satin
21-12-2001, 06:57
In the news today . . .
Studios feel pinched disc as DVD bonus costs boom
By Scott Hettrick
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Don't get too used to all those embellishments on DVD versions of your favorite films.
Many video vets believe such extra material could start to disappear thanks to escalating costs and demands by talent and guilds. Studios are balking at new fees for script use and star participation, even as overall DVD sales surge and consumers embrace ``special edition'' packages.
Variety's sister publication Video Premieres reports this month that Arnold Schwarzenegger was paid $75,000 for audio commentary and other input on Artisan's recent ``Total Recall'' disc. And while that may be a pittance compared with the $30 million he's set to earn for ``Terminator 3,'' it exceeds the entire production budget for all extra material on many special editions.
Until recently, directors and others have mostly agreed to sit at no charge for DVD interviews or commentaries to help promote the movie or for purely nostalgic or personal interests.
Lately, though, producers and studios are reporting an increasing number of demands for payment by stars for audio commentaries and interviews. At least two commanded payments of $10,000 each for one recent DVD release.
``Pretty soon we'll just stop doing them,'' says the disgruntled president of one top-tier distributor.
Artisan declined to comment for this story, as did most other studios.
Several sources identify one new wrinkle already changing the DVD landscape: this year's Writers Guild of America pact with producers and studios. It calls for a mandatory $5,000 fee paid to writers for every movie released on DVD -- $250,000 has been collected since May -- and requires that the writer be included in some fashion in any special edition featuring the director.
Although the WGA did not confirm it, Zach Hunchar, director of worldwide DVD operations for Lions Gate, says guild rules also require an extra fee to include a script on a DVD.
Concerned about varying fees attached to ever-changing definitions of what constitutes a promotional extension of a movie vs. a newly produced program, several studios, including MGM and Universal, are ordering producers to limit documentaries to 30 minutes or less. New restrictions from the music industry have eliminated alternate audio tracks for the isolated film score.
Some DVD producers sympathize with talent's bid for a share in the studios' major new revenue stream. ``These are very busy people and their time is money,'' says independent DVD producer Charles de Lauzirika. ``It's a tough gray area we're getting into.''
Others argue that talent should consider DVD extras a form of promotion, not unlike a talk show appearance.
``Video is where films go to live,'' says DVD producer Alita Holly. ``Everything that you put into the DVD production is the living memory of your participation and goes toward the greater good of your career and your film. ``
Holly believes that unless the talent or extra element is crucial to the DVD, studios will simply eliminate those features in favor of less costly or troublesome ones.
Indeed, studios don't lack for filler material. They can always lard discs with extras that don't require new production, such as trailers, interviews from electronic press kits and behind-the-scenes TV featurettes.
Canned material is already starting to dominate DVDs, such as Universal's ``Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas.'' That disc became one of the fastest-selling DVDs ever without an audio commentary and few exclusive bonuses.
Reuters/Variety REUTERS
Studios feel pinched disc as DVD bonus costs boom
By Scott Hettrick
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Don't get too used to all those embellishments on DVD versions of your favorite films.
Many video vets believe such extra material could start to disappear thanks to escalating costs and demands by talent and guilds. Studios are balking at new fees for script use and star participation, even as overall DVD sales surge and consumers embrace ``special edition'' packages.
Variety's sister publication Video Premieres reports this month that Arnold Schwarzenegger was paid $75,000 for audio commentary and other input on Artisan's recent ``Total Recall'' disc. And while that may be a pittance compared with the $30 million he's set to earn for ``Terminator 3,'' it exceeds the entire production budget for all extra material on many special editions.
Until recently, directors and others have mostly agreed to sit at no charge for DVD interviews or commentaries to help promote the movie or for purely nostalgic or personal interests.
Lately, though, producers and studios are reporting an increasing number of demands for payment by stars for audio commentaries and interviews. At least two commanded payments of $10,000 each for one recent DVD release.
``Pretty soon we'll just stop doing them,'' says the disgruntled president of one top-tier distributor.
Artisan declined to comment for this story, as did most other studios.
Several sources identify one new wrinkle already changing the DVD landscape: this year's Writers Guild of America pact with producers and studios. It calls for a mandatory $5,000 fee paid to writers for every movie released on DVD -- $250,000 has been collected since May -- and requires that the writer be included in some fashion in any special edition featuring the director.
Although the WGA did not confirm it, Zach Hunchar, director of worldwide DVD operations for Lions Gate, says guild rules also require an extra fee to include a script on a DVD.
Concerned about varying fees attached to ever-changing definitions of what constitutes a promotional extension of a movie vs. a newly produced program, several studios, including MGM and Universal, are ordering producers to limit documentaries to 30 minutes or less. New restrictions from the music industry have eliminated alternate audio tracks for the isolated film score.
Some DVD producers sympathize with talent's bid for a share in the studios' major new revenue stream. ``These are very busy people and their time is money,'' says independent DVD producer Charles de Lauzirika. ``It's a tough gray area we're getting into.''
Others argue that talent should consider DVD extras a form of promotion, not unlike a talk show appearance.
``Video is where films go to live,'' says DVD producer Alita Holly. ``Everything that you put into the DVD production is the living memory of your participation and goes toward the greater good of your career and your film. ``
Holly believes that unless the talent or extra element is crucial to the DVD, studios will simply eliminate those features in favor of less costly or troublesome ones.
Indeed, studios don't lack for filler material. They can always lard discs with extras that don't require new production, such as trailers, interviews from electronic press kits and behind-the-scenes TV featurettes.
Canned material is already starting to dominate DVDs, such as Universal's ``Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas.'' That disc became one of the fastest-selling DVDs ever without an audio commentary and few exclusive bonuses.
Reuters/Variety REUTERS