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Amazon locks down some exclusive streaming rights for Universal movies
Films like 'Jurassic World: Dominion' will ping-pong between Peacock and Prime Video.
Comcast may pull Universal movies from Netflix to boost its Peacock offering
Comcast is reportedly considering pulling its Universal Pictures movies and popular animated films from Netflix and HBO Max in order to boost Peacock.
'Dracula' and six other horror classics will stream for free on YouTube
Universal is making seven horror movie classics available for free on YouTube for a week, including 'Dracula' and 'Frankenstein.'
Universal's deal with AMC shortens theatrical exclusivity to 17 days
The new deal covers Universal films, as well as features from its specialty label, Focus Features.
Universal's plans for more 'premium VOD' push AMC to drop its movies
'Trolls World Tour' skipped a theatrical release earlier this month, and now NBCUniversal is planning to use the premium VOD strategy for future movies -- even after theaters are open again. AMC isn't happy about that.
Universal is releasing movies in theaters and at home on the same day
Movie studios have spent years considering releasing their films for home viewing at the same time they're in theaters, but have usually withdrawn those plans based on complaints by the theater chains. Now, with people staying home and theaters closing due to the coronavirus pandemic, Universal Pictures will be the first to try the scheme by offering movies that are currently in theaters for home rental at a price of $19.99 for a 48-hour viewing window. The first movies offered will start popping up on Friday, with The Hunt, Invisible Man and Emma available internationally via "a wide variety of the most popular on-demand services." It appears the Vudu is on the list, and we'd assume that other big names like iTunes and Amazon Video will also participates. The first movie to premiere under the new setup will be Trolls World Tour on April 20th.
RED's Hydrogen One phone makes a cameo in the 'F9' trailer
Now that the nearly four-minute-long F9: The Fast Saga trailer is here, fans of the long-running series can enjoy some surprise resurrections (spoiler alert: watch the trailer before scrolling to the end of this post), but the strangest appearance belongs to a smartphone. For reasons that may (or may not) be explained when the movie hits theaters May 22nd, multiple characters are driving around with the RED's Hydrogen One phone strapped to the dashboards of their cars.
‘Cats’ trailer plunges into the uncanny valley of digital fur
VFX artists had a go with the feature film Cats. Universal unveiled a full-length trailer today that gave us the first look at what the film's human actors look like as CG-transformed felines. While the Broadway version of Cats relied on elaborate costumes and makeup, the Jellicle Cats in the Tom Hooper film are heavily aided by visual effects wizardry. Earlier footage revealed the film's actors performing in leotards with markers, with the promise of "digital fur" being added later in post-production.
'Steve Jobs' movie finds another home and a new star
Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs may scream box office success, but actually making the movie has proven quite difficult. After two years of development, Sony Pictures decided to pass on the movie, but rival studio Universal has stepped in after allegedly paying $30 million for the rights. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Danny Boyle-directed movie has found a new star to play the Apple co-founder after Christian Bale withdrew earlier this month. In his place steps Michael Fassbender, who is now expected to appear beside Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak and Jessica Chastain in an as-yet unspecified role. All we have to do now is get to the end of this post without mentioning Ashton Kutcher and we'll be... damn.
Man lands in jail for using phone to pirate movie at the theater
The concept of someone recording films at movie theaters for pirating purposes seems so outdated. Yet, that's still happening in some parts of the world, apparently. Most recently, there's the case of Philip Danks, a 25-year-old UK man who just got sentenced to 33 months of jail time after using his phone to record a film in the theater and, subsequently, upload it to his website to let the internet download it at no cost -- at least initially. So which movie, you ask? None other than Fast & Furious 6. According to Universal Pictures, Danks' pirated upload was downloaded nearly 780,000 times, which the studio claimed resulted in a loss of about £2.5 million, or about 4.1 million in US dollars. After his initial arrest, and before he pleaded guilty to the charges yesterday, Danks took to his Facebook page to share his feelings about the ordeal: "Seven billion people and I was the first. Fuck you Universal Pictures." He's now facing 33 months in jail, while 120 hours of unpaid community service were served to a friend who helped him along the way.
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial Blu-ray trailer and box art pop up online (video)
Ever since Universal announced during CES 2012 that it would deliver many of its classic films on Blu-ray this year as part of a centennial celebration, we've been keeping a careful eye out for news regarding Steven Spielberg's classic E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. While we still don't know the release date, price or if it will contain the changes made in the 2002 edition of the flick, Universal posted a trailer for the Blu-ray (embedded after the break, note that at 0:25 seconds the FBI agents are holding guns, so it appears to be the original) that confirmed a digital remastering from the 35MM film, 7.1 surround sound and "hours of bonus features". Additionally, forum posters on Blu-ray.com have noticed this (probably not final) box art appearing on Amazon UK recently. After waiting for word since a new distribution deal brought the flick back to Universal in 2008, a few months of silence hasn't broken us, but hopefully more details appear soon. The best guess still sees the 30th Anniversary release hitting store shelves in time for the holidays (likely after Jaws, which is scheduled for release August 14th), when we can relive our childhoods in proper 1080p HD at last.
Jaws debuts on Blu-ray August 14th remastered and upmixed (video)
Universal Pictures promised it would celebrate its centennial by bringing classics out of the vaults and onto Blu-ray discs and now one of our most anticipated flicks, Jaws, finally has a release date. Steven Spielberg's 1975 hit will come home in "digitally remastered and fully restored" form with an upmixed 7.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack August 14th. The soundtrack and picture have both been carefully restored in a process undertaken in conjunction with Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment, as they went back to the original 35mm film and repaired it frame by frame. Also packed in will be four hours of bonus features, including an all new documentary The Shark Is Still Working: The Impact & Legacy of Jaws. If you're wondering about the restoration process, there are a couple of samples included after the break, plus a video about it and teaser trailer for the Blu-ray disc -- we're gonna need a bigger boat.
