Film Junk » Technology

Blockbuster to Start Renting Movies on SD Cards

Sean — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:34:35 +0000

The movie rental market is about to get a whole lot smaller. As Blockbuster continues to try to compete with the success of Redbox by launching their own Blockbuster Express line of DVD rental kiosks, they've come up with an idea that they hope will give them an edge in this cutthroat business. They've begun rolling out digital kiosks that now distribute movies on 24x32 mm SD Cards. As wacky as it might sound, they are hoping that this new format will combat two of the biggest inconveniences with DVD rentals: scratched discs and the necessity to return the movie to a store or kiosk. The SD cards will not need to be returned, and instead the content on the card will expire after a certain period of time. Also, a kiosk would never run out of copies of a particular movie since the machine would simply be transferring data to a blank card on the fly for every customer. Obviously the big problem with this idea right now is that the average person still has no way to play movies from SD cards, but they are hoping that as cell phones, portable media devices and laptops continue to add SD card readers as standard hardware, along with new TV models, this may become more attractive to the general public. What do you think, is this forward thinking or will everyone be streaming their movie rentals before this ever catches on? Can you see yourself bringing home a tiny memory card when you want to watch a movie on the weekend?

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Fox Launching Interactive iPhone App to Provide Pop Up Trivia During Movies

Sean — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:08:06 +0000

It's no secret that Hollywood is looking to stay hip and connected to the teen demographic in any way it can. We've seen MySpace, Facebook and Twitter all figure heavily into movie marketing campaigns as of late, and also the introduction of various BD-Live features on Blu-ray discs including the ability to watch movies with friends online. Now Fox is planning to launch a new social networking feature that incorporates pop-up trivia into the movie-watching experience. They are hoping this will appeal to the viewer's need for instant gratification, and also boost dwindling DVD sales as well. The feature is called FoxPop, and it will come as a freely downloadable application for the PC, Mac, and iPhone. While watching a compatible movie, the program will auto-detect and sync via audio input, then present trivia, photos and other content as the movie plays. Now before you get worried about distractions in theatres, this will be available for DVDs only, not current theatrical releases. The idea was prompted by research that revealed that 80% of DVD watchers go to the internet to research a movie after the fact, or pause it while watching to look something up. FoxPop will debut on December 1st with the release of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (an appropriate title due to the historical references, I suppose), followed by (500) Days of Summer and Jennifer's Body. Does this sound like a cool feature to you, or are they way off the mark with this?

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Titanic to Get 3-D Theatrical Re-release?

Sean — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:57:29 +0000

With Disney re-releasing new 3-D versions of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in theatres next weekend, and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D about to do its annual October theatrical run, a lot of studios are giving thought to 3-D updates of other classic films as well. No doubt the success or failure of the Toy Story double bill will determine whether or not we see more of these types of re-releases. According to The Hollywood Reporter, one film that is looking very likely to get a three-dimensional makeover in the near future is the highest grossing movie of all time, James Cameron's Titanic. Folks at Cameron's production company Lightstorm Entertainment have acknowledged 3-D tests for both Titanic and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Other movies that would be no brainers for a 3-D re-release include The Matrix and Star Wars. While Titanic must be an obvious choice just based on its past success, I have to admit, I don't see 3-D really adding a lot to the experience. Do you? I like the idea of re-releasing classics in theatres, but I'm not quite sold on the 3-D remastering process. How many worthwhile effects can you really add after the fact? I'm not totally against 3-D but I certainly prefer watching movies that were originally intended for three-dimensional viewing. Would you pay to watch Titanic again in 3-D? What about some of these other classics?

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Forget IMAX and 3-D: Could D-Box Seating Be The Future of Cinema??

Sean — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:19:55 +0000

With all the debate over the validity of 3-D in film and whether or not it's worth the extra money to see movies on a giant IMAX screen, I'm surprised we haven't heard more discussion about another immersive movie theatre gimmick: the D-Box Motion System. If you're like me, you may have heard of it and seen it listed as an option on some DVD and Blu-rays, but never really knew what it was. D-Box is a technology that allows movies and video games to to interact with special seating devices that move and shake to make you feel like you're a part of the action. You've probably seen similar things used in amusement parks before, but this technology is apparently much more precise -- and it's coming to your home or local movie theatre! The first movie to support D-Box on the big screen was Fast & Furious, followed by Terminator Salvation, and now Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will follow suit. Clearly you'll never look at a Quidditch match the same way again. Currently, there are only a couple of theatres in North America outfitted with the technology for it including Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, but now Canada has its first installation at the Cineplex Odeon Queensway in Etobicoke. It costs about $7 extra for the D-Box experience, but what I want to know is, has anyone actually tried this either at home or in a theatre? Does it seem worthwhile and can you see it catching on? I can't help but roll my eyes at the thought of another gimmick like this, but on the other hand, I guess if a select group of people want to pay for the extra thrill, more power to 'em. Thoughts?

