Here's an article from the L.A. Times. What do you think about the idea of horror films going straight to dvd and bypassing the big screen? Some recent movies, Hostel, Stay Alive, and others could have went straight to dvd and probably made more money. Whaddaya think?

AC

Warner Video Takes Horror Straight to DVD
The studio, a longtime holdout from the disc-only market, enters with three small films on the grisly side.
By Claire Hoffman, Times Staff Writer
April 9, 2006

If Warner Home Video and a trio of established TV and film creators have their way, sci-fi and horror fans will soon be watching three gruesome new movies — the fruits of Warner's first deal to bypass movie theaters and go straight to DVD.
Very loosely inspired by the 1960s TV series "The Twilight Zone," the scary movie slate — released under the banner Raw Feed — will be put together by men with proven track records for inducing fright.

Daniel Myrick, the director of the 1999 indie thriller "The Blair Witch Project," Tony Krantz, a producer on the Fox TV show "24," and John Shiban, a TV writer who has penned episodes of the WB series "Supernatural" and "The X-Files," will direct a film apiece, each shot in L.A. for less than $5 million.

Krantz said he and his partners would work on each others' films and would share crews and a common goal: creating a modernized homage to Rod Serling's famous show "but with a different energy: raw, edgy, realistic."

Last year, consumers spent $22.8 billion buying and renting DVDs, up about 8% from the prior year, according to Digital Entertainment Group, a trade association. Of that, purchased DVDs accounted for 71% of the money spent — or $16.3 billion. By comparison, domestic ticket sales in movie theaters in 2005 totaled $8.99 billion.

"You can really launch a new product on DVD without having the benefit of a theatrical release," said Jeff Baker, a Warner Home Video vice president.

Raw Feed's combination of a big studio and proven talent is unusual in the direct-to-DVD market. To date, such fare has mostly been animated family films and sequels or remakes made with B-list actors and unknown writers and directors. A recent example is last year's prequel "Carlito's Way: Rise to Power," a Universal Home Entertainment release that featured little-known Jay Hernandez as the young Carlito Brigante, the role Al Pacino made famous in the original 1993 film.

To hear the Raw Feed guys talk, however, direct-to-DVD distribution may be the next frontier for filmmakers eager to get their cinematic visions in front of an audience. They, too, will be casting new faces, but they say the stories they'll be telling will be as fresh as those of big-budget movies.

"I just want people to watch it and I just want it to get out there," Shiban said during an interview on the set of what will be the first Raw Feed release: "Rest Stop," about a young couple terrorized during a cross-country road trip.

Unlike some directors, Shiban said he and his comrades were not bothered by the thought of never seeing their films on the big screen.

"We can tell different kinds of stories and not appeal to some big marketing plan," he said, referring to how expensive studio releases face increased pressure to have plot lines that are easy to sell.

"The market is big enough to hold this kind of thing," said John Fithian, president of the National Assn. of Theatre Owners. "As long as there are enough movies made of quality and quantity for theaters, we understand the studios' expanding. Our biggest concern is with the misguided notion that movies should be released in theaters and on DVDs at the same time."

Fithian is referring to proposals to close what's known as the "theater-only window" — that months-long stretch in which movies have traditionally played only on the big screen. This year, writer-director Steven Soderbergh released his film, "Bubble," in theaters, on DVD and via video-on-demand over a four-day period.

The Raw Feed deal came about after Endeavor Agency, which represents Myrick, Krantz and Shiban, pitched Warner on its clients' vision of DVDs for DVDs' sake. The horror genre in particular lends itself to the "extras" that DVDs provide.

After "Rest Stop" is in the can, Raw Feed has more gore on deck. "Sublime" will be about an outpatient who goes to the hospital for minor surgery only to discover his legs have been severed. In "Cult," a man visits the religious community his brother joined and learns he has arrived on the day everyone plans to commit suicide.

"We're trying," Shiban said, "to portray reality" — or at least one version of it. "We don't try to hide anything."

I recently read Nightworld and then I just finished The Keep #5 which reminded me of something that I had forgotten while reading Nightworld. (It's been a while since I read The Keep).. in The Keep it says that if Rasalom dies then Glaeken dies.... Glaeken was alive at the end of Nightworld, so does that mean that Rasalom lives???

At last I saw "Paparazzi", and I really enjoyed it! It was very entertaining.

Bo Laramie is famous actor, but he always get annoyed by paparazzi. One day, nasty paparazzi, Rex Harper took photos of Bo's son, Zach. Bo felt anger, and he hit Rex. But from this moment, Rex and his paparazzi's friends started nasty act to Bo. Because of them, Bo and his family got car accident. Nevertheless, instead of rescue, they took Bo's pictures. His son fell into a coma. This time, Bo couldn't brook their nasty acts without speaking. He started revenge to them!

