New Frontier: Direct-to-DVD and Video

By Janet Hetherington | Wednesday, March 29, 2006 at 12:00 am

For companies like Paramount, home of Star Trek and Enterprise (above), direct-to-DVD and video sales may be the new frontier for original content productions. ™ & © 2005 by Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved.

In Gene Roddenberry’s classic science fiction series Star Trek, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise was given the mission to explore a new frontier and “to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

The third season of that original TV series was saved by a legendary letter-writing campaign, and Trek fans have not lost their appetite for advocacy correspondence. However, rather than asking for new on-air programming, these enthusiasts are lobbying for new content on DVD or home video.

“The Family Guy and American Pie, Firefly to Serenity. Highlander, the new direct-to-DVD movie. Rumors of Buffy, and now the possible return of Futurama. What do all of these movies and television series have in common? DVD sales have given each a new life,” writes Thomas Frazier in a posting on TrekUnited.com.

“We would all like another run of Enterprise,” he writes. “The best place to start may lie within Paramount’s new direct-to-DVD division.” That division is called the DVD Premiere Group.

Paramount has seen great success with original productions. A recent release is Bob Dylan: No Direction Home (left) while Charlotte's Web 2 was an early release. ™ & © 2002 (right) and 2005 by Paramount Pictures. All rights re

For companies like Paramount, home of Star Trek and Enterprise, direct-to-DVD and video sales may be the new frontier for original content productions. “We’ve had incredible success over the past several years with original production,” says Ellen Pittleman, svp, Paramount worldwide acquisitions and DVD premieres.

“Starting with Charlotte’s Web 2 and Queens of Comedy to the more recent Bob Dylan: No Direction Home and Blue Collar Comedy Tour, we have found this aspect of our business to be substantial and believe that it is an area that we can grow,” Pittleman says.

The Direct Route
Creating original content for direct distribution is not new. In 1994, the Walt Disney Co. created The Return of Jafar, a direct-to-video sequel to its hit animated feature, Aladdin. Disney has since produced numerous direct-to-video (and now DVD) animated sequels, including the recent 2005 follow-up to The Emperor’s New Groove called Kronk’s New Groove, and this year’s Bambi II.

Studios hungry for sales are now aiming to maximize the DVD market. “Consumer spending on non-theatrical and non-television product grew about 10% from 2004 to 2005, reaching $1.9 billion. The business at this point is almost entirely DVD,” says Paramount vp Pittleman.

Comments

Some "new frontier". Direct-to-video animation has been commonplace since 1983 in Japan. It has allowed many studios to produce animated miniseries and full-length movies without many of the restrictions of television networks and (often) with a higher budget and production values. Admittedly, those production values seldom approach the quality of a theatrical feature.

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Andrew Laubacher (not verified) | Mon, 04/03/2006 - 23:00 | Permalink

Star Trek remains important to millions of fans out there and most are still disappointed with the cancellation of the latest series: Enterprise almost one year ago now. Studio executives need to realise the potential of a new production being released on DVD for people to buy. Other studios such as Universal and FOX have used the DVD market to breath new life into struggling franchises with devoted fans. An overwhelming success story could await Paramount Home Entertainment, especially with nothing new planned for Star Trek during this coming anniversary year. Enterprise’s premise as the beginning of Star Trek is ironically very fitting right now. With this in mind, a new petition has recently been set up. I hope that everyone who is planning to buy Star Trek Enterprise on DVD or has already done so and would like the series to continue will spare a second to stop by and sign. We need to reflect the demand for the series in order to be successful. So far, the response has mostly been positive and I think eventually more and more people will realise that this latest incarnation of Star Trek was treated unjustly. To date, we have collected over five thousand signatures through word of mouth alone. Hopefully we can raise awareness throughout the whole fan community towards this worthy attempt to bring back Star Trek. It is my intention to present a copy of the petition together with a list of all those who signed it, to Paramount to coincide with the first anniversary of Enterprise’s last episodes leaving US TV screens. Any signatures submitted after May 1st will miss the deadline for inclusion in the presentation but will still be viewable online. The petition will remain online for as long as people want to sign. With the 40th Anniversary happening later this year something new and exciting on DVD would get the media talking about Star Trek again. Paramount Home Entertainment are to just release compilations of old material this year, when I’d imagine every fan would prefer to see something brand new. The adventures of Archer and the prequel crew deserve a better send off. The production of a one-off adventure for the lucrative DVD market would go along way towards that. If successful, this would then provide a springboard for other possible future Trek productions that fans would like to see. Go here to add your voice to ever growing number of fans who want a new adventure for the 40th Anniversary: [URL=http://www.petitiononline.com/STENTDVD/petition.html]http://www.petitiononline.com/STENTDVD/petition.html[/URL] Christopher Roberts Petition Organizer and lifelong Trekker SOURCE: [URL=http://trekunited.com/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=492&Itemid=79]Trekunited[/URL]

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Christopher Roberts (not verified) | Fri, 03/31/2006 - 00:00 | Permalink