Hollywood’s Retro-Fueled Nostalgia Trip

Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, which just won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, tells the story of a young artist who finds himself entranced by the romanticized atmosphere of France in the early 20th century. I can’t think of a better microcosm for Hollywood in the past year.

Let’s begin with last night’s Academy Awards ceremony, which in addition to Allen’s award bestowed 10 trophies upon two films built around French silent films.

Voters swooned around The Artist, a French film from a creative team previously best known in America for a pair of James Bond spoofs (among those who knew them at all, that is). Jean Dujardin, a superstar in his native land, plays a silent film star who finds himself unable to adapt to the advent of talkies. Does its win for Best Picture constitute a vote of protest from Hollywood in the face of its own struggles to adapt to an evolving medium? In this case, of course, it’s the plethora of new filmmaking technologies that seem to have democratized the industry, putting less emphasis on the traditional movie star and forcing studios to turn to new gimmicks such as 3D. And that’s not to mention the evolving home entertainment sphere, with the struggle between Blu-ray and digital delivery as the future platform of choice for the theatrical aftermarket.

In embracing the past, the Academy chose a silent movie for the first time since Wings was given the top prize at the inaugural ceremony in 1929. (Coincidentally, Wings was recently released on DVD and Blu-ray for the first time by Paramount.) It’s also the first Best Picture winner to be produced in the classic 4:3 ratio since 1955’s Marty. If not for Schindler’s List in 1993, it would be the first predominantly black-and-white film to win since 1960’s The Apartment. Take that, modern cinema!

On the other end of the scale is Hugo, which celebrates the past with thoroughly modern production values and dazzling use of the 3D form. Martin Scorsese paints a loving tribute to the spirit of artistry found in early silent films, particularly those of French film pioneer Georges Méliès. To celebrate how much cinema has evolved since those early days, Scorsese even converted some of Méliès’ most famous scenes into 3D. Take that, classic cinema!

What Scorsese’s film glosses over is how Méliès was ruined by rampant piracy and his own inability to adapt to the emerging business models of his new industry, which came to be dominated by Thomas Edison and his Machiavellian alliances to control most distribution channels. Instead, the film blames a changing cultural climate following World War I for Méliès’ downfall, as audiences supposedly turned their backs on anything “fun.”

Hopefully, modern Hollywood will not be so similarly oblivious to its own shortfalls.

But, it seems, in these cynical times, Hollywood is pining for a return to a simpler era of creative achievement unburdened by commercialism, when art for art’s sake was enough of an accomplishment. After all, it’s a lot easier to blame the audience when things don’t work out.

Hugo and The Artist haven’t exactly scored at the box office, but that doesn’t mean nostalgia doesn’t sell. Of the top 12 films of 2011, 10 were sequels and two were based on comic books. And both of those, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, are entries in the Marvel Films series that tie into the upcoming The Avengers.

Even looking at the top 25, most have some sort of nostalgic kick to them. One of the central themes of Bridesmaids (No. 14), for example, deals with how friends can find themselves drifting apart despite trying to hold onto what made that friendship work to begin with. And Super 8 (No. 21) is just an homage to Spielberg films of the 1970s and 1980s, with its own subplots of characters having to let go of the past.

And let’s not overlook The Muppets, which may be the ultimate nostalgia trip, as it reminisces about earlier “Muppet” movies as its characters try to re-create an episode of “The Muppet Show.” (Half the dialogue, it seems, is some variation of “I loved you guys when I was a kid.”)

And therein can be found the dichotomy in which Hollywood finds itself: a gap between artists who don’t want to be judged by an audience that prefers the safety of familiarity in the absence of fresh ideas, with the studios caught in the middle, facing a changing technological landscape that makes it that much harder to monetize their product.

If everyone is living in the past, is anyone looking toward the future?

'SpongeBob' Soaks Up Retail Attention

Fans of The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water had plenty of options for retail exclusives when the title hit shelves June 2.

Target offered the Sponge Out of Water Blu-ray combo pack (not 3D) with "Invincibubble" packaging and a removable bubble wand, plus free popcorn and juice at the Target Café.

Best Buy offered the Sponge 2D Blu-ray with a "SpongeBob"  beach ball, while Walmart offered the Blu-ray in a gift set with pez dispensers.

Best Buy offered a $10 gift card with the purchase of Sony Pictures' Justified: The Final Season along with any previous season. Target offered the DVD of the final season, as well as DVDs of earlier seasons, with exclusive box art.

Target also offered an exclusive steelbook edition with special artwork of the first season of HBO's True Detective.

Walmart offered early availability of the DVD of Alchemy's Welcome to Me, starring Kristen Wiig, for $12.94. The title won't be widely available until June 16.

