‘Wolverine’ Blu-ray Seamlessly Incorporates IMDb Info

10 Sep, 2009 By: Billy Gil

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CENTURY CITY, Calif. — Fans of X-Men Origins: Wolverine who aren’t familiar with the other work done by the film’s stars and crew have a new tool at their fingertips: “Live Lookup,” a Blu-ray Disc special feature that connects to online movie database IMDb.com while the film is playing.

Director Gavin Hood showed off his film on Blu-ray and its innovative special feature at the 20th Century Fox lot Sept. 10 with a live demonstration, showing how users can access up-to-date filmographies of the cast. So someone who purchases the film on Blu-ray Disc (coming Sept. 15 from Fox) can months or years later pop Wolverine into a connected Blu-ray player or PlayStation 3 and see what star Hugh Jackman has been doing since. The information is newly accessed each time the disc is used and then stored on the player.

The information can be accessed from the top menu or by pressing the blue button on a Blu-ray remote to access the pop-up menu, after which the film can be minimized to a mid-size or smaller-size screen while the IMDb information is visible below. Cast members appear as headshots, with options to show either all of the actors in that scene or all of the actors in the entire film, with camera icons to indicate whether they are in the particular scene being shown. There is also an option to search actors by name or by character name, and both the character’s real names and superhero names are shown (such as actor Liev Schreiber’s Victor Creed, better known as Sabertooth). Another option shows some background information on the movie, such as filming locations.

“This is truly an amazing experience on Blu-ray and DVD,” said Mary Daily, EVP of marketing for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Hood was delighted to see his work shown on Blu-ray.

“You work incredibly hard when you make a movie … and so often the only time you see the work the way you intended is at a preview screening,” Hood said. “What’s great about Blu-ray Disc … is you really come as close as possible to that pristine first screening.”

He also explained several special features, such as a behind-the-scenes featurette on how Jackman beefed up for the role, eating seven meals a day and working out on set, as well as a seven-minute alternate scene in which Wolverine, having just learned he was betrayed by the people he trusted, contemplates suicide and tries to have his memory erased. The scene, which Hood said was too heavy for a ‘PG-13’ rating, is one of several featurettes included on both the two-DVD special edition ($34.99) and two-disc Blu-ray ($39.99), both of which include a digital copy on the second disc. A single-disc DVD also will be available at $29.98, and a three-disc Wal-Mart exclusive includes the DVD, Blu-ray Disc and digital copy ($39.98).
 

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