‘BLADE RUNNER’ MAKERS AT ALCON SAY HARRISON FORD NOT IN TALKS TO STAR

But the scuttlebutt sure got the project a lot of attention. Well done, Hollywood. Well done.

AXL ROSE TURNS 50 TODAY

Which means I’m like a hundred or something.

You know, this whole passage of time thing is really starting to freak me out.

FILM SCHOOL REJECTS: IF REDBOX TAKES OVER THE WORLD, TITLES WILL BE LIMITED TO WHAT FITS IN A REDBOX

Interesting observation:

I can’t see these two stories happening [Redbox making a move on streaming and Blockbuster’s kiosks] at the same time being seen as anything other than a stake aimed directly at the hearts of Netflix and Blockbuster, and as a play by Redbox to take over all aspects of the home video industry. The question I have to ask is, with a new streaming service and a lot more kiosk locations, does this mean Redbox has plans to diversify the titles that they offer the public in a given week, or are we going to see the model of everyone watching the same three movies at the same time become even more prevalent?

It would be easy for me to dismiss this as “the market at work,” but the selection at Redbox is, obviously, light, and should Redbox take over the world, then what?

For starters, I think the Redbox move into streaming is in part due to them recognizing that there’s money to made with more titles. I also think that Redbox jumping into streaming will be a net-plus for consumers and Hollywood — though Hollywood is too dumb to understand that now.

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Streaming is the cut-out bin for old titles, a market for older titles with no place else to go — a way to monetize this stuff one last time. Right now, though, there’s only one cut-out bin, so there’s no one to compete with when it comes to selling your wares. Another buyer gives the seller the edge, and if the seller has more of an edge, more sellers will sell, which means more titles available via streaming.

Man, I love me some capitalism.

So, FSR might be right. As far as renting physical discs, once Blockbuster goes under (which I’m not looking forward to), our options will be limited to what fits in a kiosk. But we will still be able to get those discs through Netflix by mail and watch many of those titles (though not all, at least not right away) through the Netflix and Redbox streaming services.

Personally, I think dueling Redbox and Netflix streaming services will become the HBO and Showtime of this decade — each offering the same service but licensing different product. But this will be an infinitely better and cheaper service than HBO and Showtime, thanks to a wider selection.

‘LILYHAMMER,’ NETFLIX’S FIRST ORIGINAL SERIES, NOW AVAILABLE TO WATCH

If all goes right this weekend, I will be feasting on this.

A second season is already in production.

More: NETFLIX: THE FUTURE OF TELEVISION?

CONSUMERS LIKE CLOUD TECHNOLOGY — JUST DON’T ASK THEM TO PAY

This cloud is a digital locker that stores a digital copy of your film and does so for free — at least for now. This isn’t a perfect comparison, but it’s like Hotmail. You don’t store your email archives on your computer, Hotmail stores those archives for you. That way your email is accessible to you from any device that has access to the Internet. The same is true for films stored in this cloud.

Right now, Hollywood is hoping that by adding this nifty new feature only with DVDs that are purchased that this will boost sales. You might ask why anyone would want a digital copy of a film they don’t like very much, but I think the idea here is to cut into the previously-viewed market.

The real attraction to the cloud, though, is not being able to watch movies at anytime on anything. That’s a nice feature, but the real selling point should be the back-up copy. If your disc is damaged, lost, or stolen, you have a copy forever stored in this cloud.

What Hollywood should do is sell the cloud in that manner and allow people, for a small one-time fee, to back up their older films. That would be one way to monetize this. Another would be to charge a little extra to have the back-up copy of your regular DVD boosted to Blu-ray quality.

Imagine being able to access your entire DVD collection from your Blu-ray player?

BEST SONG NOMINEES WON’T PERFORM AT THIS YEAR’S OSCARS

Naturally, the studios nominated for Best Song are upset, which is yet another symptom of this industry’s self-involved lack of concern for the customers. Would the NFL bog down the Super Bowl with something some owner demanded that would result in people tuning out?

Mind boggling.

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COMING SOON TO HOME VIDEO

The Three Musketeers — a modern retelling of Alexander Dumas’ timeless swashbuckling classic – arrives on 3D Blu-ray™, Blu-ray and DVD March 13th from Summit Entertainment.  This exciting adventure for the whole family stars Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson & the Olympians), Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean films), Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil films) and Academy Award®-winner Christoph Waltz (Best Supporting Actor, Inglourious Basterds).

NOTE: Insane move not to put Milla Jovovich on the DVD cover.

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LAST NIGHT’S SCREENING

Worked late. Took a shower. Went to bed.

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SCOTTDS’ EPIC LINKTACULAR

ANDREW KLAVAN’S ‘THE RAIN’ ARRIVES ON E-BOOK

RE: SOPA – THE TARGET ISN’T HOLLYWOOD, IT’S THE POLICYMAKERS

MICHAEL CAINE ON THE SECRECY OF THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

HBO DEVELOPING POLITICAL THRILLER FROM ‘TRAINING DAY’ WRITER DAVID AYER

BRETT RATNER TO DIRECT FOX’S KARYN USHER SPY DRAMA PILOT

‘M:I – GHOST PROTOCOL’ HAS BECOME TOM CRUISE’S HIGHEST-GROSSING FILM

THE ‘IRON LADY DRAWS SYMPATHY FOR MARGARET THATCHER… IN ARGENTINA?

OSAMA + ZOMBIES = OSOMBIE

CAN’ CHUCK’ CO-CREATOR JOSH SCHWARTZ BECOME THIS GENERATION’S JOHN HUGHES?

15 MOVIES THAT CRITICS LOVED AND AUDIENCES DIDN’T AND THE INFERENCES WE CAN DRAW

WHEN MUSICIANS MESS WITH THE MUSIC INDUSTRY

REMEMBERING BEN GAZZARA AND JOHN CASSAVETES

THE TOP 10 DOCUMENTARIES THAT ARE NOT WELL KNOWN

HOW MICHAEL EISNER TRIED TO DERAIL DISNEY’S ACQUISITION OF PIXAR

READ JOHN STEINBECK’S LETTER TO 20TH CENTURY FOX COMPLAINING ABOUT ‘LIFEBOAT‘

7 TV SHOWS RE-IMAGINED AS 90S SITCOMS

FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON, A LOOK BACK AT SHAQUILLE O’NEAL IN ‘KAZAAM‘

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CLASSIC PICK FOR WEDNESDAY,  FEBRUARY 8

TCM:

11:45 PM  Music Man, The (1962) —  A con artist hawks musical instruments and band uniforms to small-town America. Dir: Morton DaCosta Cast:  Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett. C-151 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format.

This one works like a drug. You just can’t help but to smile and feel better about life through the whole 151 minutes.

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