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High-Def Digest-Digest, July 6th 2012by Dick Ward [teaser]June was a busy month for everything HD. Gear was announced and a few incredibly good movies were revealed for Blu-ray release. Of course, the most announcements, if not the biggest and best, came in the realm of videogames courtesy of E3 2012. It's a lot to keep up on, but we're here to help with the High-Def Digest-Digest – a collection of the biggest stories from across the HD spectrum.[/teaser] Blu-ray News 'The Complete Indiana Jones Blu-ray Collection' Officially Dated! In case you somehow missed the big announcement, the Indiana Jones series is finally coming to Blu-ray on September 18th – just a few shorts months away. Details about extra features are sketchy at best, but you can be sure there will be plenty. 'Friends: The Complete Series' Blu-ray Announced and Detailed Been dying for some high definition 'Friends'? Well November 13th is your day. That's when, not just one season, but the entire series is set to go Blu. You'll get 17 hours of special features from the original DVD releases as well as three more hours of retrospectives, a producer's cut and plenty more. 'Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection' Announced for Blu-ray Coming October 2nd, a box set of eight monster movies from Universal, featuring commentaries, special features and, of course, newly restored audio and video. How cool is that? 'The Princess Bride: 25th Anniversary Edition' Announced and Detailed for Blu-ray There's a new version of the classic film on the way and it's coming October 2nd complete with special features exploring the phenomenon of the film's popularity, audio commentary with Rob Reiner and plenty more. 'The Cabin in the Woods' Dated for Blu-ray September 18th is the day all you Joss Whedon fans can get your hands on 'Cabin in the Woods,' directed by Drew Goddard. Specs are yet to be revealed on this one. Gear and Industry News Best Buy Founder May Buy The Company Outright Founder Richard Schulze is seeking the money to be able to buy the company outright, with plans to turn things around for Best Buy, cutting costs across the board. Google will Launch a Streaming Player of Its Own – The Nexus Q Google's new streaming device is interesting looking, and has some cool capabilities, but a Google TV it isn't. It is pretty danged pricey though, coming in at $299. Vizio's Google TV Set-Top Runs $99, Comes with OnLive Gaming Built In It's dirt cheap and full of features – Sony and Google have some stiff competition here. Sony and Panasonic Partner for OLED Mass Production in 2013 The two companies are planning to catch up to Korean manufacturers who are pretty far ahead of the game. They'll be up and running in 2013. Sharp's 90-Inch Aquos Available Now at Just Over $10,000 Not only is it the largest LED set around, it's also packed with networking features and 3D capabilities. Game News E3 2012 Coverage We've got plenty of coverage of E3, including full recaps of the press conferences by each console manufacturer. Check it all out and see what you missed! 'Indie Game: The Movie' is out Rarely do we get to see a good movie about games, and 'Indie Game' is just that. It's a full documentary about creating games like 'Braid,' 'Super Meat Boy,' and 'Fez.' It's critically acclaimed and well received by fans – a must see if you're interested in what happens behind the scenes. 'Final Fantasy 7' Returning to PC – No Word on Graphical Improvements What's certainly the most popular JRPG of all time is coming to PC, complete with achievements and some other cool features to boot. What's not clear is whether we'll see any graphical improvements to the title. Amazon.de and UK Retailers Set Wii U Prices at Up to $500 While none of the prices that retailers have put up for the Wii U aren't official, we can certainly glean a bit about what they're expecting from the system's cost. And it doesn't sound like Nintendo's new system won't be coming cheap. 'Metal Gear Solid 5' Has Been Confirmed by Hideo Kojima It's not too much of a surprise, but it's nice to see Kojima get back in the driver's seat for another installment of the adventures of Solid Snake.Posted Fri Jul 6, 2012 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
