It’s a hot job but somebody has to do it.
Recently I attended the annual Video Software Dealers Association — VSDA — Convention in Las Vegas. This is the trade show where studios and distributors pull out all the stops to display their upcoming wares to video-store owners.
Here are some developments from the convention:
– Meet the new format: Sales of laser discs plummeted by more than 50 percent the first quarter of this year over the same period last year. DVD movie sales, on the other hand, jumped more than 30 percent. Laser-disc makers and distributors say they will not abandon the 3 million people who own laser-disc players.
– It’s getting closer: Lots of people keep asking when Disney’s video arm, Buena Vista, is going to begin releasing the studio’s animated-film catalog on DVD. Disney’s direct-to-video best seller “Belle’s Enchanted Christmas” should be out on DVD this fall. No word on the Disney classics, but it’s a start.
– The role of a lifetime: Although Robert Duvall, who appeared at VSDA to promote the coming video release of “The Apostle,” which he wrote, produced, directed and starred in, says making that film was the experience of a lifetime, it’s not his all-time-favorite role. That distinction goes to the character of Gus in the television miniseries version of Larry McMurtry’s “Lonesome Dove.”
– An animation fan: American Indian actress Irene Bedard, born and raised in Alaska, says doing the voice of Pocahontas for Disney’s coming direct-to-video “Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World” was just as exciting as doing the original film. But the actress doesn’t want to do just animation. She says she’s looking for roles that emphasize the strength of American Indian women.
– Coming to a video store near you: Look for thousands of new titles — some good, many bad and most just forgettable — to be released on video in the second half of this year.
– A genuine nice guy: Michael Ontkean, on hand to promote Disney’s direct-to-video “Summer of the Monkeys,” is one of the most charming, friendly and entertaining actors. Probably best known for his striptease on ice in “Slap Shot” and for playing Sheriff Harry S. Truman in TV’s “Twin Peaks,” he loves to talk about everything from movies to literature to poetry. In fact, his sixth book of poetry, “Flyboy With a Bum Ticker,” will be published this fall.
– Horror in the jungle: Filmmaker George A. Romero, who gave us “Night of the Living Dead,” loves the way Anchor Bay is releasing remastered versions of his horror films on video. But while he likes making horror films, what the director would really like to do is make the ultimate Tarzan movie. While he says he has a great fondness for the Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan films he saw as a kid, he doesn’t think anyone has really done justice to the Tarzan of the Edgar Rice Burroughs books. “They’re two different characters,” he says.
– I want my plasma TV: One of the most impressive sights was a demonstration of Pioneer’s new high-definition plasma television. The wide-screen TV, which has nearly a million pixels, weighs only 90 pounds and can be hung on the wall. The clear picture almost looks three-dimensional. As you might imagine, the price is steep — $25,000. Needless to say, I didn’t do well enough at the slot machines or blackjack tables to take one home.
