Star Wars Finally Coming to Digital?

[disneywildcat]

Originally Posted by RBBrittain

The difference in logo retention between the MCU films & Star Wars could well be in the terms by which Disney bought each of them out. Paramount was originally slated to release The Avengers & Iron Man 3; though Disney took over both films, the agreement allowing that required both of them to carry the Paramount logo. The takeover of distribution rights to Paramount's other MCU films probably came out of that also; though it hasn't been tested on physical media yet (for now they're still Paramount pressings with BVHE UPC stickers), their DMA versions still have Paramount logos. Obviously Paramount wanted its logo to remain on the films in perpetuity as part of the deal.



For Star Wars, it's not clear whether (a) Disney bought out Fox's non-Ep IV streaming rights or (b) Fox's non-Ep IV rights never included streaming. However, it's clear that Fox still owns all rights to Ep IV, yet chose to coordinate with Disney's digital release of the others. It seems Fox isn't quite as willing to see its logo & fanfare on Disney releases as Paramount was, especially if it never owned the non-Ep IV streaming rights at all; IMO Fox is more interested in a cut of the revenue (Ep IV, BD/DVD sales of the OT & PT) than a buyout. Perhaps things will be a little clearer if & when the UOT comes out.



Also note that RKO technically still exists to this day, though its studio arm is long gone; it's very much possible that RKO's present owners authorized Disney to restore the old logo on modern restorations.

Unlike Paramount (which hardly uses its fanfare with its logo anymore), Fox still uses its fanfare on almost every release. So it's possible they're more sensitive to it being used outside of its distribution.

[dvdmike]

Fox slightly changed ANH also
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCPj...ature=youtu.be

[Nailwraps]

Not amused.

Anyone else who's disappointed with the fact that the Fox logo is gone for I, II, III, V, and VI, I'm in the same boat as you. I tend to call Disney tomorrow and ask them nicely to right this wrong. Anyone who wishes to join me may.

[stvn1974]

It was always Lucas' original vision to not have the Fox Fanfare at the beginning of the films.

[RD1973]

I'm considering buying the bundle just for the extras. Does anyone know which service has the most extras?

[Scarface32]

Originally Posted by dvdmike

Fox slightly changed ANH also
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCPj...ature=youtu.be

Thanks for killing my ears with that terrible noise.

[Greyman]

Originally Posted by RD1973

I'm considering buying the bundle just for the extras. Does anyone know which service has the most extras?

iTunes typically gives extras no matter where bought, so if you buy on Vudu you will get extras there and should also get them on iTunes.

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

Originally Posted by dvdmike

Fox slightly changed ANH also
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCPj...ature=youtu.be

Nice to see George's vision finally realized.

[disneywildcat]

I was looking thru Disney's 2014 Annual Report and found this:

Prior to the Company’s acquisition, Lucasfilm produced six Star Wars films (Episodes 1 through 6). Lucasfilm retained the rights to consumer products related to all of those films and the rights related to television and electronic distribution formats for all of those films, with the exception of the rights for Episode 4, which are owned by a third-party studio. All of the films are distributed by a third-party studio in the theatrical and home entertainment markets. The theatrical and home entertainment distribution rights for these films revert back to Lucasfilm in May 2020 with the exception of Episode 4, for which these distribution rights are retained in perpetuity by the third-party studio.

Therefore, it's clear that Disney/Lucasfilm and Fox merely chose to release all of the Star Wars films digitally at the same time, and that Lucasfilm controls the TV rights to all the films except Episode IV.

[stvn1974]

Originally Posted by disneywildcat

I was looking thru Disney's 2014 Annual Report and found this:



Therefore, it's clear that Disney/Lucasfilm and Fox merely chose to release all of the Star Wars films digitally at the same time, and that Lucasfilm controls the TV rights to all the films except Episode IV.

Can't wait until certain members chime in about how wrong you are.

[Bandit Tajomaru]

Originally Posted by captveg

The Fox logo was always going to be dropped once Fox no longer had distribution. There's simply no reason whatsoever for Disney/Lucasfilm to keep them on there. Why promote another company that doesn't have any rights to those films anymore?

Well Warner Bros. made a big deal about restoring the Paramount logo to the old Fleischer Popeye shorts a couple of years ago.

[jakeumms]

Fox delivered Star Wars separately, many weeks ago. Disney delivered the remaining movies on Tuesday night. I had a hell of a week consequently.

[Greyman]

Originally Posted by jakeumms

Fox delivered Star Wars separately, many weeks ago. Disney delivered the remaining movies on Tuesday night. I had a hell of a week consequently.

Thank you?

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by Bandit Tajomaru

Well Warner Bros. made a big deal about restoring the Paramount logo to the old Fleischer Popeye shorts a couple of years ago.

Disney could still do that with the UOT.

Originally Posted by jakeumms

Fox delivered Star Wars separately, many weeks ago. Disney delivered the remaining movies on Tuesday night. I had a hell of a week consequently.

Ep IV, though owned separately by Fox, was released to streaming simultaneously with the others. Unless you're referring to a BD or DVD (disneywildcat's post confirms Fox still has those rights in perpetuity for Ep IV & till 2020 for the rest), there's no way you could have had it "many weeks ago."