HDD Visits Technicolor's New Paramount Post-Production Facilityby Michael S. Palmer [teaser]High-Def Digest recently went behind the scenes at one of Hollywood's preeminent post-production facilities.[/teaser] Tucked between massive soundstages and production company ("pod") bungalows, Technicolor at Paramount opened in September of 2011. Inside the 90,000 square foot complex, you'll find 62,000 square feet dedicated exclusively to audio (mixing stages, ADR recording rooms, etc.). Though it was built for broadcast television and theatrical motion picture sound, Technicolor at Paramount was also designed to accommodate the entire post-production process, including editorial, visual effects, and digital intermediate color correction. Currently, twenty-four television shows mix here, including 'True Blood' (we saw them working on episode 508), 'Dexter', 'Glee' (which shoots across the alley), 'American Horror Story', and all of Seth MacFarlane's animated TV empire. In terms of feature films, they're currently working on 'Guilt Trip' (starring Barbara Streisand and Seth Rogen) and 'Jack Reacher' (formerly known as 'One Shot', starring Tom Cruise). We were able to tour the facility's largest sound mixing stage -- "Stage 1" – where they mixed 'Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters' and 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation', both of which have been delayed until 2013. While touring Stage 1, we watched a scene from 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon'. Though 'DotM' wasn't mixed at this location, we did hear a direct 7.1 output from the ProTools mixing session. Stage 1 sounds so good, it would make most home theatre enthusiasts want to move in and watch as many movies there as possible. Technicolor says post-production used to be split more into separate stages. For example, filmmakers would be warned not to judge picture quality when mixing the soundtrack, or to judge sound when editing, developing the film in a lab, or color correcting. Filmmakers had to travel to other studio lots and/or companies and judge the elements separately before bringing the finished product together. Considering the frantic pace of readying a television episode for airdate or a feature for theatrical distribution, that's a lot of time wasted. Technicolor built its Paramount facility to merge the entire post process under one roof. With professional calibrated projectors in every mixing stage, it's easy for filmmakers to edit a scene in their production office (or tweak colors, or review new visual effects delivered over the worldwide Technicolor Production Network), and then walk down the hall to see final results on a huge screen while mixing surround sound. Because every mixing stage sounds virtually the same, it's also possible to simultaneously mix the same soundtrack in two different rooms. They had do that once already, where the music and dialog where adjusted in one room at the same time as the sound effects in another. Technicolor believes this "merging" allows more quality time with the filmmakers in highly compressed and rushed schedules. There are also a series of private, comfortable green rooms -- with plush couches, fresh fruit, junk food, highly caffeinated beverages and big screen plasmas -- in which filmmakers and talent can take quick breaks. Given that it was constructed during the era of digital filmmaking and high definition surround sound, Technicolor at Paramount is state of the art in its ability to handle almost every format imaginable. The only capability this new facility doesn't have is Dolby ATMOS, which debuted at 14 North American cinemas with Disney / Pixar's 'Brave'. However, Technicolor is considering the upgrade. The stages were built with an eye towards future changes -- the aforementioned Stage 1 features 18 surround channels on the wall, and each speaker is wired and amplified discretely (one of ATMOS' spec requirements). In-house Technicolor sound re-recording mixers, Greg Russell and Scott Millan, are excited about ATMOS (especially the ceiling and full range rear channels). We also heard Michael Bay is listening to ATMOS in consideration for the fourth 'Transformers' film, but no decisions have been made. Up next for Technicolor at Paramount, Russell and Millan will be doing a "pre-dub" mix for the new James Bond film 'Skyfall', before finishing the soundtrack in London.Posted Fri Jul 6, 2012 at 10:25 AM PDT by: -