Universal's Charlie St. Cloud Blu-ray is the next to include bonus BD-Live movies
As excited we are that Zac Efron's summertime flick Charlie St. Cloud is coming to Blu-ray November 9 (and we're really excited) the main reason we're mentioning this one is it's the second flick by Universal to offer buyers their choice of bonus movies viewable through internet streaming. Lorenzo's Oil and What Dreams May Come (also like the Get Him to the Greek deal because both films have not yet been released on Blu-ray) can stream to viewers TVs via their BD-Live connected Blu-ray player or to another device on the pocketBLU app for iOS, Blackberry, Android, Windows and Macintosh hardware. We're still not sure what to make of streaming video as the new big thing for BD-Live, but if these implementations work better than the buggy implementation included on the Wolfman Blu-ray, then free extras are always welcome.
Get Him to the Greek Blu-ray includes a free streaming copy -- of a different movie
Universal's added a new wrinkle to persuade people to buy Get Him to the Greek on Blu-ray -- throw in a copy of an entirely different movie. Sure, during the MTV Video Music Awards we imagined not having to watch Russell Brand was a feature that should be included more often, but we didn't expect to see it tucked in among these other Blu-ray exclusive extras -- karaoke, the Pocket BLU iPhone remote control app, social BLU access, Mobile-To-Go support for taking bonus content with you and keyboard support. Anyone who buys the flick between September 28 and March 31, 2011 can also gain access to one of the following movies streamed to the player over BD-Live or directly to their mobile phone: Uncle Buck, Dazed & Confused or Life (Eddie Murphy & Martin Lawrence, not David Attenborough.) The flicks are notable not only because they appear to have been randomly chosen, but also since they're not available on Blu-ray yet. Unlike The Office, there's no promise of HD resolution here so the quality is still in question, but really, what Blu-ray release couldn't use an extra dose of John Candy? Check out all the details and extras in the press release after the break.
Sony signs up all six major studios for HD movies on PlayStation Network
Well, it looks like Sony has a little treat for PS3 users now that they're able to turn their consoles back on -- it's just announced that it has signed up all six major studios to deliver HD movies on the PlayStation Network (the first company to do so, as Sony is happy to point out). That includes 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. and, of course, Sony Pictures Entertainment, which combined have an initial slate of 19 HD movies available to buy or rent -- including "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "Star Trek," "District 9," "Inglourious Basterds," and "The Wizard of Oz," to name a few. Those are only available in the US at the moment, but Sony says it plans to also roll them out to the U.K., France, Germany, and Spain "soon."
Fast & Furious to be first major theatrical release with D-BOX
When you're on, you're on. After notching its best ever quarter in terms of sales, D-BOX has just landed yet another huge win. Universal Pictures' Fast & Furious -- which is slated to ignite a new generation of street racers who compete for gas money rather than pink slips -- will be the first major theatrical feature release with the company's Motion Code technology written in. 'Til now, Motion Code had been mostly restricted to at-home films and video games, but now moviegoers who can find a D-BOX-equipped cinema can enjoy this film while feeling all the vibrations and rumbles as the engines rev and the egos flair. Something tells us this kind of occurrence will only get more and more common.
The Bourne Ultimatum simultaneously launching in HD on VUDU
For Bourne fans the world over, you're well aware of what tomorrow is. December 11th, of course, is the day that The Bourne Ultimatum will be landing on DVD / HD DVD, but what you may not realize is that it will also be launching on VUDU. Granted, we've seen simultaneous launches before, but this is quite an eventful way for VUDU to get the ball rolling on its HD movie releases. We already knew the firm was aiming to release HD flicks before the holidays, and just recently it announced that a number of studios had already signed on. Universal Pictures, however, is going the extra mile by being the first to unveil a downloadable HD version of a major motion picture on the same day the actual disc hits shelves. Notably, The Bourne Ultimatum won't be available as a rental (purchase only), and while it appears that it'll run users $24.99, it sure sounds like the previous two Bourne films will be available "for free during the holiday season."
Castlevania film gets Rogue distributor
Rogue Pictures, a sub-sub-division of Universal specializing in low-budget action and horror flicks, has signed on to distribute Paul W.S. Anderson's Castlevania adaptation. Rogue will handle distribution in North American, the U.K., Spain and German-speaking territories. Crystal Sky, co-financers of the (not-so-low-budget) $50 million project, will be responsible for distribution throughout the rest of the world.Anderson is currently scouting out shooting locales in Hungary and Romania for his Blade-meets-Highlander epic. Dracula's castle will be re-imagined in some back lot in Budapest. Shooting starts this spring. Drink your holy water and keep your crosses crossed.[Thanks, Dave]
CinemaNow and Universal team up for same-day DVD burning
Unbox and iTunes have been getting all the attention lately, but movie download "veterans" like CinemaNow still have a few tricks up their sleeves. CinemaNow is still the only service to allow DVD burning of select downloaded films, and now they're about to get their first same-day title, which will be downloadable and burnable the very same day the retail DVD hits stores. Universal Pictures is providing the pic, "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," for a CinemaNow-standard $9.99, and everybody else will be watching from the sidelines to see how such an "unprecedented" release affects the market. We can't quite seem to muster as much excitement for the release, but maybe that's because such a thing is so long overdue -- it's hard to argue with it being a decent evolutionary step in the realm of online video distribution. Now if CinemaNow could just get the infernal things to play.[Via Ars Technica]