Yes, this movie's theme is "REVENGE". Revenge by the man who lost privacy. For Bo's way of revenge, I wanted to shout "That's good job! Go get them and kick their butts!", but I kept myself. Cole Hauser played Bo. Tom Sizemore played Rex. When I first saw this movie's trailer, they looked like Repairman Jack and Richie Cordova in "Crisscross". Actually, Tom Sizemore truly look like Richie Cordova. Both characters are photographer, a blackmailer, a violent fat guy. As I said before, Cole Hauser is definitely good for Reapirman Jack.

By the way, when you saw this movie, you can find out three famous actors.
Mel Gibson, Vince Vaughn, and.....Maggers's fave.

While it falls squarely into the precious category of love-it-or-leave-it art-house oddities, the hypnotically absurd Swedish comedy Songs from the Second Floor is certainly unlike any other movie you've ever seen. That alone is reason to check it out, and many pleasures await those who are receptive to director Roy Andersson's conspicuously offbeat worldview, presented here as a series of marginally connected vignettes illustrating a bleak world that has literally ground to a halt. A perpetual traffic jam lurches through an urban landscape imbued with post-apocalyptic atmosphere, a ghost town populated by pale, shell-shocked citizens bereft of hope and teetering on the edge of collective madness. Characters and plot are nonexistent in any conventional sense; it's as if Andersson has cast himself as a detached God, gazing upon these lost souls from a distant remove, as if they were fish in a tank, lumbering through their oppressive city like zombies at the dead-end of civilization. Described by critic J. Hoberman as "slapstick Ingmar Bergman," this highly unusual film is certainly not for everyone, but if you're on its wavelength it's sure to prove unforgettably amusing. --Jeff Shannon

I "borrowed" this description from Amazon because I didn't know how to put this film into words, and Shannon hit the nail on the head. On the dvd case a quote says this is "like a Bergman film as realized by Monty Python." I love MP so I snatched it up and settled in for some good laughs. As it turns out this isn't my style of humor. There were a couple of Pythonish gags but for the most part it was just plain... bland. I can't say not to watch it because some of you may find the humor and artistic value in this film, but for the average Joe like myself is was a total waste of money and time.

I don't understand how movies like this receive such raving reviews. :confused:

Japanese watching movies to smells controlled by computer. What the...? Check down link.

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/entertainm...4000c.html

It reminded me of John Waters film, "Polyester". I'll go to a theatre see it next week, but I hope Skank doesn't appear in "The New World".

Dick gets a big promotion at work which he soon loses as his company goes under, ala Enron. Months later he still hasn't found a job and the repos begin. He and Jane do everything they can to make ends meet but fail and are forced to turn to a life of crime, and finally revenge on the boss that screwed everyone.

A really funny film. I thought they did a great job with it. Well worth the rental.

Robert Redford lives on a ranch in Wyoming where he cares for his only trusted friend, Morgan Freeman. One day his (ex)daughter-in-law (Jennifer Lopez), whom he blames for the death of his only son, shows up in desperate need of help and with a granddaughter he never knew existed. A connection is possible if the anger, blame, and guilt can be dealt with and forgiveness found.

I really liked this movie. Freeman and Redford together - WOW! And Lopez does a great job as well. A really good story. It has it's unrealistic moments at times but the good far outweighs the bad. Highly recommend this film.

Hello.

As I've run out of RJ books for the moment, I've been reading some other FPW books. The last one I read was Healer, which I really, really enjoyed!

I noticed from Dave M's Cross Reference that there're a number of other books linked to this one, such as Wheels Within Wheels, The Tery, An Enemy of the State, Dydeetown World, etc. But is there an order that I should read them in?

I also noticed that Peter LaNague was mentioned in Healer, and I've seen this name around quite a bit in these forums (and in the RJ store!), but what books do I need to read to find out more? And again, is there an order?

Cheers everyone.

Kevin.

[SIZE="3"]FYI - This just in from Barry Hoffman of Gauntlet Press:[/SIZE]

Wanted to let you know my printer projects shipping HARBINGERS April 21. As I have more orders (from national distributors) than books, if you can mention something on your website . . . I want to make sure individuals who want the book can get a copy.

[SIZE="3"]In other words, the signed/limited Harbingers is sold out. But if any of you order in the next week or so, Barry will pull copies from the distributors' orders and divert them to you.[/SIZE]

Are issues 3-5 of the Keep miniseries out yet? I went to IDW (where I got the first two) and there is still no mention of any of the others.

Jason