New on Disc: 'Thank Your Lucky Stars' and more …

Thank Your Lucky Stars (Blu-ray)

Available via Warner Archive
Warner, Musical, $21.99 Blu-ray, NR.
Stars Eddie Cantor, Dinah Shore, Joan Leslie, Dennis Morgan, Edward Everett Horton, S.Z. Sakall.
1943. Thank Your Lucky Stars, from Warner, came early in the cycle of all-star musicals, and many regard it as best of the bunch.
Extras: The Blu-ray throws in some bonus extras mostly carried over from the old DVD — including one on the lives of chorus girl bit players.
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Hombre (Blu-ray)

Available via ScreenArchives.com
Twilight Time, Western, $29.95 Blu-ray, NR.
Stars Paul Newman, Fredric March, Richard Boone, Diane Cilento.
1967. Paul Newman had a distressing streak of indifferent movies in the mid-1960s, but Hombre was something of a return to form.
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Retailers Lacking Blu Focus

Slow weeks for new disc releases, such as May 26, give retailers a chance to step back and push older titles, though they also call attention to the short shrift given to new titles that aren't major hits or recipients of wide media coverage.

Other than Universal's Seventh Son, availability of some of the other new titles was spotty at the major retailers. Most of the new titles were available in some format or another, but among the brick-and-mortar stores only Best Buy offered the Blu-ray version for most of the new titles. In fact, Best Buy's weekly ad circular doesn't even list prices for new titles other than the Blu-ray version. The exception this week, strangely, was Lionsgate's Sons of Liberty, which received only a DVD mention in Best Buy's weekly ad.

Likewise, Target shelves had only the DVD version of Sons of Liberty.

Walmart, on the other hand, had only the DVD versions for most of its new releases on shelves, a disappointing trend for the top retailer of physical media. It certainly doesn't help grow the perception of Blu-ray beyond a niche, prestige format if half the potential shopping base is never exposed to the possibility of buying the Blu-ray version. There's a reason Blu-ray enthusiasts will generally steer clear of Walmart unless seeking out a specific exclusive.

Best Buy spent a lot of its ad space promoting preorders, this week focusing on Sony Pictures' Chappie with exclusive content and Paramount's The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water with an exclusive beach ball.

New on Disc: 'X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes' and more …

X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes

Kino Lorber, Sci-fi, $19.95 DVD, $29.95 Blu-ray, NR.
Stars Ray Milland, Diana Van der Vlis, Don Rickles, Harold J. Stone.
1963. Director Roger Corman was lucky to have an actor of Ray Milland’s caliber starring as a mad scientist whose experiments on himself give him the ability to see through things.
Extras: In addition to a Joe Dante intro, thee are a couple commentaries on this release: one by Corman and another by film historian Tim Lucas.
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Kid Glove Killer

Available via Warner Archive
Warner, Drama, $21.99 DVD, NR.
Stars Van Heflin, Marsha Hunt, Lee Bowman.
1942. Fred Zinnemann’s modest debut feature turned out notably well on a ‘B’ budget, with the chief selling point being its subject matter about crime lab microscoping.
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The Originals Game

Netflix appears to have an insatiable appetite for original content.

Speaking earlier this month at the MoffettNathanson Media & Communications Summit in New York, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos attributed much of Netflix’s 20% year-over-year subscriber engagement hike to the success of original shows such as “House of Cards” and “Orange Is the New Black.”

The percentage of its total acquisition budget that Netflix spends on original programming keeps shooting upward; on an earnings call last month, chief financial officer David Wells said “it’s drifting up to 30% [and] could drift up to 40% … we are building out our … original content investment and that is cash intensive.” Accordingly, in his quarterly letter to shareholders last January, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings promised 320 hours of original programming this year, three times as much as in 2014.

Original content is not just the growth engine for Netflix here in the United States, but also abroad, where Netflix is aggressively expanding its reach. Sarandos noted that “House of Cards,” according to one report, is the most popular U.S. TV show in China.

And Netflix is more than happy to pay whatever it takes for exclusive rights — which is why some of the same studios that for years have griped about Netflix cannibalizing their sellthrough business are now creating original programming for the No. 1 streaming service.

Content, it appears, truly is king.

The more dependent Netflix gets on original content, the more it seeks global exclusivity of that content. Netflix no longer seeks blanket license agreements with studios for bulk programming. It picks and chooses specific programming.

To get control of that programming, Netflix is now dealing directly with creators and producers of TV shows and independent movies. When it licenses a show or movie, the rights are exclusive. That’s because binge-viewing, commercial-free, and on-demand access are key drivers of Netflix’s brand proposition.

“We’re either interested in the global rights or we’re not interested at all,” Sarandos said.

Netflix recently secured rights to African warlord drama “Beasts of No Nation,” starring Idris Elba. The streaming kingpin beat out independent distributors (such as Fox Searchlight) within the major studios — a win Sarandos attributed more to dealing directly with producers and granting immediate access than money.