HDD Interviews 'Safe House' Writer David Guggenheimby Luke Hickman I love a good action movie. I'm not talking those cheesy, dumb, overly serious things that used to pass as action movies in the '80s – I'm talking about good, solid action movies. Sadly, they've been on the decline. It's not all that often that we're handed one with strong quality. February gave us one of the best action flicks in a long time - 'Safe House.' The story was strong (despite an expected twist). The action was great. The movie had both style and substance. And it was a success. Although it was just six percent away from a "fresh" Rotten Tomatoes rating, it killed it at the box office. 'Safe House' opened in the number two spot upward of $40 million (which is great for February), only to take the number one spot for its second and third weekends. 'Safe House' remained in the Top 10 for seven consecutive weeks and grossed over $202 million worldwide. [teaser]'Safe House' marks the first feature film for exploding writer David Guggenheim. Universal greenlit and fast-tracked this project (which you'll read more about in the interview that follows), which quickly made Hollywood take notice.[/teaser] For a new guy, Guggenheim has some pretty huge prospects on the horizon. If he keeps moving onward and upward – which I truly believe he will – then things will only get more exciting. Guggenheim recently took a few minutes out of this packed schedule to talk 'Safe House,' to explain what it feels like to finally land on the Hollywood map, and to give us a sneak preview of what to expect in the near future. I hope that as you read this interview, you'll feel the excitement, energy, gratitude and humility that exude from his words. Enjoy. HDD – Luke Hickman: Hi, David. David Guggenheim: Hello. HDD: How are you holding up after doing rapid fire interviews today? David Guggenheim: It's crazy, you know - but it's fun. I like doing them on the street, so I'm walking now, getting some air. It's all good. HDD: I think I'm your last interview for the day, so let's knock this out. Will you tell me a little bit about your writing education and history, how you got into it? David Guggenheim: Well, I'm a New Yorker. I grew up on Long Island. I went to school for writing at NYU. I've been writing since I was a kid. I was around seven years old when I wrote my first couple scripts. My first real stuff went out when I was in college. And it didn't sell. It came as humanly close as possible to selling, but it was the wrong place – the right place at the wrong time. Ever since then, it's been me sending out scripts – like six or seven scripts that went out to studios – that came really close to selling, but none of them ever did. And finally, 'Safe House' is the first one that sold. HDD: I've got to tell you – I dug it. David Guggenheim: Well, thanks! HDD: We haven't had an action movie of that caliber in a long time. David Guggenheim: And that's what I was going for – a sort of cool, visceral, original action movie. They just don't make them anymore. It's old school. HDD: And it looks great on Blu-ray too. David Guggenheim: Right?! It looks incredible on Blu-ray. HDD: Where did you get the idea and your inspiration for 'Safe House?' David Guggenheim: I'm a huge spy film fan. That's my favorite genre, which is why 'Safe House' is sprinkled with James Bond references throughout the whole movie. I have always been looking towards writing something in that vein. Up until now, I hadn't done it. I'd never written an actual spy movie. I thought about the idea of 'Safe House,' which I'd heard referenced before – it's common knowledge that these things actually exist – and I thought, 'That's such a provocative title. What if this place that's supposed to be your safe haven becomes the most dangerous place? That's something. I've got something going here.' And then I started thinking, 'Who works there? Well, it's this kid who has never been out in the field before.' I can identify with those sorts of characters. … I like the guy who doesn't know how to fight. So then I have to put him in a situation: 'What if we then pair him with the complete opposite? We put him with the most sociopathic expert spy. We have them going on the run, sort of learning from each other as they go on this journey – making it more of a "road movie" than anything else. Throw in action, gun fights, explosions, really cool hand-to-hand combat sequences. HDD: What was it like having 'Safe House' greenlit? You say this was your first script purchased, so how satisfying did it feel to know that it was going to be made? David Guggenheim: The movie literally came out [in theaters] two years after it sold. It was insane. We sold it, and literally a year later we were in production, and a year later – I got spoiled. That's the downside. I got so spoiled from it because … that's not exactly how that works. Usually. I was going, "I just sold it. How are they getting it made already? They're really making it! They're not just talking about getting these actors, they want to make this movie." That was really cool. Again, it wasn't based on a pre-existing title or anything like that – I thought it was going to be a very small-budget movie, by they ballooned it. HDD: Did they invite you to be present for the shoot? David Guggenheim: Yeah. They did. I was shooting a pilot that I wrote at the time, so