at the helm, maybe we could have gotten a release like "Blue Velvet" and maybe we possibly could have gotten those "Wild at Heart" deleted scenes. But, no Twilight Time goes their own way.