It also secured exclusive rights to Fox TV’s “Gotham” and A&E Networks’ “The Returned” by dealing directly with the shows' producers, Warner Bros. Television (“Gotham”) and A&E Studios, respectively.

“For a dollar spent [on original programming] and an hour viewed, you get more hours of viewing per dollars spent on originals versus the licensed content,” Sarandos said.

At the same time, Netflix is still interested in bidding on sitcoms with major stars, such as “The Big Bang Theory,” “Mike and Molly,” and “2 Broke Girls,” provided the market for the shows isn’t overheated, according to Sarandos.

“We’re not seeking a lot of [random viewing],” he said.

But for the most part, original programming is the way to go for Netflix — regardless of what it costs, where it comes from, and who they have to beat out at the negotiating table.

Retailers Aim 'Sniper' at Shoppers

Retailers offered a few modest exclusives to lure buyers of Warner's American Sniper on disc upon its release May 19.

Best Buy offered exclusive box art and the exclusive featurette "Bringing the War Home: The Cost of Heroism," available via the CinemaNow digital streaming service.

Target offered an exclusive steelbook case of the Blu-ray combo pack, while Walmart offered a single-DVD edition with special box art and no bonus features, instead of the widely available two-disc DVD special edition, which Walmart has done before on Warner titles. Again, by not offering the widely available edition, some Walmart shoppers might be picking up the DVD without ever realizing there is another version available with bonus material they might want to see at a comparable price.

Walmart's website also included the wrong box art for its exclusive DVD edition.

Target offered Orange Is the New Black: Season Two with an exclusive “Glamour in the Slammer” featurette. Best Buy offered a $10 savings with the disc purchase of both seasons of "Orange Is the New Black."

Best Buy also offered $5 pizza coupons with the purchase of select TV DVD titles, and a buy-one-get-one deal on select Blu-rays offered at $9.99 each.

New on Disc: 'The River' and more …

The River

Criterion, Drama, $29.95 DVD, $39.95 Blu-ray, NR.
Stars Nora Swinburne, Esmond Knight, Arthur Shields, Suprova Mukerjee, Radha Burnier.
1951. Set in what feels like a timeless era that has nothing directly to do with the postwar Gandhi-propelled political upheavals, this remembrance directed by Jean Renoir and based on a novel by British but India-bred Rumer Godden is certainly an alternative to Kipling in its treatment of race relations and choice of central characters.
Extras: A lot of the bonus extras (mostly carried over from the old Criterion DVD) deal with Renoir’s good fortune in finding a financial angel: Kenneth McEldowney, who was a successful L.A. florist. Other supplements here include Ian Christie notes, a new video essay by filmmaker Paul Ryan, an audio interview with McEldowney (who died in 2004); and a 2008 documentary on the movie’s making, which runs an hour.
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April Love (Blu-ray)

Available via ScreenArchives.com
Twilight Time, Comedy, $29.95 Blu-ray, NR.
Stars Pat Boone, Shirley Jones, Dolores Michaels, Arthur O’Connell.
1957. If late-1950s Hollywood just had to make Pat Boone vehicles, April Love was probably the way to go about it.
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Retailers Stimulate 'Grey' Matter

As Universal's Fifty Shades of Grey entered its first full week, retailers continued to make it their top promotional focus even among the May 12 new releases.

Best Buy offered a steelbook case with the Fifty Shades Blu-ray combo pack, while Target presented a deluxe-edition Blu-ray gift set with 30 minutes of additional bonus content and a journal and pen set. Target also had a Blu-ray combo pack with just the 30-minutes of exclusive extras without the journal.

Walmart had the Fifty Shades combo pack with an exclusive photo book and box art.

New on Disc: 'Mr. Turner' and more …

Mr. Turner

Sony Pictures, Drama, $30.99 DVD, $34.99 Blu-ray, ‘R’ for some sexual content.
Stars Timothy Spall, Paul Jesson, Dorothy Atkinson.
2014. Director Mike Leigh’s portrait of the now revered 19th-century artist J.M.W. Turner really has it all: full-blooded characters, the grunt work of artistry, social life among the upper classes, peer rivalries and political considerations.
Extras: One of the delights of Leigh’s hugely informative feature-length commentary is hearing him talk about his abundant stock company stretching many movies back.
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42nd Street (Blu-ray)

Available via Warner Archive
Warner, Musical, $21.99 Blu-ray, NR.
Stars Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell.
1933. The movie that established Busby Berkeley as a major force is just what one would hope a pioneer Depression-grounded movie would look like in the modern home viewing era.
Extras: Includes a “Merrie Melodie” spoof carried over from the DVD and a newly produced featurette that traces the film’s origins and production.
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