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by stvn1974

Can't wait until certain members chime in about how wrong you are.

His post confirms what I've been saying all along. I wasn't sure if Fox gave the non-Ep IV EST rights back to Disney in exchange for letting Ep IV in on the party, or else they agreed those rights did not go to Fox in the prior agreement; apparently it's the latter (i.e., EST falls under "electronic distribution", not "home entertainment").

That will not affect BD & DVD releases beyond what was out there before; Fox will still release those until 2020 (and Ep IV forever unless they choose to sell). However, barring a special agreement I don't see any code slips in them before 2020 either, except possibly UV slips for Ep IV; for the others Disney would have to authorize Fox to issue DMA slips.

[Greyman]

Originally Posted by jakeumms

Fox delivered Star Wars separately, many weeks ago. Disney delivered the remaining movies on Tuesday night. I had a hell of a week consequently.

Originally Posted by RBBrittain

Ep IV, though owned separately by Fox, was released to streaming simultaneously with the others. Unless you're referring to a BD or DVD (disneywildcat's post confirms Fox still has those rights in perpetuity for Ep IV & till 2020 for the rest), there's no way you could have had it "many weeks ago."

Maybe he works for Vudu or iTunes or Google Play or Amazon, that's how I interpreted it.

[CanadianEH]

Strictly out of curiosity, does the Vudu purchase transfer to Flixster or Cinemanow?

[disneywildcat]

Originally Posted by CanadianEH

Strictly out of curiosity, does the Vudu purchase transfer to Flixster or Cinemanow?

A member noted that that Episode IV (which is apparently UV eligible according to VUDU due to Fox still controlling distribution rights) appeared in the Flixster library as a title not playable in Flixster. Flixster and Cinemanow currently don't sell Episode IV. Cinemanow sells the rest of the Star Wars collection (even though it is not a DMA provider).
Episodes I to III and V to VI are DMA eligible, so they only transfer between iTunes, Google Play, or VUDU.

The other UV providers (Nook Video, MGo) that sell Episode IV do not indicate UV eligibility for the title, so it's unknown if purchases there transfer to VUDU via UV.

Unless someone gets their VUDU purchased copy of Episode IV to play in another UV provider's app, or someone's MGo or Nook Video purchase of Episode IV is accessible in VUDU, then its possible Episode IV is effectively VUDU only due to lack of UV support for Episode IV in the other providers.

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by disneywildcat

A member noted that that Episode IV (which is apparently UV eligible according to VUDU due to Fox still controlling distribution rights) appeared in the Flixster library as a title not playable in Flixster. Flixster and Cinemanow currently don't sell Episode IV. Cinemanow sells the rest of the Star Wars collection (even though it is not a DMA provider).
Episodes I to III and V to VI are DMA eligible, so they only transfer between iTunes, Google Play, or VUDU.

The other UV providers (Nook Video, MGo) that sell Episode IV do not indicate UV eligibility for the title, so it's unknown if purchases there transfer to VUDU via UV.

Unless someone gets their VUDU purchased copy of Episode IV to play in another UV provider's app, or someone's MGo or Nook Video purchase of Episode IV is accessible in VUDU, then its possible Episode IV is effectively VUDU only due to lack of UV support for Episode IV in the other providers.

At most UV providers, if it doesn't have a UV logo it won't import as UV. Flixster avoids that by selling only UV titles. Vudu for some reason still doesn't have a UV logo on Ep IV (at least for me), though it's been confirmed UV by Vudu's own forums and others.

This points out a fundamental weakness of UV: Even with a license in your UV library, you still must depend on your UV providers' own libraries, licensing quirks, etc. to have access to the film. DMA apparently works more closely with its providers to make sure they actually carry the films, not to mention they can also be streamed directly from DMA; that may be easier with a single studio, but still it seems DMA was much better thought out than UV.

[disneywildcat]

Originally Posted by RBBrittain

At most UV providers, if it doesn't have a UV logo it won't import as UV. Flixster avoids that by selling only UV titles. Vudu for some reason still doesn't have a UV logo on Ep IV (at least for me), though it's been confirmed UV by Vudu's own forums and others.



This points out a fundamental weakness of UV: Even with a license in your UV library, you still must depend on your UV providers' own libraries, licensing quirks, etc. to have access to the film. DMA apparently works more closely with its providers to make sure they actually carry the films, not to mention they can also be streamed directly from DMA; that may be easier with a single studio, but still it seems DMA was much better thought out than UV.

The UV logo doesn't appear on the VUDU listing for the regular or tablet site. But it appears on the VUDU mobile (phone) site listing and on the info bubbles when you pass your cursor on the Episode IV icon on the main store page. Still, it's a UV title in name only if other providers recognize its presence but cannot play it.

UV had a head start, but hasn't gotten it's providers to make sure all content they sell from UV partner studios is UV eligible. Hence, it's really hard to justify buying a UV title outside of VUDU. Flixster or Cinemanow are ok to redeem at. The other UV providers aren't even worth using (MGo doesn't even give me access to any of my UV movies on the Ultraviolet section even through both accounts are linked).