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IMAX Boycott Brewing: Beware the Smaller Screen Scam

Sean — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:27:42 +0000

It seems we can't go a day without another blogger-inspired boycott cropping up on the internet. Everyone's got something to complain about, and as soon as they get frustrated enough, they run to their computer and try to get a few friends riled up as well. It seems that with the release of Star Trek in IMAX this past weekend, a dirty little secret was exposed with regards to the screens at certain Regal and AMC theatres, leading to some unsatisfied customers. Is it worth boycotting over? Well, let's calmly check out the details and then you can decide for yourself. When you go to see a movie at an IMAX theatre, the general understanding is that you're going to see it on a big ass screen that is over 70 feet tall. The movie may or may not have footage that was actually shot to fit the entire screen (The Dark Knight is one of the few that did) and it may or may not be in 3-D, but either way, you're getting a much bigger image that basically encompasses all of your peripheral vision. Whether or not we actually need a screen this big is up for debate, but the fact of the matter is, you are paying an extra $5 for that screen size, and IMAX is pushing this idea that it is the ultimate way to experience a major blockbuster film. So what happens when go out of your way to find an IMAX theatre and pay an extra $5 for a ticket, only to watch the movie on a screen that is only slightly larger than usual? Well, if you're comedian Aziz Ansari of Human Giant/Parks and Recreation fame, you get pretty pissed off, then go blog about it. It seems that IMAX has started slapping their name on theatres that simply have the IMAX digital system for high quality picture and sound. Which might be okay... if they weren't charging extra money for it! Isn't it bad enough that we're already getting charged extra for 3-D movies (also arguably a scam)? In the end, I don't know if I'd go so far as to call for a BOYCOTT, but you should definitely be aware of what you're getting before you buy a ticket. Maybe some people do actually feel that the quality of The IMAX Experience® is still worth the extra cash. What do you think, are IMAX theatres worth the extra money? Would you still pay extra without the bigger screen size?

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Adam Berg’s Epic Bullet Time Commercial for Philips Carousel

Sean — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:01:15 +0000

Every now and then we post cool commercials here on Film Junk, and I thought this one might be something that a lot of people are interested in. Basically it's an ad for the new Philips Carousel LCD TV, which features a massive 21:9 screen, the same size that movie theatres use. In order to come up with something appropriately cinematic, they decided to create the ultimate bullet time moment. Directed by Adam Berg and produced by Stink Digital (the same people that re-interpreted action movies as French New Wave films), it's a two minute long freeze frame of a crime scene where a bunch of crooks wearing clown masks (obviously inspired by The Dark Knight) are in the midst of a gun fight with police. The camera swoops around and takes in all the action. You can also see an interactive version of the commercial that allows you to see additional content and behind-the-scenes footage over at www.cinema.philips.com. Pretty cool, right? (Thanks to Pete for the heads up.)

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BEEF ALERT: James Gunn vs. Microsoft

Jay C. — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:46:38 +0000

I think I remember hearing something about James Gunn heading some sort of short horror film project for the XBox 360 a while back, but I've never actually seen any of the final films. The project was called 'Horror Does Comedy', in which he and a handful of other notable modern horror film directors -- including James Wan (Saw), David Slade (30 Days of Night) and Lucky McKee (The Woods) -- were to create exclusive content made available for download over the XBox Live Marketplace. Well according to Gunn, not everything went entirely as planned. It seems as though Microsoft had a hard time getting behind anything that pushed the boundaries of what they considered PG-13. This meant that Gunn was apparently forced to compromise his work in order to meet what he thinks are some pretty ridiculous standards. From his blog:

I wasn’t too happy with the version of S&M that was shown on XBox, as they cut the living shit out of it. Shortly after I signed on to produce the HORROR GOES COMEDY series, as well as write and direct my own, XBox became pain in the asses about content. They started by promising us directors complete creative freedom — that’s the whole reason we agreed to do it for, essentially, no money. We were told that anything goes. So I shot the most balls-out, fucked up thing I’ve ever shot: HUMANZEE! XBox saw it and freaked out. There wasn’t even a way to cut it down to make it acceptable. So they offered me the chance to do something else, and to take the rights to Humanzee myself, which I gladly did. That’s when I came up with the idea for SPARKY & MIKAELA. As long as it was PG-13, with no sex, they said it would be all right. So that’s what I shot. But they saw it and, again, freaked out. Obviously they had no fucking idea what PG-13 was, as they wanted me to cut the words "penis" and "vagina." They made me cut a piece of very fake poop and a bunch of other stuff. And then, when they were done making me cut things, they took the final cut and cut it up themselves even more before airing it.

