Posted by Adam on September 27, 1997 at 15:32:59:
Well guys, I have some news regarding the INDIANA JONES trilogy on DVD/THX laser/VHS, from a spokesman at THX itself.
I attended today (Saturday Sept. 27) a special forum at Dave's Video and Laser Place, on Ventura Blvd. right outside of Los Angeles. It's one of the best places, I think, to get DVD and Laserdisc titles anywhere in the USA. I'm a regular customer, even though I hardly have enough money to buy laserdiscs. At this forum were several representatives from the home video/digital mastering market of Columbia, MGM, Warner, Fineline, and THX. (Paramount, sadly, was not there.) Film critic Leonard Maltin was also a guest speaker.
I actually spoke to Susan Griffin, the director of the digital mastering program at THX/Lucasfilm. She was a very nice and friendly woman who didn't seem relunctant to answer anyone's questions without complete honesty and frankness.
I asked her if, with all the STAR WARS hoopla over its recent rereleases, etc., there were any plans to rerelease the INDIANA JONES trilogy onto a special restored/improved sound/DVD format. She said that of ALL the consumer questions and feedback they have received, the INDY trilogy remains the most asked about.
Well, here's the bad news: as far as I learned, there were no set dates in the immediate future to rerelease the trilogy, either with THX sound or onto DVD. She explained to me that the reason why there's been such a delay for this was because the folks at LUCASFILM and PARAMOUNT had wanted to rerelease the trilogy in a special package, in association with the release of INDY IV. But because the production of that film has been so long in the planning -- and pushed back farther than they anticipated -- the plans to rerelease the trilogy have been in somewhat chaos. That said, she did NOT say that there wouldn't be a special rerelease of the trilogy soon -- it's just going to take some time as they work out all the details.
The GOOD news to this means that INDIANA JONES IV, even if it will be another two years or so before being released into the theaters, IS SERIOUSLY BEING PLANNED FOR PRODUCTION IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE. No one would ever consider such marketing strategies unless INDY IV was going to be a reality one day. It may be taking its time, but better that and get it right than rush everything and sacrifice the film's quality.
As far as I'm concerned, we should all be grateful. I'm sure that my posting this will cause all hell to break loose with the gossip and rumor columns, so -- even if my asking is a futile attepmt -- please show the Lucasfilm/Paramount/Indy filmmakers some respect.
So what can WE all do? Well, believe it or not, the staff at Lucasfilm actually DOES care about consumer input and feedback. If you write to them with suggestions, they do take it very seriously.
Please, however, try to show some sincerity and intelligence in your letters -- not "Why the *&*@@ haven't you rereleased the INDY series onto *&*#$@*@ DVD or THX laserdisc????" These guys are professionals, and the more maturity you show, the more they'll propably listen to what you have to say. So, if you REALLY care about seeing Indy in special home video/laser/DVD packages, you can write to them...
Here is the address you can reach for questions/comments/input:
THX
Consumer Affairs Dept./Home video marketing
THX Division, Lucasfilm, Ltd.
1023 N. Hollywood Way
Burbank, CA 91505
TEL: 818/526-0451
FAX: 818/526-0458
Well, I hope this info is useful to everyone...