I couldn't be there the whole time. The minute we wrapped [the pilot], I jumped on a plane. … It worked great. They involved me through the film, after the filming and during post [production]. It was really great. They were really cool. HDD: How does the final product compare to the way you wrote it? Does it look the way that you visualized it? David Guggenheim: It really does. I pictured it just short of a '70s movie. That's how I try to write. I go for those high-concept '90s movies, then think … 'How would this have looked in the '70s era?' I think [the director] took it around in a cooler way, but it's definitely fast and visceral. When people are shot, they get shot. When someone gets punched, they have to react to that punch. … It makes it more exciting that way. HDD: Where are those old scripts that you were pitching around Hollywood? Are you still working on them? David Guggenheim: I don't usually like going back. Usually there's a reason why something didn't sell, sometimes it's a timing issue. Sometimes I think that I have just gotten better. I've thought about dusting off some, but why not just move forward and do some new stuff. But, oddly enough, there was one that I wrote seven or eight years ago called 'Medallion' that got picked up independently and made because of 'Safe House.' It's now called 'Stolen.' So that's an example of an old script of mine that someone dug up and said, "Hey, let's make this into a movie." HDD: When was that filmed? David Guggenheim: They were literally shooting at the same time that we were shooting 'Safe House' and the pilot. All three were shooting at the same time, but I'm not sure what their plans are for it. I think that they're still doing work for – I know that Simon West was directing and I know that he's also doing 'The Expendables 2,' so he's pretty busy right now. … I really have no idea [what they're doing with it], but I imagine that [it's on the back burner for now]. HDD: Did they not keep you as involved with 'Stolen' as you were with 'Safe House?' David Guggenheim: They asked me to be, but I was honestly so busy that I couldn't. Unfortunately, I couldn't be as involved as I would want to, but they were cool, asking me if I wanted to go down there [for the shoot] and check it out. Everyone involved in that movie was awesome too. I've got no complaints. HDD: I notice that you have at least four scripts that are in some form of production right now. David Guggenheim: They're all in various stages of development. One is really close to shooting. One we are hoping will be really close to shooting in the next couple of months. One is about to land a director – but I can't say who that director is until he signs his name. And the other one were are just developing. So they are all in various stages of development. HDD: Can you talk at all about those scripts? Give us a little hint of what to expect? David Guggenheim: Yeah! 'Puzzle Palace' is the first one, the one that's most concrete. That's the one that McG is directing. Most recently he did 'This Means War.' He did the 'Charlie's Angels' movies, 'Terminator Salvation.' It's being produced by [the person] who did all the 'Twilight' movies. It's sort of 'Die Hard'-esque. It takes place in 'Puzzle Palace' in New York City - which is police headquarters. A young man breaks into the building to exonerate his father and gets trapped inside with all the crooked cops who set up his dad. It's more like 'No Way Out' than anything else. It's very cool, very tense. HDD: Sounds awesome. David Guggenheim: Then there's 'Narco Sub,' which Tony Scott is attached to direct. Narcosubs are these real things, the new way that drug dealers are smuggling cocaine into America. They're actually building their own submarines. HDD: Wow. I didn't even know that. David Guggenheim: Yeah, it's cool. It's like no one even knows about it. Occasionally it will pop up in the news, but it's unbelievably "real world." [The movie] is about a down-and-out ex-Navy guy who is sort of forced into commanding one of these subs. HDD: And you've got Tony Scott directing? David Guggenheim: Yeah, Tony Scott. HDD: That's awesome! David Guggenheim: It's cool! It's the ultimate – it's like, we got Tony Scott back in the sub. HDD: That's so cool! David Guggenheim: It's very, very awesome. HDD: And I see that you're doing something with Ron Howard? David Guggenheim: That's right – '364.' That's the one that we're developing, literally, right now. It's kind of a (inaudible) superhero movie. The idea is that, what if you were superhero – but for only 24 hours, just one day, each year. What would you do with your gifts? This one is definitely still in the developmental stage, but hopefully we're going to end up cracking it soon. HDD: I can't wait. I've got to tell you, I really like 'Safe House,' I dig the Blu-ray and I'm looking forward to seeing what you do next. David Guggenheim: That's awesome, man. That you so much. I appreciate it. HDD: You're welcome. And thanks for taking the time to talk to me today. David Guggenheim: Absolutely.Posted Tue Jul 3, 2012 at 12:10 PM PDT by: -