I can see it now; a group of Xbox execs sitting around a table trying to figure out what's 'hot', coming to the conclusion that James Gunn (is he really 'hot'?) would bring in some edgy new content to appease their hardcore gamer audience. Without actually having seen any of his work (or reading about his past: see Troma) they sign the guy who wrote Scooby Doo on to head their series of shorts. Once the content starts flowing in, they quickly realize they're in above their heads and become less interested in the films as they are the marketability of the names attached to them. Cut that shit up!

To sum things up, Warner Bros was a bastion of creative freedom on SCOOBY DOO 2 in comparison. I’m not exaggerating or being facetious. Microsoft/XBox was by far the most dreadful, non-talent friendly company I’ve ever worked for. And if you think I had it bad, some of the other directors (most specifically, SAW director James Wan, who just happens to be one of my favorite people in the world) had it even worse.

I actually have some experience working with Microsoft XBox on original video content and I can say that they are quite the finicky bunch. On the one hand, I suppose there are standards to be met and its their decision what they slap their brand name on, but shouldn't they have thought about this before hiring this group of directors? And isn't their distribution model something that should be pushing boundaries and supporting creativity? After all, how much worse could Gunn's film have been than half of the video games released for the XBox 360? Either way, at least Gunn has finally found his freedom to express himself with his PG Porn series of shorts. I guess Spike.com has bigger balls than Microsoft? OOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

PG PORN: High Poon | Girls | SPIKE.com

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Arnold’s Cameo in Terminator Salvation Will Be 100% CG… Obviously

Sean — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:31:19 +0000

There has been a lot of heated discussion over the past year or so regarding whether it is possible to make a Terminator movie without Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's a valid question, since his presence and star power were central to the previous three films, and his current starring role as Governor of California has left an appearance in Terminator Salvation unlikely. But then Arnold was spotted on the set of T4 a while back, and it sparked a lot of rumours about a possible cameo in the film, perhaps using some type of face replacement technology. Well, it turns out his face may not be the only thing we see on screen... according to Variety, his whole body is being recreated digitally for the film. In a recent webcast, Schwarzenegger caused confusion when he revealed that he would be in the new movie, but that he wouldn't be acting. Now we've got an explanation: they have worked out the technology to insert him into the film as a fully computer-generated character. Apparently a full body-cast mold was taken of his physique during production on one of the previous films, and this served as the source for his digital counterpart. Schwarzenegger has given the resulting footage a thumbs up, so McG will be including it in the film. Even in this day and age, a realistic full-size digital model is no easy technical feat. Do you think there's a chance they can pull it off? Will it enhance the movie, or should they have just left it alone?

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Warner Brothers and Criterion Launch Blu-ray Upgrade Programs

Sean — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:22:56 +0000

The HD-DVD format has officially been dead for over a year now, and we're starting to see a lot of movies that were previously released exclusively on HD-DVD coming out again on Blu-ray. This, of course, poses a problem for many of us who still have an HD-DVD player and see no need to rebuy these movies yet again simply to change the colour of the case on our shelf. That said, collectors are a pretty anal bunch, and I'm sure it is tearing a lot of people up inside that their high-def movie collections are now split into two groups. Luckily, there are a few companies out there who are keeping the consumer in mind, while also giving Blu-ray another much-needed marketing push. This week Warner Brothers announced the launch of their Red2Blu program, which allows customers to upgrade HD-DVD titles that they previously purchased to Blu-ray for just $4.95 plus shipping. The best part is that you don't even have to return the HD-DVD disc itself, just the art sleeve to prove that you bought it. They promise a new Blu-ray version will be delivered within 4 to 5 weeks. Although some customers would have preferred a free upgrade, I think this is a decent deal considering that in some cases you can still find HD-DVDs in clearance bins for under $5. Loophole! While most people have only been talking about the Warner program thus far, it is worth noting that Criterion also has a similar policy for their standard DVD releases. Check out the fine print in their FAQ, and it says that they'll send you a Blu-ray version of a Criterion Collection DVD for $20 plus $5 shipping. (You do have to send them the actual disc though.) Let's hope other studios will take a hint and soon follow suit. Do you plan on taking advantage of either of these offers? If you don't yet own a Blu-ray player, does it make you more likely to buy one? Update: The Red2Blu program is currently only available the Contentinal U.S., so international customers (including Canada) are out of luck.

