S3 DVDs

[kin_of_zathras]

Does anyone have contact details for Andreas and Peter. It would be nice if they knew how much we want/need them to do the interviews.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Personally I would also be reluctant to encourage people who don't otherwise feel like working for free to do so. If Jerry and Bruce like talking about their work and don't view doing so as a hardship (and if both are hanging around the L.A. area anyway) then more power to them. But if Peter, who is semi-retired, doesn't feel like travelling from his home in the country to either Burbank or some big city where Warner Bros. can get an interview or commentary done, I can't say I blame him, and I wouldn't want to "guilt" him into doing so.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Fas]

But if Peter, who is semi-retired, doesn't feel like travelling from his home in the country to either Burbank or some big city where Warner Bros. can get an interview or commentary done, I can't say I blame him, and I wouldn't want to "guilt" him into doing so.

mmm... i thought the interview at least could be done in his house if he wanted to? Anyways this is bad news, but at least we have the Jerry-Claudia-Bruce commentaries on which i never counted on before.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

mmm... i thought the interview at least could be done in his house if he wanted to?

Since Peter doesn't live in the L.A. area (according to an interview I read some time ago), that would likely mean Warner Bros. flying a union film crew (camera operator, sound tech, an assistant or two) out to where he is. I can't see Warner Bros. spending that kind of money. Putting a similar crew in a cab and sending them from one part of Manhattan to another to interview Michael O'Hare wouldn't be nearly the hassle, which is why I suggested the possibility in his case.

Regards,

Joe

 

[kingfish]

Without a Michael O'Hare interview it is like the set is missing something vital.

 

[taichidave]

Without a Michael O'Hare interview it is like the set is missing something vital.

Yes and no.

The important thing, as jms has said, is the work. The interviews, commentaries, and extras are just that: extras.

Having that awe-inspiring moment at the end of WWE pt. 2 on DVD is enough for me.

 

[Recoil]

Having that awe-inspiring moment at the end of WWE pt. 2 on DVD is enough for me.

And having it in widescreen and Dolby 5.1

 

[DrOBoogie1]

As grateful as I am for having B5 on DVD at all, I do think Warner could step up the release schedule a bit. One set every six months may be the standard (set by the X-Files, it seems), B5 has a dedicated enough fan base to justify releases every 3 or 4 months instead of every six. That way, season 5 wouldn't be scheduled for Nov. 2004. I'm sure WHV could handle an increased release schedule.

Also, I don't think anyone should be made to participate in the commentaries if they don't want to. That said, I would also hesitate to start paying people for commentaries or documentaries appearances. Arnold Schwarzenegger once wanted payment of just $75,000 (not much by Arnold standards) for a DVD commentary, the studio balked and said if they had to pay participants, they'd never do these sort of extras. Any added costs that are incurred in making these DVD features will be passed along to the consumers. Remember, actors will get added royalty checks from the sale of videos (assuming their contracts specified) so it is in their interests to add to a product that fans will want to buy. Still, if anyone feels their time is more important, I would not begrudge them at all for not participating.

 

[jnk5y]

Shoot, if i worked on something for 5 years i would want to do something when it is released on dvd. I have free days all the time (that's what being unemployed does) but even if i worked all the time i could still find a day to an interview. I guess that's just me. Maybe i can talk to andreas to change his mind. Use some of my greek guilt. I can get my mom to help b/c she is really good at getting people to do things they don't want to do.

 

[kin_of_zathras]

B5 has a large enough cast and crew to fill up the Time needed for extras, so the participation of one or two actors is probably not going to alter the actual sales.
The involvement of Peter and Andreas really matters to the hard-core B5 fans; the ones who kept bugging their local tv station to pick up the next season, the ones who made sure S5 got picked up by TNT, the ones who kept trying to get their friends hooked on the show...
I can think of no better extra than Andreas and Peter doing a commentary on The Fall of Centauri Prime.

 

[PillowRock]

While $75000 to do a commentary track for a couple hours is beyond what I think is reasonable, I can fully understand actors wanting to get at least union scale (plus expenses, if they have to travel noticably to do it) for their time. I can't imagine that level of increased production expense having enough of an impact on the retail price to hurt the sales figures.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

While $75000 to do a commentary track for a couple hours is beyond what I think is reasonable, I can fully understand actors wanting to get at least union scale

The problem from the studio's point of view is that once the precedent of paying the participants for extras is established with the actors, there is no telling where it will stop. An especially desirable actor will push it beyond scale and expenses. A director will then insist on matching an actor's price. The composers and film editors will also raise the issue with their unions. The next thing you know everyone will have priced themselves out of the market, and DVDs with extras (a very big selling point with consumers and one of the "value added" features the helped the format take off) will become a thing of the past - with a concommitent decline in DVD sales. That, in any case, is the studios' fear, and they don't want to take the first step on that potentially slippery slope.

I can see the issue from both points of view.

Regards,

Joe

 

[A_M_Swallow]

One of the main managerial skills is the ability to negotiate. The studios are using their inability of the managers to do their job as an excuse to exploit the actors.

Turning this the other way round, how much more money do the actors get in royalties because of the extras? Getting paid indirectly has the same effect on your bank account as being paid directly.