Bonus View Digest - June 29, 2012[teaser]June has come and gone on The Bonus View. We're headed into July now, but not before we recap the last week to see what nuggets of high-def gold you might have missed.[/teaser] TV Madness We ended things in the tournament. Jack Bauer fought with the cyborg Terminator Cameron. Bauer won by two votes and was crowned champion. You may not agree with the outcome; if you don't Jack Bauer is headed to your house right now to make you agree. TV Madness may be over, but we have a new tournament planned coming in October. Monster Madness! So get thinking about what movie monsters you'd like to see in a tournament to the death. Blu-ray News We recapped the Blu-rays that came out this week in our Blu-ray Highlights post. It's all about 'The Artist' this week. Are you picking it up? Or are your eyes set on something else? Theatrical News Aaron reviewed Seth MacFarlane's first foray into feature-filmmaking, with 'Ted'. Find out if it really is funny and worth seeing. He also wrote a Posterizing article this week that took a look at some of the new posters that have come out in recent weeks. E covered two movies in his Trailer Park. See what he thinks about the new trailers for 'Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai' and 'Django Unchained'. Gaming News This week in videogame news Brian Hoss discussed his feelings on the new 'Aliens: Colonial Marines' game along with the new 8-bit style game 'Retro City Rampage'. Check them out and see if they're for you. TV Recaps We had recaps for episodes of 'True Blood', 'Wilfred', and the series premiere of 'The Newsroom'. Special Features This week's Mid-Week Poll asked what TV shows you'll be watching this summer. With so many new series starting there's plenty of progamming to get into. The Weekend Roundtable talked about our favorite and least favorite vampire movies. What are some of yours? Thanks for sticking with us through June. As we head into July we have a lot of things planned, most notably covering some of the huge theatrical releases that will be coming out in the next few weeks. So, stay tuned to The Bonus View until next time.Posted Fri Jun 29, 2012 at 12:00 PM PDT by: -
Pioneer Launches the BDP-150 3D Blu-ray Player[teaser]You'll find some nice file format compatibility and a few streaming options to boot. [/teaser] The BDP-150 is the latest Blu-ray player from Pioneer, and it does everything you'd expect a $150 player to do. It's compatible with 3D videos, it streams from Pandora and YouTube, and it's compatible with Pioneer's optional wireless adapter so you can enjoy the content you want without having to plug in. The most interesting aspect of the BDP-150 though, is the surprising amount of file formats that it can play back. In addition to the usual suspects like MP3, you'll be able to play DiVX, MPEG-4, AVI, LPCM, WMA and FLAC files, with FLAC being the only type not supported over a network. The BDP-150 is out now at a price of $179. Source:Posted Thu Jun 28, 2012 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
Best Buy Founder May Buy The Company Outright[teaser]Richard Schulze is seeking out the cash to take the whole thing over himself. [/teaser] In 1966 a guy named Richard Schulze created a company called Sound of Music, which developed over the years into the mega chain we now know as Best Buy. The company is public now, of course, but Schulze is looking to change that. He's currently shopping around with places like Credit Suisse to find the money to buy up the company. Richard Schulze is of the opinion that different operating strategies and cost-cutting across the board would take the company back in the right direction. Analyst Michael Pachter doesn't see it happening, stating “I think he will have a tough time borrowing the money." Source: Home Media MagazinePosted Wed Jun 27, 2012 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
Vizio's Google TV Set-Top Runs $99, Comes with OnLive Gaming Built In[teaser]The streaming device is a full $100 cheaper than Sony's. [/teaser] Sony just announced a brand new Google TV set-top box that's coming this July at $199. Right on the heels of that announcement, Vizio revealed that their own set-top, available for preorder in July, will be available at just $99. Vizo calls it the Co-Star and packs it full of the things you'd expect from a Google TV box. It's capable of 3D, it does 1080p video and gives you the expected keyboard/remote combo. It also packs OnLive, for those that want to get into gaming without buying a console. Source: EngadgetPosted Tue Jun 26, 2012 at 11:00 AM PDT by: -