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Human Giant Live Twittering of Crank: High Voltage Sparks Outrage

Sean — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:11:40 +0000

Following up on yesterday's post about displaying text messages on screen in theatres, the issue of texting and twittering during a movie has been brought up all over again thanks to a little event organized by the guys from the MTV comedy show Human Giant. It seems that they thought it would be fun to gather together a group of like-minded folks for a midnight screening of Crank: High Voltage at a theatre in Burbank, California last night, where they would use Twitter to discuss and mock the movie while watching it. Dubbing the idea "TwitFlix", they made an effort to keep to the back of the theatre where the light from their cell phones wouldn't disturb anyone else. Here's the thing: although no one in the theatre actually complained, the idea sparked a lot of angry responses from movie fans who read about it across Twitter and the blogosphere. People like Harry Knowles and Quint from Ain't It Cool News felt that it was promoting disrespectful behaviour, and that it was violating the sanctity of the theatre experience. There's also the whole issue of potential spoilers for the people following along at home. On the other hand, some people who attended the screening and did not take part in the Twitter chat reported that they didn't even know it was going on. What do you think, is this kind of thing okay if it is done responsibly and in an organized manner? Or is it merely setting the stage for more widespread and uncontrolled cell phone use in movie theatres?

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MuVChat Puts Texting and Twitter On Screen for Interactive MST3K-esque Moviegoing Experience

Sean — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 21:30:51 +0000

Cell phones have created a lot of headaches for the average moviegoer over the past couple of years. Although most people now seem to understand that a ringing cellphone is an unacceptable disruption during a movie, the latest annoyance is the practice of texting while in the theatre. Sure it doesn't make any noise, but the glow of the screen is almost as bad. I don't blame people's attitudes necessarily, just the fact that young people are growing up with constant communication all around them, which makes it second nature. But what if, instead of fighting against this text messaging impulse that has become second nature, theatre owners could somehow embrace it? This is what Rien Heald, the creator of MuVChat, is trying to do. He has invented a system that allows viewers to send text messages during a movie that are then relayed to the screen for all to see. Sort of "a mash-up of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Twitter", as he calls it. Thus far they have held some tests of the technology in St. Charles, IL during screenings of the Ben Stiller comedy Zoolander. They are also doing an upcoming screening of Dodgeball, and plan to do more cult classics like Army of Darkness and Office Space in the future. I can definitely see this sort of gimmick being a hit with a certain demographic, and personally, as long as it to stays away from screenings of movies I actually care about, I might even consider taking part in the fun. The main issue as I see it would be providing some sort of filter for the messages being posted (profanity is already being blocked, but let's face it, not everyone has the MST3K touch). Also, I imagine there would be a bit of a delay between sending the message and having it appear. What do you think, can you see this technology taking off? Is it a cool idea or possibly the most annoying thing you've ever heard of? (Thanks to Kurt from Row Three for the link.)

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Toy Story 1 and 2 Coming Back to Theatres as 3-D Double Feature

Sean — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:53:04 +0000

I can't really blame people for being suspicious of the new wave of 3-D films, particularly when a lot of studios are just using it to recapitalize on old properties. Case in point: Disney will be re-releasing both Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3-D later this year. To be fair, they are trying to give good value by playing both films together as a double feature. Still, it should be fun to see parents try and force their kids to sit still for two movies in a row! The two movies will hit theatres as a "special limited engagement" starting on October 2, 2009. They're also luring in fans by promising the first trailer for the upcoming Toy Story 3, which will also be shown in 3-D when it is released next June. John Lasseter had this to say:

"Disney Digital 3D offers lots of great new possibilities for the art of animation and we will continue to use this new technology to push the boundaries in telling our stories. With Toy Story 3 shaping up to be another great adventure for Buzz, Woody and the gang from Andy's room, we thought this would be the perfect way to let audiences experience the first two films all over again. To see the movies back to back will be an amazing treat as well. This is certainly nostalgic for me and reminiscent of my youth when double features were the norm."

Disney also announced this week that they will be putting out a 3-D version of Beauty and the Beast on February 12, 2010. Surely George Lucas and his 3-D re-releases of Star Wars can't be far behind. What do you think, are these genuinely adding something new to classic movies, or are they just cash grabs?

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