Ask questions to Shout Factory Insider Cliff

[OrlandoEastwood]

Dear Cliff;

I was wondering if the old school Gamera films would be making their way to the Blu-ray format. I've purchased the DVD releases and I've complimented August Ragone for his great work on the bonus material that he worked on for them. I was wonder if there's any plans to get them out on Blu-ray soon?

Thank you for taking the time to read this.
-Eastwood.

[tigertron]

This is going to sound like a long shot, but...any word on a Beast Wars Blu-ray?

although I doubt it'll get re-rendered and made widescreen...

My life would be complete with the complete Blu-ray series with lots of extras. I would pay mega bucks for that if it was region free.

[necorbin]

cmac - First thanks for keeping us updated and answering our questions...

Just a few more suggestions of blu-ray releases... You can count on a day 1 purchase from me on:

-Clownhouse (the back story, legal stuff sucks, but this is a fantastic movie)
-My Best Friend Is A Vampire (more of a horror-comedy, but classic from the 80s)
-Rawhead Rex
-Sleepaway Camp Series (more so 2 & 3, which are the best IMO.... With some commentary from Ms. Springsteen)

[TauHeel05]

Is there a chance that Shout! will be releasing "Salute Your Shorts" on DVD? It was my favorite show as a kid and would pay top dollar for a proper release. Thanks!

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by thompsonjohn

"Shout!" gives a damn about the diamonds in the rough, the lesser known cult classics and for that they will forever have my business.

We old Rhino-fan vets know that Shout was what Rhino Video became when they grew up.
(And were bought out and kicked out by Warner, the b*****ds.)

And while cheers for Fantasy Island S2 have already been raised, any plans for adopting other "unwanted" 70's/80's TV season boxes "orphaned" by Sony, Universal or Warner after the First season set didn't sell to their imagined projections?

[xrockchild]

I know I asked this earlier, but any chance we will ever see "Elvira" on blu? I know overseas is getting a dvd release with commentary.

[NoirFan]

Hi Cliff, any possibility of these Universal titles:

Burned at the Stake
Nightmares
Shocker
The Guardian
Slayground

[jupiter123]

I think Shocker is a very strong possibility because i just watched it on Cinemax HD. Hey Cliff, did fox/mgm license any more titles out to you guys?

[ZoetMB]

Rhino had released the old ABC "Shindig" shows on VHS. I don't think they ever made it to DVD. I'd love to see those released on BD. I realize they were shot on SD video and that they're 4:3, but I still think they deserve a BD release, especially if the sound could be improved during remastering. (After all, if silent films can be released on BD, so could this as well as other films for which there aren't currently HD masters.)

I realize the music rights issues might be problematic, although even big hits of the 1960s are now becoming obscure (unless they're used in TV advertising) and publishing licenses might have come down a bit.

And while I suspect it's impossible, The Beatles once appeared on Shindig, singing Kansas City and a few other songs (with an incredible cold opening). Getting that would be amazing.

[Ill_Be_Back]

Hey Cliff, any chance of The Stepfather 2 being released on Blu-ray?

[bizarre_eye]

Originally Posted by Ill_Be_Back

Hey Cliff, any chance of The Stepfather 2 being released on Blu-ray?

I think Synapse owns this one.

[Ill_Be_Back]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye

I think Synapse owns this one.

I hope they release it soon, great sequel

[toddly6666]

Originally Posted by tigertron

This is going to sound like a long shot, but...any word on a Beast Wars Blu-ray?

although I doubt it'll get re-rendered and made widescreen...

My life would be complete with the complete Blu-ray series with lots of extras. I would pay mega bucks for that if it was region free.

Cliff, in other words, what are your plans for blurays of cartoon series?

[Nailwraps]

Originally Posted by HorrorBlu

I do have another question for Cliff though. Did the Universal deal include any non-horror titles as well?]

Originally Posted by cmac

Yes , it does]

In that case, I have some suggestions:

-Matinee (under Joe Dante's supervision)
-BASEketball
-Red Scorpion 2
-Screwball Hotel
-Mallrats (under Kevin Smith's supervision)
-The Return Of The Pink Panther (It's an MGM/UA film but Universal currently holds the video rights)
-Kindergarten Cop
-Repo Man
-The 'Burbs (under Joe Dante's supervision)

Thanks, Cliff!