Sony Announces a Google TV Set-Top and Google TV Blu-ray Player[teaser]The NSZ-GP9 Blu-ray Player is due out this fall at $299, the streamer comes sooner at $199. [/teaser] Sony is launching a pair of new Google TV devices, both of which come in quite a bit cheaper than the TV they initially launched with the operating system. Both utilize the Google Play Store, the Google Chrome browser, and give you cross search functionality across all of your video sources. The NSZ-GS7 is the set-top box, which will be released on July 22nd at a price of $199. The NSZ-GP9 Blu-ray player has a more tenuous release date, simply listed as Fall 2012. The price for the player is $299. Source: eCousticsPosted Tue Jun 26, 2012 at 09:04 AM PDT by: -
Sony and Panasonic Partner for OLED Mass Production in 2013[teaser]The rumored partnership is now official and we'll start seeing TVs from the two companies next year. [/teaser] To say that Sony and Panasonic are lagging behind in the race for OLED domination is an understatement. They don't even have a car on the track. In order to catch up to Korean manufacturers who are focusing on the new tech, the two companies are teaming up. Panasonic and Sony will be developing new methods of printing and get mass production up and running by 2013. The hope is that they'll be able to come up with something that will let them beat out LG and Samsung on price, which would hugely help their position in the marketplace. Though the two will be working together, they'll still be competing against each other when their sets are released. You'll see the same tech, but different products, each with their own features. Source: EngadgetPosted Mon Jun 25, 2012 at 09:00 AM PDT by: -
Bonus View Digest - June 22, 2012[teaser]A lot happened this week. We're winding down the TV Madness tournament which is culminating with an extremely tough matchup in which most people might find it hard to cast a vote. We also have reviews for the big new movies opening up this weekend. Check out all the Bonus View content below that you might have missed.[/teaser] Blu-ray News We announced our 'Falling Skies' contest results. Congratulations to readers VIOZ and Jim S. for winning a free Blu-ray of 'Falling Skies: Season 1', and thanks to Dolby Labs for sponsoring the giveaway. We have plenty of giveaways, so keep watching the blog for your chance to win free stuff! In our Blu-ray Highlights post you can follow the specifics about what happened to the 'Blade' releases that we were supposed to have in stores this week. If you're interested in Steelbooks, Tom has a great post on the new UK Steelbook that will be available for the upcoming release of ''The Raid: Redemption'.' TV Madness Jack Bauer took on Seven of Nine while Buffy fought tooth-and-nail with Cameron. Bauer and Cameron emerged as winners and the two finalists in the tournament. Today the final match will be posted on the blog an you'll have your chance to crown the most deserving character. Don't forget to vote. Theatrical News Wondering what to expect from the new movies coming out this weekend? Well, Luke has you covered. Is Pixar's new 'Brave' Pixar-good or just good? Is 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter' worth seeing? Check out our reviews to see what Luke thought. Also this week, we learned from Josh that Dolby is rolling out its new Dolby Atmos product this weekend in select theaters. We have a list of theaters in the post. Atmos will soon spread, but right now you'll only find it at these particular theaters showing with 'Brave.' TV Recaps Did you make it all the way through 'The Killing'? Are you simply following along with us through our recaps and not bothering to watch the show? Either way is fine. We've got a season two finale recap that you just have to read. Other recaps include the season two premiere of 'Suits,' the quasi-season premiere of 'Dallas,' and episodes of 'Longmire' and 'True Blood.' Special Features This week's Weekend Roundtable focused on Tom Cruise's best and worst movies. What do you think? Also, in the Mid-Week Poll we asked how you perceive box sets especially when there are still other movies being planned for the same franchise. Do you buy them or do you wait? Thanks for joining us this week. June has flown by. July is almost here which means some really big theatrical openings. Stay tuned.Posted Fri Jun 22, 2012 at 11:25 AM PDT by:
