Warner Bows 'The Lake House' Simultaneously on DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray

Today Warner Home Video announced that they will be releasing 'The Lake House' simultaneously on standard DVD, HD DVD and Blu-ray formats.

With a September 26th street date, Warner will be the first studio to release titles in all formats. They will also be releasing the film as a combo disc, with a high definition DVD on one side and SD DVD on the other side, priced at $39.99. The Blu-ray version will be available for $34.99 SRP. And a standard DVD will cost $28.98. The bonus materials will be available on all versions, though Warner did not disclose if they would be in high definition on the HD DVD and Blue-ray versions.

'The Lake House' is a time-travel romance starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, and is a remake of a recent Korean film. Warner may be banking on the geek appeal of the film’s plot and Keanu Reeve’s Matrix pedigree to appeal to the early adopters who are currently the biggest segment of the high definition player owners.

In theatrical release this past summer, 'The Lake House' took in $52.3 million domestically and $49 million overseas, coming in at #38 for 2006.

Warner Independent Releases First 24 Minutes of 'A Scanner Darkly' on IGN

Warner Independent Pictures has made the first 24 minutes of 'A Scanner Darkly' available as an online exclusive at IGN FilmForce. You can watch the extended preview, - nearly the first quarter of the film - at this link.

While the studios have been releasing clips under ten minutes on a fairly regular basis, this is without a doubt the longest preview released by a studio or specialty division to date. This shrewd marketing move is undoubtedly meant to drum up interest preceding the film's expansion onto 190 screens this weekend, up from 17 during the opening weekend. In its first weekend of limited release, 'A Scanner Darkly' earned over $392K, averaging just over $23K per screen.

'Star Wars' named the Overall Best License of the Year by Trade Group

According to a Lucasfilm press release, the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association (LIMA) named the Star Wars franchise the Overall Best License of the Year.

LIMA presents the "best in show" award at their Licensing International Show annually to a property "that has had a significant and profound impact on the licensing community at retail and in the general marketplace during the previous calendar year." Star Wars also won top honors as the number one entertainment license of the year in the Boys Toy, Movie-based Video Game, and Licensed Publishing categories. According to Lucasfilm, Star Wars-themed merchandise generated over $3 billion in revenue from all channels in 2005.

The previous Overall Best License went to 'Spiderman 2.' The LIMA awards have been presented annually since 1984.

[link]

Scarlett Johansson Digitally Enhanced for 'The Island' Ads

On a lighter Friday note, Scarlett Johansson was recently shocked to discover her digitally-enhanced cleavage on a billboard promoting 'The Island' in Los Angeles:

The Lost in Translation actress slammed on the brakes when confronted with a giant advert of herself in Hollywood, according to the Daily Record. And the 20-year-old hinted that the picture of her chest had been digitally altered to promote new movie, The Island.

he said: "I was driving through Los Angeles and I look up and see the biggest photo of me I have ever seen in my life on a massive ad space.

"I screamed and slammed on the brakes. I couldn't believe it.

"It's very strange to see my cleavage the size of a brontosaurus. My breasts were huge.

Did Excessive Product Placement Help Sink 'The Island'?

Jeff Greefield makes an interesting point over at Product Placement News today: As product placement becomes more ubiquitous, film critics are much more likely to seize on films that take it too far -- especially when they don't like a film anyways. They list many examples of this point in action -- here's an especially vicious attack:

Chris Hewitt at the Pioneer Press: Bay also goes along with perhaps the crassest product placement in movie history — a perfume commercial so blatant that it pulls you out of the movie — and follows that up with a love scene that makes no sense and a character reversal so unmotivated that it may make you want to pull yourself out of the movie.

That's just a sample -- visit Rotten Tomatoes and read a few of the reviews -- you'll see just how often the critics bash the product placement in the film.

Other recent films that have gorged on product placements recently include the Herbie flick and even Bad News Bears -- I would have expected an even greater backlash against these films given their positioning as family fare.

[Via Product Placement News]

Disney to Bow Massive Roadblock for the 'Chronicles of Narnia' Trailer

According to a Disney press release, the company is buying a massive "roadblock" on broadcast, cable, online and other media to launch the 'Chronicles of Narnia' trailer. Touted as the "largest audience ever for a theatrical trailer debut," the ads will reach an estimated 200 million+ viewers in 32 countries, 13 languages, across five continents and spanning over 12 time zones.

Here's more from the release:

The worldwide "roadblock" will be anchored by the U.S. broadcast debut of the "Chronicles of Narnia" trailer on Saturday, May 7th during ABC's network premiere of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (available in over 106 million households) along with online visitors to America Online Web sites (including AOL Welcome Screen, AIM, Moviefone, etc.), and Verizon Wireless V CAST customers. The trailer will also air simultaneously on Disney Channel, and on four channels across the Starz Entertainment Group network. Verizon Wireless customers will also be able to access the trailer through the company's V CAST wireless multimedia service.

Within a 48-hour period surrounding this domestic launch, the international "roadblock" (dubbed in over 11 languages) will similarly introduce the trailer around the world, with simulcasts on popular programs in such countries as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Korea, and Latin America. In addition to the broadcast launches, each territory will partner with print and online outlets to maximize exposure.

More to come...

[Via Yahoo! News]

Lost in Translation & LOTR the big Winner

Lost in translation looks to gain the biggest awards boost, winning nearly all of the Golden Globes it was nominated for. Conversely, Cold Mountain looks like the biggest loser, winning only one of it's eight noms. It could have really used the boost at the box office.

And of course, LOTR: ROTK did some damage as well, raking in four Globes. If the Oscars pile up as well, we could easily see over one billion in worldwide box office.

But how much effect do Golden Globe wins have on Box Office? I can nary recall a time where they swayed me one way or the other. I think their influence to be more indirect -- swaying Oscar voters, with the Oscars being the true box office movers. The Globes are gaining in popularity and influence though, if you consider their soaring ratings.

The 2004 Golden Globe Winners