[Emcg0211]

Originally Posted by nailwraps

in that case, i have some suggestions:


-mallrats (under kevin smith's supervision)

oh christ yes

[thompsonjohn]

Originally Posted by necorbin

cmac - First thanks for keeping us updated and answering our questions...

Just a few more suggestions of blu-ray releases... You can count on a day 1 purchase from me on:

-Clownhouse (the back story, legal stuff sucks, but this is a fantastic movie)
-My Best Friend Is A Vampire (more of a horror-comedy, but classic from the 80s)
-Rawhead Rex
-Sleepaway Camp Series (more so 2 & 3, which are the best IMO.... With some commentary from Ms. Springsteen)

"Clownhouse" is just sitting on the shelf at MGM, I actually was lucky enough to get one of the recalled DVD's. Wouldn't be surprised if this title ends up on their 'MGM On Demand' service or whatever where they just burn the flick on a recordable DVD whenever someone wants a copy.

"Sleepaway Camp" series is with Anchor Bay. They have their hands tied with a ton of horror cult classics right now, they will get it to eventually, they know it's a seller.

"Rawhead Rex" never hit DVD as far as I know so a blu-ray release is truly a shot in the dark. Can't even guess who owns the rights.

[Nailwraps]

Originally Posted by thompsonjohn

"Sleepaway Camp" series is with Anchor Bay.

Not anymore. Sleepaway Camp is with Universal now while 2 and 3 are with MGM.

[Clambake]

Hi Cliff- Any chance Shout will release DEATH HUNT on Blu Ray?

Also, to you guys for putting out Fantasy Island Season 2 (my favorite show after MST3k!). Hope SF will continue with it.

Thanks

[Mr. Movie Fan]

Any hope for the sequels to Darkman, or Tremmors?

[TM2-Megatron]

Originally Posted by tigertron

This is going to sound like a long shot, but...any word on a Beast Wars Blu-ray?

although I doubt it'll get re-rendered and made widescreen...

Yeah, I doubt it's possible. It was certainly never produced in HD back when it was being aired, and even if they went in and re-rendered in 1440x1080 (converting to widescreen definitely wouldn't be in the cards), I doubt any of the textures or character models... or pretty much anything, really... was ever high-quality enough to be meant for such a high resolution rendering. It probably wouldn't end up looking much better than an ordinary DVD run through a upconverting player. Had they used flash animation, or some other vector-based technique, things might be different; but I think we'll just have to be happy with the DVDs we've already had released.

-----

I do have a question about another series, though... My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Shout Factory already has the rights to this, and it's had a small episode colllection release on DVD. But the show is animated, broadcast, and even sold on the US iTunes Store and via Netflix in HD resolutions. Obviously, most people who want it (provided they're in the US) are going to go with one of those instead of buying a DVD with only 4 or 5 episodes on it. The only sales episodic DVDs are really going to win these days are from parents wandering aimlessly through a brick & mortar store, who might randomly pick it up as something to keep the kids quiet for an hour.

So, I'm curious if Cliff knows why this show isn't being considered for Blu-Ray season set release, like the one the most recent Transformers animated series seems to be getting from Shout Factory. I know girl's shows don't typically get very good treatment from anyone (networks, DVD/BD publishers, etc.), but every once in a while there is a series that warrants an exception. Episodic DVD releases can't compete with the 720p and 1080p versions being sold on iTunes, nor the convenience of Netflix's streaming. But a Blu-Ray release would allow for better picture quality than either, and a full season set would likely sell very well to fans of this show, most of whom are inclined to buy up any official merchandise almost as rabidly as Trekkies, lol. It doesn't take much searching to find out how much a lot of its fans are willing to shell out, provided they're given the opportunity.

By now anyone who's a regular internet user has probably encountered the phenomenon surrounding this show, and the fandom that's developed which consists of people ranging from the teens to 20 and 30-somethings. It isn't unlike the following that Powerpuff Girls garnered back in the late 90s; which probably makes sense since the person who orchestrated the franchise's reboot this time around worked on that series, too.